Highlights of the trip UP NORTH

By the time we all cleared our schedules and decided to head north for the weekend, every room in a 50-mile radius of Traverse City was booked! After much frustration, I booked an old-style motel in the boonies, the very last room left under $350--which will forever be referred to as "The Bates Hotel." Arriving late, we first noticed that the window on our second floor room had no lock.The screen fell out and we could not put it back in. O called the office but the phone didn't work. ooOOooo. She asked if there was another room perchance, but the answer was no, so she got a piece of a yardstick from the office, sawed it to length with a garden tool from the car, and sort of secured the window. I suggested that everyone leave their shoes on, just in case, you know--cooties.

The beds weren't terrible...mine was too hard, but I am a princess! I watched Larry David do Bernie Sanders from the Democrat debate, on SNL, and tried to stifle my laughter so as to not disturb my sleepy roommates. Eventually I fell asleep in spite of my old hip bones.

In the morning we awoke to SNOW! We took a little tour on our way to breakfast in Traverse City and found some charm in the colorful trees, now transformed by snow.

But let me start from the beginning...

This trip was as much about beer (Discovery Tour 2015) as beauty! We have beauty back in lower West Michigan. The trees where I garden at Uncle J's place are as stunning as any! But the lake views were great--and catching the sunset at Sleeping Bear Dunes was a bonus. And once again ... the CLOUDS!

Our first stop was Newaygo Brewing Co., for lunch and a flight. Then we headed towards the lake and scenic highway 22. We stopped briefly at Arcadia Bluffs Golf Course to see the beautiful greens and club there--right on Lake Michigan.

Scenes along the way reflected the changing colors and the harvest season. We bought some golden delicious here, 7 apples for $2. They had good flavor but were too soft for my taste.

We stopped twice at overlooks before arriving at the big dunes that are part of the Legend of Sleeping Bear. One view is at the top of this post. The big lake (or as the husband calls it--the great flatness) is always gorgeous:

And then, sunset at the dunes:

Apparently one is not allowed to go up and down the dunes here (not that we were even thinking about it!)

It was windy and chilly after the sun went down. We hurried back to our warm car, soon winding through dark unknown roads, trusting Google's guidance. I had reviewed brewery/food options on the way and we were headed towards Mackinaw Brewing Co. in downtown Traverse City.

In the morning, after a little shopping in Traverse City, we had brunch at The Franklin, which was a lovely restaurant where we dined in style on the second floor, ordering "bloodies" (I had the beer option, naturally--a Michelada) and the works. The crispy hash browns with in-house ketchup and the French toast which was a delicious fried apple cinnamon bread with caramel, dusted with powdered sugar and accompanied by maple whipped cream and optionally slathered with butter and maple syrup were both exceptional. My frittata with broccoli was healthier but a bit dry. I won't include my food photos because they are okay but not great. I actually ordered a beet side salad (because I had just read how healthy beets are, but mostly because they can be beautiful to photograph!). They were a little disappointing, maybe because I had the option of sharing J's delicious apple bread French toast.

Okay ...  here are the beets!! For full effect, enlarge the photo of my beautiful, healthy choice!

And okay ... I will include the photo of the half-eaten stack of French toast, oozing with gooey goodness!

We drove through another golf resort that J. was familiar with. I took a photo of the course that was designed by the great Bear himself,  in order to message it to the husband--but it was also scenic. The snow had not reached the Traverse area and the weather was partly sunny and warming.

It was a bit of a trek to Bellaire and Short's Brewing Co., especially since for awhile we had google maps set to their brewery location and not their downtown brew pub. Shorts's has been on J.'s beer bucket list for a long time!

On the way we circled beautiful Torch Lake and on the way back, after sampling at least 9 mostly mediocre brews, we found Michigan's own Stonehenge! This was private property--but no forbidding signage. This is the photo google's "assistant" made for me! Look at the clouds!

A Smile has Faded on Earth

October 22, 2015 

Yesterday I was pulling out some of the frosted and browned annuals in the church garden. I took one final photo of the smiling begonia face. The bottom of the face was tinged with frost while the eyes, protected under the canopy of the coralburst crab tree were still white and bright.

