11/8 Frankenmuth, MI I can’t remember who told me to visit this town but I am glad I did. Lew and I took Sunday afternoon to drive to this little town near Saginaw and he had been there before with his wife, Mary Beth about 20 years ago. Little did I know that Christmas had come and was there all year long! The streets were all decked out with Christmas displays, and the day was sunny and warm and there were throngs of people walking around. COVID didn’t seem to be a big concern outside, but you did have to were masks in all of the buildings. Our first stop was Bronner’s Christmas Store, the largest in the world, according to advertising. This place was huge! I had seen their catalog and was completely amazed to see this gigantic mall of a store in real life. There were decorations outside and displays everywhere! I bought a bunch or ornaments for gifts and meandered around while Lew waited outside. He doesn’t like shopping.
We walked around a couple of places and I took some snaps and spent money. They still had some Halloween decorations, and my favorite was the little garden features with ghosts, gnomes and witches. So cute! I bought a couple of hats to replace the ones I lost on the bus last winter and some bread that I really didn’t need, and Lew took half of the cinnamon bread, thank God. We had lunch at the Bavarian Inn and I had the 2-piece chicken dinner. Family style was not our thing as it’s too much food! The service was great and so was our meal. I could have done some serious damage to my budget if I stayed much longer. There was a woolen mill that sold fabric and quilts. What a great little shop! You can see where they process the wool in the basement through a bunch of windows. They even had an antique knitting machine on display. I’m so glad I stopped in! It would have been fun to stay until it got dark to see everything lit up, but taking country roads in the dark back to the campground was a little risky. Anyway, I had a great time and Lew was very patient.