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.