The Great Beerd Run

My amazing friend Portia told me about this great 5k in Traverse City Michigan, The Great Beerd Run. This was a truly inspired fun run/walk.  Here in Michigan we are very proud of our breweries. We are becoming beer snobs and creating new amazing brews everyday. This race was all about beer and beards (No shave November).

Portia had the genius idea of dressing like lumberjacks.   We picked out matching flannels with suspenders. I swear she's a genius sometimes.

The race packet was fun. It contained the bib, some beer coasters, advertisements for breweries in Traverse City, and a knitted beanie with a beard attached.  The race was held at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa on their golf course. It had massive hills. It felt like we were going backwards as we ran them, but I'm getting ahead of myself.


This is the first year of this race. No one else thought of dressing up, there was a lot of really crafty homemade beards, but no one dressed up. We stuck out a little bit.  There were a lot of participants there and considering the 25F, snow, and some of the ice on the golf course, many people were very excited about the race and the beer at the end. It took us 34 minutes to finish, the race was not timed, but we timed ourselves anyway. The beer stations slow you down, but it's more about the experience than the time it takes to finish.

After the race we had a ticket for a free beer.  I tried the Key Lime from Shorts Brewing company. It was delicious.

Upon crossing the finish line we got a really cool bottle opener souvenir. The newspaper was also waiting there and they took our picture. We ended up on the front page.

It was a lot of fun. I hope they do it again next year.

Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, MI

I am not a Christmas person. Not really at all. I feel like it's too commercial and some of the good will done during this time of year is just to make up for all the ill will done all year long. In addition to this I have worked in retail for 15 years. It's hard for me to enjoy it at all, especially when I miss a lot of time with friends and family because I'm busy working.

Don't get me wrong, there are redeeming qualities about Christmas and the entire concept of it is beautiful. I love midnight mass, advent calenders, and the lights are pretty to look at and they make the extra winter darkness more tolerable.

Randy loves it. He turns into a 3 year old and wants the lights, the gifts, the shopping. I suppose this balances my pessimism and bitterness to the season, or at least makes an effort of it.

So, for Randy's birthday this year I let him pick what he wanted to do. He wanted to go to Frankenmuth and see Bronner's. He had talked about this before and I have always been reluctant, but because it was his birthday I agreed to the two and a half hour drive.

When we arrived Randy was relieved they were open until 9 pm. We thought they closed at 5:30pm and we arrived at 4pm. I was a little discouraged because I didn't want to spend more than an hour and a half in this Christmas wonderland.

The first place we stopped was at the Christmas villages. There were dozens of these tiny little villages. They had trains and little trees, minute little people ice skating on itty bitty fake ponds, and of course real working baby street lights.  On top of this there were dozens of different countries represented in bulbs.

It was truly a wonderland. There were more Christmas ornaments than I could stomach. The entire store is broken down into sections. It is placed on 27 acres of land. The store itself is about the size of 1 1/2 football fields. It was enormous.  They also have free personalization's, so if you are getting bulbs for special people you can have their names and the year put on them. 

After 2 hours of browsing through Christmas ornaments, tree toppers, and a lot of advent calenders (My favorite part of Christmas) we cashed out and decided to have dinner. We went to Zender's. Everything is German, Bavarian, there was an entire menu of really tasty food to chose from and there is also unlimited home style menu, which is really the best value if you are eating in a large group. We tried it, there were so many side dishes and the fried chicken was amazing.  There was soup, then breads, some different kinds of salads. When they served the chicken it came with dressing, potatoes, noodles with breading, and squash. It was delish. After the meal dessert was either a Sherbet or chocolate ice cream. I had the Sherbet.

It was well worth the trip, even if you don't like Christmas. The downtown area was amazing and no pictures could even do it justice.


Where we went:

http://www.bronners.com/category/christmas-ornaments.do?nType=1&utm_campaign=lv14&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=bad

http://www.zehnders.com/

Edinburgh, Scotland: The Castle and Parks

The best advice I can give to anyone traveling to the United Kingdom is be prepared to walk and use mass transit. As an American I can appreciate this, I do not have the luxury of mass transit, I do a lot of driving (I'm not being sarcastic, I really wish there were a bus stop closer to my work, I would use it). As far as walking, I know a lot of people here do it for health, but in Scotland I noticed a significant number of people just walking, as if they are actually going places other than to their cars. Imagine that.