There were no cars in the lot and no school. I was working alone. No other volunteers were available on this bright Thursday morning. It was unusually peaceful. It was with a tinge of sadness that I pulled out the remaining bounce impatiens that had succumbed to the weekend frost. It was a brief frost, not touching the geraniums, salvia, or roses and of course, not touching the bright faces of the winter-hardy pansies that I had planted a few week ago.

I usually don't have my big-ish smart phone in my pocket while I work, but as I was snapping one last shot of the gardens before the final pull-out next week, I received a call from the husband. His mother had passed on. The day before her 97th birthday! Some said it was her gift. She no longer cared--or had the energy--to struggle for life in this world, knowing there was a better place waiting, and longing desperately (pleading daily with her heavenly father) for entrance into the promised glory of heaven, which she believed in so completely.

The smile on Rose's face may have faded forever here on earth, but you can believe her beaming smile will never diminish again--now shining in a place where neither moth nor rust (or frost!) can corrupt.

Discovery Tour 2015 - Final Fall Months

October 17-18

Even as our fair fall weather is fast fleeting, the final flights of the "Discovery Tour" will likely be few and far between, with a certain end date before Christmas, when winter officially begins.

But, a trip Up North provided us with an opportunity to get three more Michigan breweries "under our belts" in this our year-long immersion into Michigan-crafted beer.

Before our 2-day trip I found (happily!) my yoga pants in the closet--which were totally comfortable (un-belted) for all we did on this trip (which was mostly sitting in the car exclaiming "Oh, look at those clouds!"), as well as warm enough to stand up to an overnight snowfall.

Lunch in Newaygo included a sampling from the 13 brews and 2 ciders available at Newaygo Brewing Co.

Irish Dry Stout 4.25% 26 IBU, Kristal Wheat 5% 15 IBU, R.W. Bentley Coconut Brown 5.2% 24 IBU, Peach Blonde Ale 4.9% 22 IBU

This was a very modest, low alcohol flight, 4 tastes for $8 plus an upcharge for the peach and apricot ale. The wait for food was horrendous, but delayed our trip enough that we arrived at Sleeping Bear Dunes just in time for a gorgeous sunset! These brews were all quite quaffable, the Brown heavy on coconut while the Kristal Wheat ale with Michigan maple syrup left me wanting a little more flavor.

Next stop was Mackinaw Brewing Co. in Traverse City. Three of us again shared tastes and chose two to drink.

They featured flights of six here. Their website showed a flight board, but none was available. Losers! They were out of the Oatmeal Stout and the Belgian Whitecap. Losers! So these brews were G.T. Golden, penninsular pale ale, Red 8 ale, some kind of seasonal or Octoberfest, West Bay IPA, and a cider.

I was too busy with a shared Caesar Salad and Reuben sandwich to take tasting notes, and no information was available on the flight sheet, so there was nothing very interesting to note here. Too bad there was not one dark beer available. And, well--I volunteered to drink the IPA. Our server was great and the food tasty. The place was busy and loud (we waited for more than a half hour for a table) on a Saturday night when every single room in the Traverse area was taken. (We had to sleep in the boonies--don't ask!)

Next stop, after Sunday brunch (with a bloody or two) in Traverse City, was Bellaire, where we checked out the well-established Short's Brewing Co.

Too many samples here to list in order. We had one cider, Starcut Ciders Here Comes the Fuzz, described as wine-like, acidic, ("initial sweet and sour peach flavors intensely smack the palate"). It did finish fairly sweet and clean. J. thought it was just awful (fermented and/or rotten peaches!) but O. was able to appreciate it.

The others were Black Cherry Porter, The Magician, Chocolate Wheat, Autumn Ale, Kind Ale, Kolsch 45, Pontius Road Pilsner, Local's. It appears we marked two Autumn Ales on our sheets, so only 9 different pours here.

The Black Cherry Porter was a tad better as it warmed and I agreed to drink it, but it was a disappointing just-bottled brew. My notes referenced heavily roasted, peaty, and shitty. The Local's was a 4% brew that J thought smelled like urine. The Autumn Ale was nice, the Chocolate Wheat Porter was very good, the Magician was also decent, but the maizey Pontius pilsner (we called it Pontius Pilate) was too bitter and the fresh-hopped Kind Ale was awful--my notes referenced yucky!

