Fall Break in Grand Rapids, MI

When we decided to move to BG, we realized that we'd be living within easy driving distance of Mark's Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbe Jo. So, we made plans to visit over our fall break, and we had a great time! We left BG right after I finished teaching my class at 2:30 on Friday. We had a few problems with traffic and I made a couple of wrong turns, but we arrived there just after 6:30. Then, we had dinner, and spent the evening chatting with Uncle Mike, Aunt Debbe, and Mark's cousin Erin.

On Saturday, they took us to downtown Grand Rapids for Artprize, a huge art contest that takes place at venues all over town. There's no charge to see the artwork, which I thought was really cool. We focused on the downtown area because it had the most concentrated number of displays. It was a really cool event, and we had a blast walking around and seeing the huge variety of pieces.

The contest winners are decided by vote, and anyone can vote. We were there for the closing weekend, so the winners had just recently been announced. We started out at the Art Museum, where the first place artwork was displayed.

We waited in line for about an hour and a half to see it, and several other top-ten pieces. Thankfully, the line kind of snaked through the museum, so we were able to look at other entries and exhibits along the way.  At the end of the day, Mark and I agreed that the second place artwork, a huge glass mosaic, was actually our favorite.

We also saw this painting, which one of Uncle Mike's students had discovered last week. While I was taking the picture, Uncle Mike was arguing with us about whether or not he really looked like the painting, and a couple walking by took a look and said, "oh, yeah, you do!"

Some of the artwork was displayed in the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Although only the main lobby area was open to people without purchasing a ticket, I still think we can now say we've visited a presidential museum.

Another great venue was the Public Museum, which was our last stop in the afternoon. This one had artwork displayed all throughout, and admission was free. Here's a mermaid made out of toothpicks:

The regular exhibits looked really interesting, but since it was at the end of the afternoon, we didn't really have the energy to look at them closely. I think I had even more fun than I expected to; maybe we'll go back up for it next year!

When we got home, Aunt Debbe Jo and I worked on some beaded jewelry together. I hadn't made anything new in a long time, but I remembered she liked to bead, so I brought mine along in case we'd have time. here's what I made.

That night, Uncle Mike made some great homemade pizza. I also got to meet Mark's cousin Drew and his fiance.

On Sunday, we went to church with Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbe Jo, then we went over to Mark's cousin Mike's house for a family lunch. When we arranged this visit, Mark didn't realize that 4 these 5 cousins were actually living in the area, but I was so glad they were! I hadn't met two of these cousins yet, nor any of the spouses. So that was really fun. Anyway, Mike and Sarah hosted the lunch at their house. We were joined by Erin, Drew and Christie, and Grant, Melissa, and their son Micah. Sarah's family owns an apple orchard in the northern part of the state, and they had just made apple cider on Saturday. She sent us home with a half-gallon of the cider (which we had also sampled with lunch), and a selection of apples. I used a couple of the giant spies to make apple crisp tonight.

On Sunday night, Mark and I went out for dinner at Bennigan's (which we thought had gone out of business, and which we don't have in BG in any case!).

During the whole weekend, we had perfect weather. Also, the leaves were changing, so that was pretty, too. Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbe Jo have a beautiful yard.

We left Grand Rapids around 9am this morning, and stopped at an outlet mall just outside of Ann Arbor on the way home. I actually found a nice pair of khaki pants. (I had been trying to replace my old ones, which are totally worn out, for over a year). The drive home was uneventful, but beautiful, with all the leaves changing colors.

We had such a great trip, and I'm sure we'll go back a few more times while we're living so close by. Of course, it's also nice to be home, especially since we have tomorrow off from school! Then, we'll be just about halfway through the semester. Time sure flies!