Christ the King Southgate

Markel Family Michigan Getaway–Day Two

Last Sunday was a very busy day! We started with breakfast at the restaurant where Ryan had his first job as a teenager. I had a Greek skillet, which was basically gyros for breakfast…delicious!

We then headed over to Christ the King’s second campus, where the retirement festivities were held, beginning with the Divine Service, where both Ryan and his mom got to sing in the choir.

There was a very nice lunch reception after the service, and it was obvious even to an outsider how much that congregation loves their pastors. It was a lot of fun to be part of it, even if we weren’t members there.

After the reception, we drove through Detroit on the way to our next destination. We stopped at historic Fort Wayne on the Detroit River (not to be confused with Fort Wayne, IN, which was named for the same general), to see a place that had been built as a defense against Canada, of all places! Unfortunately, much of the fort is falling apart, but we still got a good sense of what it used to look like.

While we were there, we saw two fighter jets flying overhead, which seemed very appropriate:

We then headed over to the Detroit Riverwalk, where we once again got to gaze upon Canada, but this time, in a more urban setting:

We also drove past Comerica Park…I know it’s home of the Detroit Tigers, but I couldn’t believe just how many tiger statues they had outside!

And then after what seemed like a longer drive than it was, probably because I was so excited to arrive at our destination, we reached Frankenmuth, Michigan’s “Little Bavaria!”

Even our hotel, which is definitely part of a large chain, had a Bavarian look!

All of Main Street is in on the Bavarian architecture, and it was just as charming as I expected it to be!

We had late dinner reservations at one of the two restaurants in town that are famous for fried chicken dinners…the Bavarian Inn. Our dinner was amazing, but you’ll have to wait a few days for the full details!

Even though our dinner lasted almost two and a half hours, it was still light outside when we were done. We were so far north, the sunset was almost an hour later than it is here at home! So we were able to enjoy a nice after-dinner walk, and actually see the town. I loved the covered bridge…but I’m really glad we walked across it instead of driving over it!

We stopped at the Bavarian Inn’s lodge, where they have a huge fun center, and we found my favorite game…skee ball! I think the dinner weighed me down, because the best I could do was tie for first!

We needed to stop at the store and pick up a styrofoam cooler for our dinner leftovers, and I was tickled to discover that even the Kroger looked like it was built in Bavaria!

It had been a long day, and we were all full and tired, so we headed back to the hotel after that. I really wish we could have spent more time in Frankenmuth, but we did have a few more stops planned for Monday morning before we left town!

Markel Family Michigan Getaway–Day One

Last Saturday, we were up dark and early (again), this time for a short road trip to Michigan. I think we were all dreading the long drive, but it ended up feeling really quick, and I think that was partly due to a brief stop in Casey, IL, which is home to many of the world’s largest items, including this rocking chair…it’s seriously huge!

Anyway, it was a really good drive, and we arrived at the Hampton Inn in Southgate in a good mood, even though rain was starting to fall. I can’t remember the last time I stayed at a Hampton Inn (if ever)…it was a really nice hotel!

After we got all of our luggage into our room, we headed to Bishop Park in Wyandotte, where I got to look across the Detroit River at CANADA! I know it sounds silly, but this was the first time I’d ever seen another country with my own eyes, and it was very exciting!

We then visited the church that Ryan grew up at, Christ the King, Southgate. We loved the beautiful stained glass windows!

We also drove by Ryan’s old house:

And then stopped at a convenience store so we could introduce the children to one of the best drinks known to man:

Did I mention why we were in Michigan? The pastor from Ryan’s childhood church was celebrating his retirement last weekend, and the church was having a big celebration in his honor. He and his wife hosted a lovely reception at their home for out-of-town guests Saturday evening, so that’s where we headed next. Fortunately, the rain abated while we were there, and we enjoyed our dinner outside. Afterwards, we headed over to Meijer, a store we don’t have in the St. Louis area.

The reason for our stop? To stock up on the previously mentioned world’s best soda:

After that, we headed back to the hotel, where we enjoyed a swim in a pool that had cool lights that changed color:

I know that this is going to come as a shock, but when we got back to our room, we didn’t watch the Food Network…instead, we watched Nick at Night, which was showing Full House and Friends!