Making the Most of Fall: Part 2, Saturday in Michigan

Hiking trail in Fort Custer State Recreation Area, Augusta, MI

Okay, so yesterday = perfect Saturday in fall. We left Chicago and drove on back roads through southern Michigan from Sawyer to Berrien Springs to Dowagiac to Three Rivers and finally up to Battle Creek. The day was blustery and the leaf color perfect. I did not realize the extent of the scenic rolling farm country in southern Michigan. Really lovely. We finally made it to Arcadia Ales Restaurant/Pub in Battle Creek for a late lunch. They have a favorite brew of ours - the Loch Down Scotch Ale. They specialize in barbecue: pork, beef brisket, and chicken, and they make their own sauces - very tasty. After a great lunch and good conversation, we took at 20 minute roller blading jaunt on a piece of Battle Creek Linear Park. Probably better for biking. The segments cross roads and require using sidewalks or the road a little too frequently to be great for blading. So, we journeyed on to Fort Custer Recreation Area. A little bit of an odd place. There were ROTC members doing training exercises and lots of camo. It reminded me of an interesting encounter with army jeeps in West Virginia one time.... So, we found another trail in a different part of the park and took a 1.5 hour hike that ended after dark, not intentional, but night hiking is actually kind of fun. The evening ended with a tasty dinner at Water Street Coffee Joint and the BEST Carbon Leaf show we've ever seen at Bell's Brewery's Eccentric Cafe. The crowd was awesome and enthusiastic, and the band sounded incredible. Pretty much a perfect day.

Making the Most of Fall: Part 1, Weekend in Wisconsin

Susan at Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI

Fall Color Views from Lake Geneva Boat Tour, Lake Geneva, WI

Mom and Dad made it back to the Great Lakes region in October, and we ventured north to Wisconsin. With fried cheese curds and great beer (Oktoberfests and Scotch ales), how could it have been anything but a wonderful weekend? Other highlights included brunch at Honeypie in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Art Museum's closing and opening of the Burke Brise Soleil, "wings," a stop by the Frank Lloyd Wright home at 2714 West Burnham in Milwaukee, stops at the Delafield Brewhaus and Sprecher's Pub, and of course the Full Lake Boat Tour with the Lake Geneva Cruise Line. A fantastic fall weekend!

Late Summer Vacation - near Wawa, Ontario

Susan & Frank and Lake Superior at Rock Island Lodge

Susan & Frank at Old Woman Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario



Canoe view on the Michipicoten River, near Wawa, Ontario

Sand River, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario

Frank and the Agawa Pictographs, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario

We took a great late summer vacation back to the Charlevoix, MI, area (lots of rollerblading and beach time) and then headed north to Wawa, Ontario for three days in and around Lake Superior Provincial Park. For all the photos, check out http://fordam.shutterfly.com/2604.

Highlights include:

• rollerblading (Leelanau Trail and Little Traverse Wheelway - 4 different excursions)
• lunch and wine tasting at Black Star Farms near Suttons Bay, MI
• beach time with family on Lake Charlevoix
• dinner overlooking Lake Michigan at Legs Inn, Cross Village, MI
• crazy fog and a red moon on the Upper Peninsula between St. Ignace and Sault St. Marie
• hiking three trails and viewing the Agawa Pictographs in Lake Superior Provincial Park
• delicious meals, interesting company, and spectacular views at Rock Island Lodge on the shores of Lake Superior
• canoe trip on the Michipicoten River, which included spawning salmon, many bald eagles, and a rescue of Frank's Adirondacks hat from the choppy waves (This was, by far, our most challenging canoe with the wind blowing directly at us for much of the trip. On the final push to the Lodge, we had to walk the canoe along the shore and thought we might not make it as we paddled hard and gained no ground. Our Canadian host was not concerned about us at all....)
• Shorts Brewery food (finally cool enough for their soup and mac & cheese) and beers: chocolate wheat porter and bourbon barrel double IPA
• scenic driving along the Lake Michigan coast from Leland to Manistee

Photos of Summer

Susan's birthday dinner at City Provisions, Chicago with Frank and Lucy

Little Traverse Bay view just south of Petoskey, MI

Chateau Chantal Winery views, Old Mission Peninsula, Traverse City, MI

Chateau Chantal Winery views, Old Mission Peninsula, Traverse City, MI

Spring Views in Chicago



Grant Park

Lurie Gardens

Art Insitute Garden

Foodie Weekend

April 13-16, I headed to Reston, VA, to spend the weekend with my sister. We had quite the foodie weekend. Here's how it went down!

Saturday started with a visit to the Bayou Bakery in Arlington, VA: beignets and chicory coffee - delicious. For lunch, we visited the Eden Center, aka Little Vietnam. Two groups of people waxed poetic about Huong Viet Restaurant, so we picked up some food to go. For dinner, we had shopped at the Arlington farmers' market and got a local variety of mushrooms, mozzarella, and ramps. We made a fantastic cream sauce for a pasta dinner extraordinaire.

