Two weekends ago we were graced with the presence of my lovely in-laws (note: no sarcastic tone) and we had a great time! They came in the early afternoon on Saturday with a candle for Leah, candy for me and cheese curds and summer sausage. We also got curtains that my mom made for our bedroom. We decided to go to the bottling plant of Sprecher's root beer (ironically I'm drinking our last bottle as I write this). Sprecher's actually started as a brewery and still makes beer, but there is a reason they are known for their root variety. After a quick 10 minute tour of two rooms, we got to taste their beer first. They had a good russian imperial stout, but that was about it. I was very impressed with their soda (no "pop" here), probably because of my highly sophisticated pallate and my overly powerful sweet tooth. They had a vanilla cinnamon cola and a cranberry cherry something too. Side note: Stewart's Ginger Beer was discontinued in July of this summer, so if you see any, buy it all and sell it online for $10 a bottle after you give me some, seriously.
For supper, we walked downtown from our apartment to a place called "the safe house." It is a pretty cool spy themed resturaunt. You have to know where it is because it is a pretty plain brick building with a sign saying "international exports inc." Under that there is a description of what they do and within this, there are red letters that spell out "safe house." You enter a small room with a girl sitting at an old fasioned operator's switchboard. She asks if she can help you, and if you know the password. If you don't, you need to do some kind of funny dance, then a fireplace swings open and you're in! We went up to the host and saw tvs all over the place showing the small room with an old guy trying to do the hula hoop. We know the password now, so if you come with us, you won't have to embarrass yourself. After quite awhile, we got our table and ordered. We walked around doing a scavenger hunt on the menu and after another quite awhile, we got our food. I'll just say, next time we go, it will be for the atmosphere and drinks.
Sunday morning we went to church, and Leah's parents could see why we liked it. We went out to eat at a butterburger place which is known for just that and understandably so. The burgers are awesomely good, but awesomely bad for your health. We came back to the apartment and then walked to the end of our street, where the Pabst mansion is. The place was spectacular! you wouldn't believe the wood carvings, stained glass windows and furniture. And to think that there were houses like that up and down Wisconsin Ave. One mansion took up the front of an entire block! Now there are only three left, and the Pabst mansion is one of them.
Week nights are pretty boring, so this is how I practice for Mad Science and how Leah takes a study break:
This week I'll be practicing making slime and playing with Jenga. On Friday I got trained on the cotton candy machine and came home with a nice big bag for my lovely wife (there are obvious perks to this job). I'm not exactly bringing home the bacon, but pretty close. The day before Halloween, I will be doing a "spooktacular," which is basically what we usually do, but with a spooky twist. Like instead of melting packing peanuts with acetone, we melt maniquin heads, stuff like that.Another week day study break was making our traditional (one other time when we were dating) fall cookies. It took three nights: one to make the dough, one to cut and bake the cookies and one to decorate them.
Last weekend we went out for drinks with a couple from church (and Calvin and high school). Mark it on your calender, Leah and Aren have a social life. We had a great time. It is nice to do something with another married couple.
That same weekend we really needed to get out and take a break, so we went for a little road trip. We went to a place kind of like crane's, but twice as crazy. Honey crisp apples were $1 each. The line for the hayride (after you stood in line to buy tickets) was longer than some lines I've been in for a roller coaster. We blew that popsicle stand in a hurry and headed down to Lake Geneva for their Octoberfest. The lake was beautiful:
Their polka band wasn't too shabby either:
On our way home, we stopped at a mom and pop roadside stand and bought our pumpkin (for $5 cheaper than at the crazy crane's place) and some gourds and apples. Our apartment looks nice and homey now.
If you haven't heard, we are planning on coming to Holland the Friday before Halloween! Let us know what you guys are up to (those of you who are in Holland) so we can see you!
