A Quiet Vacation

We had a quiet week of vacation at home this week.  After a busy weekend last weekend, Monday and Tuesday were spent quietly at home.  I did some small projects around the house, snuggled, took walks, and played with the dogs, enjoyed doing some meal prep for the week, and spent some lazy time just watching cheesy holiday movies.  It was a good way to spend a couple of days, never getting far from home.

After a quiet Wednesday morning at home, I had plans for a little Holiday fun.  I love the Kalamazoo area during the holiday season, and I wanted to check out a couple of events mid-week when I knew they would be a little less busy.  

I had timed tickets for the first stop of the night, Gull Meadows Farms.  I had seen the event advertised over the years, but had never been before, and I was excited to get there and take a walk through the orchard and greenhouses. 

My ticket was for 5:30pm and I arrived about 15 minutes early, so I took a walk through the store and purchased a cinnamon doughnut and some apple cider.  I then headed to the entrance for my walk through the lights.  

There were lights, inflatables, and a light show, and even a train display.   It was a pretty display and a nice walk.  

I took mine time walking through and really enjoyed my time there.  

After I finished my walk through Gull Meadows, we headed into Kalamazoo to visit Bronson Park and the Kalamazoo Mall.  While the first stop was not dog-friendly, Kalamazoo is a great spot to explore the holidays light with them.  

I love all of the lighted trees along Kalamazoo Mall and the girls thought that it was an awesome spot to walk. 

At one end of the Mall, there is a giant Santa, so of course I had to have the girls sit for a picture.  They cooperated, for the most part.

We then walked back along Kalamazoo Mall to Bronson Park.  The light display there is always fun and the girls loved all of the new smells and all of the people.

Of all of the the displays at Bronson Park, Candy Cane Lane is probably my favorite.  I had to make the girls stop for another picture.

After our walk through the park, we headed back to the car to continue with our night of fun.  As we headed East, I had planned a stop at the Kellogg House Manor, which is about half way between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.  There was a special event that evening at the house and while I didn't care much about the event, I was excited for the opportunity to get to walk through this historic home.

I couldn't believe how busy it was when I arrived, and I did have to wait in line for a short time before I got in, but it was worth the wait.  The house was pretty full, but I was able to do a quick walk through and see all of the beautiful rooms.  I love a good historic home, and this one did not disappoint.  

After a quick walk through the Kellogg House, we headed on to Battle Creek to view the light display there.  Every year they display the 12 days of Christmas in lights along the North Country Trail and I always enjoy the short walk to view the lights. 

Of course the girls enjoyed the walk along the trail too.  This was Mina's first time visiting the NCT in Battle Creek, but I know it won't be her last.   There is also a great light display to music in a park nearby, and of course we made the walk down to that park to enjoy the lights there as well.

I really enjoyed all of the stops of the night. Not only did we see some beautiful light displays, we had a nice drive through the country and saw lots of beautiful homes decorated for the holidays.  It was a wonderful way to spend our evening.  

On Thursday, we spent another day close to home.  The girls and I did get out for a short geocaching adventure and then visited a local home that goes all out for the holiday.  

On Saturday, I spent the morning running errands without the girls, but had plans to get them out for some fun on our afternoon walk.

There was a special event being held downtown on the Capitol grounds, and I didn't want to miss it.  This was the first time I had heard of Tuba Christmas, but learned while at the event that this event has been happening annually since 1973.  This group of Tuba, Baritone, and Sousa phone players literally came together for the first time earlier in the day and is made up of anyone who would like to join the event.  They spent about 45 minutes playing Christmas music and it was spectacular!

The girls were patient for a short period of time, but we spent a lot of our time walking around the grounds nearby and meeting new people, which they loved, and the whole time, I got to enjoy some beautiful live music.  I will definitely be back next year!  Once the event was over, we continued our walk around town before heading home for a quiet Saturday evening at home.  

Our Sunday morning was spent quietly at home.  I had plans to get some things done, but I sat down briefly and ended up with a puppy in my lap.  Needless to say, I didn't get much down.  

We headed out late morning for a nice walk in Scotts Woods.  It was a pretty mild day and a good day to get out for a nice walk with the girls.  We had a lovely walk through the woods and then headed home for the day.  

We spent the afternoon snuggled up and watching the Lions game, and the best part was that they won!  It was a great way to end our quiet week spent mostly close to home.  

