My first trip to "the Mitten" was to surprise my mom for her 60th birthday!! My dad and I conspired for months, and were able to successfully pull it off! My mom believed I was only going to be in town for about 3 days and would miss her actual birthday....well, it turned out that I was there for a full 5 days and was able to celebrate the BIG SIX-O with her! The following is my mom's (underwhelming?) reaction when I walked into the house to surprise her...
Dad: Oh, my friend missed his flight so he's staying here for the night...
Faye (leaping into the living room where my mom is sitting): SURPRISE!
Mom: Oh, hi. How are you?
The best parts about Michigan for me are found in the food and family! So, here are my reviews of both:
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| Heaven on a bun! |
FOOD: Of course I have to start with the food! My family's "go to" eat out spot is Leo's Coney Island. For Mighiganians--especially those in the Metro Detroit area, we hear "Coney Dog" and a chili covered hot dog with mustard & onions that is so delicious words can barely describe comes to mind. Now, living in the "great state of Texas", the closest thing I can get to a Coney is to go to Sonic...two thoughts typically come to mind at that suggestion a.) gross b.) I miss home. So, my parents obviously could not refuse my requested trip to Leo's.
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| The coffee shop formally known as Beaners |
Other delicious food encounters occurred when my dad took my mom and I to Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor for a fancy steak dinner. We got dressed up and ordered some amazing cuts of meat. The restaurant seems significantly more casual than I remember as a child, but the food is still A+! My mom opened her presents and a wonderful time was had by all!
And finally, one of my favorite Michigan "go local" endeavours is Beaners Biggby Coffee! It started in Michigan, is just as delicious as Starbucks and even has a daily trivia question to appeal to my inner Jeopardy obsession!
FAMILY: While I was in Michigan, I got to see all of my grandparents at least once. Most of them are doing fairly well health-wise....the one exception being my dad's mom (see: My Journey Northward-part 2). I was also able to meet the latest addition to my family, my little cousin, Makenzie! I think the photos speak for themselves!
One tradition that has lived in my family for well over a decade now is the daddy-daughter date. It started when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, and I begged my dad to take me to the Daddy Daughter Dance. If your hometown doesn't have one, its a cute version of daddy-daughter prom before daughters start thinking their dads are weird and old (no, dad, I never thought that about you...). Well, my dad decided after two years of expensive tickets, candy hearts, cheap lemonade and blaring dance music that we would make this an adventure of our own. Over the years, this has included Red Wing games, museums, presidential libraries and other assorted quality time adventures. This year, my dad took me for bowling and beers at our local Brighton Bowl! As you can see from our scores, he won out in the end...but I put up a pretty good fight! Luckily our daddy-daughter dates are less about the scores and more about the fact that I have a cool enough dad who wants to a.) hang out with me b.) will take me bowling (or any activity that really that I choose) c.) will buy a round of beers at 11:30 on a Saturday morning!
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