 There is a lot of walking to be done and there are paths, gardens and amazing walking tours everywhere. In Edinburgh there is double decker bus tours if you don't feel like walking. Scotland is more than walking. Honestly the entire place looks like magic. Green, rocky, castle-filled magic.  It's as it the entire land is made of mountains just under the surface that want to rise up. God's personal pile of rocks. There are mountains (or maybe just large hills "Highlands") that you can see far off into the distance when you are in Edinburgh. These are visible from the top of the castle. So is the sea.



The Edinburgh Castle

When visiting the castle be sure to purchase the audio walking tour. There are stops along the way to explain the history of certian spots and history of the Scottish monarchy. I was facinated by Queen Mary, her life fell apart quickly. If you don't know google it. You can see the entire city from the castle. It's not a very big city, but it's an odd mixure of old and new.

The views in the rooms of the castle are lovely and it's crazy to imagine that people lived there. They walked down the narrow staircases and ate at tables, they lived here. Eating, breathing, sleeping, and going about their daily routines. They have their own Scottish Crown Jewels, including the Stone of Destiny (Stone of Scone). This was returned to them in 1996, but it started out traveling to Egypt, Sicily and then Spain. It landed in Ireland for 140 years and was taken when the Scots invaded.  Anyway, it's a very large stone with the purpose of being placed under the throne when a new King is crowned.  Scotland is still part of the United Kingdom so if a new King or Queen is crowned, it will be moved there for the cornination.  The St. Margaret's Chapel in the castle is the oldest surving structure. It was a tiny little alter and Gospel books on display. I can only imagine they were made of vellum paper and inks from local plants. They were very old and under glass.

Other parts of the City

If you are an ambitious walker you can go pretty much anywhere within the city with out transportation. The hills around the park grew tiring, but the walk was amazing because everything was so green. I walked the entire park, it seemed safe, there wasn't anything remotely dangerous about it. I've never been somewhere so placid. The streets are pretty consistetly cobble stone and I found some of stones are loose. Not enough to make a person lose balance, but it was noticable. When I visit places I always think about the how it would be to live there. The cobble stones must have created interesting adaptations in foot wear over the years.  

The Park 

Up and down the streets there are a ton of vendors selling various souviners. I bought a really spectatcular faux fur hat. They have regular souvieners as well. The street vendors only take cash. There are actual souviner shops as well. I do not recommend the fudge. Other stuff, like the candy and of course the Walker's Shortbread Cookies, are good.  Actually the Walker's Shortbread cookies may be my undoing someday. I only see these around Christmas time and I'm glad it's coming, I've already polished off the twin packs I bought from this visit a month ago. 

The Street 

Overall, it's a beautiful city to visit with lots of things to do which I couldn't possibly have covered in this blog.  

London

I've been really lucky. I haven't gone to a million places and actually I've only been to 8 countries (which is still a lot for an average person), but I have been able to visit London twice in my life. This is a city worth visiting and staying for as long as you can.

The first visit I had was almost ten years ago when I was 25. I went by myself, it was the first time I ever traveled overseas. I was so nervous. It was not the best trip. A woman died on the plane, the airline lost my luggage, I got ripped off at the money exchange place, and my hotel (which was in East Croydon) lost my reservation. I was unprepared, scared, and alone. It was a learning opportunity.
I quickly found the bus, learned the tube system and rails. Made it to Stonehendge, Bath, Winchester Cathedral, tower of London, watched a rugby match with strangers, had fantastic meals, and on my last night I got drunk with some Scottish/South African DJs I met in a bar. In a nutshell, London is an easy place to get along and it still is relatively safe if you don't take major risks and you pay attention (getting drunk with strangers was a bit careless, I was completely at their mercy, I am not endorsing this).

