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I rose at 6:45 and made coffee. This time, the room was not made up yesterday, meaning I drank the rest of the coffee I had bought, little pods for the Keurig. I had a scone also from Lansing to go with it. Deborah soon replied and was dealing with some work items. We would not share breakfast together at the hotel. I also started to put things in my suitcase as Tuesday was a travel day. Not packing yet, more piling.

I wrote the blog in the hotel room, turning off the AC, which blows directly on the workspace. Ugh! I wrote it all in my PJs.

I showered and all of that. I decided on a T-shirt as we were headed to the Michigan Renaissance Festival near Holly, Michigan. It would be warm and dry today. Deborah arrived about an hour later, and I had finished breakfast by then, having already decorated her birthday trip with flights and hotels. I am trying to be there for two weekends, as Deborah will be working during the week, and she coordinates Adult Education in the current cut funding for whatever-it-was-because-it-is-education mode of the Trump administration (F**kers!). I hope to get a weekend and spend her birthday weekend together (we have a romantic weekend in Saugatuck planned with a wine tour).

We spend the morning together, and then head to Holl, Michigan, stopping by McDonald’s for lunch. We park and are routed to the far end of the south parking lot. It is a long walk to the entrance of the festival. We order tickets online, still discounted, and get scanned and soon walking in the large circle that is the experience.

It is a rocky and uneven walk. Not an easy place for wheelchairs. There is more food than I expected and not all of it themed (those roasted turkey legs are ubiquitous). The crowd is large, and at least a third is dressed up, though it looks more like a time-traveling market (with SciFi, as I saw at least one Mandalorian). Faries (of all kinds) were quite prevalent.

Zoltan the Adequate did a good magic and fire-eating routine, and I would love to steal his dove routine. His escape routine from medieval-looking cuffs was entertaining as he would point with a hand that was somehow unlocked and then back in the cuffs a moment later as if nothing happened.

Harmless Danger Jugling was terrific, though we only caught the last of it. Next time, I will plan to watch more shows! I skipped the jousting as I am not a fan of horses in general, and clashing horses, even less. The magic shows looked fun, and there was glass blowing and other sports, more my style.

We had some mead and some nuts as a snack.

We did not have a physical map (and the map had few details, and when acquired, did not help much), and we wandered in a circle completing the loop, I think three times. I picked up a few items that I could not find elsewhere. There is always something unusual and special besides the usual expensive dress-up items.

It was a pleasant afternoon, but I found myself coughing from the dust and allergens. I would do it again.

Next, Donovan, Deborah’s son, agreed to join us at Camp Ticonderoga, which is the bar and restaurant for a local golf course. They decorate with lots of antlers and even elephant tusks! We enjoyed a meal on the porch, and were only a little bothered by wasps. I got a Monte Cristo, which I would regret taking with me, as the jelly spilled in my gym bag. I am sticky while writing this. I have to clean up my travel items and bag when I reach home! It was a pleasant meal.

Next, we watched a new Matlock episode. The season is over, but we have not finished it yet. It was good to get back to it, and it was nice to sit and just hang out and pet the dogs. After that, Deborah dropped me off at the hotel, as I had an early start for my travel home on Tuesday.

I set my alarm for two alarms. Sometimes I miss the first one. I packed and went to bed with everything ready for my travel day.

Thanks for reading!

 

I rose around 6:45 and made coffee. The hotel room needed to be cleaned, and the coffee replenished; I prefer that my hotel rooms be cleaned and restocked with towels, coffee, and other supplies daily. It would be cleaned later in the morning. I started on the blog and would finish it around 8. Breakfast is offered in the lobby until 10, and Deborah would join me there towards the end, and then we would spend the morning together.

We were hungry around noon, and Deborah thought the Red Ox outside would be a good choice. She finds the sports bar too noisy, but the porch is lovely, and the food is a step above the usual sports bar fare. We had salads and water. I try a Malbec from Argentina, but it seems a bit flat. Deborah sticks to soft drinks.

