Mackinac Island

We just got back from our first visit to Mackinac Island. Neither of us had much of ideas what it really was like, except for the pretty brochure pictures. Also the island just opened for the season, and the northern Michigan in May can be still pretty cold. Of course, this weekend happened to be way below the average, even with a chance of snow forecasted. It was indeed very cold. But we unexpectedly enjoyed the more relaxed off-season island, though we got wet and chilly more than once. We did catch their daffodil season, however, while tulips were just starting.

Our second day was mostly dry and sunny, started out with a wonderful lakeside view for breakfast. We then put on layers of warm clothes and explored the island's long history (going back to mid 1600s).

A highlight was the Fort Mackinac and a snapshot with a cannon.

Only if we had one more day, preferably warmer than 40 degrees, on the island we would have gone for a bike ride. Next time for sure. There are a lot more of the island's nature and landscape that we missed exploring this time.  The island is very historical with no motorized transportation, so you either walk, bicycle, or ride a horse carriage. The island is only 3 hours away from our home, yet a short ferry ride across the straits magically put us in a place like no others, sort of like the movie "Somewhere in Time" which takes place at the Grand Hotel (below picture).

We admit we did miss being in Hawaii, a lot warmer alternative. This was also our first major road trip with our new Subaru, putting about 350 miles total. A grand way to break into our new car!

Our new Subaru

This is the big reveal of our new Subaru Crosstrek! It's shiny and perfect. It's a super new generation car of Joe's old blue Subaru (remember?) but with more ground clearance and a bit more attitude with the black trims and tire rims. Not too small, not too big. It's like a car and a small SUV all in one. Just what we need.

We are leasing it, but fully intending to buy after 3 years and keep for many years. For now we are just getting used to its new car smell.

Mother's Day

We went out fishing again this morning. It was Joe's turn to catch a fish today. He caught a nice rainbow trout, slightly smaller than Kayo's brown from yesterday. It measured 11-1/8" to be exact, Kayo had to know. It was the only fish we saw, but the weather was once again gorgeous. We wished KK was with us to celebrate her birthday... with a cigar and rum, or whiskey.

Joe cooked BBQ ribs for his mom on this Mother's Day. In truth we just needed a good excuse for ribs. The dinner turned out wonderful. Also the fishing and BBQ rib combo was a perfect way to remember Joe's dad on his birthday. He would have been pleased.

Good Day Fishing

It's the second week of trout season and Kayo's first day out on the stream this spring. It was a beautiful day and actually warmed up nicely by the time we got out late morning. That was all we hoped for this fishing trip... and then Kayo caught a fish! A very nice 13" German brown trout (below picture, still with the lure attached). It looked big even in Joe's hands.

Here's Kayo with her first catch.

Cinco de Mayo

We hope everyone had a good Cinco de Mayo yesterday. Since it was also our anniversary, we took the day off from work to goof around. Goof around we did, indeed. After our tasty taco lunch in the warm sun (hard to believe there were a few snowflakes in the air only the day before), we went to buy (lease technically) a Subaru. We put lots of thoughts into this prior, and still actually signing paperwork and all was... let's just say the stupidest and smartest (for a long term hopefully) thing we've ever done.

To take away some of the pain of our huge purchase, we went to our ever trusted Cajun restaurant for dinner. Our wonderful chef Nicole treated us to her special bread pudding on the house, which helped immensely. We toasted to our next 10 years.

"Before" and "After"

The weather has significantly improved up here since the beginning of April. All that snow is mostly gone. My hair was definitely too loooong. It was once again time for Locks of Love. My head is now a half pound lighter!

And today was the opening day of trout season. A chilly but beautiful day. I had to work unfortunately, but got to enjoy listening to Joe's story of missing a nice steelhead. We believe Spring is here.

Dragon Rolls & Placemats

This week I had a Tuesday off, and for no apparent reason, I made sushi rolls for dinner. As well as a couple of different tuna rolls, I made dragon rolls, shrimp tempura and eel sauce and all. I guess we were celebrating Spring. It really continued snowing since the first of April up until a couple of days ago. After a total accumulation of over 3 feet, the sun finally came out bright and warm. Now that's something to celebrate about.

I finished our new colorful placemats on my trusty knitting loom. I'd been looking for replacements for a while, but hadn't seen anything I really liked at stores. Perfect with our Fiesta dinnerware.