Lansing Date

When my mom offered us a monthly date night, we opted to stay in Lansing.  Since we just drove down to Indiana and back within 24 hours, and then Billy worked a full week, it was nice to be staying nearby.

The Lugnuts were playing against the Great Lakes Loons, at 7pm.  When we planned it out, we decided to get dinner before the game, since our covid leery world has things closing down earlier.

We stayed at the Radisson, which has a great setup, but Michigan is still partially closed, so many of the amenities had not yet reopened. The skywalk from the parking garage was closed.  This isn't the worst news, but it was sad, since we had our coldest day in weeks (coming it at a high of 48F!)

We had a lovely view of the river from our room.

Our reservation was at 5, and we were right on time.  

Billy deliberating over the menu.

Billy ordered a Corpse Reviver that had a very citrusy finish, and I ordered a Bordeaux.  It was a nice smooth red wine.

We split a wedge salad, which is Billy's favorite. I thought it was really good, Billy didn't like it as much.  For our appetizer I wanted to order the bone marrow.  I had seen it when we previewed their menu, and had never ordered it (or seen it offered in my memory.)  

I looked up what it was and how to eat it.  So, you scoop out the meaty bit and spread it on the bread, then add the leafy green on top.  It was pretty good, I ate two breads worth.  Once you have the bone cleaned out, it makes a natural luge to do a shot of whiskey!  That part was really greasy and messy, but super fun.  

Our waiter said he'd never had a customer do it, and in reality, he had probably never heard of it, but was very supportive.  Not being much of a shot taker, or whiskey drinker, I had plenty left for Billy to try it too!  He agreed that it helped take the 'bite' out of the shot.  The rest of the shot I had mixed with coffee for dessert. lol.

We ordered the filet mignon to split.  It was so so so good.  One of the best steaks I'd ever had, if not the best.  It almost melted in my mouth.  So so good.  We ordered asparagus and fries as the sides, but over ordered to the point I couldn't even finish my portion!

Despite being crazy full, there is always room for dessert!  We got the beignets with blueberry, chocolate and caramel sauce.  They were huge!  But oh so good.  I didn't have much in the way of expectations, but Bowdies blew them out of the water.  Everything was delicious, beautifully served and excellent service.  5/7* would recommend.

As we made our way to the stadium, we spied the world's largest lugnut!

Once we got to the stadium, I realized that I had forgotten the printed tickets, though we were able to pull them up on my phone.  Then, I learned that we couldn't bring the food into the stadium!  So, I trekked back to the hotel, put away the food, and almost forgot the tickets again!

I only missed one inning, and since no scoring happened, I didn't actually miss much. We were up in the clubhouse, which gave us a free food, access to a private bar, and indoor seating!  The temperature was dropping, so we were quite thankful for our warm seats.

Big lug even came to visit!

The game was low scoring 2-4, we lost. = (  We left a little early, but had a nice conversation with the ticket checker.

Our next stop was the nuthouse.  We'd driven by many, many times, but never been.  We made it in the door, but sadly, they were closed! = (

So, we bounced down the street to Tin Can, which was the bar we were denied in East Lansing, so we were happy to try them this time.

We played beer pong (my first time!) but the cups were full of water.  Then we played doubles with some kids, but their rules were different than the movies (and whatever Billy had played.)

At 11 they closed up for the night, so we headed back to the hotel (a late night for us old folks!)

I do love the view of the capital.

The night view from our room.

The next morning, the restaurant has not been reopened, so they have a list of items that you can choose.  It was not the best substitute for the free hot breakfast that I was anticipating, and I would have chosen a different room rate had I known that the restaurant was not in operation. = (

We forgot to leave a set of keys** with my mom, so we made a quick trip home to drop off keys, food, and luggage.  Then, we continued our date with a trip to the Lansing mall.  It has many closed stores, but we enjoyed in-person browsing at the ones still open.  

We started our Christmas shopping, but found an adorable bag with all the named constellations for Emily.  Since it tied back into our curriculum, I didn't want to wait to give it to her, when it would have less meaning.  So, we scrambled to find something for Juliet, which turned out to be a 'blind bag' from Claire's.  I hoped that she would just love at least one thing, and she loved almost all the things!  Alice got a cat ramen bowl, William a Scooby Doo Pez dispenser, and Grace a collection of Hello kitty jewelry and hair pieces. = )

For the first time ever, my Kroger order was not ready during my window, and was pushed back an hour!  Since we had time to kill, we went to get Billy's car washed.  We were early for the next window at Kroger, but they had it ready at 3:45, so we picked it up and headed home!

