Jason rented us a room in Grand View Lodge tonight which is Nisswa, Minnesota so we got up this morning, checked out and hit the road.
I did want to make a stop at Hobby Lobby so we found one that was on our way that wasn't far out of town.
They have so much beautiful stuff at Hobby Lobby and I just want to buy all of it.
Unfortunately I can't take it all back in my suitcase so I have to be selective.
It was tough though because all the Christmas stuff was on sale 50% off.
It's probably a good thing that there isn't one near me because I think I'd be broke.
I took some pictures of some things I thought I could replicate at home.
Maybe not the shapes but at least the sayings and fonts.
This was a huge sign - if I could have fit it in my suitcase it would have been coming home with me but it was far too big.
I'm going to try to make myself one when I get home.
I ended up buying a few little decorations and I also picked up some more of the beaded berry picks they sell that I love so much.
There was a Jersey Mikes across the parking lot and we were hungry so we went there for lunch.
We've eaten at a JM's once before in an airport somewhere and it was good.
It's kind of similar to a Subway set up except they slice the meat fresh to order.
We got the turkey sandwich with the Mike's juice which is vinegar and oil.
The girl put lots on it too.
Look at all that turkey.
We split a sub between us and it was fantastic.
Then we were back on the road and I was just loving seeing all the fall colors.
I seriously wanted to take a picture of every single one that I saw.
It's going to be so tough not to include them here!
We made it to the Grand Lodge, checked in our room then headed into the town to check it out and maybe get something to eat.
The first store we checked out had some cute Halloween decor.
If the little cat was grey instead of white it would be a portrait of my kitties.
I loved the images on these.
The puppy ones were so cute - I love the dog in the ghost costume.
There was an ice cream shop that was closing soon so we decided to get dessert before supper.
I got the 'This $&@! Just Got Serious'
Jason got Snap-o-Lantern.
And he got Licorice Chip too (yuck)!
Yummy!
It was also a candy store.
There was so much candy there to choose from and it was so nice and clean.
This was at the entrance - a photo op.
I like the sign.
The stores all had nice fall displays.
Little boutique shops.
The fall flowers are in bloom.
Enjoying my ice cream.
Another pretty tree (sorry not sorry).
Nisswa is the town we were in.
It seems like a nice little lake town, I bet it's just hopping around here in the summer time.
One of the stores had these cute dressed up pumpkins.
I wish we had a nicer fall so I could make a display like this at home.
We walked around for a bit then we went for some supper to this spot, Rafferty's Pizza.
They had an outdoor seating area and it was nice out so that's where we opted to sit of course.
They had some interesting pizzas, we ordered the L,ucky Chicken
They had a good menu. lots of options, not just pizza.
My view.
Jason's view.
There was even a local magazine or tourist information booklet.
This is the Lucky Chicken
After supper we walked around a bit more.
Then we got another with just pepperoni and green olives.
We recently discovered green olives on pizza and it's our new favorite topping.
Bon appetite!
These displays were in front of a little coffee shop.
So pretty.
It was right behind the restaurant we ate at.
Another gorgeous tree!
This sign made me chuckle
Pretty Good Shopping!
I love the small town feel.
Pretty flower still in bloom.
Some cool store names.
This was my fave.
The hanging flower baskets still look gorgeous - and it's OCTOBER!
More fall displays and a neat mural.
One more fall display.
We saw a few more pretty trees on our way back to the Lodge.
This is the main building at the lodge.
It had a little side building
When you walked through the lodge, this was on the other side.
It leads right down to the lake.
There were a couple restaurants in the main lodge and one of them had this nice outdoor seating area.
We walked down to the lake and this was looking back up at the lodge.
We saw some bunnies on the grounds.
There was a nice beach area at the lake.
There were lots of beach chairs on the beach.
The sun was looking so pretty in the sky.
There was nobody on the beach at all, we had it all to ourselves.
There were lots of cottages right along the beach.
I bet this would be a lovely place to stay in the summer.
Our room was actually in the hotel which was in a different location on the property.
The room was very nice.
We had kind of a half balcony and we had a visitor.
This was our view.
All of this was grounds of the lodge, there was a fire pit and lots of cottages - they really looked like homes.
There was a seating area in our room.
The desk and tv.
This nice storage rack at the doorway when you first came in the room.
A nice big bathroom.
The toilet tucked away to the side.
I like how these shelves were built right into the headboard.
I want to redo our bedroom and would possibly like to have a bed frame like this so I took a few pictures for reference.
I like how they had this lamp attached right to the wall too - great idea.
This was just a random seating area in the hotel- not even the main lobby - it was very grand.
They had a pool so we decided to take advantage of that.
There was a huge outdoor pool.
Then there was also a huge indoor pool.
There were hot tubs both inside and outside.
Of course we decided to sit in the outdoor ones because it was such a lovely evening.
This was our view from the hot tub - it kind of looked over toward the 'hotel' that we were staying in.
It was a giant hot tub, it had 3 big sections, we were in the middle.
This was looking over into the indoor pool area.
My Honey
It was dark when we walked back over to the 'hotel' - this is the front - I love how they have it all lit up.
This is the lobby area.
Love the light fixture and all the beams.
Its very nice.
We changed and went for a walk then decided to get a bite to eat at one of the restaurants in the main lodge.
Northwoods Pub.
The vibe kind of reminded me of Alberta to be honest - we felt right at home.
His brooding look.
We shared a bowl of chowder and it was FANTASTIC.
I almost ordered another bowl it was that good.
I got the Lake Superior Smoked Lake Trout.
It came out and was just a couple of these little crispy toast with some trout up on top.
Not what I was expecting but good.
Jason got the Walleye sandwich and it was very good.
After we ate, we went for another walk down to the lake.
It was all lit up and it was so peaceful and pretty.
Looking back up at the lodge in the evening I think was even prettier than in the day time.
It just looked so inviting.
It was a lovely day and I'm so glad Jason found this spot for us to check out today.
After our walk, we headed back to our room and had an early night.
This is so true for me.
Back home, Haylee and her friends did a Halloween photo shoot which she posted on Facebook.
I think it turned out great.
I'm not going to caption them but I thought I would share.
That's all for today, until next time, be happy!
