Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Our day trip to Lake Pepin

As I said in an previous post..........we went on a little drive down to South Eastern Minnesota. I think I made a typo in my last post and said SW Minnesota but not to worry.........Lake Pepin did not move to the western part of the state. Ha!


This is one of Minnesota's most scenic drives(besides the Northshore). It's also winds into Wisconsin too. So it's a nice drive for a day trip.

That's where we took a photo of this Lake Pepin Sign. On the other side of the Lake on The WI side.



We headed south..............................and went thru charming towns like Red Wing and than we end up by Lake Pepin in the town of Lake City, MN. This is the view as you hit town...........tons of sailboats lining the lake along tall bluffs. WOW!

We love Lake City. We stopped at this cute park near the Lake and took some scenic family pixs. I also have a photo of the Lake City Marina with all those sailboats docked.



Above is the Park we took family pixs at and in the backdrop is this cool condo resort right on the lake called The Willows. WOW....we ALMOST stayed there but it was completely booked. I can see why now.......wonderful breathtaking views and your right on the lake and near everything. Even had a wonderful lake walk right outside the door. Maybe next time we can stay there.

The flower urn was so charming and part of the parks landscape. So I took a snapshot. Loved how withered it looked and the flowers hanging out of the basket. Fantastic!

While in Lake City we decided to have Brunch at a cute little cottage house called: Chickadee Cottage. We've been at the place before with my sister Wanda and her husband Tom. We had tea and treats the last time. This time they were serving Family Breakfast. YUM! They had a hearty mix of scrambled eggs, Ham, Wild rice sausages, and Cheesy Casserole, Fresh fruits, and Cinnamon rolls. We were stuffed! Such a charming place to eat. All homemade foods served fresh to your table. Very small town atmosphere.



I took some photos of the outdoor area because the chickadee cottage has so much wonderful landscaping outside. The rose bushes were so pretty! You can't miss this cottage as it's right on the main drag and try to sit in the porch area. the porch is the best spot in the place.



Finally our time in Lake City ends but not without sharing some spots of interest: If your looking for dinner or lunch Try the Skyline on Pepin restaurant right next to the Willows Resort. If your looking for real fancy food I haven't personally tried this place but found it on the web. It's called Nosh restaurant and it has the kinda food you see on Top Chef. ~ha! Really wanted to try it out but make sure you make reservations.....because it was completely packed and had two hour waiting list by the time we thought of supper plans. So was the skyline(packed and hour and half wait list). It was a busy weekend so I figured it might be like that. Needless to say we missed out on supper and ended up eating in the Twin cities. Ha! Oh well....next time right. Anyhow, Nosh is situated right next to the Lake City Marina. Try it out if you get a chance and let me know how it was and if it was Top Chef approved.



Next stop was Wabasha(Grumpy Old Men the Movie was based & film in this town). We didn't spend anytime in Wabasha but it's our turn off point to get into Wisconsin Side to view Lake Pepin.

We stopped at a little gas station and I saw this withered pop machine sign....just had to take a pix of it for some reason. Thought it was charming and rustic and cool for a photo.

See for yourself:

Super Cool huh?

The next few towns we hit are Pepin WI and Stockholm WI Before we head back to the MN side back into Red Wing. Pepin is the cuttest little town EVER! Such fun little shops down by the Marina. Here are some points of interest that I didn't get photos of but are all on the websites. The pickle Factory would have been another choice for our dinner plans but we were still full by the time we hit Pepin WI. However there was another cafe called Harbor View Cafe. Looks very charming indeed. On the main drag of Pepin WI was another eatery and it was so new they didn't even have it on the web. It was a log cabin type outside bar and grille. All the bikers that ride that lake drive were stoppin in at that place. You should have seen all the motorcycles lined up outside...it was cool! I should have gotten a pix of it but we didn't stop.


Along the way are tons of wayside scenic stops. So we stopped and took some photos on the Wisconsin side of Lake Pepin. Very scenic views!

Here is a cute one of Aaron. It was kinda sunny and hard to take photos but wanted some from the WI side.

I just love the high bluffs in the backdrop.

The rest of the photos are just more of the same photos from that same spot.




Stockholm WI was the next stop. I had a few stores I wanted to stop at in Stockholm(there are so many fun stores packed into this small town). First place we stopped was this cute specialty store for Dogs called: Sophies Dog Bakery & Boutique. So cute! I bought Muffin some premium fancy doggie treats. She loved them! All the shops were near each other and this cute Cafe called Bogus Creek Cafe & Bakery had the cutest area for eating and dining outside. So cute and don't let the name fool you........we were going to eat there but I spent too much time in the Dog bakery that the Cafe closed. Bummer! Hence why we ended up eating in the Twin Cities. This was our last small town before we hit the big towns. Bummer we missed out. What I missed out in the eats I made up for at this cute shop right next to Bogus Creek Cafe. The shop was closing too but the lady was super nice and let me go in and look around. I ended up buying a couple fall time items. I snatched up this cute Pumpkin tin bucket and couldn't resist a cute scarecrow. I have no idea what the name of the store is and couldn't find it on the web at all. It is right in the area where the Bogus Creek Cafe and ice cream shop. Here is a pix from the web of the Landscaping by these shops and Bogus Creek Cafe:




I got the snowman from the chickadee cottage and Tea Room.

Fun Time shopping!!! TFL

3 comments:

MNScrapbookmom said...

Super cute pics of you all... Love road trips. The scenery and just being outdoors. Love the new decor. I am totally obsessed with getting new fall decor for my home right now. The stuff I have, I have had forever. Hoping the Swap will add a little more to my collection. :) Great post. ¥

Anonymous said...

Urrrrrr. I lived next to a Chickadee Cottage for years and hardly ever went. The hubby said it was "Chic Food" and wouldn't go with me. You'll have to teach me how you get the DH to take you.

Unknown said...

Such pretty pictures. It sounded like you had such a nice relaxing time there!