One thing I truly regretted from the last time is I did not get to go to Harrod's. I made Randy promise we would go to Harrod's. They recently added the 5th floor, "Shoe Heaven". It truly was amazing. The thing I didn't know about Harrod's is they have a bakery, fromagarie, butcher, and all sorts of fancy delicious food. I thought they were only clothing, but they have cavier too!  I shopped around, looking at hats, dresses, and even swimsuits. Then I found the champagne bar. It was pricey, but I figured it was an experience purchase, so I had a flute and people watched.

Randy had some items on his list as well. He wanted to see the Ice Bar in town. We met up with some friends, Eric and Stacey, they happened to be visiting London at the same time. We all went in the freezer and had shots. They were delicious and cold because they came in glasses made of ice.  It was fun and the ice created amazing pictures.

Big Ben is, well, big. Basically it's just a giant old clock, but it's beautiful and at night it is particularly stunning. On the other side of the Thames was the London Eye, which is a giant Ferris wheel looking thing. It does not blend. It is amazing how completely out of place it looks next to the old buildings, but the view from the top of it is amazing.

The Tower of London is a must see. It currently has beautiful red ceramic poppies covering its usually green lawns. This is in rememberence of World War I. It is an amazing display. The history of this structure and the way the city has been built around it is extraordiary and worth a look. Also, it is where the crown jewels are held.

London is like many other European countries and it is a mixture of old and new. It reminds me of Boston (which I suppose it should because Boston was kind of designed to be like London) and it also reminds me of Grand Rapids, where I live now). The imposing river cutting right through the middle, the buildings are large, but not too large, not New York or Chicago large, and the reminders of it's history everywhere.  It has struggled by having more than its fair share of tragedy with fires, revolutions, and plague. It has maintained, in fact thrived. The stone buildings, palaces, businesses, and tourism industry continues to grow. I really didn't see as many homeless as I have in other places I've been, like Paris or even recently in Edinburgh. I expected more, but I didn't see it.

Transportation in the city is easier than a lot of places. They have the London Underground (The tube system) which is a series of subways moving all around the city.  On the surface there are light rails which travel to many places all around the outside of the city, and the buses travel just about anywhere a person can go. You can buy a card and put money on it to use throughout the city. The card works on  the tube, buses, and the rail system.

The Double Decker buses are immensely popular tourist attractions and they are helpful in finding places around town. If you visit and you buy a pass on one you can get off and on as you please and it will take you to most destinations, however they don't run past 7pm (1900).

Buckingham Palace is where the Queen's main residence is located. Kind of like it's her home address. There are ancient and dangerous barbs surrounding the grounds. Kind of like a prison. They are on top of the fence and they look more painful and awful than barb wire.

One thing we may have found cheaper and more effcient is the London City Pass. It provides transportation and admission to many musuems.  London has a lot of is museums. There are musuems for children's toys, shoes, all sorts of crazy stuff. We were only there for three days so we did not try this, but it actually looks like a good deal to go to tourist destinations.





Where we went and some website to check out and help you with your trip:

http://www.londonpass.com/?aid=60&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&refcd=MS9855707805b_AZpass_AZcity_AZlondon&tsacr=MS1169809015

http://www.attractiontix.co.uk/tickets/london-eye

http://www.goldentours.com/tower-of-london?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc

http://www.viator.com/tours/London/The-Original-London-Sightseeing-Tour-Hop-on-Hop-off/d737-3302OT?pref=204&aid=m3053

Oatman, Arizona: the WildWest

My father-in-law took us on a tour of Arizona. He drove us to Oatman and this is a place where the wild west is still a way of life. They have staged gun fights, an old historic jail, and burros everywhere. The burros are pretty crazy. You can buy a bag of feed and feed them in the streets. They are awful, noisy, and smelly. They demand you feed them as if they owed something. Some of them were laying down and taking naps. They whole thing was pretty surreal.













               
The downtown area is historic because it is the home of an old mining community. The buildings are historic and the few people that live there have major restrictions on building or reconstructing any of the old down town buildings, as in, they can't. As an student of Anthropology I completely understand what a hot dry climate does to preserve things and being in Oatman I experienced this first hand. The buildings are still in good condition despite their age and the fact they are built with wood, not stone. Everything creeks as you walk on the wooden floors.

