Marshall, Michigan

 I'm back from my little break. Because I just started my new job in December, I don't have much vacation time.  Bob and I usually take our vacation in September, so this year we just took a long weekend.
Before I tell you more, I need to share what happened before we left.  We planned to leave mid morning on Friday.  I was at work Thursday, when I got a message from Bob. He had left work and was not feeling well at all.  I was immediately concerned about covid when he gave me his symptoms, and thought this weekend might not happen.  I did a covid test on him when I got home and it was negative.  So we thought we would see what the morning brough.
He was feeling a little better in the morning, so we thought we were back on track.  However, suddenly there was a hot, smoky smell in the kitchen and then the refrigerator made a crackling sound and quit. 
We were thankful it happened while we were still home!  Thankfully we have a spare refrigerator in the garage, so we loaded everything into it and went to buy a new frig. 
Then we were off - a little later than expected, but still on our way.
We went to Marshall, Michigan which is said to be the most historic city in Michigan.  Marshall is a little over 1 1/2 hours from our house.

Every year they have a 2 day tour of historic homes and buildings.  We love history and old homes so we knew we would enjoy this.

We stayed in the National House Inn, which was built in 1835 and served as a stagecoach stop between Chicago and Detroit. It was a beautiful place, full of charm and history.

Across from the inn is a huge fountain with seating areas around it.

This was our room.

Here are a few other rooms that we got to a chance to see, each one different and each one named for someone important in Marshall's history.

This is the entry.  The fireplace and old wood floors were amazing.

This is the dining room.  We enjoyed some delicious breakfasts here.

There was even a pretty little garden with a sitting area.

This is now a little telephone nook, but it used to be a closet under the stairs.  But, behind the wall was a hidden area, where someone could look out through grates in the stairway, and see who might be coming in the door.  There was a trapdoor hidden in the floor that let to a secret room in the basement.  It was a way to hide runaway slaves and help them get to safety.  

Do you ever buy Win Schulers cheese?  Win Schuler was from Marshall and had a restaurant there.  My friend Bonnie had told me often how they enjoyed eating there, so we had supper there on our first night.  It was delicious.  This is how they served their famous meatball appetizers.

Tomorrow I'll share more about the home tour.