Hey Guys!
As I mentioned in my last blog post on Granville, I took my sister back the following weekend for a girl’s getaway. I fell in love with this little town and the cabins at the Marina after my hubby and I had visited the weekend prior to my sister and I going.
Since Granville is only 1.5 hrs from our home, we decided to leave Sat morning and stay Sat & Sun night.
Before arriving to the marina, we stopped to pick up a few snacks and drinks. The cabins have a fully functional kitchen so, if you wanted to, you could cook all of your meals. Of course, who wants to go on vacation and cook?…not this girl!
After arriving to Granville, we wanted to stop in and have lunch at Sutton General Store, however, the small town was holding their annual Scarecrow Festival and the place was bustling with people!
Read the history of the general store here...it dates back to 1870!
Since everything was so crowded, we decided to head back to the Marina for lunch and then go back into town for the festival later. The town is only about a mile from the Marina.
Once we arrived at the Marina’s restaurant, we promptly got seated as hardly anyone was there. I guess they were all at the festival! That was good for us as we were starving!
We were seated on the outside deck overlooking the water. It was so peaceful….we could have sat there all day.
We decided to start out with an appetizer. Our young waiter recommended the cheesy crab dip with chips …so we went with his recommendation. See their menu here.
The dip was so delicious!
Before
After 😉
Once again, the huge fish were swimming near the deck waiting for food
For our meal, my sister ordered the half pound brisket cheeseburger and I ordered the smoked turkey sandwich….both were very good. Ya’ll those fries were the best I’ve ever eaten!!
Our young waiter was very attentive and came to our table several times to check on us…this was also our experience the first time I visited with my hubby. Great service!
After lunch, we headed back to Granville for the festival.
They had designated areas that had free parking & some that had a small fee. If you had to park too far away, they had a small bus that would pick you up and drop you off.
I was very impressed with how well the festival was organized. They had several activities for children…from a small petting zoo to several inflatables.
There were also several vendors set up selling their goods
The town has several museums and I was truly impressed with the work that had been invested in these museums. You could tell the people of Granville took great pride in the history of their town.
They have an old post office and barber shop that have been turned into museums.
The old bank is now a gift shop and boutique. I appreciated seeing the history of the old bank since I work at a bank.
The old safe and vault in the bank
They also had an old building turned into a very impressive museum. You could tell that a lot of time, money and effort had gone into the designing of the museum.
We spoke to several of the locals that were doing reenactments of the olden days and they were all so friendly and knowledgeable.
They also had several food trucks set up … some were randomly placed around the town while others were in an area that was designated just for food and drinks.
We loved the car museum
But our favorite place was the old Sutton General store! It was full of antiques, gifts, candy and knick knacks. They served ice cream near the back of the store.
The store also has a 2nd floor where you can find more antiques, local art and a fabric shop.
One side of the store is where they serve lunch and dinner. They also have live music on weekends and a live radio show.
Granville is full of history
After spending about 2 hrs at the festival, we decided to head back to our cabin.
After getting settled in, we went and sat on the front porch of our cabin and watched the sunset….what a sunset it was!
One of the owners stopped by to tell us he was building a fire in one of the nearby fire pits in case we wanted to come sit by the fire…I don’t know about you, but I love sitting by a fire so we couldn’t pass up on the offer!
The fire pit was surrounded by brightly colored red adirondack chairs….so peaceful!
Later, we called it a night and hit the sack in those fabulous 5 star linens!
The next morning, we had our coffee on the porch. Each cabin has a Keurig coffee maker and they provide the coffee, sweetener and the creamer in your room! So nice!
They really have put a lot of thought into making your stay as comfortable and memorable as possible!
To see the inside of the cabin read my last blog post.
After relaxing for a while, my sister and I decided we would rent a pontoon boat for 1/2 the day. The marina rents really nice pontoons for full and half days. The cost for the 1/2 day was $225..that includes all taxes and gas.
They also rent canoes, kayaks & paddle boards.
Before heading out, we ordered lunch from the marina to take with us on the boat.
I was a bit nervous about renting a boat because even though I have rented several boats in the past, my hubby had always been with me and was always the driver. However, I didn’t want fear to hold me back because I love being on the water so I decided to go for it!
I will say it was a bit nerve wracking because the lake had lots of shallow parts that we had to avoid and it was full of floating debris. The area had had a lot of rain lately and there was a lot of debris that had been washed into the lake.
The water wasn’t that clear so we decided not to swim but all in all, we had a great day on the lake.
It was very peaceful and we only saw about 2-3 other boats on the water. We tried to find the Eagle’s nest that the owners had told us about but we didn’t have any luck.
After arriving back to the marina, we were ready for dinner. However, the restaurant staff told us they had closed early because the owner wanted to take them out on the boat as a thank you for working so hard.
We thought that was awesome of the owner to show his appreciation to his employees but that left us with no food except for the few snacks we had brought. The closest place to get food was 20 mins away in Carthage and we really didn’t want to have to drive anywhere.
Once the staff and owners knew we had no food and were going to be inconvenienced by the restaurant closing early, they told us they would make us a to go box. They came out of the restaurant with 2 bags full of food and said, “it’s on the house”!
Now that is what I call customer service! I can’t say enough about how friendly and accommodating the staff and owners were at the Marina and I can promise you we will be back!
We headed back to our cabin to eat….we decided to eat at the picnic table beside our cabin..(each cabin has their own grill & picnic table). We opened the bags and they had given us 2 pork sandwiches, cornbread, 1 pint of potato salad, 1 pint of cole slaw, 2 slices of pecan pie and 2 sodas!
It was soooo good!
After we ate, we decided to walk around the property and check it out. We were literally the only ones around!
Here’s that awesome swing set beside the restaurant …I am now trying to talk my hubby into building me one just like it!
Just look at that view!!
I loved the random chairs sitting around the property that were facing the water
Another, absolutely gorgeous sunset!
The marina lit up at night
After a long day & late night, we headed to bed.
The next morning I woke up before my sister…I made me a cup of coffee and headed to the front porch in one of the most luxurious robes I’ve ever worn…each cabin is supplied with 2 robes..They actually sell these at the Marina!! I wanted one so bad but refrained from spending the extra money.
The mornings on the water start out foggy….slowly, the fog clears to reveal a beautiful view of the water and treed hillsides.
After our coffee, we packed up. Sadly, we had to check out and head home…but before we did, we walked around and took a few more pics of this beautiful, peaceful place.
Our cabin
The store at the Marina…they serve coffee, muffins, soft serve ice cream, sodas and other snacks.
The restaurant…they have indoor and outdoor seating
After checking out, we decided to make a day of it since we were so close to home. On our drive, we passed through lots of small towns of historical significance.
I will include our stops in a different blog post to keep this one from being so long.
Make sure to visit the Marina and the small town of Granville if you are ever in the area…I promise you will love it! 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Read Day 2 here