We ate lunch at the old hotel restaurant. There were dollar bills plastering the walls. I had seen this before in other old mining towns in Arizona. I never knew what it meant, or what it was and I was kind of confused by the large velvet picture of Willie Nelson in the middle of the room. So in my mind I thought this was some sort of alter to Willie with maybe the dollar bills as alms? Although it didn't make any sense because, like I said, I've seen the dollar bills posted on walls before in other mining towns.   The man who was singing Willie Nelson songs and looking exactly like Willie started explaining. He said that the bills were how the miners paid for drinks. They wouldn't hold up well in the mines, so they would write their names on them and post them on the wall. That way when they came back they could get more drinks until it was used up. Like a tab of sorts. It sounded like a confusing situation to me and an easy way for a bartender to get a good tip.

So, for history, gun fights, and souvenirs, if you are traveling around Arizona and you want to see the wild west, find Oatman.

Scotland: Shooting Skeet

Growing up my best friend's father repaired guns for a living.  I have seen, handled, and and even in a my positions in retail, sold firearms. A lot of people I know hunt, I've gone with them. I've even taken classes to get my CPL (Concealed Pistol License). All of this has been in an effort to curb my fear of guns. It causes a great deal of anxiety for me, I'm not really sure why. Anyone who knows me knows this. I stress out at the thought of selling them, handling them, shooting them, watching other people shoot them, and hearing about them.  It was unimaginable  would participate in shooting.

This obviously was something I wasn't planning on doing. When we were invited to this fantastic wedding in Scotland (Thank you and congratulations Lauren and Neil) one of the activities they planned was skeet shooting (or also called inanimate bird shooting).  Randy got very excited.

Brian got five out of five on one round. He was excited. 

I was apprehensive. My husband asked me to go, I told him I would just sit back and take pictures. This is my comfort zone.  My anxiety wanted me to stay away completely, I almost didn't even go at all, but I thought it would be interesting at least for the pictures.


When it came time to sign up, I was encouraged to give it a try. When the pencil broke signing my name I thought it was a bad sign.  It wasn't. It just meant the pencil needed to be sharpened and my name would look like a 3 year old wrote it. I shook it off.

It seemed a lot less restrictive than it is in the states. For example, we didn't have to fill out a bunch of forms or even a waiver. We didn't have safety goggles, but we did have ear muffs which helped to narrow down the sound so the instructor's voice so we could focus on how to aim.

Part of curbing the stress of the situation (for me) is understanding what I'm doing and watching how others handle the situation. When I was up I asked a lot of questions. I had him show me different parts of the gun and watched him load it, turn the safety on and off. He was even kind enough to let me take a practice shot just so I could see how the recoil felt.

It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was, we used a type of double barrel shotgun (the zombie killing kind) and we shot at the disks as they flew through the air. We got to do 5 birds each turn, 4 times. We shot at 20 of the lifeless stone flyers over the course of an hour or so. Some of the people in our group hit a lot of them. It was an amazing feeling the first time I hit one. Major adrenaline rush. Then followed by disappointment when I couldn't hit the next one. I got 5 out of 20 total and figured that was pretty good for a person who wasn't even going to show up. When I mentioned that it was hard on the shoulder he switched to a different kind of shotgun cartridge for me, "it will be lighter" and it was. Overall, they were very thoughtful and careful, which is exactly as I would hope.

I'm glad I went on this little excursion. The last part, which scared me the most and seemed to break all the rules of handling guns, we all took pictures of ourselves pointing the gun at the camera. The instructor showed us it was empty each and every time.  This made me happy.

Edinburgh, Scotland: National Gallery, Scott Monument

I once met a Scottish man in a bar while I was in London. He told me several times how magical Scotland is and how someday I should visit. He was very, very drunk, but as the saying goes, "the drunk man's words are the sober man's thoughts" and ten years later I found myself in this magical place.

The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn. As if that was not charming enough the hotels we stayed were doubly so.  The dichotomy of the 300 year old building with brand new fixtures became standard around the city. Every where we went there was new technology mixed with ancient structures. It was incredible. There was WiFi everywhere around town which was nice because international data was not an option on this trip.

