Man, our lives have been stressful lately. Not the usual good stress we have on a daily basis, but bad stress. Sometimes, it's all John and I can do to keep our cool.
I came up with the brilliant idea to get away for a weekend--who knew we could do something like that? It took scads of arranging for our absences, but we did it.
Where to go?
Where else? Ann Arbor.
Sandusky, Ohio is only four hours from State College. Cedar Point is in Sandusky. Perfect! We had always wanted to go to Cedar Point's HalloWeekend, and it was just calling to us.
As we watched the weather forecast, we worried about the impending rain. However, Cedar Point was still open, so we armed ourselves with rain coats and ran in.
What a night! Four haunted houses, and one very scary corn maze. Plus some of the highest and fastest roller coasters in the world. There's nothing like standing on the Mantis (yes, we stood), in the front row, going 90 mph, upside down even, with rain pelting our faces. Seriously, it felt like shards of ice ripping our skin off. Halloween, whaaaat???
We were there almost four hours and just about closed the park. I really, really like having older kids :-) By the time we got back to the car, the rain was moving horizontally through the air, being blown by the 50 mph winds. THIS IS WHAT WE DO, BABY!!!
Hot chocolate and the jacuzzi were in order.
The next day, we headed into Ann Arbor, and drove straight to Shar Music. Hannah, with all her growing (she's now 5'9") needs a bigger viola. A 16 1/2" viola to be specific. She found two that she liked, and we packed them up to bring them home and try them out further.
We tried to head to Zingerman's for lunch, but the line was out the door. Actually, the line was composed of 50+ people, so who knows how long we would have stood there. Fine, Panera it was.
We walked into Panera, and the line had 20+ people in it. Seriously?
Fine. Subway was around the corner. We laughed at the "Panera rejects" who followed us there. Not exactly Ann Arbor's finest cuisine, but John got free cookies.
Next, The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor. We had reservations for just dessert. Two kinds of chocolate (s'mores, and milk chocolate) and all kinds of fruit and desserts. Hmmmm, good food.....
We finally checked into the hotel, ran across the road to Briarwood to do a bit of shopping (thanks, John, for all the M-Den goodies), and then met up with Beth's family, and Kathy at the Pizza House. It was seriously some of the best pizza I've ever had. It will be a required stop next time too.
Then, the football game back at the hotel. Ugh, Michigan football just isn't pretty when Denard Robinson gets injured.
The next morning, we got up bright and early to head to the Saline ward with all the "cute boys" as the girls put it. We had numerous people ask us when we are going to move there (since they've gotten used to seeing our visiting faces). I told them to put the thumbscrews to John about that decision.
We bolted out at the end of Sunday School to drive across town and catch Beth teaching the Relief Society lesson. I will always remember what a magnificent teacher Beth is (from our time in Germany), and I never miss an opportunity to learn from her. She served up a great lunch to our family afterwards, and we all just basked in the cuteness of Baby Maggie.
Finally, (and this was the main reason for the trip), we headed to Hill Auditorium to hear one of the University of Michigan orchestras play for the Halloween concert. It's a blast, although this year wasn't nearly as good as last (I credit that to the fact that Markie-Boy wasn't there). All of the musicians dress up in costume, the conductors act out funny skits to introduce the music, and the music is all spooky, Halloween music. Too, everyone in the audience is invited to come in costume. We saw babies, kids, parents, and even older folks, all decked out.
We did NOT want to leave. It was a wonderful opportunity to remember that we are a family, and we like to spend time together :-)
Problem solved. On the way home, John pulled out two tickets to the Michigan/Northwestern game, being played in The Big House on our anniversary weekend. Well, if I have to go.... :_)
I came up with the brilliant idea to get away for a weekend--who knew we could do something like that? It took scads of arranging for our absences, but we did it.
Where to go?
Where else? Ann Arbor.
Sandusky, Ohio is only four hours from State College. Cedar Point is in Sandusky. Perfect! We had always wanted to go to Cedar Point's HalloWeekend, and it was just calling to us.
As we watched the weather forecast, we worried about the impending rain. However, Cedar Point was still open, so we armed ourselves with rain coats and ran in.
What a night! Four haunted houses, and one very scary corn maze. Plus some of the highest and fastest roller coasters in the world. There's nothing like standing on the Mantis (yes, we stood), in the front row, going 90 mph, upside down even, with rain pelting our faces. Seriously, it felt like shards of ice ripping our skin off. Halloween, whaaaat???We were there almost four hours and just about closed the park. I really, really like having older kids :-) By the time we got back to the car, the rain was moving horizontally through the air, being blown by the 50 mph winds. THIS IS WHAT WE DO, BABY!!!
Hot chocolate and the jacuzzi were in order.
The next day, we headed into Ann Arbor, and drove straight to Shar Music. Hannah, with all her growing (she's now 5'9") needs a bigger viola. A 16 1/2" viola to be specific. She found two that she liked, and we packed them up to bring them home and try them out further.
We tried to head to Zingerman's for lunch, but the line was out the door. Actually, the line was composed of 50+ people, so who knows how long we would have stood there. Fine, Panera it was.
We walked into Panera, and the line had 20+ people in it. Seriously?
Fine. Subway was around the corner. We laughed at the "Panera rejects" who followed us there. Not exactly Ann Arbor's finest cuisine, but John got free cookies.
Next, The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor. We had reservations for just dessert. Two kinds of chocolate (s'mores, and milk chocolate) and all kinds of fruit and desserts. Hmmmm, good food.....We finally checked into the hotel, ran across the road to Briarwood to do a bit of shopping (thanks, John, for all the M-Den goodies), and then met up with Beth's family, and Kathy at the Pizza House. It was seriously some of the best pizza I've ever had. It will be a required stop next time too.
Then, the football game back at the hotel. Ugh, Michigan football just isn't pretty when Denard Robinson gets injured.
The next morning, we got up bright and early to head to the Saline ward with all the "cute boys" as the girls put it. We had numerous people ask us when we are going to move there (since they've gotten used to seeing our visiting faces). I told them to put the thumbscrews to John about that decision.
We bolted out at the end of Sunday School to drive across town and catch Beth teaching the Relief Society lesson. I will always remember what a magnificent teacher Beth is (from our time in Germany), and I never miss an opportunity to learn from her. She served up a great lunch to our family afterwards, and we all just basked in the cuteness of Baby Maggie.
Finally, (and this was the main reason for the trip), we headed to Hill Auditorium to hear one of the University of Michigan orchestras play for the Halloween concert. It's a blast, although this year wasn't nearly as good as last (I credit that to the fact that Markie-Boy wasn't there). All of the musicians dress up in costume, the conductors act out funny skits to introduce the music, and the music is all spooky, Halloween music. Too, everyone in the audience is invited to come in costume. We saw babies, kids, parents, and even older folks, all decked out. We did NOT want to leave. It was a wonderful opportunity to remember that we are a family, and we like to spend time together :-)
Problem solved. On the way home, John pulled out two tickets to the Michigan/Northwestern game, being played in The Big House on our anniversary weekend. Well, if I have to go.... :_)
You mentioned a few of my favorite things: Pizza House, Zingerman's, Ann Arbor, the Halloween concert and Michigan Football :) Nothing like AA in the fall!
ReplyDeleteLarisa -- just face the music. You just know you have to move back to the Motherland...Ann Arbor that is :) Maybe you already wish you were. It suits you.
ReplyDelete