Putting away the groceries and unpacking simultaneously is not my favorite, but adding on the gifts that had packaging that added to the mess was not my favorite.  Next time I'll have to plan it better. = )

With the warmer weather came the sun, and even in the cold we had a great time!  So happy to spend all of my dates with my favorite!

later days

*there is a wild internet meme that I sincerely hope is a real exchange.  It is a troll on someone's facebook page that the user comments that a movie was "perfect" and then later rates it a "5/7."  The troll then brings this up multiple times on other posts, and it is super memorable.  In this case, I would rate them 10/10: change nothing. 

**there was a rummage sale at JLC that my mom took all 5 to!  She said that only William and Grace found a treasure.

Lugnuts Game

Each year, Billy's company treats all of their employees to a baseball game in lieu of a company picnic.  

We arrived just before the gates opened, but were inside enjoying the activities quickly!

While we were eating a major storm system* passed through.  Poor Alice shut down.  A very sweet employee went out of her way to find Alice comfort in the form an ice pack.  There was no thunder or lightning just heavy winds and light rain.

Once we finished our meal, we went to stand in line for the balloon animals and face painting.

The night's theme was a tribute to ___________ and they even had a firebird drive around the field!

When we finished in the balloon line we stood in another line for face painting.

William's balloon snake was attacking me!

They uncovered the field and started to warm up.  This was about as much of the game as our children watched.

When everyone was finished, we stopped by a kiosk for a new hat for next year, and then headed home to wait for Emily.

It's always a fun time, even with a little bit of rain.

later days

*this system kept Avia, Coyt, Cali and Emily at the Detroit airport for 8 hours!

Lugnuts, round 2!

Since my mom did not get to join us for our first Lugnuts game, when the opportunity arose for us to attend with her church group, she hooked us all up with tickets!

We were able to enjoy some of the items we bought last time, and sport the lugnuts shirts* that I had collected in the spring. = )

We spent some time on the playground, but the sun was bright in the afternoon heat, and by the 4th inning, some of us were ready to go:

But, as it was a kids day, after the game, they allowed the kids to run the bases, so Alice and Emily wanted to stay for that.  It still felt like a long wait to them I'm sure.

It was a close game, and made sweeter by the win the Lugnuts pulled off!

On the field to run the bases after the game:

We made a beeline home after the game, but sure did have a good time!  (and cooled off when the clouds rolled in.)

go nuts!

later days

*so, when we were unloading in the parking lot, I thought alice's shorts were awfully short (couldn't even see them under her shirt.)  It turns out, she did not put on any pants. at all.  had we been in my car, this would not have been a big deal.  I have extra clothes to some degree for everyone, but since we are out and about in billy's car, I have fewer emergency items on hand.  I found one pair of pant-like things for her.  they were better than nothing, but barely.  (I did ask alice if I could include this in my blog, because I want to be able to look back and laugh in a few years.)

Lugnuts Game

Billy's company "picnic" is a baseball game each summer.  So, he and my sister signed up a few months ago, so that we could have a fun family outing!

The gates opened at 4, and the game was due to start at 7:30, but lots of the activities ended at 8, so we got there pretty close to 4.

A random person wanted in the picture.  The kids thought that was pretty funny.  Even hidden Grace.

Our first stop was dinner, which was served up cafeteria style.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, bratwurst, and bbq chicken were on the menu.

The next stop was to hang out in the face painting line.  Luckily, I reviewed the material while we were waiting and realized that we needed socks for the inflatables.  I had plenty of time to run out to the car and make it back before it was their turn.

Our first round on the inflatables was short lived.  They put out a take shelter warning, so the lines disappeared, as everyone took cover.

We took the opportunity to grab dessert (chocolate chip cookies) and Alice had another plate of grow food.

The waring expired, and we took the time to visit the gift shop, where we ran into William's friend Nick, and his family.   After everyone picked out souvenirs, we headed back to the inflatables, but they were shut down because of the rain.  The kids had fun on the playground, until Billy and I were just too wet and cold.

We headed over to the balloon line, which was long, despite the light rain.  It was a long wet wait, and when we were just a few from the front, they announced that at 8pm they were packing up.  I think we were the next to last ones who received balloons. = )

The rain delay was over around 8, and they started setting up for the game as the rain cleared.  We found some rather wet seats, and settled in for the first pitch at 8:30.

It was stranger things theme night, so there were all sorts of nods to the show.

Alice and William were both ready to go, but I wanted to at least see part of the game!  We did finally leave half way through the fourth inning.  It wasn't completely dark yet, which made crossing the road just a tad safer.

It was a really nice day.  Looking forward to next year already!

later days