The first place I noticed when I we entered the city center was The Scott Monument. Love at first sight for me. It has these dark corners and points. Curvy arches and amazing statuettes create a Gothic atmosphere all around and it's very imposing on the other structures. I find it interesting that there was a giant glass H & M across the street but it took nothing away from it's beauty.  The buses, taxis, and cars, drive right past it reminding me that this is a very alive city.

A little history is always good. The monument was built in 1840 and completed in 1844. It is dedicated to Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish writer. The reason it's so dark in spots is because of the industrial revolution and coal was used as energy. It stained a lot of buildings in the area.  It was 287 steps all the way to the top and the fee was 4 Pounds (about 7 USD). They only take cash and the man at the door was difficult for me to understand, but had a good humor about it.  One interesting part of the architecture is the statues are all attached by wire on to the building to prevent them from falling or pieces of them falling off on to the ground. I appreciated the safety portion of this and it didn't really impact the way the structures look from the ground.  There is no elevator or lift and the stairwell is very narrow so beware if you are claustrophobic. It gets worse after you take the second and third set of stairs. There are three levels like a platform, after the first initial set of stairs

Some of the greatest parts of the lovely city of Edinburgh were actually free or very affordable to see. The Scottish National Gallery was one of these interesting places.  This is the home to many great European works of art. Many of them had crazy stories which went with them. There was one about a woman who had a man's head cut off because he objected to the marriage of her daughter. The actual painting is her showing the head to her husband with a fork in the tongue of the severed head. A woman was explaining this scene to her children and it got awkward, there are several paintings like these, but this does not mean children should not go in, the images aren't really scary and if you just read the placard next to them it is easier to understand them.

Also free is the cemeteries which are excited to walk around because they are so old. This one is the tomb of the Scottish philosopher David Hume. There are many other but I think homeless people might occasionally sleep in there, I found some blankets and stuff. It added to the creepiness of the cemetery.

There are many other things to see in Edinburgh, like the castle and the parks. There is too much info to put into one blog, so there will be another on the city, possibly two. (It was a very large city).

Meeting Nigel Barker

Once again the wonderful city I live in never ceases to amaze me. The furniture company, Art Van, had an amazing event they hosted in Grand Rapids, Detroit, and Chicago. They gave away $1,000 shopping credit to winners at the events and they are also giving away prizes to the top 55 people with the most likes on their "SofaSelfies".  Nigel Barker, noted fashion photographer of The Face and America's Next Top Model, came along for this promotion. 

Nigel Barker. Ah, what can I say? I used to watch America's Next Top Model and I loved watching him. His accent, his polished look, his talent with analyzing the pictures. 

So what was he like in person? I only talked to him for a minute, after all he was very busy, photo bombing Sofa Selfies, talking to crowds of people, and helping them take better pictures. 

He was unbelievably nice what little I did talk to him. I was so nervous and I told him I wasn't clever enough to come up with something creative, he said, "Sometimes simple is always the best." He talked a little more about having friends to click like and using other forms of media.  He was amazingly calm, poised, and friendly. Watching him walk around and take pictures with others I realized how caring he was to all the people at the event. He spoke to everyone. He took pictures with everyone. He even let people climb around on him like they were monkeys. He picked women up off the ground, staged proposals, and at one point rubbed a woman's feet. It was sheer entertainment watching this. I realize it is his "Job", because of course he got paid to be at the event, but it was really above and beyond. 

In Grand Rapids there was a special game they played, "Musical Sofas". In this game it was basically a variation of Musical Chairs, just with sofas. This was the end of the event and it was really fun. I was out at the first time the music stopped. Boo. But my husband was in it for a while longer and our friend Chris actually won! It was very exciting. 

