Author: alohawild

Just a short note before I rest and raise too f**king early to fly back to Oregon on Tuesday…Grammarly is not working tonight either…growl…

My day ended at Deborah’s house eating cake and watching Matlock together after dinner. We have the last part of Season 1 to watch. Deborah then drove me back to my hotel. There I started this blog and some minor packing. Deborah will pick me up at 5:40 to make my 8:40 direct flight to Portland.

Before this Deborah met me at the hotel and we drove Air Nissan Rogue back to Enterprise and gave them back the car. Earlier I risked the mysteries of filling the gas tank (we have full service in Oregon, and I drive an EV) and seemed to top off the tank. The same women who rented me the SUV took it back and saw the tire challenges including a bent tack/nail in one of the tire and the other tire coding that it was too low. No damage and that all done.

I, as usual now that I rent so many, just before I gave it back, I sat in it and thanked it. Kind of Zen, but I do mean it. Thanks Air Nissan Rogue for the good week of driving!

Deborah, now driving me in her mini takes us to Recipes a restaurant she has been meaning to try. We have the brunch menu, and I try the Brussel sprout hash (with bacon) and her the omelet. It was excellent and surprisingly good. After a near perfect lunch, we then spent some time together, our last day, and then headed to Deborah’s house. There we hung out for a while and saw Liam and Donovan, Deborah’s sons, who wished me a safe trip before heading out. Deborah and I then ordered Chinese-style food delivered while we binged on Kathy Bates in Matlock.

Before this I packed and managed to get almost everything into my suitcase except two pairs of paints I will have to carry in my carry on. A bottle of wine, Gorey print, and a few books plus most of my dirty clothing. I took with me about the amount of clothing I will need for the Southern Trip. I wanted to see how it worked out.
Before this I wrote the blog and talked to customer service and learned that the removal of in-room coffee was a local decision and not a corporate one. I am very unhappy to have not in-room coffee available. I do not wish to have to dress to go out in the lobby to get coffee. Ugh!

It was a good trip and seems longer than before with two weekends with Deborah and the break while she worked a few days. The trip to the West and Lake Michigan was wonderful. We are also thinking about a summer trip to Northern Michigan and even Isle Royal that Deborah and I both have always wanted to visit.
Before this I slept the night through again. My eye is mostly healed and the infection in my ear is also mostly gone. I am feeling better.

Thanks for reading!

Oct 19th is Deborah’s Birthday, and we started it in East Lansing with me dressing and getting breakfast at the breakfast bar on the first floor of The Graduate Hotel, East Lansing. Coffee and an egg and cheese bagel sandwich for Deborah in bed, and me a bagel with cream cheese. Coffee, of course. I was feeling off, so Deborah took the pilot seat with me as co-pilot in the Air Nissan Rogue as we headed back to the Greater Detriot area and Deborah’s 60th Birthday Party at the Red Oxe at 6:30.

First, after collecting the car from the valet, and before headed on the highways, we traveled to the other side of Lansing, for the 78th Michigan Antiquites Book & Paper Show at a old convention center in a slightly rundown area in South Lansing. The Causeway Hotel & Convention Center was musty and had seen better days, but was huge and had it been less musty smelling and the place been refreshed would have been nice. The ball room, with no direction signs at the far end held tables and book casees stuffed with treasures.

Deborah and I barely got beyound the check-in ($4 each with the coupon that The Curious Book Store had sent me) before we spotted the Gorey graphic items including a signed print (we were told that for $650 cash we could take it home), but for $75 I got the same print from the Gorey Trust unsigned but numbered (I remember them being reprinted in Signals Catalog and for Public TV auctions after Gorey’s passing).

I later find an Old Cuba cookbook and stories from another table. Deborah found the 1973 American Postage set, and I have one. This one is in remarkablely good condition. Deborah picked up a few gifts for friends too. We enjoyed our time amoung old books and paper, despite some sneezes and runny eyes from the musty books and hotel (mainly the hotel). I managed to pass on the original Scientific American on the salvaging of the USS Maine (the remains of the ‘Battleship’ were scuttled but recently rediscovered). There was lots of good things at the show. I did raid the ATM as cash was apprciated (if the only means to purchase a few times).

Next we had breakfast/lunch at Leo’s. Deborah finds this chain a set above other like sitdown places and I agree. I had the Greek-style salad with gyro meat toss on it. It was excellent. Deborah had a second breakfast for lunch; her go-to for Leo’s.

Next we located Costco and refueled the SUV. I always carry my Costco card. The Costco is where the old golf course was off of Park Lake Road. I had been surprised by it when I noticed on my trip to see Mom Wild and Leta almost a week ago. It was wet and raining sideways. The wind picked up, too. Deborah drove the SUV on our usual path of Highway 69 to 75 to get to Detroit faster. Yes, drive northwest, then head south. It works.