They also have a store down the street where we browsed and were offered two small samples while we waited for a table. No food here--we were still full from brunch in downtown Traverse City.

10-20-15
Bell's Brewery - Kalamazoo

An impromptu Tuesday evening excursion led us to within miles of Kalamazoo, so J. and I decided to visit the well-known Bell's Brewery and eat in their very spacious Eclectic Cafe.

We carefully chose a modest single flight of four brews from an impressive tap list. And they were very good. These are often available locally in bottles and I have had a bottled brown a time or two.

Harvest, Kalamazoo Stout, Amber and Best Brown

12-10-15
Elk Brewing Co. Grand Rapids

Wow. It's been a long time since all three brewsketeers were able to get together for some more beer adventures.

We finally made it to Elk Brewing and had a flight of 5 for $8. They opened in May of 2014 and developed their outdoor space very recently, but the picnic tables were now packed away for the season. We skipped the IPA's on the board of at least 17 choices. We picked a Red Ale 5.9% which was pretty smooth and just okay, but the Oatmeal Stout 5.9% was very good, The Rowsters Coffee Porter 7.2% was very coffee forward with a strong coffee aroma so O. and I liked it. The other Porter 7.2% was a bit bland and the Horseshoe Brown 4.5%, an English style brown ale, was a little disappointing and a little bitter for our taste. The Horseshoe Brown is on tap at the Horseshoe Smokehouse that O. and I tried the following day, but we were there for the BBQ meat, not the beer--in the middle of the day. Anyway, at Elk Brewing we were in a hurry to get to the next brew pub for food, so perhaps we didn't give all these brews a chance to warm and breathe, but we managed to easily consume them all and quickly move on to:

Brewery Vivant (repeat!)

Two of us had been here before for a flight but we chose totally new stuff from this Cambier flight that was $12. We added another 5.5 oz. pour of Sentient Stout for $3 which was the best brew of the evening. I wanted to try the new Plow Horse, but I didn't pick the other brave choices. These are serious Belgian brews and not for the faint of heart or palate. One would think we would be better at this tasting stuff by now, but what was on our minds at this point in the evening (6:13) was primarily FOOD. So here is the Cambier flight, on a very nice flight board:

From right to left: Belfort (White Saison) 6.7%, Verdun (Biere de Garde) 8%, Vercingetorix (Brown Sugar Ale) 7.2%, Plow Horse (Belgian Style Imperial Stout 9.5%.

We shared a burger and a pastrami sandwich and some regular and garlic fries, all good. A bowl of in-house chocolate ice cream to finish was tasty, but the cranberries that were swirled in did not work very well.

The description for the dark Plow Horse: flavors of chocolate, molasses, stone fruits and a slight roastiness, malt dominated hops with a subtle sweetness. Should have been better--even with the high alcohol and thick blackness--would like one more shot at this one to make sure it was warmed enough for my taste.

The Sentient Stout (Belgian Stout) 6.25% which we added later was described as a roasty, rich, creamy stout and was just that.

The Biere de Garde (I have know idea) was described as big and powerful, rich and rustic. Apparently just a little too big and rich for us.

The Brown Sugar Ale was a winter ale brewed with dark crystal malts, brown sugar and MI grown Chinook Hops. I do wonder what the IBU is on this one.

The White Saison was a hop-forward farmhouse ale (I didn't pick it!) made with Hallertau Blanc hops which imparts a subtle white wine character.

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12-30-15
Cascade Winery/Jaden James Brewery

Wheat Ale 4.6% IBU 12, Rye Ale 7% IBU 73, Session IPA 3.7% IBU 34, Peanut Butter Porter 5.2% IBU 34, Russian Stout 9.5% IBU 35.6

On this beer flight event I was joined by the husband, who especially liked the Russian stout. The peanut butter porter was the peanutbutteryist I have had, and not in a bad way! The wheat ale went down easy and had citrus notes that I think the husband correctly identified to be grapefruit. The Rye at 73 IBU was a little bitter for our tender palates. The samples were well presented and were charged out at $1.42 each. I bought a couple bottles of their wine as well.



