The Haslett Meijer is now open! Technically, it's called "Bath Township Meijer", and the receipt I have has an East Lansing address, but come one - it's Haslett. For my inaugural stop on the first full day of operation, I bought Coke.

As an aside, I love the bottle return being at the front of the store - it makes more sense to have it there. I don't like have to walk back outside the building and go through the main doors to buy stuff, but I'll manage.

I have created a new zombie story, part two in the (eventual) trilogy "After the End". You can read part 2 now, or you can read part 1. Or neither - it's up to you.

First off, I've added a new post on Michigan Foodies about a trip to Rock Island Family Restaurant.

OK, now I'll backtrack to the weekend. Andrea and I had a night at the Overlook B&B on Old Mission north of Traverse City. We didn't spend much time enjoying the beautiful view of the bay and the alpacas (yes, there were alpacas). Instead, we had a tour at Bower's Harbor, then moved onto Chateau Chantal and Chateau Grand Traverse. At each stop, we bought a bottle or two of wine.

And man cannot live on food alone, and for a late (and light) lunch, we went to The Jolly Pumpkin to enjoy some good beer and excellent pulled pork nachos.

That was just a minor snack compared to the feast we enjoyed at Stella's. I'll definitely be writinng a post about that, but I had a great steak and Andrea really enjoyed her asparagus, of which she is a big fan.

And for the ending to our night, we saw the Traverse City Symphony Orchestra. That was first, and I enjoyed it. And there were opera singers, too! We were very cultured that night. I met the maestro, Kevin Rhodes, who was very nice.

OK, that's it for now.

Elena is back from from her first trip to Disneyworld. She had a great time, so thank you dad and Denice for that memorable trip. And she has more books and clothes than when she left - it's like magic. While Elena was riding the rides, Andrea got lots of studying for her finals, and I got to just hang out and do some hiking.

Speaking of relaxing, last night, Andrea and I went to see American Reunion at NCG followed by dinner at Bravo - they have great braised beef ravioli.

As I write, Elena is in Florida. She called me from the plane - with help, I would imagine - so they reached their destination safely. I was in the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge just south of Saginaw, hiking a trail I had not hiked before. And, for another first, I stopped at the McDonald's in St. Charles. Yes, there is a town named St. Charles in Michigan. If you just have to visit, it's on M52 between Saginaw and Owosso. I'm sure you're packing your bags now.

What else do I have planned for Elena's time away? Not much. Sleeping is a big one - I'm looking forward to uninterupted sleep. Other than that, things will go on as normal.

I just posted a review of Cheli's Chili Bar in Dearborn. Yes, they do have non-Middle Eastern food in Dearborn. I was there with my dad to see Red Green give all kinds of advice on relationships and getting older among the many topics he discussed. He was very funny, and I would highly recommend seeing him live. And don't worry about dressing up - flannel is fine.

Andrea and I went to the introduction to kindergarten meeting tonight at the school where Elena will be starting next fall. It was so bizarre to be in that place, old enough - way past old enough, actually - to have a child about to start school.

One of the things that the superintendent said really struck me - he welcomed the parents of the class of 2025. What a crazy thought. It was just the other day that I dropped Elena off at her first day care and sat her in the bouncy seat. That was tough to leave her there the first day. I imagine it will be the same when she rides the bus the first time. We'll see.

Elena's cousin Carly was here for an overnight, and there was no major drama. They usually argue, and there is some crying, but it was much lower key than usual. Andrea took them to a place in Williamston to go horse back riding, and they seemed to enjoy that. I went for a 13-mile run instead. Good times.

And I posted a blog about our experience at The RiverHouse Inn in Williamston on my Michigan Foodies site.

It was a low-key affair today for Elena's fifth birthday. Andrea made pancakes and bacon (on a weekday!) and for lunch, we all went to Brody. Andrea made chocolate cupcakes for her birthday dessert, and they were excellent.

I was in Grand Rapids last night. After a walk on a new (to me) set of trails and a 5-mile run, I stopped at Birch Lodge (http://michiganfoodies.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/birch-lodge-grand-rapids/) for beer and nachos. It was a decent meal, and a good night for running. And today it snows, so go figure.

