Two a day..

I am doggedly determined to finish this journey (to the Midwest, remember?) so we’ll have another installment today.  Finally.   It will (mercifully?) roll two days into one, in hopes of maybe wrapping up this trek in another post.

As you might remember, MFO (aka The Archivist) spent many hours organizing our Family’s stuff from my Dad’s short career in WWI to my Mother’s side of things where “Grandpa” was a free-lance photographer in northern lower Michigan.  You also might remember that the lovely WWI museum in Kansas City said “Gee, thanks we have all we need”, but they did suggest contacting my Father’s home town (Holland Michigan – which he shares with Kirk Cousins!!), which we did, and they expressed enthusiasm for “local boy in the war” stuff.

She also made some contacts with colleagues at Michigan State (in East Lansing, where the aforementioned Kirk matriculated) and they did want the Craig family stuff.   So that made two stops out of the ordinary, plus a bonus trip to our home towns! (East Lansing/MSU).

So the first two days of “side tripping” included getting from FOJTY’s to Holland which will be recounted herein.  Whew.   You know, I hate books that you pick up all interested in reading, and then find there’s a 30 page “introduction” plus maybe a preface, plus maybe a bleary eyed acknowledgment section before getting to actual content.   Well, I guess I fell victim..

So anyway, with TY heading for Nebraska with the pups, and his wife doing her nursing job, we left an empty house

And retraced our steps around the land of Barbeque

and headed toward St. Louis

Passing through STL and on to our overnight stop in Indianapolis

A few unusual “road shots” along the way

Complete with (manipulated) “road art”

And the seemingly endemic mid America over the top churches, shown without comment, other than “wow”

Finally arriving at a Marriott on the north side of Indy (in Carmel, IN) in an interesting industrial park

And whoa!  What’s that say?

International Culinary School in the red hot heart of Mid America?   It appears to be allied with the Art Institute of Indianapolis, and there are arms all over the world.

Anyway, no sparkling dinner, preferring to avail ourselves of in room dining.

Next morning we headed north, seeing some pretty stuff

All  looking away from us

And a momentary panic we’d made a wrong turn someplace, 

but not seeing any evidence of a wall, we decided to press on, 

getting some clues along the way that were approaching “Dutch Country”

And of course as expected in “Holland”

Then, with the aid of the GPS we found ourselves at our destination, the

And the curator came out to help unburden the MOMSTER

Took the "stuff" inside and he looked at EVERY one of the artifacts, newspaper articles, pictures, etc…  Finally satisfied we shook hands and departed for a late lunch.   Well, being in Holland and apparently “Craft Brewery/Beer” country of Michigan and on a recommendation from said curator we headed for the New Holland Brewing Company

They had kind of a two tiered dining area, a “regular one” (behind the “Brewing) sign in front and a kind open air one (under the “Holland”), which had an open front for al fresco dining.  We chose the inside of that area

I must admit it wasn’t very (socially) warm or “Pubby”.  It was “off hours” but the service was “off” as well.  Long waits, a complete set of wrong orders brought to another table.   I suppose mid-afternoon is not their rocking time.  I looked at the beer list: “Carte du Bière”?

And selected the “Full Circle”, a Kölsch style brew.  I’m sorry, I’m just not a hop head..

Food was indeed pub food, but I found a Whitefish Po’Boy that was quite tasty (when it eventually swam to the table).  I wish we could get (Lake Michigan) whitefish here.  Quite tasty..

We stayed in a Courtyard in downtown that was very nice.

So that ended our migration from FOJTY’s to the Wolverine State

More to come,  including a real opportunity to

DFD