We unloaded the car at Deborah’s house, with her getting all that wine we bought, except I kept one bottle from Veritas. I headed out and checked back into the Holiday Inn Express, only to be surprised that my room didn’t come with a coffee maker now. I went to the front desk and was told that corporate no longer supports in-room coffee. I was aghast (and it was not looking forward to the morning in the room without a cup of in-room coffee. Ugh! I complained and was told that in-room coffee was no longer available, and that the coffee machines in the lobby would be the only source of coffee at the hotel. I was told it was a corporate decision (I filled a complaint and learned it was a local decision this Monday morning). I was frustrated by that and might have to look for a replacement hotel, but this one is very conveniently placed and serves breakfast. Coffee in the morning is a ritual for me. I don’t want to dress up just to get coffee (I would not go into a hotel lobby in my PJs, even for coffee.

I take multiple trips, loading mostly dirty clothing in various bags from the Nissan Rogue. I need to repack on Monday and the wine, Gorey print, and books will make the it an adventure. I packed extra clothing to see what I could fit in my bag this time. I usually have the books mailed, but that service was not available at the book and paper fair in Lansing.

Next, with time moving faster than I expected, I head to Meijer’s to get Deborah’s cake, some numbers for the cake (one 60 and two 30s and two lighters) I figure Deborah’s sons should decide how to handle the cake and lighting. I did supply two lighters. Outside my hat blows off rolls across the parking lot. A gentleman laughs as I chase it and then it stops just out of easy reach under a car. I crawl in the rain filled parking lot to get my hat. There was a lot of smiles as I put the soaked hat on my head.

At the hotel, the cake and supplies were safe in the SUV, and I changed clothing to something less damp. I headed to Deborah’s house and soon we were headed to the Red Oxe.

They had moved us due to the weather to near the fireplace in the dining room. We had pizza party for twenty (we got close to that count). There was a mangled communication with the waiter that I would buy the first drink and I am sorry I missed buying more drinks. Nothing I can do about that as we figure it out after folks paid their bills. But that was all that went wrong, minor.

Deborah had a great time and the staff cut the cake for everyone. I talked to folks I knew and met some new people. Jeanne talk about a possible summer trip in 2026 to Michgan and shipwreck and sights in Mchigan. I talked about gaming and travel. Deborah son’s put a 60 on her cake and lighted them. We all sang and enjoyed cake in Deborah’s honor. Even more wine was supplied to Deborah along with other nice 1965 (her birth year) themed gifts. I provided more earrings from Oregon. These from the Autum Fair in Beaverton.

I dropped off Deborah and her gifts (and some remaining cake) and returned to the hotel. I took my meds, remembered to put in my eye treatment and then soon slept. I slept the night through. I remember no dreams.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

We rose in Hotel Saugatuck and waited for our breakfast together, enjoying the room and each other’s company. This is my first rain fall style shower, and I think I like it more traditional. The fireplace was excellent, and I will have to rethink mine at home. This was really nice with the automatic start. The towels and sheets are wonderful, and I took pictures of the labels: The Turkish Towel Company looks wonderful.

Enjoying the slow start, we enjoyed our breakfast, with Deborah opting for an omelet and me for French toast with sausages. With breakfast inside of us, we finished dressing and getting ready. We packed and looked around at a most excellent room, realizing how much we enjoyed our stay at Hotel Saugatuck, except for the three trips up and down the stairs.

We drove to the Lake Michigan Beach once we understood the Nav to get there. You park further in the park following the signs. The stairs were wooden and well-maintained, but I held on most of the time with both hands. The sand was thick, and the water clearer than our Pacific Ocean waters. The view was stunning, and that amount of fresh water is just hard to imagine. We walked up and down the beach, and I found a shell. I always want my shoes (or feet if warm water — it is not), and my shoes got a bit more water than I hoped, but they dried out. These have been in the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, and Lake Michigan now.

 

 

We headed back to mid-Michigan and stopped at a rest area and ate our leftovers, mostly Deborah’s sandwich halves. The Debris Poor Boy was incredible, even a day old (kept mostly in our fridge at the hotel). We then got on our way again and made good time to East Lansing. We arrived just as our room was available at The Graduate near MSU. There we unloaded and spent some time together in our room. With plenty of time, we headed to The Stateroom at The Kellogg Center.

I had not been there before, and we parked on, we later discovered, the wrong level in the parking garage and missed the easy access to the hotel. We ended up walking in the rain and passing through a wedding party to get to the restaurant. This is the best place I have been in Lansing; it is, though the look and menu have changed, full of memories for Deborah. We had a table for two by the window and watched a gully washer as the wedding party, somewhat dampened, moved on.

