Thanksgiving in Kalamazoo

The Andreasen barnstorming Fall tour continued with Thanksgiving...

To help put us in the Thanksgiving spirit we sent leaves to all our family and asked them to write things they were thankful for and send them back. Bennett loved getting all the leaves back and hanging them on our tree.

Decorating Fall pumpkin and turkey cookies

Lincoln set up a residency interview at Western Michigan University the Friday before Thanksgiving.  And since he also scheduled his vacation month at the end of November and into December AND has an aunt, uncle, and cousins living in Kalamazoo,  we took the opportunity to go and spend about 10 days with the Albretsens! (big belated 'Thank You!')

Lincoln and Tracey went out to eat with the residency candidates at Zazio's (Italian restaurant) downtown our first night.  The following day, Lincoln's interview process lasted til early afternoon when Tracey and Bennett met with him at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.  Kalamazoo, for whatever reason, has been an eclectic center for innovation over the years: celery farming, dissolvable pharmaceuticals (Upjohn), medical/surgical equipment (Stryker), Checker taxis, Gibson guitars, and the old Swing standard 'I've got a gal in Kalamazoo'

Lincoln's cousin Brian was a tour guide through the museum that centered on science and history.  He was really excited to show us the old-timey checkers table where he vanquished Lincoln in battle.

Lincoln remembering the old days of working at Steak n Shake by serving Bennett ice cream.

Bennett testing his hand at broadcasting.

Bennett at a Civil War Camp.  We also later saw the rifle carried by one of the Union soldiers who captured Jeff Davis right after the Civil War.

Giving the Gettysburg Address like a hero.

The Museum was so fun we had to come back another day when the young child section was open.

Bennett wanted to build a house. Lincoln may or may not be inside, too.

Late November marked the first substantial snowfall in western Michigan, and we were hoping to find a good place to do some sledding.  We traveled with Jay, Mary, Brian, and Nathan to Warren Dunes State Park.  The Sand Dunes were impressive, but it was pretty gusty...and there was no snow accumulation this close the lake.

We chased some seagulls and took this picture.  Shortly thereafter, Brian, Bennett, and Nathan all slipped and wiped out in succession on some of the beach's ice drifts.

From there, we traversed north to inspect some of Brian's campground maintenance handiwork at Van Buren State Park.  Here, we found some wet snow and engaged in a furious snowball fight, the foremost of Bennett's Winter goals.  Tracey managed to capture some of the harrowing battleground footage:

Bennett found a tall slide, always a fan-favorite on our adventures.

Uncle Jay had heard tale of a magnificent, mystical lighthouse in the small Lake Michigan boutique town of South Haven, so we traveled there to investigate.  It wasn't very impressive as we approached from a distance.  Still, with Jay in the lead, we decided to traverse the long pier for a closer look.

The walk was a treacherous one with blustery winds and thick ice in parts. You can see the freezing cold water splashing up the sides in the first picture above.

At the end of the perilous journey, we at last reached the awe-inspiring 2.5-story red lighthouse and took a picture with Aunt Mary (and a hidden Nathan) for posterity.  Only the bravest, stoutest souls reach this point...at least in cold November.

One of our favorite places to visit in Kalamazoo is the Air Zoo. It's a small aviation museum with some fun kids rides.

Bennett was so excited to fly a plane

Daddy got to go on all the rides as pregnant Mom was not really feeling up to it

Cousin Nate and Lincoln in the flight simulator.  Bennett was extremely disappointed he couldn't have a turn.

While we were at the Albretsen's house, it finally snowed enough to play outside.

First snowman of the year.  Nathan would later guide Lincoln and Bennett to an abandoned pocket of half-developed real estate.  The large mounds of dirt and weeds were fun to climb and made for some decent Bennett-size sledding and King-of-the-Mountain playing.

Even Mom ventured outside for a minute.

Somehow, we forgot to take actual pictures of Thanksgiving Dinner!  With Aunt Mary at the helm, suffice it to say the meal was delectable.  Afterwards, we played board games and watched some football.

We were planning to be gone from home basically the whole month of December, so we decided to help decorate the Albretsen's Christmas tree rather than set up our own for only a couple days.

Superman Rudolph

Despite all the adventures, Bennett's favorite part of the trip was playing at home with Brian and Nathan, especially with their elaborate wooden train track collection.

We all went to Big Hero 6 at the movie theater (Bennett got concerned when the bad guy seemed to be winning near the end) and Bennett got to make selections at the Sweetwater's Donut Mill while Lincoln and Tracey snuck off to Interstellar (in the tastefully named town of Paw Paw).  Other adventures included attending a stake conference in Battle Creek, having Family Home Evening with the Albretsens, an Indian restaurant outing, playing board games/card games/ping pong, a Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl outing, and watching Planes, Annabelle's Wish, and I think Open Season for a few Family Movie Nights.

