A Thank You Blind Date

As a thank you to Adam and Rachel for hosting us in our homelessness once again, we took them out to dinner. Adam and Rachel are aware of our tradition of blind dates, and Rachel took us up on our offer to make our evening out similar to a blind date. It was a lot of fun. And, I think Rachel had enough fun that Adam is going to have to plan a blind date for her in the future. 

Rachel in the car waiting for the blind date to commence

We started out by driving to one of our favorite dinner spots in Holland, the Itty Bitty Bar. They call themselves a "five star dive bar", which we feel is pretty accurate. It's a bar setting, but the food is nothing like what you would expect from a bar. 

Adam giving Rachel instruction and leading her into the restaurant

Brandon secretively ordered our favorite appetizer for all of us, so that, despite not being blindfolded, Adam would have a surprise too. Rachel kept the blindfold on as Adam ordered a surprise entree for her. She continued to be a great sport and tried the appetizer and a cider without having her sense of sight either. After she guessed the appetizer and drink correctly, we let her take the blindfold off for the rest of our time at the restaurant. It was a tough guessing game as well as the appetizer was a rather complicated and unexpected combination: Garlic mashed potato, pulled pork, and goat cheese quesadilla topped with an apple, jalapeno chutney. Delicious. 

Trying the surprise appetizer

We all enjoyed our entrees and had a great time conversing throughout dinner. It was so fun to share one of our favorite Holland spots with friends. After dinner wrapped up, we had one more place to go in Holland. Rachel put her blindfold back on, and after a short drive we led her out of the car and onto the beach. We let her take her blindfold off pretty quickly to let her see the sunset. 

Adam and Rachel at the beach at sunset

We then all took a little beach walk to the end of the pier and enjoyed being at the lake. Lake Michigan and Holland were definitely putting on a beautiful show that evening. 

Picturesque sunset complete with seagulls and sailboats 

And that was our thank you blind date. Thanks again Adam and Rachel. We hope you had as lovely of an evening as we did. 

31st Birthday Blind Date

As per what seems to be our tradition, Katie took me on a blind date for my 31st birthday. As you will be able to tell from the picture below, the main theme of the day was... TACOS! It was quite the fun day in Lansing.

 The first surprise... Pablo's Panaderia
I apparently forgot how to smile with a blindfold on. I promise I'm actually excited.

Breakfast tacos!

The second surprise... Mini Golf!

And not just any mini golf, real grass mini golf.

Trying to save par

Katie making a comeback

The third surprise... a gift appropriate for my old age and an awesome card made by Katie

The fourth surprise...

...more tacos! This time from a sketchy Hispanic grocery store

Fifth surprise... taco truck tacos

I was so full tacos I only ordered two, but they were delicious.

And then after relaxing and letting our stomachs settle during the afternoon, the last surprise was Katie made me dessert tacos for dinner.
Sugar and cinnamon shells filled with cream cheese and berries. One of them had chocolate hazelnut spread. One had cookie butter spread. And the third had extra sugar and cinnamon. 

Double Blind Birthday Date

Our love of blind dates (well, technically blind-folded dates) is no secret. So, we were happily surprised to hear that my sister had cleverly planned a double blind date to celebrate both of our birthdays. Yes, both Brandon and I have birthdays in July. July is definitely a superb month for birthdays. 

The first destination for the blind date was to be revealed via mail, so we headed to my parents house to pick up our mail and see what was in store for us. After sorting through several envelopes we found a gift card to Marie Catrib's for dinner that night. Hurrah! Marie Catrib's is my favorite restaurant in the entire world. And, Brandon, while not giving it "entire world" status appreciates their delicious fare as well (aka they have tacos for him). 

Holding our Marie Catrib's gift card with our eyes closed

We were instructed that we had to be done with dinner at Marie Catrib's by 7:15 pm and would be given instructions via text on what our after dinner entertainment would be. 

We arrived plenty early to Marie Catrib's to avoid the dinner rush and make sure we met our 7:15 pm deadline. While we waited for our food, we played around with the table decorations to make different shapes. 

