Friday

Friday my sister, my mom and I all got our nails done. 

Around 3pm my parents and I drove to St. Louis to shop, pick up my brother from the airport, and get some dinner.

On the way I introduced my parents to some of my favorite foods. My dad tried a Clif Kid Twisted Fruit and my mom tried a Peanut Butter Luna Cookie!

We went to Plaza Frontenac, an upscale shopping mall, and picked up a gift for my soon-to-be sister-in-law’s bridal shower, and some dresses for my mom and I. Ann Taylor had some great sales and I came home with two dresses that are very cute and will be perfect for the different weddings/showers/etc. that I have this summer. I can’t wait to wear them!

After shopping we picked up my brother and then headed to this pizza place in Clayton called Il Vicino!

 

My parents and I shared a bottle of wine.

Between the 4 of us we ordered 3 pizzas.

I had 3 pieces of the Pizza Fino and 1 piece of the Pizza Rustica!

My mom also ordered a Caesar Salad which I helped her eat.

After dinner we drove back home.

Saturday

Saturday I went for a 4.25 mile run on the same trail as Friday. After my run I had some breakfast and then went with my mom and sister to Ethanie (my soon-to-be sister-in-law’s bridal shower). There were some delicious brunch foods, an amazing cake, and mimosas! I didn’t take any pictures sorry!

We had a family dinner before we went to Diana’s graduation ceremony at 8pm.

My mom made some salmon with wilted spinach, and we picked up some artisan bread.

 

After dinner I drove with Brad and Ethanie to the graduation ceremony at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. We also drove by the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum where Brad and Ethanie are getting married in August!

The graduation ceremony was pretty short, one student gave a really great speech, and another student who was paralyzed after falling out of a tree was able to walk up to get her diploma using a walker. She received a huge round of applause!

Afterwards we took some pictures with Diana before she ran off to celebrate with friends.

We’re all super proud of Diana and excited for her to start college at Mizzou!

Sunday

I started off the day with another run of 4 miles. After I showered, had breakfast, packed, and then started the drive to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with my dad. I helped out and drove the first 4 of 9 hours.

For lunch I had an apple and this Clif Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel Bar that my mom bought for me to try! I was really impressed with this bar and would definitely buy it again!

We drove for awhile and decided to stop around dinner time at a cheese and wine shop. My dad had been telling me about these shops that are all along the highway and interstate in Wisconsin (we drove through Wisconsin to get up to the UP), so we decided to stop and check one out.

This store had tons of different cheese, jams, salsas, wine, ice cream, crackers, and souvenirs. The best part was you could sample things before you bought them. We had some samples as an appetizer, some garlic cheddar, monterey veggie, spicy mustard, strawberry rhubarb jam, cherry jam, and triple berry jam. They were all delicous. We bought some monterey veggie and a local beer to take back to Tyler so that he knew we were thinking of him.

A little while later we stopped in Menominee, MI at Schloegel’s Bay View Restaurant for dinner.

Check out the awesome view out the window at our booth!

My dad and I did the usual. We each ordered a sandwich and then split them. I gave him most of the fries and chips : )

 

We also had some of their awesome pie for dessert. My dad got the raspberry pie, I got the key lime!

After dinner we finished the drive to the beach house on Lake Michigan near Manistique, MI. When we got there my dad gave me the official tour (it’s my first time being there!). The mosquitoes were really bad so we didn’t walk out to the beach, but I got a nice view of the water. It’s a really secluded area and absolutely great for a relaxing house on the beach!

We each had a Mike’s, I had Raspberry Lemonade, my dad had Berry, then we went to bed.

Monday

I started the day with a wet run. I did 3.5 miles down the road and back. The road is not very busy, I only saw 1 car my entire run, so its great for walking and running on!

When I got back, I showered and had some coffee and Kashi Strawberry Field’s cereal with soymilk. While my dad showered I cleaned up the dead bugs that had collected near the windows and doors.

Here’s a view from the look out on the top floor of the house!

It was raining all morning so I didn’t get to see our actual beach front but I can only imagine from what my dad has told me that it is awesome and very quiet!

We headed out since it was raining.

It was still raining when  we drove over the 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge hours later.

We stopped in Mackinaw City for lunch. We decided on pasties.

For those of you who have never heard of pasties (which is probably most if not all of you) here is some interesting history and information on pasties from the Mackinaw Pastie & Cookie Co. where my dad and I ate.

“Made originally as a meal for the miners of Cornwall, England, Pasties date back about 800 years. Wives would bake meat and vegetables in a crust and wrap it in many layers of linens or newspapers for their husband’s lunch. It provided a warm and filling meal in the cold, damp mines. Pasties arrived in Michigan over 150 years ago with immigrants who came to work in the iron and copper mines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Pastie provided a hot and nutritious meal that had good holding capacity and could be eaten anywhere. This full-bodied flavor soon became a favorite with locals and visitors alike. A trip to Northern Michigan is not complete without a Pastie. “ (Mackinaw Pastie and Cookie Co. )

My dad and I both ordered a Chicken Pastie for lunch. It had diced potatoes, onions, chicken, and carrots in it, and was filling and pretty good! Pasties are no gourmet food, but they are fun to eat on occasion, and hey then you can say you’ve tried a pastie!

YUM!

When lunch was over we drove the rest of the way back to Holland. I finally got to see my Tyler after 4 days!

Unfortunately I came home to a clogged sink : (

Tyler had put some celery down the disposal and it somehow managed to form a clog in our pipes, which required Tyler to take on a new position, PLUMBER!

We finally unclogged the drain after a trip to Menards for an inexpensive auger and some drain de-clogger stuff. Needless to say we will be more careful from now on about what we put in the disposal!

All the plumbering made us tired so we went to bed shortly after!

Tags: artisan bread, beach, breakfast, bridal shower, cheese, chips, Clif Mojo Bar, coffee, dessert, dinner, family, fries, frozen yogurt, graduation, key lime pie, lunch, manicure, Mike's, pasties, pizza, plumber, restaurants, road trip, running, salmon, sandwich, shopping, snack, spinach, St. Louis, strawberries, UP, views, wine, wrap