Christmas in July!

After we said all our goodbyes and started off on the road, we didn't make it that far before we pulled off again to see some sights. Heading up 75 toward the UP, our first stop, of course,

had to be Frankenmuth! We were pulled off the highway by a giant santa popping out of a chimney asking us to come to Bronner's, the worlds largest Christmas store, for some holiday cheer. It was Katie's first time to Frankenmuth and Bronner's so we took our time seeing the sights. After we walked around Bronner's for about 30 minutes, we drove through downtown to see what we could see. The first thing that we passed as we drove through the city proper was a beer garden! It was in front of the Bavarian Inn and came fully equipped with German beer, music, and dancing!

We agreed to make that a stop but we wanted to see what the rest of the town was about. Much to my happiness, about a half mile down the road we came across the Frankenmuth Brewery! From then on, our Frankenmuth visit was set in stone. We would visit the beer garden first then enjoy dinner and craft brews overlooking the river on the patio at the Frankenmuth Brewery, and so we did! After dinner, we took a ride across the covered

bridge then headed back to the highway. We ended up sleeping in the van the first night at a rest area somewhere between Higgin's Lake and Gaylord.