We have two weeks until Christmas and I am hoping to get out for some more holiday events during that time.  I love the holidays and it goes so quickly, so I want to make sure to make the most of it.

Hiking and Holiday fun.

After two three-day work weeks, I was back at work for the full week last week.  Working an 8-5 job this time of year really makes it hard to get out for much fun with the dogs during the week, and to top it off we had cold and really windy weather for a couple of days.  Luckily, Monday's weather was decent so we were able to get out for a walk over my lunch.

I decided to make the most of our mid-day walk by heading out to Scotts Woods versus just taking a walk around the neighborhood, and I was glad we did.  It's always better to take a walk through the woods.  

At the end of the work day we took another walk around the neighborhood and then the girls enjoyed a special treat to celebrate this little stinker turning 7 months old.  She now weighs over 45 pounds and is as sassy and stubborn as she should be for her age and breed.  There are some days that she drives me bonkers, but I can't imagine life without her.

Tuesday was cold and work was busy, so our walks were all close to home.  Wednesday we had a wind advisory which made the wind chill bad enough that I didn't want the girls to spend too much time outside so I kept them busy with brain games inside until we could take a trip to walk around Soldan's on my lunch.  Thankfully the winds calmed down in the early evening, so I was able to get them out for a walk around the neighborhood after I got home from my Wednesday night shelter dog walk.  I know that they were both happy to get out of the house.

Thursday was sunny, and while it wasn't warm, it was warmer than it had been, and the girls spent lots of time out in the yard.  My work day was packed full so we didn't have time for much of a mid-day walk, but I decided to take a ride and of course the girls joined me.  Mina has decided that her favorite place to sit is right beside me and leaning against me while I drive...so she doesn't miss a thing.  

It was a long stressful day of work and these two definitely know when I'm stressed.  I think it actually causes them both to be more anxious and leads to Mina causing trouble...which only makes my stress level worse.  But after a car ride and a couple of walks followed by dinner and some snuggles,  I think we were all feeling better

Friday was another long and busy day of work, but I didn't mind because I was also preparing to have the next week off from work.  The day was decent and once again the girls spent a lot of time outside playing.  At the end of the day, we headed out for a quick geocaching meet up before heading to the Frandor Shopping Mall.  The girls got to go into Petco and walk up and down every aisle, sniffing away.  I then took them for a walk around the shopping center where they got to smell all kinds of new smells.  After our walk, I did a little shopping and then we headed home for a quiet evening.  

Saturday morning we slept in a bit before heading out to the shelter to volunteer.  They had had a great week of adoptions and there were only three dogs available to adopt and I decided to get them all out for a walk.  Old Timer was first.  He's 13 years old and can't go far so he just sniffed around the grassy areas near the parking lot, but he was happy to be outside.  He wasn't out for long when someone showed up to meet him, so he went back inside for the meeting while I walked Coquito, pictured above, and Kuumba, who is a 1 year old Mastiff who is clearly still all puppy and wouldn't hold still for me to get her picture.  By the time I was done, I had walked over three miles, and I hadn't even gotten my girls out for an adventure yet, but don't worry, I had big plans for them.

They had patiently waited in the car while I volunteered, but they thought it was totally worth it when they got to see Vanessa and Lauren and take a visit in the shelter.  They were both pretty excited about that.  We then headed to downtown Mason to do a little geocaching and to take a walk around the town square.  Of course I had to get their picture with the giant Santa.

It was windy and cold again, so I had decided we were going to take several short walks for the day, so after our time in Mason, we were back in car with Mina ready to be my co-pilot again.  Our next stop was Old Town for a Holiday shopping event they were holding around town.  We walked on the River trail and around the shops,  stopped at a few stores, and I never got a picture, but I know that they loved it.

Our next stop was REO Town for the Holly Jolly Market.  The REO Town Marketplace is dog friendly, so the girls got to join me as I looked around and did a little shopping.  They got treats and made plenty of friends and had the absolute best time there.  We took a short walk around town before getting in the car to make a quick stop at home.  

We had been out and about all day and none of us had eaten anything so we headed home so I could feed the girls before our next fun stop for the day.  After a quick meal, drink of water, and potty break we were back in the car to head downtown to Reutter Park.  This year the city ice rink has been set up in the park and they have several little cabins set up for vendors to sell their wares on the weekend.