A cardinal, a red bird, lands in the area, and it looks like summer is still going strong. A yellow jacket reminds us that we are outside, but only one appears, and it can be easily waved away. We chat with a manager, and Deborah’s birthday, on 19 October, is available, with a cost of $12 per person for pizza and soft drinks, which seems fair. Deborah will check with a few folks, but it looks like we have a site for the Party now, the Red Ox patio (they have heaters).

We did have Sanders’ bumpy cake with ice cream for dessert.

Before this, Deborah and I had arranged a two-day stay in October at a romantic hotel in Saugatuck, Michigan, with an all-day wine tour. Initially, we found that everything was already booked. The vineyards and hotel combinations were all booked already. I then tried to book everything back-to-back, and that worked. I discovered that the Saugatuck Inn had a nice room available, and then I booked a tour with pick-up at the hotel.

We will then travel to East Lansing for her son’s play and spend the night at The Graduate Hotel, an old favorite, before returning to the Greater Detroit Area to celebrate her actual birthday at The Red Ox. I created a TripIt trip to hold all the details. I can see from the TripIt representation that I have all the days correct (no missed days for hotels or events scheduled in the wrong week). I managed to overbook one hotel, but it was not clear until TripIt showed the conflict.

We spent a few hours at Deborah’s house petting the dogs, Trixie and Zelda, and then headed out to have dinner with a friend. It was a ninety-minute drive each way, but we enjoyed just chatting, and the 75 and other highways were comfortable in Deborah’s hot Mini Cooper. The Mini was recently updated with new shocks and brakes, making it more comfortable.

Next, we watched This is Spinal Tap, which I had never seen. It is funny, but strange to me.

I returned to my hotel. I was starting to get sleepy. There, I ordered the Divine Right board game extension on Kickstarter. The board game dates back to the 1970s and was sold concurrently with the original versions of Dungeons & Dragons by TSR, the company that published the game until the 1980s. It is a guilty pleasure.

And with that, I soon was in bed reading more of the book, How Ireland Saved Western Civilization. I would say the chapters on Irish thinking are less interesting, but I would still recommend the book. I stopped as I reached the last chapter.

I was able to sleep until 6 this night. I am changing to the time zone with only a day left of my stay. Oh my.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

We thought it would be fun to just hang out rather than rush to do things. Additionally, the local area is emptied as people rush to cabins ‘up north’ and other vacation destinations for one last long weekend of 2025. The Mackinaw Bridge is closed on Monday for the annual bridge walk.

I rose at 6:30, but I didn’t manage to make more than a cup of coffee in the first thirty minutes. I finally found some focus and started writing and recalling the events of Friday (now I am recalling Saturday). It was the month-end, and I updated my balances for my IRA now at US Bank’s Wealth Management folks. And I know that you do not always get a positive return, but goodness, it is nice to book increases that were higher than my expenses, by far. I have just a few dividends and interest, besides this IRA, for my retirement (plus the value of my house, which is also appreciating, but I expect that bubble to burst sooner or later).

I believe I have enough, though you are never really sure, and I will apply for Social Security next year. My biggest challenge over the next four years will be healthcare, which the Trump administration has not made easier. Also, the DOGE cuts to the Social Security Administration could mean that the SSA will be unable to accept my application. Next year could be exciting (and expensive).

But putting aside all the money, I was able to dress, have breakfast in the lobby, and publish the blog. Deborah joined me for breakfast at the hotel, and then we spent the morning together. We decided to pick up Deborah’s car (she was still using the loaner) and then try The Corner, a gaming and food place in Ferndale.

After gassing up the borrowed Mini Cooper, washing off some bugs and bird incidents, we dropped off the car and got Deborah’s hot blue Mini Cooper. We parked it and put two hours on the virtual meter, and walked into The Corner. Deborah’s order of a breakfast pizza went sideways; they replaced it and did not charge her for it. I had chicken with a biscuit that was excellent.

Trekking: The National Parks was a game that Deborah was considering, and we found it in their collection (they have a convenient list accessible by QR code). We looked at another game, and although highly rated, it seemed like a game with layers of rules, and I thought we could learn and finish Trekking in the time.

As it was our first play, we had a few misplays, but soon Deborah’s and my meeple were trekking all over the map of the USA. We enjoyed the map and the rules, and the gameplay flowed smoothly. It was a fun race-style game, and Deborah crushed me by ten points! Next time!