12-31-15
Bob's Brewery

Blondie (Golden Ale) 4.5% IBU 17, Crimson King (amber ale) 5.8% IBU 25 , Spaceboy Stout (English oatmeal stout) 6.0% IBU35, ? IPA and a sample of Peanut Butter Porter 6.6 % IBU 30, and Spooky Action IPA 8.5% IBU 90 (highly hopped--maybe a double, maybe a triple!)

This brewery in the basement of the B.O.B was a little dark and was set up for a New Year's crowd. J. and I sat at the bar on stools next to Steve, who had his beer passport filled and more. He has been to 153 Michigan breweries and said he has 35 to go! Steve knows everyone and every brewer in town, it seems. He was talking so much that I didn't focus on tasting notes, but once again, we liked the stout best, the Blondie was bland, and the mystery IPA a little too much. The brewmaster John was on hand and I complimented him on the Art Prize beer (Michigunder) that he had helped cook up. The price of the 4-brew flight (plus some samples) was $7 and we each threw a 5 on the counter. It was a fun last and last-minute end-of-the-beer-year experience. We left around 6 PM so I could get to church on time! The kitchen was closed, I think, and rather than order from one of the other restaurants, we saved our appetites for the festivities to follow later in the evening and sipped our samples without any cleansing snacks.

Our view of the tanks from the bar stools

I did not finish the Discovery Tour 2015 by the dawn of Winter as planned, but I snuck in the last brew samples on the penultimate eve and the eve of the New Year. It has been quite an adventure. I am going to stick with a few occasional favorites, but no more of those large palate-challenging flights next year! I think I am ready to move on from this year's craft brewery obsession! We are still thinking about a new challenge. Any thoughts?

Burrito by Ken

I was very distracted today and did not get to my "job" until about 4:30 PM.

I first thought I should mow my front lawn.

And then the first thing I did when I finally left the house ... I stopped for a burger.

And then I swung by Sevens to buy a gallon of paint--hopefully to paint the garage door next week when great October weather is predicted. I was shocked to have to pay $61.39 plus tax for a gallon of exterior pre-mixed white!

And then I noticed some maples had started to flame yellow.

And oh ... the October sky! I stopped to take some photos. (I am a bit obsessed with clouds of late).

I hope to include cloud references and photos whenever I can. (Better than the previously posted constant poop references, wouldn't you say?)

My main claim for the day is that I did successfully remove (tipped over and cut the roots and root ball) a Forest Pansy Redbud tree which had sadly lost all but one branch of its cute heart-shaped leaves.

Well, it was soon almost 6 o'clock and I was once again invited to a Dinner by Ken. I wasn't even hungry and had pork in the crock pot at home for the husband ... but Ken loves to share his culinary skills and I agreed to join them (the three guys) for dinner.

And so I told him this time his reputed to be better than the beltline bar burrito would "make the blog"--and here is his creation:

It was not too spicy for me, but it made the men sweat. Uncle J. had to mop his balding head after each bite!

I took some home for the husband (it was HUGE) but he had already been nibbling from the crock pot of pork.

Ken's fat burrito had three stuffings: black beans, pulled chicken and a scratch-made Spanish rice. It included an adobo brown sauce (which created a lot of the heat) and of course, as you can see--lots of cheese. Additionally, hot sauce, taco sauce and sour cream were available. Kudos to Ken!

October Beauty - at Art Prize 2015?

Art Prize is once again in town--the 7th year now! Not all the entries are beauties and more than a few installations have brought up that never-to-be-resolved question of what art is, anyway. But this year there seems to be less "crazy crap" (to quote the founder of Art Prize a few years ago) littering the streets. I read that there are 1,550 entries total, in the immediate downtown area and one venue of Japanese art at Meijer Gardens.

I personally know only two of the artists. It is more interesting if you can make a connection or chat a bit with the artists, who are often found lurking near their piece, basking in any of the positive attention they receive. The artists' prepared statements are often obtuse and I become bored before I even finish reading them. I find it more interesting to engage the artist personally. What was their inspiration? How many hours did it take to complete?  And other stupid questions.

