Lake Michigan

I went because I was given an invitation of a place to stay. This place was straight out of the 1970s. It was preserved with amazing care.

Much of the long weekend that I spent centered in Beulah, Michigan was spent hiking to amazing views of Lake Michigan. I mistakenly called it a sea or ocean a few times, I admit. Forgive me, I'm used to lakes being small (at least I don't call glorified hills "mountains").

A true highlight was Sleeping Bear Dunes. Walking over two miles in sand, mostly uphill, was the one thing I had to give up on. I walked over one mile in the sand, mostly uphill, to a lovely lookout. Walking long distances in sand is hard. Walking long distances uphill in sand is really hard.

There's no place like Kansas...

I landed in Kansas City, Missouri. A college friend living in Kansas came to pick me up. We toured around Kansas City starting with the Hallmark Visitors Center, which is a museum of Hallmark's history. It was special---I got to make some bows. We then went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. They have giant shuttlecocks in the lawn. You know, the badminton birdies. It was a fairly impressive museum. I particularly enjoyed their photography collection (They have daguerreotypes! They lacked death portraits, however.).

We spent part of a day in Wamego, Kansas. Wamego is Wizard of Oz themed. We went to the Wizard of Oz museum, Oz Winery, and Toto's Tacos. The winery was impressive. I could have some shipped to Michigan--a state lacking in ridiculous alcohol laws. I have to add that Mexican food in Kansas is exactly what one would suspect. The queso on the nachos was that fake cheese that you get at sporting events.

Manhattan, where my friend resides, is a cute little town with a huge university. It was a nice visit, and I was even able to see the stereotypical round bales. I don't mean to overstate it, but they were one of the best parts. Quintessential.