Brandon built a rocket ship

My parents had taken us to Marie Catrib's the week before to celebrate our birthdays together. I feel pretty spoiled to have gotten to go there twice already in July. There are so many great dishes on the menu that it wasn't hard to find something different from the last time. As always the food was spectacularly delicious. 

Me with my giant "We Got the Beet" sandwich

Brandon with his Ancho Lentil Tacos

Since we were celebrating birthdays and had a gift card we splurged. Brandon also got an order of the seasoned potatoes, which are so amazing and addicting that he has renamed them "crack potatoes". He saved most of the potatoes to nibble on throughout the next couple days, because we also decided to split the homemade chocolate pudding. The chocolate pudding is pure, thick, rich, chocolate-y deliciousness decadently topped with real whipped cream. So good. 

Best chocolate pudding ever

While finishing up our meal we received a text from my sister saying that the next stop on our birthday blind date was a Grand Rapids Football Club game. She also texted us tickets to get into the game. We had been to their game the week before and had a lot of fun, so it was a great surprise to be able to go to another one this week. 

Dinner had gone smoothly and quickly, so we had some time to kill. The weather was cool, so we took a nice, after-dinner walk around the neighborhood. When it was time for the game to start we made our way to Houseman field to see GRFC play Lansing United. 

The game was a lot of fun to watch and pretty dramatic. Both teams got a red card in the 12th minute, so the rest of the game was 10 on 10. GRFC ended up winning 3:1. The third goal was dramatically scored during stoppage time right before the official end of the game. GRFC has an enthusiastic fan base making the game even more exciting to watch. 

GRFC vs. Lansing United

Watching the game and enjoying our birthday blind date. 

And that was the end of our double blind birthday blind date. Many thanks to my sister for planning an awesome evening for us. It was also a much needed distraction for me, since I'd come down with a nasty, week-long, upper respiratory virus. Yes, I try to eat well and exercise and take care of my body. Yes, it's the middle of summer. Yes, I've been incredibly irritated to be sick. This blind date evening was a bright spot in a week of sickness. 

29th Birthday Blind Date

I love my birthday and look forward to it every year. How could I not? Brandon always helps make birthdays so special. My 29th birthday was on Friday, and Brandon took me on an awesome blind date to celebrate. 

I started out in the car blindfolded with a homemade birthday card from Brandon

As it turned out, our first stop was The Ledges at Grand Ledge. The Ledges is the only place to climb outdoors in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. I had never been to The Ledges and had been wanting to check it out, so I was very excited that Brandon planned this stop. 

On the edge of the ledge

Of course the climbing at The Ledges isn't on par with that in Red River Gorge, Kentucky. But, despite most of the routes being only 30 feet high or less, there are some good, challenging routes. And, it was nice to be outside, active, and doing something we both love on such a beautiful day in July.  

Ready for the first climb

Taking a rest on a ledge halfway up the route

Almost to the top of the route

My fabulous, adventurous, blind date planning husband preparing for the climb

This route was more difficult than the first couple we did, but Brandon conquered it with impressive skill

I took a nice long rest on the ledge halfway up the route before continuing on

My arms were screaming by the time I reached the top 

The next surprise was a late lunch at El Oasis taco truck in Lansing. Brandon and I enjoyed hot, freshly prepared tacos, and the al pastor were definitely the best. 

Blindfolded with no idea what deliciousness lies behind me

Tacos are perfect post-climbing food

An adventure involving climbing and tacos would have been a sufficient birthday blind date, but Brandon had even more planned for the day. Our next stop was Lansing Brewing Company. Neither of us had been to the brewery, so it was high time to check it out. We sampled a flight and our favorite beer was their classic Amber Cream Ale. 

Drinking the Amber Cream Ale at Lansing Brewing Company 

And, it still wasn't over. The final surprise was a trip to an instrument shop. I also just realized that the place is called Elderly Instruments...I can only hope that wasn't intentional on Brandon's part. Regardless, we went there to look for a ukulele for me, which was super exciting. I tried learning how to play the banjo at the beginning our sabbatical, but I found the fingering to be difficult and didn't get very far. When we visited our friend Becky in California we were exposed to her marvelous ukulele skills, and I found the ukulele strings to be much easier to handle. I have been wanting a ukulele to play around with ever since. 