There is one more part of the contest. 55 of the highest liked and most shared Sofa Selfies will win a couch. My husband's picture is below and hopefully you can go to the link and click like on his picture on the Facebook page!  (Sadly that is my thumb in the corner. Maybe Nigel should have hung around a little longer and taught me how to take a picture....)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152317663032267&set=a.10150108971867267.283412.609797266&type=1&theater

Comic Con Chicago 2014: Matt Smith, Norman Reedus, William Shattner

My geographical position put me in a place where I could go to a fantastic event in Chicago, Comic Con (actually in Rosemont, Il, right outside Chicago). Comic Con is a huge deal for fans of many major Sci-Fi television shows and movies, also artists all over the world.  Many celebrities are on hand for autographs and pictures. It was an  amazing experience.

First of all anyone can attend with the purchase of a ticket. This Comic Con was $60 a ticket for entry,  $50 on Sunday because it's a shorter day. Prices vary for different Comic Cons and it also depends on who hosts it. Wizard World hosted the one I attended in Chicago.  Then you pay extra for any celeb photo ops or signatures that you collect. I purchased a VIP ticket that included entry for all four days and a signature and Photo op with Matt Smith and a panel discussion with Matt Smith and Karen Gillian from Dr. Who. It was an amazing panel. Fans could stand up and ask questions to the two of them. They were incredible.

The worst part is the lines. The VIP package helped reduce this a lot. There were lines for all the autographs, some were extremely long, some were pretty short. Some of the celebrities were really cool. They were fist pumping people as they walked to and from their appointments and/or the bathroom. They can't possibly talk to everyone, they get paid to do this, and they are, after all, just people. This being said when you get their autograph you have about six seconds, some people get this stretched out by giving them a gift, or saying something to them that is provocative, but still it will be over pretty quickly. There are lots of people vying for their attention.

I got an autograph and photo op with Matt Smith. Despite the VIP package I still probably spent about two hours in line total. The picture moved really fast once it was started, the autograph line, not as much. People were giving him gifts and chatting with him as much as they could. He was very friendly and I don't think I would be as patient as some of these celebs, these people were drooling and going nuts on them.

The best part was the costumes people dressed in, some where super incredible. Especially the ones people created for their children. The little girl in the Dalek, (from Dr. Who) was especially amazing. There were power rangers, superheroes, zombies, and anything you could possibly think of that was cartoon, Sci-Fi, or superhero related. The superhero costumes were the most predominate. The X-Men were the most obvious, but there were also a lot of wonder women and supermen and of course every color of power ranger imaginable. 

 My niece was excited because she saw celebrities from the Walking Dead.  There were a lot of them there. I have never seen this show, so I didn't know who these people were, in fact Michael Rooker drove past me in a golf cart and the only reason I took his picture was because this man I was talking to started freaking out about it.  So I got out my phone and snapped a couple of pictures of him.  I also saw two others, but the pictures came out kind of blurry. My niece got her picture taken with Norman Reedus, and he was so nice to her. He told her she was adorable and she had the best time meeting him. 

Then later on that same day we ran into William Shattner. That was super cool. He was walking to his autograph booth, so I snapped a couple of pictures of him as well. My mom is a Star Trek fan and always has been, so the second it was downloaded to Facebook she made it into her profile picture :). I kept joking to my sister that we shouldn't be standing around the Star Trek areas with my R2D2 tank top and R2D2 popcorn container. (Yes, I brought R2 with me, it seemed cruel to leave him at home.)

The artists were a really cool part of this event as well. Many of them will autograph the prints you purchase and they are more than happy to talk to you about their artwork. My niece got to meet one of the artist who draws The Walking Dead, I'm not real crazy about Zombies but his work is so interesting I couldn't look away. He had Norman Rockwell style zombies drawn. He was also Norman Reedus' neighbor. I think that's what had drawn (Mind the pun) my niece in to talk to him. He actually drew her a picture of Norman Reedus and signed it. His name was Arthur Suydam and he was facinating to talk to and just generally a nice guy.  She was a very happy 13 year old after getting a picture drawn and talking to this man. 

 My advice, bring lots of cash. Most all the vendors take credit and debit cards, but cash is easier. Make sure you know what you are buying. A lot of the stuff can be found online a lot cheaper.  The stuff you want is the artwork, comic books, original stuff that is hard to find.


Dress up in your favorite superhero and get going!


 Some things to check out:

http://www.wizardworld.com/
http://www.arthursuydam.com/