sabbatical

I get a six week paid sabbatical after every four years of work. I hit my four-years in July, 2014 and elected to take the sabbatical for Feb & March, 2015.

Today I booked flight 3/3. In less than TWO MONTHS all of this will be happening:

Week 1 - Skiing in Colorado with the Austin framily
Week 2 - A few days in Kansas City to celebrate Katie's 28th birthday and gear up for...
Week 2/3 - Hiking and backpacking the Grand Canyon with my mom. There's still spots available if you want to join in!
Week 3 - Flying across the world to Thailand
Week 4 - Visiting Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia (details still in the works, suggestions appreciated)
Week 5 - Meeting up with Kimber and Jaime in Phuket and adventuring around Thailand
Week 6 - Beaches, massages, and more Thailand until flying back to Chicago. Doing laundry and trying to adjust back to reality.

michigan and me

This past weekend I went to Michigan. Because I had to be in Ann Arbor on Monday for on-campus interviews and because I'd never really been to the state, I figured I'd take myself on a road trip and see the sights. Although I passively tried to find a travel companion, the fact that I'd be taking this trip alone was exciting.  I've got my heart set on going to Thailand in February- for most of which I'll be by myself. Thus, taking a few days to see Michigan solo would be practice.

Fortunately, my dear friend and entrepreneur, Anna Lauri, hails from the great state and oh-so-kindly sent me over a perfect agenda. I would have missed out on all the best stuff if it hadn't been for her.

On Saturday I left Chicago, driving through Gary, Indiana, and up into Michigan.  I took the scenic route a few times, cruising through Michigan City, New Buffalo, and back on i-94. Despite Anna's advice, because I was famished, and needed a break from the road, I stopped in South Haven around 2:45pm.  I totally felt like a pioneer; my pace quickened at the sight of the lake.

wind surfers on the beach in South Haven

lighthouse in South Haven

My next stop was Saugatuck, whose adorable shops and fall beauty completely surpassed my expectations.  Some of the best fall colors I've ever seen.

I dined at The Butler on the lake, where Anna spent many past summer waiting tables.  Although she told me to sit by the window, the Texas game was on the TVs by the bar, and I had to indulge (shoulda sat by the window).  After my burger, I walked around town, catching the annual Halloween parade, and savoring some Kilwins ice cream.

man's best friend

That night, I drove to Holland where I stayed at the Best Western Plus Holland Inn and Suites. An unfortunate implication of planning my trip so last minute was that the two hotels in downtown Holland were sold out for Saturday night.  So I dealt with staying 3-4 miles away from downtown.  But, before retiring to my very affordable room, I swung through downtown Holland for window-shopping and craft beer drinking.  I spent the hour before the Royals game enjoying a New Holland beer flight while plotting out my Sunday. Picked up a $2.50 NH pint glass as a souvenir from the trip, and drove home to watch the Royals crumble to the Giants in game 4.

beers and baseball

kayak on a van in downtown Holland

Sunday morning I woke up leisurely to pack up, stop by the continental breakfast, and embark on day two of the adventure.  Which included:

• Hiking mount Pisgah (a ginormous sand dune)
• Walking along the sand to the Big Red lighthouse at Holland State Park
• Finding the windmills in downtown Holland
• Completing the visitor's bureau art walk through downtown and the Hope College campus
• Having just enough time for lunch and a beer flight at 84 East before hitting the road to Ann Arbor

pics or it didn't happen:

entrance to the Mount Pisgah Hike

hiking in the leaves on a Sunday morning

the stairs I'm about to ascend

view of Lake Macatawa from Mt. Pisgah

view of Big Red from Mt. Pisgah

the last set of stairs up the dune

looks much more like sand from this angle

this pic tries to capture the slippery leaves on the side of this cliff. It was pretty steep, but I managed.

self timer selfie on top of Mt. Pisgah

So many leaves everywhere. Just beautiful.

"Big Red" at Holland State Park

every time I'm at the beach I have this song in my head.

me with Big Red. In my Royal's sweat-shirt

spotted the windmill in downtown Holland

Hope College campus

flute player statue

downtown Holland

my lunchtime beer flight.

In Ann Arbor, Morningstar put me up at the Bell Tower Hotel. It was conveniently located right off campus, a block from State Street. On Sunday night I wandered campus, snap-chatted fall leaves pictures, and drove to Detroit to pick up my colleague from the airport. 

Michigan's Bell Tower

all the colors of the wind

fall everywhere

ants marching in Ann Arbor

I made it back to campus just in time to grab dinner from Mezes and hunker into bed for another night of falling asleep while watching the World Series. On Monday it was back to work, for a full day of interviews with Michigan students. We had a nice lunch break at Red Hawk and a five star airport dinner at TGI Fridays. One of the best parts of this trip was only having to drive one way. My colleague and I flew back to Chicago together on Monday night, summing up a pretty perfect weekend getaway.

Thanks for being beautiful, Michigan!

Sunday Lollas

The final day of one of my favorite weekends of the year.

put your ponchos on for Bleachers

the guy from Fun started Bleachers, and they are great.

little bit of White Denim

Trombone Shorty from the lawn. By myself.

RAC

Hollywood in the rain

I met back up with Jennie and Nate on the hillside. Note the couple in front of me. I started intentionally situating myself near people who looked older than me. It's all about perspective. Please also note how wet/cold they are all starting to look. The rain continued off and on for all of Sunday.

Glen Hansard from very far away

So, doing the festival 100% sober on Friday did not continue to Saturday, and certainly not onto Sunday. Thus, I have zero photos of The Avett Brothers or Young the Giant. I left earlier than I really care to admit that night too. One final picture documenting Chicago's skyline from the grounds of Lolla:

another year in the books.

Saturday Lollas

Saturday, in pictures:

Saturday began with one of my favorites

one good lookin' Aussie

Desert Noises

Thanks to Aaron Serna circa LA 2008 for introducing me to Kate Nash

Meg Myers

3 rows from the front at John Butler Trio

relaxing in the grove after JB3

smallpools dance party 

the dance party continues with Joywave

SPOON

we all need more Spoon in our life.

Found Kelsey and Karl on the hillside and hung out with them for a bit.

Head and the Heart from very far away

When I left the festival on Saturday I realized I am definitely old. I saw about 10 minutes of Outkast and even less of Calvin Harris. By the time the sun went down, all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and do it all again the next day.