It was a hot summer day, as we set off to explore our first Michigan city. Barely a pinprick on a map, Alden is tiny. Alan and I had often passed right through on our way to somewhere seemingly more exciting. With a population of just 125 people, it is easy to believe that there is not much there. Opening the atlas we decided this was the nearest “A” themed location, to our home. Determined to find something of interest in this sleepy little town we traveled for nearly an hour, specifically to see it. Entering the four block long town, colorful signs announce that you have arrived, but blink and you will have traveled beyond the few stores and restaurants that reside in the restored buildings, dating from the 1800’s.
ABC Adventures
This category covers the places we go, the things we see, the food we taste, the activities we do, and the ways we engage with the world we live in.
A is for Alcohol
If you like alcohol you could center your next adventure around a drink. Perhaps order an aperitif, absinth or Amaretto Sour before you eat. Or, you might choose to wash your meal down with an ale. If you don’t like to indulge, there is always apple juice or apple cider. Wherever your “A” theme takes you, it is sure to be a journey. How will you tell your story?
A is for our Amazing Earth
Perhaps you desire to stand in awe of our amazing earth. National Parks are great for this. In Maine, you could visit Acadia to view the Atlantic ocean. Across the country, in the state of Montana, you might choose to discover an alpine meadow in Glacier National Park.
If it is high “adventure” you seek, you might want to add Australia to your ABC bucket list, with a goal to see the Aurora Australis. You’ll have to go further north to view the Aurora borealis. I hear the Alps, Alaska, Argentina and Africa are awesome too. Where will you take your next “A” themed adventure?
A is for Appetite
Everyone needs to eat. What about creating an adventure around food? Here are a few ideas to whet your appetite:
If apples are your thing there are many adventures you could create around this fruit. Visit an orchard, then bake them in a pie and then serve it “a la mode”. You could teach someone how to make applesauce. If you don’t like apples, there are also “apricots”. If vegetables are more appealing, try asparagus and/or avocados. For the seed eaters among us, how about almonds and/or acorns?
You could have an adventure by eating a la cart off a menu, or by trying different appetizers at several restaurants. Adventures could also center around Asian or Australian cuisine. Food is always a great reason to explore. Where will your journey take you?
WRITING TIP:
Food brings people together, so why not let it be the subject of one of your next entries. Consider the traditions that form around the food. Who are the characters? Is there a recipe that has been handed down? What stories get told around the food? Does food trigger a memory from childhood? These are all great things to include in your journal. The next time you dig into your favorite food, try writing a bit about it.
A is for Art
Within each city, there are many ways to create an “A” themed adventure. In almost any location, you could explore art. There are many ways to do this. You could make art, or go to an art gallery, or an art museum. You could further specialize this activity, by viewing abstract art exclusively. Perhaps an art & craft show is more your speed. There are a lot of ways to focus on art. One of our personal favorites is Art Prize.
If you are ever in Grand Rapids, MIchigan during September and October, we highly recommend this free event. This is a contest, which draws artists from around the world. For nearly 3 weeks, entries remain on display throughout parks, streets, restaurants, laundromats, theaters ect. The entire city seems to participate. This event covers miles of area, so wear your walking shoes! Artists compete for your vote in an attempt to win the $200,000 cash prize. Visit for an hour, or stay for a week, there is plenty to explore.
A is for Airplanes
There is always something going on in a city. A community calendar will show a list of events. If you are lucky, you might discover an air show. You could pass the time by watching acrobatic planes, performing aerial maneuvers. If you can’t find an air show, how about heading to a nearby airport and dreaming about your next adventure.
G is for the Gorgeous Grass River Natural Area
On our way home from Bellaire, we decided to hike in the “Grass River Natural Area”. This “great” place is a little off the beaten path, but it isn’t hard to find. We had heard from others about the amazing “gem” that this protected location is. With our long, cold winters, there are few things more wonderful than being outside on a warm summer day. We learned a long time ago to enjoy the sun when it shines!
It was already late afternoon by the time we got started. Without a plan, we had come unprepared. It was 90 degrees when we set out from the parking lot. We knew we would soon be succumbing to the heat, since we had arrived without our water bottles. It might have been easy to talk ourselves out of this date since we were also wearing the wrong shoes and hadn’t brought bug spray. Instead, we chose to live in the moment. As we set off, we were immediately “greeted” by a friendly Docent on her way home for the day. She directed us to one of the easier trails. There are six of them which all interconnect via a looped system, none of them are really difficult, some are just longer than others.
We hoped to cover about 2 miles of the available 7. Wooden boardwalks led us over the wetlands and swampy areas, they also served to guide us through the delicate Fern Trails. Nature reminds us to reflect on this simplicity and take a moment to just breath. We paused often along our walk, sometimes just to observe a dragonfly lighting upon a cat tail, or a frog jumping into one of the many rivulets. My date wasn’t bad to look at either!
Eventually, we arrived at a wooden dock where we sat quietly for a bit to enjoy the view of the Grass River. The heat seemed to be keeping people away. Except for the sound of bugs and birds, there was only silence and solitude. it was a “great” mini “getaway” to end our day.
I for one am “grateful” that communities choose to protect areas such as this. The respite these places provide is priceless. Best of all, this had been a completely free date!
E is for Empty Bowls
Our “E” date was really “easygoing”. Our mission was to attend the “Empty Bowls” Fundraiser. This nationwide “event” is generally held on World Hunger Day, and is meant to bring attention to the many who go without food. This is symbolized by the “empty” bowl. As we “enjoyed” our simple meal of soup and bread, we were “entertained” by local musicians. Everyone here is a volunteer. There is also a silent auction. After “eating”, attendees are invited to choose an empty bowl home, a reminder to be conscientious of world hunger.
Bowls are made throughout the year. Most of these are ceramic, but some are created from a variety of mediums, such as wood or glass. Most are only symbolic, such as those which are woven. Each bowl has been made by an area artist, student or community member. With few restrictions, the sizes and designs vary from year to year and become quite the collectors item. Viewing the 800-1000 bowls displayed in mass, which is also about how many people attend this event, sends a pretty powerful message. Alan chose a bowl which looked like a pie crust. He said it reminded him of his mom’s Lemon Meringue Pie (you can see that story here).
D is for the Dollar Store and Dessert Date
This is what happens when you have no “direction” for a “date”! We figured the “Dollar Store” was as good as anywhere to begin our adventures.
We like to “donate” at this store, by sticking “dollar bills” to the toy shelves, leaving them for children to “discover”. This random act of kindness brings such “delight”.
“Determined” to have fun, we walked around the store, I “dared” my husband to “don a dinosaur” mask , he obliged. We are such “dorks”! We were laughing so hard, we “drew” attention to ourselves and people began to question what we were up to, so we “decided” it was time to move on.
We couldn’t make up our mind what to eat for “dinner”, so we settled on “dessert”. We had forgotten to bring our letters into the restaurant, so we used the “doily” to make the letter “d”.
After telling our waitress what we were “doing”, she kept running to the kitchen to tell the staff what we were up to. They ended up “donating” our treats to us, because they thought we were “darling”.
Our marital secret is to “delight” in the little things.
C is For A Collection of Curiosities
We arrived at the third if our twenty six themed dates feeling a little more confidant about our creativity. Even though it was March, it remained very cold. We knew this would be another inside date. Our first stop was as a consignment store. This particular store carries high quality items and is always a joy to look around. We found many nice things but didn’t find much that we felt that we needed.