Holiday adventures

It's only been a few days since I last wrote, so we start this Sunday morning with what's been happening since Wednesday.  

Wednesday was my final day of work for 2024, and I ended my workday at noon so that I could take advantage of the final 4 hours of paid volunteer time I had remaining for the year.  I made the drive out to the shelter to walk some shelter dogs immediately after I finished my work day, and I was joined by another volunteer to walk as many dogs as we could.  When I arrived, I found that there were only 4 dogs available to walk, Edna-pictured above-and Mike went out with us first and enjoyed a nice walk.  Then we returned to the shelter to get Tuck and Roll, two 5-month old lab mix puppies, out for their walk.  When we got back I spent a little more time at the shelter doing some odds and ends.  I also spent some time that afternoon doing some stuff for ISR.  It was a great afternoon of volunteer fun.

Then, I headed home to get the dogs so we could make the trip to Farmington Hills.  We had plans that night to attend the Wayne County Lightfest, a drive-thru light show, with Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona.  I have visited this drive-thru since 2020, and the dogs have visited with me every year, with the exception of last year when we took Fiona for the first time.  This year, Fiona really wanted Mina and Peaches to join us so, of course, I brought them along.  

We arrived at Nicol's house, and I got the dogs out for a quick walk and then headed inside for a bit while we waited for Tyler to get home from work.  Then we all loaded up into Nicol's car to head out to see the lights.  The dogs were cozy in the back of the car, the Christmas music was playing, and Fiona was excited to be on our way to see the lights.  When we arrived, she sat on my lap as we drove through enjoying the lights, and while I didn't get any good pictures of the lights, I did get one picture. It was a nice display and Fiona was excited that the dogs were looking at the lights with her.  

After we finished the drive-thru, we stopped for dinner at Del Taco.  When we got back into the car after dinner, Fiona was very happily greeted by both Mina and Smokey with lots of doggy kisses.  When we got back to the house, I headed inside to watch the Grinch and read a Christmas book with her before I headed home.  It was such a fun night.

I had originally planned to head North for the weekend, and the plan was to leave Thursday morning, but a variety of factors led me to change my plans and just stay home for the weekend instead.  A snow storm was making it's way into the area, expected to arrive sometime that afternoon, and I had a list of things I wanted to get done.  We spent the morning of trying to be productive at home, but I knew I needed to get the dogs out for a little adventure before the snow arrived.  So I looked at the radar, and decided to make the drive to Albion so that we could finish our 100 miles on the North Country Trail for the year.  

When we arrived in Albion, I texted Vanessa to see if she was there and able to join us, and she was, so we picked her up and made the short drive to Victory Park for our walk.  We completed 1.85 miles on the trail and officially completed our Hike 100 challenge for 2024.  It is crazy to think that we've been doing this hiking challenge since 2016.  That's a lot of miles, and a lot of adventures, over the years.  I can't wait to do it all over in 2025.

On the way home from our hike, we made a quick stop in Parma so I could check out the Parma Antique Mall.  I bought a couple of cute ornaments and a book, then got in the car to head home.  On the way home, the snow began to fall.  I made a stop at the taco truck for dinner before they closed for the 2024 season, and there was a light layer of snow on the driveway when we arrived at home.  It was so pretty.

We woke on Friday morning to about 4 inches of snow on the ground.  It was so pretty, especially on the trees.  We had a a good day at home, getting some things checked off my to-do list, but the dogs were growing impatient, so I knew I had to get them out for some fun.  I had to run a couple of errands, so I shoveled the driveway, loaded the dogs into the car, and headed out to get more done.  After a few stops, we drove across town for a visit to Preuss Pets.

Each dog got an individual trip into the store to explore, visit with their favorite Preuss employee, and visit the small critters.  Then they each got a walk around the block before they got back into the car so that the next dog could get out.  Mina is always last, and she helps me pick out a few goodies to buy before we leave.

I also enjoy checking out the small critters and I loved this little tree frog and it's cute toes! 

On the drive home from Preuss, I decided to stop for a quick walk around the Capitol grounds.  We haven't spent nearly enough time downtown this holiday season, but it was so could that I knew we couldn't take a long walk.  We had the whole Capitol grounds to ourselves, which I found strange on the Friday before Christmas, but it was nice.  We had a peaceful walk and everyone was happy to be out getting in some sniffs.  

I can never get enough pictures of our beautiful Capitol Building, especially at the holidays.  

And I also just love the look of the snowy tree with Christmas lights.  

Winter arrived in the early hours of Saturday and we woke to frigid temperatures and sunny skies.  Winter really is here now.  We did a few things around the house, then I went out to make a couple of final holiday shopping stops, including the Holt Farmer's market for a trip to our favorite dog treat lady.

We got home and I was rushing around to finish up a couple of things when Vanessa arrived for our afternoon adventure.  We were heading to Kalamazoo for some winter fun and we were all excited for the fun!  We stopped for donuts at Sweetwater's Donut Mill, then started our geocaching fun.  We took a short walk down a lovely little trail for one of our first caches and then spent the afternoon driving around and picking up caches along the way.

Finally we headed toward downtown Kalamazoo to visit Candy Cane Lane.  This is one of my favorite holiday light displays and it just makes me happy.

We walked around the park and I took a few pictures, including one with the candy canes.  

Then we walked down to Kalamazoo Mall and made the walk here, enjoying the festive lights.

And, of course, we got a picture with the giant Santa before walking back to Candy Cane lane, and then finally headed back to the car.

I was so happy that we were able to make it to Kalamazoo again this year.  I don't think the holidays would be quite complete without this trip.

Next we headed to Battle Creek to take a quick walk and enjoy the Christmas light display there.  I love the light shows that play along to music, and this one in Battle Creek is always a favorite.  It was freezing out, so we didn't stay long, but I was glad we had stopped. 

Then we started to make the drive for home, but we had to make one last stop in Marshall to show Vanessa the Holiday house along the way.  While we were there, we also grabbed dinner, and did one final geocaching adventure, before we made the drive home.  We had had such a wonderful day full of adventures and Christmas spirit.  It was really just what I needed to get me fully ready for Christmas.

Today I have a lot to get done-gift wrapping, cleaning, Christmas Eve food prep, and a couple of quick errands.  I'm hopeful that the dogs will be quiet and allow me to get everything done.  So far it's been a pretty quiet morning, but Smokey is starting to get restless.  It looks like a gorgeous sunny day out, but the current temperature feels like 11 degrees, so maybe we'll head out for a quick adventure before we settle in for a productive day at home.

By the time I write next week, Christmas day will have come and gone, so I just want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.