I ordered the Osso Bucco, braised lamb shank. Deborah had some excellent lemon herb chicken. We had one drink as we had Liam’s play, he is playing the lead in Hamlet for the student group, and knew it would be three hours and sometimes warm in the theater. Dinner was terrific and the staff excellent. I would recommend The State Room.

Navigation took us on a tour of MSU at night, and we finally parked at the resident hall with the theater in its basement, and there we found seats. I remember Hamlet as it was the first Shakespeare play I read and found interesting. Romeo and Juliet were the first seen in my high school class book, but Hamlet was complex, and the themes of ghosts, revenge, and madness were much more appealing to me — still are. Also, there was a newish version of the film on PBS back when I first read Hamlet, and I found that interesting too. While I think it’s not the best assembled story, I think Henry V is the best composed of his plays; I still remember the words when Liam spoke them.

Liam stole the show with his madness and anger as Hamlet, plus his clear speaking and breaking words by action, which really worked. He was painful to watch but also hypnotic; you could not turn away even when he was clearly mad or plotting. His death on the stage makes you feel that something was lost the day Hamlet fell, but also, there was no way to stop this ending. All the characters never pull back and all fall. I thought Liam was actually Hamlet when I watched.

(Liam in white undershirt)

My favorite is a toss-up between Tempest, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I suspect the list is the same for many. Pleasure, Murders and Magic, and Dreams, yes, the usual choices.

We congratulated Liam after the play, and then we returned the car to the Valet at The Graduate, and soon we were resting and then sleeping. No ghosts appeared to usurp the night.

Thanks for reading. Sorry, this is late. It was a busy Sunday, but that story will be written tomorrow!

 

 

Today we rose around 7 something and relaxed and enjoyed the time together. We had the fireplace running until it got too toasty and made coffee in the Keurig. The Hotel Saugatuck is lovely, offering a selection of coffees for the Keurig in our room, and I have also purchased Trader Joe’s capsules. We had plenty of coffee. Breakfast is served a bit late, 9:15 or so, and despite all the time, we managed to be a few minutes late for our wine tour guide, Jason, with Bottle Run. My colon, revised by colon cancer repairs, decided to surprise me a bit. But all was good, and Jason was fine waiting. It was Deborah and me for his run today.

We would do four vineyards today, maybe one too many, as I was totally sloshed by the time we were done. I do not spit out wine, but there were a few glasses we did not finish. Deborah stopped finishing the wine about halfway. I had ordered a glass of wine with lunch; in hindsight, maybe a bad choice. Still, the wines were terrific, and Michigan did even give Oregon a run on some Pinot Noirs, I thought!

Jason, an excellent leader and driver in a comfortable suburban, took us first to one of the area’s first vineyards, and Dianna led us through seven tastes of their wines at Fenn Valley Vineyard. I had no wines that I would not drink from them. Their sparkling Premier Cuvée was a great start. I tried the True Chardonnay (no oak) and thought it an excellent wine, reminiscent of California wines. I had their reds and was surprised that Michigan could produce such high-quality reds, with their Zweigelt being particularly wonderful and their Cabernet Franc a soft, approachable red. Dianna let us know that they do not always get a Late Harvest Riesling, and last year’s drier fall produced what we all agreed was a great wine. The Traminette was a perfect summer day wine, and the Moscata was a sweet white wine that was perfect for a summer evening. I had their port, which, while good and served with chocolate, was just OK. Deborah loved one of the ciders and got some to go.

Modalef was a few minutes away and is one of Jason’s favorites. This is a leading-edge place trying to make wines as good as anywhere, and I think it is being quite successful. Their notes were provided in two different sets, one with a traditional write-up and the other more of a story: “The First leaf has fallen in the cool breeze, yet summer sings offering up her lushing blooms,” for 2024 Gamay Noir, which was an excellent wine with almost no tannins. Kieth led us through five of their wines, which was a dream, though Deborah is not a fan of heavier reds. Kieth told stories about himself and the wines and was great behind the bar. Deborah bought a bottle of the 2024 Pet Nat, and I thought their 2022 Pinot Noir La Esperanza was a model of a near-perfect version. But their 2022 Pinot Noir La Garcia was subtle and engaging, and the better wine. Kieth was proud to have an Oregonian praise their wine. I was surprised that Michigan, with its snow and Arctic blasts, could make such an excellent wine. Deborah reminds me that Michigan is not as cold as it was during my last winter there in college.

