Date in Kalamazoo

My mom has continued her gift of a monthly overnight get away for us, and this month was Kalamazoo. We had been to Kalamazoo before, by train, but did not have an opportunity to spend the night, so we went back and explored a different area this time (and visited places we couldn't last time.)

We stayed at a local renown bed an breakfast, called the Kalamazoo House.  We arrived before the 3pm check-in, but we were able to park our car and explore a bit.

Billy in line with the statues.

 

We were right next to an art museum, but did not take the time to go in.  We did appreciate the art installments out of doors though. 

We decided to give Hop Cat a 4th chance.  It was a decent walk, and when we arrived, wouldn't you know the doors were locked!  (Disappointed again)  Luckily, they opened at 3, and it was 2:58.  So, not being wimps, we stood out in the sun, on the step (we passed many a running car, with passengers waiting in the the air-conditioning in the parking lot) and as such, were the first ones in the door!

As for the meal, well, I was pleasantly surprised.  They had everything we ordered, and all of it was good!

We stopped by a place called Shakespeare's Pub.  They had dozens of beers on tap, and thousands of handles (including Shiner!) on the ceiling.  Sadly, they didn't have any "themed" menus or drinks, which is was I was wanting, so we only stayed for a drink or two, then headed back to the B&B.

A fountain that wasn't on, when we visited that November, was being visited by 2 ducks on this trip!

We went back to our home base and checked in.

Then we headed to the main event: an outdoor concert at the State Theater!

They did have themed drinks, and a free donut to to with them!

We stayed there for a couple of hours, the harmonica sealed the deal.  It was just like being out in New Orleans.  In fact, downtown Kalamazoo has an open container policy within a certain boundary!

We had an 8pm reservation at the steakhouse that we had missed out on, during our previous trip.  It was good food, and very good service, but Webster's' a very upscale hotel restaurant, not an independent find dining establishment.  

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The next morning, we enjoyed our breakfast on the porch of the B&B.  The weather was so humid and warm, it was like visiting Brennans's!

After eavesdropping on our neighboring table's discussion, we headed to the Kalamazoo farmer's market.  It was a little smaller (and less permanent) than the Toledo market, but we spent all the cash we had!

I had spied a Sonic cup the night before, and so we sought out the local sonic that was not too far away.

We wound our way back home on the backroads.  When we spotted another "village" we had to go check it out. It had a railroad instead of our lovely river, and not much in the way of shopping.  We agreed that Dimondale is much better. ; )

We were almost directly north of Battle Creek when Billy suggested we go back to the lake restaurant we'd seen driving into town (also on the backroads.)   We were about 30 minutes out of the way, but we made our way back to Gull Lake.

The food was good, the drinks were better, the company was the best. ; )

The pink drink was a pontoon punch, and the green one is a riptide (it was the best of what I tried, though I expected it to be blue.)

We enjoyed seeing all the sights and the beautiful countryside.  Michigan sure is green in the summer, almost green enough to make you forget about the horribleness that is winter, almost.

Grace's friend Zoey had given her a sloth in a package that she brought by, and it was waiting to say hi on my window sill when we arrived home.

We had a lovely, lovely time.  Billy is ready to go back, I still have too much of Michigan left to explore, but I'm sure we'll be back someday!

later days

April 28th, 46th Day of Quarantine, School at Home, Day 25

The expected high today was a sunny 70F.  This is not super warm by any means, but after last week's wretched weather, it is perfection!

Today we knocked out an easy art activity.  Each layer of the folded paper towel has a design (usually it works together) and when you drop it in water the layers merge!  So easy for the kids to do on their own and really easy clean up!

The birds are out in full force now, especially with the warmest day we've had so far this year, so Emily dug out a birdhouse that she made a few years ago.

Then they tried to find a place to hang it.  Naturally william went in a tree.

William chose to do some of his reading time outside today, since it was such a sunny day.

But getting to work after a long day of avoiding work is tough!

Once everyone finished their work, I finally got to go sit outside and get some sun on my feet!  Our strawberry plants (that we planted yesterday) still haven't produced any strawberries. lol.

Billy and I got to sit out a little before dinner and a little while after dinner (until the mosquitoes crashed the party) for the first time!  It was nice, and the sidewalks were not nearly as busy as I thought they would be.

For dinner we had tikka masala, and everyone liked it!  What?!

I felt the best I've felt in a long time, after getting some time in the sun. We even slept with the windows open!

Now, they are calling for rain for the next three days, and with it comes another cool down. = (

later days

April 14th, 32nd day of Quarantine, 16th day of School at Home

The high today was only 38F.  It is so cold. I'm so tired of being cold.

We had school at home again this morning.

Emily had a Zoom with her class this afternoon.

Our patio furniture finally arrived!  We put it together inside, since it is sooooooo incredibly cold outside.  Our trashcan is filled to the brim with chopped up bench and now cardboard.

Speaking of cardboard, the kids are loving the big box the set arrived in:

For dinner we had sliced brisket sandwiches.  They were okay, but William ate really well, so we will be having them again. = )

It was a pretty slow day, just like the week so far.  Looking forward to the weekend, even though our plans to have the Galvas' over has been cancelled.  What a year.

later days

More Summer Chores

I was working on my list of Summer Chores, though admittedly, the past two weeks I've not made any progress.

But, when I was still knocking things off of my list, I painted the bathroom!  

The paint looks good now, the trim not so much.  That is certainly a task for another day year though.

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The siding on our front poarch was looking very dirty.  I grabbed a bucket of water, a ladder and some rags.  It was not a diffuclt task.  I even had some helpers.

Juliet only lasted until she saw a spider.  Emily and Grace helped me a little longer than that.

No one else even noticed, but I see a remarkable difference.  Something that still bothers me is some ancient sticky string(?) that is on a few panels.  I've tried soaking it, goo gone, nail polish and scrubbing bubbles to no avail. Next up is vinegar, and then toilet bowl cleaner, when it bothers me enough.

Soaking it:

The final completed chore was washing the shower curtain and cleaning a heater for the bathroom.

I see the improvement in both, though I realize I may be alone. = )

Hopefully I will have time to do at least one more before the kids head back to school.  But I may want to wait on some of them, so that the kids are back in school?

later days