On Sunday, we headed out west to Leesburg, VA, and a second visit to Fire Works Pizza. Not only do they have great pizza, they have wonderful beer on tap - most of it pretty local. I had a really tasty milk sweet stout from Williamsburg AleWerks Microbrewery called Cafe Royale. Afterwards, we spent a lovely Sunday afternoon out on the patio at Hillsborough Vineyards in Purcellville, VA.

Lots of good food and great conversation - I couldn't have asked for a better time!

Spring in Chicagoland

Views at Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL

Susan & Frank at Morton Arboretum

Tulips at Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL

We headed out west on a beautiful Easter Sunday to Lisle, IL, and the Morton Arboretum. They have expansive and pleasant hiking trails, though both the Chicago Botanic Gardens and Arboretum share a fair amount of highway noise and office park views, which are a little bizarre. Nevertheless, well worth a visit! (See pictures!) Saturday handed us our first roller blading excursion of the season - along the Lake Shore path. All in all a tremendous outdoorsy weekend!

My Favorite Mountains

View of French Broad River and Great Smoky Mountains,
Paint Mountain and Chimney Rocks Trails,
Cherokee National Forest, TN

On Thursday, March 8 Frank and I headed down to Tennessee to see family. Dad took us first to the Tomato Head - their Maryville location. I remember so fondly their pizza with pesto drizzled on top, and it did not disappoint!

Our visit also included a trip to the mountains for a 6 mile loop trail, referenced in the photo. Afterwards, we headed to Hot Springs Resort and Spa in Hot Springs, NC, and enjoyed an hour soaking in the hot springs. After some fantastic relaxation, we headed into Asheville and met my cousin at the Thirsty Monk for some local beer sampling. Frank enjoyed a couple of Legend (VA) brews; Meredith had an Asheville Brewing Company Fire Escape (a beer with jalapeno); and I sampled Pisgah Brewing Company's Red Devil. With dinner, Meredith persuaded me to try Highland Brewing Company's Oatmeal Porter. All really good, and when we ended up at the Grey Eagle for the concert, even they had great beer. I was beered out at that point, but it was nice to know that you could have good beer at a show. Not too easy in Chicago.

On Saturday, back to the mountains to Gatlinburg. The town was mobbed, but we managed to make it to Calhouns and sampled Smoky Mountain Brewery's Tuckaleechee porter, Black Beer brown ale, and Velas Helles (light German lager). After lunch, we explored the Roaring Fork Nature Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

On Sunday we had a fantastic brunch with my parents, grandmother, and aunt and uncle. On the menu: biscuits, muffins, stuffed 'shrooms, deviled (dressed) eggs, frittata, sausage, and country ham. Yum!

Last Snow?

Zillmer, North Unit, Kettle Moraine State Forest

Susan and Frank at Palmquist Farm cross country ski trails, Brantwood, WI

Frank on the River Run Trail at Minocqua Winter Park, Minocqua, WI

Over the weekend of February 25-26, our friends Todd & Kathleen came for a visit. We had orginally planned to ski, but when all the snow melted, we opted for a urban hike and beer crawl. We walked 4.5 miles, including a tour of Humboldt Park and sampled great beers at Piece, the Map Room, and Small Bar. A great way to spend a Saturday!

This week - the beginning of March - saw some snow in southern Wisconsin and a lot in northern Wisconsin. We had hoped to find great skiing within 2-3 hours of Chicago, so we started at Zillmer in the North Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Saturday morning was beautiful, but the snow was not as good as we'd hoped. After a 1.8 mile loop, we got back in the car and headed north toward Minocqua. Since it was a race day at the Minocqua Winter Park, we stopped at Palmquist Farm and enjoyed their trails for 2 hours. Gently rolling in several sections, the ride envoked a "Wheee..." from me. Today - Sunday - we got to the Winter Park at 9am and made our way to the 10K River Run Trail. It took us just under 2.5 hours. Beautiful, but also a bit long and tiring. Well worth it, though!

Skiing in the UP (and Minocqua, WI)

We left on Saturday, February 11, for Bessemer, MI. We stopped for lunch at the Red Eye Brewing Company in Wausau, WI, and had their Scottish Ale and Imperial Stout. Tasty.

We skiied 13.5 kilometers on Sunday at ABR trails near Ironwood, MI. On Monday we got in a couple hours at Minocqua Winter Park in Minocqua, WI. The best skiing all year! Views from skiing and our weekend below.

The sunrise view from Black River Crossing B&B, near Bessemer, MI

River view from Sunrise Loop, ABR trails, near Ironwood, MI

Susan and Frank, Little Girl's Point, Lake Superior, MI