Veritas Estate was next, and Jason brought us lunch there, too. We picked out a sandwich and chips with a pasta salad a few days ago and emailed him our selection. Sherry, the owner and wine maker, was the guide for five more tastings (and a glass I bought) before lunch. The whites were less sweet and had stronger flavors. There were more subtleties in these whites and less sugar, but I thought them less likely to be loved. The 2023 Barrel Aged Chardonnay was good, with a nice balance between oak and fruit. However, Deborah skipped these; the 2022 Merlot could be confused with any good California Merlot. I was surprised that Michigan could make a Merlot. I loved the 2022 Tannat, so I ordered a bottle and a glass for lunch. I hope it makes it through the flight.

Sherry and I discussed Artificial Intelligence over lunch, as she was utilizing a neural network to analyze some of her data. Another group daughter found a chicken hatching an egg and soon was holding a fresh egg, and reluctantly surrendered it to Sherry. A beautiful cat was also sort of ignoring us, like cats do.

Jason packed up lunch for us and added more wine to our collection in his vehicle. We drove longer this time to the Michigan Wine Company. We had a table in the vines, where we even picked a small bunch of grapes. They bring you wine in small stemless glasses. The 2024 Noir-Yay!, a sparkling red, was terrific. Other sparkling wines were one-dimensional in flavor, but this one had a bright red finish that made it stand out. There, the whites, I am afraid, were uninteresting, but we were on our fourth vineyard, I was sloshed, and we likely did not fairly judge them. So I would suggest, dear readers, you ignore my rating of the Michigan Wine Company and try it. The 2022 Petite Foch should have stood out for me, but was eclipsed by Veritas Estate’s heavy yet excellent reds. Deborah loved the Plum Cider and got some to take home. It was excellent. Recommended and in short supply, we were told.

Jason got us back to the hotel and even carried the wine for us to our room on the second floor. Deborah was concerned about my balance. I was fine, but the world kept moving! We enjoyed Jason’s company and his stories about himself and the local wine scene. Highly recommended: Bottle Run. He does a winter snow sledge trip that I would suggest to folks here in the winter.

With Jason on his way, I did spinner in the bed, and woke a few hours later with a slight headache (painkillers were taken). We recovered and we found dinner at The Southerner, which was busy, and I had grits and shrimp (but not as good as I think I made in NOLA, but still good). Deborah had a braised beef sandwich. It was all good. Fried chicken looked like the house specialty.

Sleep was hard to find after the lovely day, and some coffee at dinner for me. I woke a few times, but managed to rest.

I am writing this late on Friday, after a busy day filled with a lot of wine tasting. Sorry, this will be a short blog.

I rose about 7 and made coffee and started soon with a shower, dressing, and all of that. I put each thing I used away, and soon the packing started. It just flowed naturally as I dressed and packed my suitcase, gym bag, or bag of dirty clothing. All of that will be unceremoniously shoved into my suitcase at the end of the trip, Monday night. I soon had everything ready, carrying my clean shirts and pants still on hangers to be put in Air Nissan Rogue. Two trips and I was done. The front desk was manned, and we just checked me out of the hotel then.

I found my usual place by the window, remembering my first view of the snow on my first trip in December. I will be back again in December. I had the usual industrial breakfast, and there were bananas still; they are usually gone by 8ish. I then wrote the blog and text back and forth with Deborah, who was working until about noon.

I finished the blog, left the hotel, and found the Meijer gas station to refuel the Rogue. As usual, I had to exit the vehicle and walk around it to locate the gas access door. It sounds silly, but I never remember, except for my EV as it is logical (passenger side, so the cable doesn’t get in the way of the driver). Oregonians have full service (though optional now), and since I drive an EV, I found it to be an unfamiliar process. There were directions on the pump that had me start with the credit card, and then the screen directed me.

With that task done, I washed the windshield as there were bug and bird hits. It was not a great job, again out of practice as I just use car washes now on the EV, but passable. I was parked and working on my laptop when Deborah called, and soon I had Panera orders picked up and headed to her house. Donovan was there, and we ate lunch together. Deborah did her packing, and I petted the dogs and read some items online. I am considering returning to Roll20 to run some games.

With Deborah packed, we headed out and soon did just short of three hours of driving to get to Saugatuck. The drive was punctuated with moments of construction holdups that added about twenty minutes to the total trip. It was the most I have driven in a while. The Nissan did well.

We are staying at Hotel Saugatuck, and while expensive, it is a fantastic room, and we even got a little snack later at night. We are loving it. Recommended.

We got some directions and waited a bit at The Butler for a table. The food was excellent and we enjoyed watching the sunset while having dinner.

We returned to the room, turned on the gas fireplace, and had a nice sleep.

Thanks for reading.