FrankenmuthMay 27, 2011
|
|
Inside Bronner's Christmas Store
We decided to take today as another exploring opportunity, before the masses move in for the holiday. We had heard about a little town west of here called Frankenmuth. It was at least an hour away but we didn't have anything else going on, so what the heck. The drive was pretty, through the same farm country we have been seeing, although the further west we got, the greener and lusher it got because it is warmer inland. I can't get over the fact that barns are left to just deteriorate and fall apart. Most of these barns also have an old silo crumbling near by. It is sad to see the passing of an era when farms flourished.
--
We finally reached the turnoff to Frankenmuth and after a few more miles, passed the city limits into a beautiful Bavarian setting. All of the businesses, even McDonald's, has Bavarian type architecture. Some of them, like the Bavarian Inn are especially beautiful with lots of flowers blooming and even music playing in the streets. We stopped at one small park where we saw a white peacock showing off his feathers. When we went to take his picture, however, he stopped showing off, but it was John's first white peacock.
--
It was still early in the morning, so we decided to stop at one of the biggest attractions in Frankenmuth, Bronner's Christmas Store, which claims to be the biggest Christmas store in the world. The store was started over 60 years ago and is the size of one and a half football fields. It is just unbelievable. The store is divided into sections, each one displaying a particular specialty such as snowmen, angels, lights, etc., and each section is huge with every size, shape, color or design that you can imagine. I have never seen so much stuff in my life pertaining to Christmas. You could go crazy and spend thousands of dollars although the prices were quite reasonable. I bought a set of bubble lights for Zac and Devon, a little pink flamingo ornament and some new palm tree lights for our rig. You could spend days in the store and still not see it all. And I have to say that John did pretty good. He never hunted down the husband chairs but walked it all with me. It is definitely something to see.
--
By the time we spent an hour at Bronner's, our tummies said it was time for an early lunch so we headed down the street to the highly recommended Zehnder's Family Restaurant. The hotel has been in this location for 150 years and the restaurant was established in 1928. They are famous for their family style meals which include everything from soup to dessert. We decided that the three piece chicken meal would be more than adequate, which it was. It was delicious although the meal we had in Amish country is still our favorite.
--
Frankenmuth's streets are lined with all kinds of little gifty type stores with a Bavarian theme. There were lots of chocolate places, wine shops, cheese shops, clock shops, etc. They were setting up several of the parks with booths for the upcoming holiday weekend in anticipation of the crowds to come. We were glad we came while it was still quiet.
--
On the way home, we stopped in Sandusky, Michigan, about 18 miles from the RV park where there is a WalMart and replenished our grocery supplies once again. This should keep us until we move west to a new location next week.
--
We got home once again before the rain in the afternoon. It is still pretty cold today with high's only in the low 60's. The weather guessers are predicting sunshine and much warmer temps by Monday when the front moves north. We love the sunshine but are not looking forward to it getting hot again.
--
I unpacked the new palm tree lights which I hung and intertwined with the flamingo lights. I think they look very festive. The lights came in a large box which Rocky immediately claimed as his own. Mimi wanted to see what the box was but Rocky would not let her near it. She knew if she was patient, he would eventually tire of it.
--
This evening, the masses started arriving in droves as the RV park started filling up. Everyone always thinks of camping as a cheap vacation but here, the sites on the lake (which are all full) go for $75 a night. Each site allows for two adults and two kids - anyone and any dog is extra. Most families have multiple kids and dogs, so I can only imagine how expensive this weekend is for most people. It is amazing that we were here practically by ourselves this morning and tonight, it is like a small city has enveloped us. But John and the kids are happy. They have people, dogs and kids to watch.
--
The WiFi at the park is poor and now with the influx of people, it will be impossible to post blogs and pictures, so I will wait until we have better reception.