This weekend Santa and Mrs. Claus were there for pictures and while I had no intention of getting this picture taken, there was no line when we arrived and the photographer nearly begged us to get our picture taken.  Since it was free, I decided we'd humor them.  As soon as we got in front of Santa, Peaches decided she needed to poop, but they all patiently waited for her to finish and for me to clean up.  The girls were too excited about meeting Santa and the Mrs. that they wouldn't sit still, so I decided to sit down and join them to see if that would help.  As you can tell from the picture, Peaches just wanted to be friends with Mrs. Claus, but overall, I'm happy with my free picture of the three of us together...it certainly shows the reality of my life!  I grabbed a free hot chocolate in the next booth and then we took a short stroll around the park before heading back to the car.  

Next we were off to Potter Park Zoo for the Wonderland of Lights.  It was the annual Toys for Tots night where you get into the Zoo for the evening with a Toy donation.  I love dropping off a toy and thanking the Marines for their service.  Getting into the zoo is just a bonus.

The Zoo is small, so it didn't take me long to walk through and enjoy the lights.  I was bummed that I didn't see any of the big cats, but I certainly heard a lion roaring away as I walked by their enclosure. 

On the way home we took a quick drive through Frances Park for their light display, got gas, and grabbed dinner at the taco truck.  It had been a full day of fun and we were all happy to settle in for the night to watch the Big 10 Championship game.  

Sunday morning arrived, and we had another full day of fun planned.  It was a cold 19 degrees with an 11 degree wind chill when I first got up, but the forecast showed sunny skies with temperatures rising to the upper 30s by afternoon, so it was going to be a great day for a hike.

Vanessa met us at our house and then we headed to Lowell to complete a road walk that would connect a couple of sections we had done previously.  The first half mile or so was a lovely wooded trail along the river.  The sun was shining and there were geocaches to find here, and it was the perfect start to our walk.   We did have a small water crossing and Peaches ended up in the stinky mucky water briefly, but thankfully by the end of our hike the smell had worn off.  Mina spent her day walking Vanessa and was not happy when Vanessa let them get behind us.  She prefers to be in the front!

We reached the road walk section and there were a combination of dirt, paved, and gravel roads.  While I don't mind the road walk portions of the trail when the roads are unpaved and scenic, those tend to be the locations we are also most likely to run into homes with free roaming dogs, which can be a challenge.  While we did encounter a few dogs along the way, we have a pretty good routine now as we send Vanessa ahead to keep the dogs in their yards so we can walk safely by.  We've been lucky that all of our dog encounters have ended well.  The two labs who nearly charged into traffic on a busy road to get to us definitely scared me, but thankfully they stopped and I didn't have to witness a tragic accident.  

McPherson Rd, pictured above,  was a straight three mile stretch and as we neared the last 1/2 mile, we were all pretty happy to see Tom's truck waiting for us to take us back to my car.  His help shuttling us around in the Lowell area this year has been invaluable.  

We drove back to our stating point to pick up my car and then drove to Seidman Park, where I parked my car on the South side of the park and then Tom dropped us off on the North side of the park so we could finish this one small section that we needed so that we no longer have any unhiked sections between Ada and the Barry County line.  When we return to continue our hiking in Kent county next year, we will start 5 miles North of Seidman Park in the Cannonsburg area and complete the county.

Just a little over  half-way through our hike in Seidman Park, Peaches and I completed our 100 miles on the trail for 2022.  We finished the day with 9.4 miles hiked.  That is a good distance.   

During our hiking this year, we have completed all but 10 miles of the trail in Hillsdale county, and we've hiked 39 of the nearly 74 miles in Kent County.  Vanessa isn't quite done with her 100 miles, so we'll be out again later this month helping her finish and hopefully completing another 5 miles of road walk in Hillsdale County.  I can't tell you just how much I want to get that road walk done!  

We're so close to connecting our hikes all the way from the Lowell area to the Ohio border.  It's pretty exciting.  It will definitely happen next year.  Then we can continue our trek North, with the ultimate goal of hiking all of the miles from the Ohio border to the Mackinaw Bridge.  

After finishing our hike, we stopped in Lowell for some tasty BBQ, and then got in the car to head toward Dearborn to enjoy Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village.  We had time to kill so we stopped for a little geocaching along the way.  We arrived at Greenfield Village, got the girls out for a potty break, dinner, and a drink in the parking lot, and then tucked them in for a nap while we headed in for the event.  I didn't get many pictures, but I thoroughly enjoyed our time there and I definitely need to go back another time to explore more.  What a cool place.