 Today one of the spokesman for Bob's art installation (above) at the Downtown Market was an elementary-schooler, Lucas. He was cute and engaging, having signed up with his father for an hour shift to meet and greet near the piece to which he had contributed, along with hundreds of classmates and his art teacher last year, who is now retired and working on our deck!

I have now spent two modest blocks of time downtown at Art Prize and have viewed a couple of hundred entries, some with intense scrutiny (looking for the body part used for touch in the five senses entry--don't ask!) and others with a quick or averted glance. Some entries are actually visually disturbing. But I am intrigued enough by one entry that is now in the top 20, that I just may download the app and vote this year.

The interest in Art Prize is really quite amazing. I know a few people who would not go 10 steps out of their way to see this art, but yet, thousands from all over Michigan descend on Grand Rapids for this event every year, and artists from all over the United States and the world compete to be included and win prize money.

One work that I recognized was a large rendition of the bridge over East Beltline. The walkway visually follows you, inviting you to cross as you walk by.

As I recall, every year a special beer is created for the event, but this year a newly crafted beer is actually one of the entries! So yesterday I thought I would try it. It is called Michigunder and is a Dortmunder lager from Atwood Brewery, in collaboration with the brewery at the B.O.B. I thought it was quite tasty and refreshing, served ice cold at GP Sports in the Amway Hotel. The brew is available in at least a dozen locations around downtown.

If a beer can be entered into the art prize competition, the "art" label is obviously pretty broad! Besides the traditional paintings, there is tapestry, sculpture, wood burning and carving, photography, a 70-ft table setting that is made to vibrate with an amplified whisper--resulting in the plates and silverware falling off and crashing on the floor, and an abandoned house painted pink all over and red inside, with swings in the open windows. On weekend nights the windows are lit up with women in white dresses swinging inside--I saw the swings but not the swinging!

There is something for everyone here and the city (beer city!) is hopping with way more than beer. The seven-year tradition only seems to grow and even grow up a little (according to a local critic) as word spreads of this unique opportunity for both artists and ordinary folk--who flock in droves to this free and fun "festival."

Pie by Rosella!

Yesterday I went downtown for Art Prize with friends. We stopped at the Downtown Market to see the entry of the friend who is now building our new deck. Passing by the Sweetie-licious Bake Shoppe, I saw my name on a pie. I do hope to be a Grandma one day, but will probably never be making a pie like this! The name Rosella is uncommon, popular only for a few years back in the mid-century, but I am glad it is not only the name of a colorful bird and a flower, but now also a delicious pie!

This pie was not available by the slice, but we split a piece of cherry pie three ways, topping it with 2 scoops of Loves's vanilla ice cream. Sweetie-licious, indeed!

October Beauty

Sometimes in October, before the dipping temperatures, shortening days and slanting sun rays turn the world golden for a few glorious weeks, I have to look a little harder to see beauty in the world around me.

Leaves are now dropping down brown and our West Michigan world is once again beginning to hunker down in preparation for another winter.

October 1st this year marked another horrific school shooting. With darkness such as this in the world, sometimes I have to look a little harder to see beauty.

You may think I look for beauty in too many of the same places--flowers, food, flights, front-runners (lol), and perhaps you are right.

 But if I had to pick two things that I have been really noticing (up kinda close) this year, I think it would be clouds and hydrangeas--fluffy, mostly white things, full of lightness, big and billowy.

I have yet to capture (with lens or brain) more of the October sky. I will be looking up!

I find it hard to even think of words to adequately describe clouds...

Hydrangeas, with beauty more seasonal than clouds, are now fading to pink and green and brown, but they have performed spectacularly since early summer.

Here is a photo I took in New York City at the end of June--clouds and hydrangeas:

The photo at the top, of a Limelight hydrangea bloom fading to pink in the Grand Ideas garden, was taken yesterday--the first of October--following a trek to the stinky yard waste facility. Beauty was fading at the gardens, too, and is always hard to find at the dump ... except for the clouds!

 That is why I always reward myself with some beautiful food after the dump trip, often a treat of fluffy, white ice cream (sometimes mixed up with a little Oreo darkness)!

At Mc Donald's drive-thru - ice cream and clouds!

Where have you been looking for beauty?