The instruments may be elderly, but not me. Plus, Brandon will always be more elderly than me. 

There were so many fancy ukuleles to play around with. We didn't buy anything at that moment. We have more researching to do. Hopefully I'll have one in my hands by the end of July. 

The instrument shop was the official end to the birthday blind date, but we still did some fun evening activities. The Grand Rapids Football Club had a match against Ann Arbor that we went to with Adam, Rachel, Alex, Tabitha, Amanda, and Josh. It was really fun to all hang out, and GRFC ended up winning 3:1. Adam, Rachel, Brandon, and I left a bit early to make it Furniture City Creamery before it closed. It seems silly to me for an ice cream place to only be open til 10 pm in the summer, especially since it's a popular place. Their homemade, eclectic flavors are delicious, so it was worth it to make it there on time. 

Rachel, me, and Adam with our ice cream

That was my 29th birthday! It was a truly spectacular day, and the big 3-0 next near will have to be pretty amazing to top it. 

May Blind Date

Brandon took me on a blind date back on May 20 (we're a bit behind in posting). It was an exciting surprise and a fun way to spend the day. Here's what we did. 

Sitting in the car waiting to leave and looking kinda suspicious/creepy. I had to sit here for a bit while Brandon fumbled around the car making preparations for the date.

First stop: Eye doctor to pick up new lenses for my glasses. Very practical. Good thing we had the blindfold, because new lenses are not helpful for keeping the date "blind". 

Second stop: Biking the Buck Creek and Kent Trails. Don't worry I didn't ride the bike while blindfolded otherwise we would have had to add an urgent care stop to the date. 

Final stop: The mall where we split and Orange Julius and a pretzel. Brandon had been waiting for months to have this favorite treat of his again, so it was kind of him to share it with me.  

A California Mini Blind Date

I took Brandon on a mini blind date this week to check out the greater Santa Cruz area. We learned that driving someone who is blindfolded on winding roads can make them nauseous. Despite this small set back, we ended up having a pretty good time exploring Capitola. 

View of Capitola Beach from afar. Well for a view for me anyway. Brandon is obviously blindfolded. 

I let him take his blindfold off and see the view too

We found Sante Adairius Rustic Ales off the beaten road in Capitola

The Vanilla Java Porter with local Verve coffee was definitely worth a try

As we re-hashed the blind date with Becky we discovered that of course she had been to Capitola, but that she had never heard of Sante Adairius Ales. She'll have to check it out... perhaps on a blind date of her own. Seriously, people should try these blind dates. No one takes us up on the idea. But, it can be a lot of fun! 

Katie's Australian Blind Date

A couple of weeks ago Katie took me on a blind date. She already wrote about it in this post. But needless to say it was quite fun. So the pressure was kind of on to come up with a quality blind date for her since she is always so good at coming up with good ones for me. I started thinking off and on about different ideas until finally I came across this really good option while browsing Groupon. So here is said blind date.

We set off around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20th after a bit of a delay due to my last minute planning and note taking. Turns out the location wasn't quite where I thought it was, so I had to do some last minute research. But I think it helped add to the mystery of the date. I also learned that what we'd be doing was actually outside, not inside like I originally thought. Luckily we had still had some warm weather, but it was turning cold that night. *Phew*

Katie experiencing the non-sights and sounds of public transit.
She didn't have to wear the blindfold for long, as Katie talked about in her post, it is a bit too sketchy to lead someone around blindfolded in a busy city. Plus the stops are announced over the intercom, so there's no point.

After about an hour of travel on two trains and a tram, we arrived at our first destination: Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Center.
At this point she was guessing that we were doing some kind of swimming, but there was still more to the surprise.

The surprise is revealed. We're surfing!.. well fake surfing. They call it flowriding.

