meant that I had some time to myself while Aly was in school and we already had our babysitter here since Rachel works on Wednesdays. Tuesday night saw some tremendous rain come through West Michigan, but the next morning arrived clear and sunny. With temperatures already past 70 degrees, I pulled into the parking lot of Saugatuck State Park around 10am and was only the fourth car.
We recently moved to a new headquarters in Wyoming, after years split between two converted warehouses a mile away. Our new space is beautiful, with floor-to-ceiling glass throughout the building, and the building is packed with informal collaborative spaces – all of which has been the subject of rave reviews from nearly everyone who works there since we moved in September.
A few days after my wanderings on the North Trail, I took my first hike on the South Trail, on a gray cool-bordering-on-chilly day, with strong winds roaring through the tree tops, but not much felt down at trail level.
Rachel and I attended the Michigan-Michigan State game this past weekend, which ended correctly for the first time in four years or so. It was a great day for a game, despite the promised rain and cold, neither of which showed up during the game. We had an excellent time, except for the lady sitting in front of us, who kept sitting while everyone else is standing (no problem there), but sat far back on the bench seat (again, no problem) and continually leaned back (now we’re starting to have a problem), using my groin as a seatback. I tried standing sort of sideways, but there wasn’t room for that. I resorted to digging my calves into our bench and leaning way back – first time I’ve had to protect my package at Michigan game, lol.
In early October, I was lucky enough to find time to wander the outer loop of the North Trail at Saugatuck state park with my camera for a few hours. It was a beautiful day and the fall colors were worth the effort climbing through the dune trails. I wandered through a few new-to-me unmarked trails that yielded some beautiful views that made me feel like I had the whole park to myself. I did encounter a few people along the shore as I made my way to the Beach Trail for the return to the parking lot, but even the beach was nearly empty.
Leah and I had a morning together, and I convinced her to go out to Van Raalte farm with me again so I could take my camera and collect some more fall color. We walked a loop we had never been on before, and she had a lot of fun hollering at everything nearby. After a while without taking pictures, I thought she kept saying “choo choo” (her word for trains, planes, buses, and we heard several trains) but she was saying “picture” and telling me things to take pictures of. My budding photog.
A few weeks back, we had a great visit to Post Family Farm in Hudsonville with our kids and a few of my work friends with their kids. It was supposed to be a 50-ish overcast Fall day, but as we arrived at 10am, it was already a sunny 60 degrees and climbing. We were joined shortly by Jacqui & clan, Janene & clan, and a bit later by Louis & clan.
We woke up and got everybody dressed, then finished up our packing and got ready to check out of our Lion King room. Leah spent this time playing the iPad in her pajamas (yes, we bring pillow cases for our kids – so what?). I started hauling luggage down to the Red Grand Caravan while Rachel and the girls set out on a mission. Well, two missions, actually.
We got cleaned up after our afternoon stint at the Big Blue Pool and mounted the Red Grand Caravan for the drive north to the Polynesian resort. In the post-9/11 world at Disney resorts, you have to either use your room key to open the checkpoint gate into the parking lot, or show your ID to the guard who will let you through. Since we weren’t staying there, I had my ID ready as we pulled up to the guard, who greeted me and I said “We’re having dinner at ‘Ohana”, which caused him to ask for my ID. I started moving my hand out the window to show him my license, and he waved me through with a “Have a nice dinner” before my hand was even above the door. Comforting security practices, but I suppose we don’t look all that threatening in our embarrassingly Red minivan with two squawking girls in the back seat.
After our late night at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party the night before, we all slept in a bit the next morning, which means that Leah actually slept in a bit so the rest of us could sleep. Aly ate some leftover cinnamon rolls that our server at Cinderella’s Royal Table had given her the morning before, while Leah and Rachel had cereal for breakfast. I didn’t eat anything, mostly because I was still half-zombie as we left the room to board the Red Grand Caravan for the short ride over to EPCOT.