We made a stop for our traditional holiday hot chocolate on the way home, and of course the girls got pup cups.  It had been a great day of adventure.

I'm on vacation this week and I have plans to work on some projects around the house and to get out for some fun too.  I think the girls are going to love this week; I know I'm looking forward to it.

Getting into the Spirit of the season

I was happy to have a short work week due to Thanksgiving last week,  Monday after work, we headed downtown for our walk.  Not only is this the best time of year to walk downtown due to all of the decorations and the holiday music playing throughout the area, it is also great because it is well-lit which is a bonus when the sun sets so early.

The tree is my favorite part of our walks downtown right now.  I love all of the lights and it just makes me smile every time I see it.  We'll spend a lot of nights walking there over the next month.

On Wednesday, I took the afternoon off from work so I could head out to the Animal Shelter.  It was a beautiful 50 degree day, and I wanted to make sure the dogs that would be left at the shelter over the holiday weekend got out for an adventure. 

I was able to get Chester, Desmond, Beaufort, and Old Timer each out for a Sniffari around Mason.  They each got a walk, a car ride, and visits to some local businesses.  Leslie had a special visitor who gave her a great afternoon too.

And after our adventures, all of the dogs got a pup cup from Biggby as a special treat before I left.  It was an awesome afternoon volunteering and the perfect way to kick off my Thanksgiving weekend. 

When I got home from volunteering, I loaded the girls into the car to run some errands.   I also wanted to make sure they got some fun, so we visited Pet Supplies Plus and Soldan's before taking a quick walk.  

I'd say Mina was happy with our adventures because she happily snuggled up with me for the night after dinner.  She's become quite the snuggler.  Between her and Peaches, my lap is rarely empty.

Since I had plans for an early Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, we headed out the door for a morning adventure before I had to leave.  While we weren't part of the official Turkey Trot, we did head downtown and we did our own shortened version of the Trot. 

It was a beautiful morning and we were all happy to be out enjoying it.  With all of the people that had been downtown due to the Turkey Trot, there were lots of things for the girls to sniff.  They had the best time!

We enjoyed a peaceful and quiet Friday morning snuggling.  The girls also spent some quality time outside enjoying the weather.  But the most exciting part of our Friday morning was my trip with Peaches to pick out our Christmas tree.  She wasn't as excited about the tree as I was.

 

Friday afternoon we had plans for a visit to see Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona since we hadn't gotten to see them on Thanksgiving.  Peaches was ready for the trip.

It was wonderful getting to spend the afternoon with Fiona.  She is growing so quickly!!  I had so much fun playing with her and watching her crawl around and explore.  She seems to learn so much between my visits!

I was also happy to see my grandpup.  Picasso was happy to have a new person to play with him.  He's such a good boy!

 

After our visit, we headed to Hines Park for our first drive thru Holiday light display of the year.  I always enjoy Holiday light displays and with the warmer weather,  I was able to roll down the windows so that the girls could stick their heads out of the windows and take in all of the smells. I think Mina really enjoyed her first fun Holiday event.

This event is well run, only $5, and has a pretty decent display of lights.  It was a good way to start our Christmas Holiday fun.

Before heading home, I picked up some dinner at Del Taco.  I was a happy girl and it had been a great day!

Saturday morning, the girls and I headed out for a nice walk and a little geocaching.   We parked at Maguire parked and headed down the River Trail toward Hawk Island Park.  

It was another beautiful late November day and the girls thoroughly enjoyed sniffing and exploring.   

After our walk, we made a couple of quick stops before heading home to watch the big Michigan/Ohio State football game.

It was a pretty exciting game, although Mina wasn't impressed.   She napped through most of the game, except when I woke her up with my cheering!

I got the lights on the tree Saturday and finished up the decorating on our lazy Sunday.  So far I'm pleased that Mina has been doing well with the tree...I sure didn't know what to expect. 

The weather has remained mild the last couple of days, but that is about to change.  I'm hoping a change in the weather will bring about a little more Holiday spirit.   The girls and I will also be getting out for some more Holiday fun over the next several weeks and I am looking forward to sharing it all with you.  I love this time of year!

These people definitely have the Holiday spirit!