Deborah had a few things to take care of, and I was fading with the time change. I got a nap at the hotel, and Deborah and I reconnected a few hours later. We decided to try the new movie Nobody 2, although neither of us had seen the first one. We bought tickets and then headed to dinner. It was awful with us not getting the dim sum menu, which looked excellent. I will not, as it is unfair in this setting, name the place. But next time, we will get the dumplings and like them.

The movie was enjoyable and had the right balance of comic book-like violence and humor. We laughed through it. In the story, they did ‘build memories’; it was some unusual vacation memories, including grandpa blowing up the water park. Setting your expectations to just fun, the movie is recommended.

I was fading again, my body and mind confused at the time, and I was ready to sleep. Deborah dropped me off. I was asleep, just lying on the bed, soon. I rose, put on my PJs, and soon could not sleep. I seemed to fade in and out, and then sleep overtook me. Morning came too soon!

My first full day in Michigan was nice, but my sleep was incomplete as I had trouble falling asleep in yet another time zone. I would be tired when I hit my pillow early around 9:30 at night. I would wake at midnight, and have some trouble returning to sleep, but I would drift off, and my dreams, now forgotten, were kind, and I remember a friendly darkness, and I slept well.

I rose at about 7:30, having slept through my 6:00 alarm. I started my day feeling sleepy. I dragged through my usual process of reading email, updating Quicken (including the purchase of $40K in Treasury Bills for a short-term interest rate), and doomscrolling as Trump and his folks continue to try to grab headlines. It appears that inflation has cooled, and an interest rate cut may be in the cards. I was against raising rates (the most blunt of tools for slowing an economy, in my opinion, and should seldom be used), and now I am opposed to lowering them (again, to stimulate a slowed economy by increasing borrowing and stock market investments); I am against financial chaos. Having rolled my eyes so many times, I now just say ‘Hmmm.’

Coffee starts from the Keurig pods; I am granted only two regular pods. I have one, and then I have the other while writing. Deborah will be over in the mid-morning, so I’ve time-boxed, but not rushed — I have plenty of time to write the blog and get dressed. Soon, I am dressed in a dress shirt and sweater vest, and have breakfast in the lobby.

I write and complete the blog, and then grab a spare coffee for Deborah, and she shows up in a borrowed Mini Cooper. Her’s was getting its brakes updated. We spend the rest of the morning together and then head to Lansing in her loaner car.

We met Leta there for lunch at Panera Bread at the Lansing Mall, or what remains of that now-sad structure. We talked about travel and Deborah and Leta about teaching, both retired teachers, and had a good time connecting. After seeing Leta off, we headed to Horrocks Farm Market.

It is a wonderful place and I had been there once before; it was Deborah’s first time. We got some coffee and wandered the place. We found flowers and a baked good for Mom Wild. We got some scones for the hotel room (I like to have food in the room in case something happens), and extra coffee pods. It was fun walking through the whole place.

Next, we crossed Lansing to Haslett. Mom Wild was happy to see us. We had to give regrets that dinner out was off as Linda (my sister) and her husband, Jesse, were down with food poisoning. Yikes! We discussed our travels and schedules for returning (both in October and Christmas), and Mom got to see pictures, learn Deborah’s sons’ names, and view their photos. One regret was that Mom Wild wanted some vapes, and I was unprepared for that. I contacted Linda, and we got a vape for Mom Wild from a liquor store down the street. I delivered it to her when she was having dinner and got to meet her fellow diners at the table.

Deborah headed back in the borrowed Mini Cooper, and we decided on the Silver Spoon for dinner. It is a top-of-the-line Italian place in Rochester. It took us a while to find the place, as it is tucked near the river behind many buildings. As it was the Labor Day holiday weekend, the place was not busy, and we were able to get a table without a reservation.

Jesse was our waiter, and we had fantastic food with even the salad standing out. Our pastas were terrific, with freshly made pasta in an excellent sauce. The tiramisu was light and bright, and the perfect ending with coffee (though Deborah would regret it, as it was hard for her to sleep).

(notice the spoon shape in the powdered chocolate!)