And for a picture from Elena's 5th birthday:

It was a full Sunday. We attended the early service at RiverView before heading to Claddagh's for our annual Easter brunch. This year, we had 11 people there, which I think is a new record. Once again, Claddagh's had excellent food, my favorites being waffles and Irish eggs. And the Coke was outstanding. After that, we had a few people over to bury Elena in gifts for her upcoming birthday.

Since Andrea had a paper to write, I took Elena to Valhalla park in Holt. Not only is it where Vikings go after they die, it also has a pretty cool playground and hiking trails. We got a little windburned, but besides that, everything was OK.

I'm in Holland today. They do have tulips outside the office where I'm working, so it feels very Dutch. I took a walk at Saugatuck State Park on my lunch break, and soon I'll be heading into Grand Rapids for a hike and a run and some nachos. Living la vida loca.

Saturday, we dropped Elena off and headed to beautiful, sunny Detroit. The company I work for has its HQ in Detroit, and I get free parking, which is a nice perk. We rode the PeopleMover to the Michigan Avenue stop to eat at Roast. The dinner was fantastic, and I'll be talking more about that on Michigan Foodies tomorrow. In short, I had an excellent steak, Andrea loved her duck ragu, and the Chocolate Coconut Bomb was, as the kids say, the bomb.

Next up, we went to the Detroit Opera House and saw the Alivin Ailey dance company. They were wonderful, even if I didn't understand most of the symbolism. The theater had a beautiful.

Sunday, after the service at church, I changed my clothes and ran 17 miles home. Not just for fun, because running that far isn't fun, but it's part of my marathon training. I didn't feel too bad after I was done. Next week, I have a 19-mile run ahead of me.

My day started with Elena waking me up at 7:15. Normally, this isn't a problem, but since I had wanted to have left at 7:00 for East Grand Rapids, it was. So I was out the door pretty quick for my first race of the year, the Irish Jig. I ran pretty well, but I couldn't go all-out, because I had a 12-mile run just after the race, part of my marathon training. And I'm very sore as I sit here watching college basketball.

When I got home, we went to Lake Lansing South so Elena could play, and then it was off to The Watershed for our St. Patrick's Day tradition. They have good corned beef, and the beer is green. Well, mine were - Andrea's was mostly yellow.

And just because I'm nice, here is a picture from our spot on the beach at Barcelo Maya.

As if you didn't already know, we were in Mexico last week. Puerto Adventuras, to be precise. And to be even more precise, Barcelo Maya Palace. We had a bumpy plane ride down on Spirit, which requires you to pay for everything. Snacks, pop, water - and if you want to put a bag in the overhead compartment, that will cost you even more than it will for checked luggage. We were forced to splurge and buy the oxygen, as they only provide complementary air for the first half of the flight.

It was a tale of two half-weeks. The first half was cloudy and windy. Yes, there was still a beach, and pools, and lots of great food. But Mexico is about warm weather and tequila, and I was only getting one of those the first three days. However, the second three days made up for it (in both categories), and the vacation was saved, though my skin was not. Nothing too horrible, but enough of a sunburn to let people know I was a pale white guy in a hot, sunny place.

Oh, the food. The buffets were incredible, and we ate at two of the "a la carte" restaurants. I've even got a review of "La Brasserie" on Michigan Foodies, a great piece of writing, by the way.

And the best news of all... we didn't get sick on the trip home! No vomiting in the car for Elena this time. Why? Because we ate overpriced pizza at the airport, not overpriced, deadly Chinese food. And this is a real comment from a real twenty-year old behind me. Seeing the one hundred pesos price for a pizza (the menu read $100), she asked "Is the pizza really a hundred dollars?" Yes, your tax dollars are helping to pay for her education.

I'm a big zombie fan, as I'm sure most of you know. Well, I wrote my very own short story called "After the End", which you can read. by clicking on the link. It takes place in Toronto and even involves a trip to the mall! I know you can't pass up reading that!

It was a big day yesterday for Elena. It started with her having an ear infection, which required a trip to the doctor. After going to two Rite Aid's to get medicine for both Andrea and Elena (different problems), we stopped at Reno's where Elena lost a tooth, which is her third missing tooth, but the first that was lost in a non-accident. So though she was sick, she ended up getting a visit from the Tooth Fairy, so she has added some cash to her stash.

I'm in Holland today enjoying everything it has to offer. Well, maybe everything is a bit of a stretch. I enjoyed the Arby's, and I plan on enjoying a walk at Saugatuck State Park tonight. That is the plan, anyways.