Yup, that's right. I found a sweet groupon deal for this surfing machine. All day passes for two people for only $35. And that includes entry to the other aquatic center stuff like an indoor wave pool. It's something I've always wanted to try, but when I've seen them at other water parks they were always so busy and cost extra. So as we often do for blind dates, I found something I really wanted to do and dragged Katie along with me. I think it worked out. We both had a lot of fun. 

You first start out on a bodyboard. And then from there you work your way up getting on your knees on the bodyboard.

Katie bodyboarding.

Me bodyboarding.

Katie picked it up quite quickly.
Her second or third time she was already getting up on her knees.

I picked it up pretty easily as well.

Our instructor was awesome. He was really interactive, joked with us a lot, and was just overall a lot of fun. But as a result he pushed us pretty quickly into the real deal surfing. They do a really good job of easing you into it. 

For our first few times we start out on the front of the "wave" and our instructor helps ease us into the flowing water.

We then get a chance to figure out how to balance and turn on the flowing water while holding onto a rope. It felt a lot like wakeboarding at this point

Once you get that down you're moved to the top and taught how to drop into the wave.

Me being helped my first time down into the wave

https://youtu.be/fjp6HFwuDIM
Here's a video of me dropping in semi-successfully.

We then took about an hour break. The flowrider was reserved for an hour by a private party. We were a little bit bummed, but it worked in our favor to take a bit of a break. And as a perk we got to go into the water park area and enjoy the wave pool and eat a snack.

Chilling by the wave pool.

After our break we got right back out on the waves and practiced some more. It took a bit to warm up again. We both had some nasty falls. But eventually we managed to have some pretty good rides too. It helped that the lines were short and the other guys that were there were a lot of fun to be around. Everyone would cheer you on if you were having a good ride. If you fell down early a couple of the guys had some hilariously awesome phrases they'd yell at you to get you to take another turn (imagine all of these in a heavy Australian accent): "Have another go, mate! Have another go!" and "Come on now, step in time... step in time!" (Gotta love the Mary Poppins reference).

Katie tearing it up!

Hang Ten Mate!

https://youtu.be/wFStFJjRoRA
One of Katie's best rides. 
She even had a pretty graceful dismount at the end there.

https://youtu.be/lYY1FAlwik0
 One of my best rides.
Notice the stirring motion my arms are making to keep balance. The guys would yell out "And he's stirring the pot! That he is... stir that pot". It was quite funny at the time.

We ended up being there way longer then I thought we'd be. It helped that we both exceeded our own expectations of how good we would do. Katie didn't think she would even try the stand-up surfing. But as you can probably tell from the pictures and videos, she did awesome! Success!

At this point we were pretty tired. I had looked up a few other things we could have done in the city, but given the time and our energy level we decided it best to head back home. But I had one more surprise. On our train ride home we stopped a few stops early in Yarraville. Katie was a bit confused at first, but then she quickly figured out what we were doing. I still tried my best to keep it a secret.

Even though she more or less knew where we were going, I still blindfolded her for good measure.

It's a Katie-moose.
Seemed like a must take picture. I wish I had found a box for her to stand in.

Mad Moose is a pizza joint we found while exploring Yarraville a couple of weeks before. They looked like they had some really interesting and tasty options. So I stole the idea from our to-do list for this blind date. It was really tough to decide what to get because there were so many good options. But we ended up with this:

Our Pizza!
We got a pizza with half Oasis and half Plucka.

Oasis: Garlic, napoli sauce, tasty cheese, Spanish onions, roasted red capsicum, green capsicum, diced tomato, falafel and a sprinkle of chilli. topped with tzatziki

Plucka: Plum sauce, tasty cheese, peking duck breast, topped with cucumber, carrot and coriander.

Katie approves!

Both types of pizza were amazing. We ate it all in one sitting. So it was well worth the stop even with being exhausted from our earlier activities. It was a good way to end Katie's Australian blind date.

And that was that. I hope you enjoyed my retelling of one of our last Australian adventures of the month.

Cheers!

p.s. We definitely paid for some of our falls the next day. Both of us had some pretty sore necks and shoulders. But due to lack of time and a previous commitment with another house mate, we still went rock climbing one last time. It wasn't our best performance, but at least we didn't make it too much worse.