Making the Most of Fall, Part 3 and Winter Begins, Part 1

Friday: After a good drive of clearing skies and nice leaf color, we arrived in Davis/Canaan Valley. Met Todd and Kathleen for the traditional dinner at Hellbender Burrito (delicious!), and welcomed Kate and Tristan later that evening.

Saturday: Misty and foggy, but dry. We headed up to the ridge on the edge of Dolly Sods National Wilderness area. The crew hiked about 3.5 miles, ending up with some cairn art and rock throwing, which sadly led to the demise of Tristan’s lego man. Alas. Back at the house, we carved pumpkins, toasted seeds (shaking salt, shaking salt, shaking salt…), danced to The Killers (yes, there’s a video), and welcomed Sam to the party.

 

Sunday brought the rain, but we were ready. The ubers headed back up to the ridge for an 8 mile loop. The evening brought hot showers, a farewell to Sam (just before the snow too L), and Mary Kay’s first viewing of The Princess Bride.

Monday: snow! The forecast said it would snow until 11am and then turn to rain. Well, it didn’t turn to rain, and it never stopped snowing for 4 days. My mom, who emailed me about 2 feet of snow BEFORE we left has requested a cross stitch piece from me that says, “You were right.” I think there should be snowflakes as accents. To be fair, we did think about leaving, but Hurricane Sandy blocked the path of the rest of the crew back to Baltimore, so we took a long walk along the snowy roads of Timberline. Afterwards, Todd and Frank went into town for the beloved Sirianni’s pizza. The ladies stayed at Mile Failte and watched Dirty Dancing…all of Dirty Dancing and no Frank and Todd…. They called to let us know they’d been delayed because of an accident on Rt. 32. By the time the road opened, snow chains were necessary for driving, and when they got to the gate house at Timberline, the guard helpfully suggested, “…you’re going to Mountainside 183…you might make it.” Fortunately, they did make it, and we had a cozy and warm night with pizza and a fire, a first viewing of Star Wars Episode IV for Mary Kay, and it kept snowing….

Tuesday: Still snowing and now no internet; Mary Kay and Kathleen cooked and baked everything we’d brought in anticipation of losing power, which happened around 12 noon while the crew was out sledding. Luckily over the next 46 hours, we had running water, a gas stove that could be lit to heat up food, plenty of snow for keeping food cold, a landline to receive calls (thanks to all family and colleagues who called!), and a well-insulated house built for winter with a great fireplace and plenty of wood.

Wednesday: Still snowing. We thought Wednesday might be our day to leave until the rental agency let us know that the governor of West Virginia had declared a state of emergency until 6pm. The plows had run out of gas, and the gas stations had lost power. The plow guy for Mile Failte could not be located. The forecast showed continuing snow turning to rain and ice later in the week. The roads in Timberline were plowed, so we needed to shovel our 40 yard driveway. No problem. Four hours, 5 adults, 2 adult shovels, and 1 kiddie shovel = ~12 “man” hours. Whew. During our Halloween dinner, we lit up our jack-o-lantern, carved by Frank, and had the equivalent of 1 slice of pizza each with pepper slices for dinner. Fortunately, there was still wine and beer!

Thursday: Still snowing and Departure Day aka Day 7 of a 4-day vacation. With our Timberline road clear, we did some final shoveling, packed and organized, and got all three cars out of the Mile Failte driveway and up and off the Timberline roads. Go team! The road was still pretty dicey for several hours, and then pretty suddenly and remarkably, the snow disappeared. Quite an adventure. Check out more photos here.

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!