Deborah dropped me off at the hotel, and I soon crawled into my bed in room 327 and was asleep.

And that takes us full circle! Thanks for reading!

The Grand Tavern is located next to my usual IHG when I stay in the Greater Detroit area, and Deborah and I had a late dinner there, trying out their version of prime rib. While it was okay, Luck’s is better. The bartender was happy to see us, and we shared a bread pudding and ice cream finish. After that, Deborah went home with one more task to complete for work, and I had to unpack and adjust to once again living in the Eastern Time Zone.

Note: I was in NY just over a week ago, and my body and mind are still confused about what time it is; I slept through this Friday morning’s alarm. Six comes relatively too early for me. I managed to rise at 7:30.

I started Thursday by waking up minutes before my 7:00 alarm, and then popping into the shower to get ready. I also remembered to put my coat, swimming trunks, and shorts in my luggage. I had realized I had forgotten them after I was in bed on Wednesday. I switched the AC to vacation mode and the hot water to the same setting. My habit is to leave the network up, still protected by a UPS, and I left the new Raspberry Pi 5 computer in sleep mode.

I forgot to run the dishwasher until it was too late; I unloaded it. I put my laptop and my last few items into my carry-on red Nike gym bag and left. The keys for Air VW the Gray I remembered to put on the hook and not take with me.

I also decided that the rescheduling of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival to September did not work for me. I passed on paying $350 to play an adventure for the Call of Cthulhu game and be a VIP. I will miss this year. The last chance for that was this morning (it is now sold out). I did not want to overload September, as I was planning to focus on housework, teaching classes, writing, and coding during that month.

I rolled my bag and carried my gym bag on top of the luggage to the bus stop. I prefer to use public transit for my trips, save money, and utilize existing transportation. I caught a bus in a few minutes, TriMet’s 57, and then the MAX towards the airport.

I sat in the folding seat, and when a gentleman arrived in a powered wheelchair, I folded up the seat, moved my belongings, and stood for the last few stops. We also got to experience a reboot of the train. We were told via the announcement system that the train was being turned off and back on to fix an issue. I am for fixing issues on trains! Everything worked, and we were on our way. I had time to check, and I could have ordered an Uber for $22+ to get me to PDX from the Gateway station. A group next to me agreed to share the cost of a larger Uber. All good.

I arrived, tagged my bag, walked back to the printing machine, grabbed my phone, which I had left on the machine, and then dropped off my bag. Yikes! It is so easy to do that. It is the third time I have done that.

The usual hawking of Clear and PreCheck was provided and ignored. The wait was short (not much longer than Clear), and I was soon patted down for the sin of wearing suspenders, but this time the machine did not ask to check my junk like in JFK. Just checking two places where my suspenders had metal (I do wonder why it never gets all six locations).

Free coffee with Breakfast (they were wrapping up, and the coffee was near the dregs) was again at Grassa. I was wearing my hat, and they remembered me. I got one of the last breakfasts. At 10, they switch to lunch and start serving pasta. I was tempted to get some meatballs and/or garlic bread for lunch on the plane, but the memory of many spilled and dropped items on planes had me forgo the challenge of keeping a meatball safe in turbulence.

I wrote a quick, rushed blog there while at a table in Grassa. I had less than an hour. I also had some bids on some stamps (I lost all the bids) that would have gone for less than a quarter of the usual price, including one that’s rare to see for sale at all, for under $100.

The rest of the flight is not that interesting. I watched the horror/comedy The Menu, which is a fantasy of foodies getting what they deserve. I loved it and was laughing through it, though I was shocked a few times. I also watched The Big Lebowski, which I had never seen all the way through. It was fun too, another fantasy.

My flight was put in a circle pattern for twenty minutes due to a thunderstorm. I looked at the in-flight map, and it went right over Laingsburg, my old hometown. We arrived the usual way, and soon Deborah and I were hugging and were so happy to be together again.

We landed with another flight on the other runway. I have not seen that in Detroit before.

The trip out of the airport is always more complex than the rest of the journey. Deborah discovered that the valet is about $12, plus a tip. Perfect.

And that takes me full circle.

Thanks for reading.