In all, it was a fantastic 1+ weeks in Michigan!  Thanks so much again to the Albretsens for housing, feeding, and guiding us while there (with a special thanks to Brian for letting us inhabit his room).

Champaign

Despite his military residency ambitions, Lincoln did schedule three interviews within driveable distance from Chicago in case the Air Force did not select him.  First up was Champaign.  Lincoln grew up there, so Tracey and Bennett came along for a mostly nostalgic mini vacation.

They received an unabridged (largely unnecessary) tour of the "city" that spanned over the course of two days and included such riveting sights as Lincoln's old dentist office and a tiny park with an odd tree that fascinated Lincoln as he rode the bus to middle school as a child (apparently, one of his life regrets is never climbing that tree).

Remember when Halloween night was the first chilly day of the season? Well, these two days were the first truly cold wintry days of the season.  We weren't prepared with winter gear, but Lincoln insisted he and Bennett make at least abbreviated stops at some key sites. 

Centennial Hill.  Possibly the point of highest elevation in Champaign County.  Lincoln scaled this hill as a wee lad in order to sled, bike, or run down the slope.

Robeson Park. Walkable distance from Lincoln's childhood house.  This group of boulders were there 20 years ago; that renovated playground in the background was not.

Phinney Branch, or simply 'The Creek', wound its way through Lincoln's neighborhood.  This is one of several bridges crossed by a young Lincoln on foot or by bike.  It was cold, but he and Bennett mustered enough courage to play pooh sticks and look in vain for 'crawdads'.  One of Lincoln's favorite pastime activities was 'creek-walking' to catch minnows and crayfish.

Lincoln's elementary school.  The playgrounds have all been overhauled (this is the Kindergarten one; Lincoln's old classroom were those windows on the right), but Bennett enjoyed them nonetheless.  Tracey, once again, stayed warm in the car.

One of only two original relics on any of the three school playgrounds is the oddly clover-shaped jungle gym pictured here.  No 'Robeson Rocket'.  No abandoned concrete piping (other original piece was the metal-piped fire truck on the school's west playground).

This picture is mainly notable for the blurry baseball field in the far background where Lincoln heroically fractured his thumb standing firm for a tag-out at third base of David Schwerter, a baserunner twice his size, playing farm-league baseball.

The old house- sans crabapple tree.  Only the chocolate molding stands as testament to the bizarre original brownish-lavender color scheme in days of yore (an aesthetic somehow repeated when the family moved to Springfield).  To be fair, this sand-colored siding was actually put up while the family was living in here in the mid to late 90s.  Immediately following this photograph, the garage door opened and we were briefly accosted by the new homeowners' dog before they invited us in for a quick look-see.  Needless to say, the renovations were very nicely done albeit drastically differing from living conditions in Lincoln's childhood.  They even replaced the whole back door/window apparatus that Laura infamously punched through one fateful morning circa 18 yrs ago.  Also, a wooden fence has been erected in the backyard eerily similar to the one we broke down for firewood while living there (hey, times were hard...)


We stayed at the soon-to-be Wyndham Garden hotel where, because they were transitioning from being a Holiday Inn, tragically had their swimming pool closed for renovations.   Bennett was heartbroken, but a greasy philly cheesesteak sandwich he shared with Tracey helped assuage the disappointment.  Lincoln went out to eat at Big Grove Restaurant with a Resident and another candidate (the artisanal chicken and waffles were delicious).

The next morning while Lincoln was at his interview back in Champaign-Urbana (or how it's irritatingly arranged currently, Urbana-Champaign), Bennett and Tracey visited the local children's museum at the old Orpheum Theatre.

There was plenty to do, and Bennett was enthralled for the bulk of the morning.

We decided to go back after picking up Lincoln from his interview after lunch so we could show him all the fun we had...and meet the reptiles!

Bennett's favorite part was watching this lizard mercilessly devour two crickets released in its demonstration tub.

Lake of the Woods County Forest Preserve- site of Cub Scout Day camps, cross country meets, and numerous family activities both with and without the Mahomet-based Albretsens.

We found a few rocks to launch over the sides of the suspension bridge.

Observation tower (still at Lake of the Woods) dead ahead!

Yep, mom participated in this event managing to ascend all 110 stairs to the top.

Remember Centennial Hill? Well, scratch that.  This could probably be the highest elevation in Champaign County.

On the other side of Lake of the Woods is the Museum of the Grand Prairie.  It serves mainly as the county's historical museum detailing 19th-century settlers' lifestyle with a little emphasis on circuit-traveling lawyer Abraham Lincoln.

Getting our Looking for Lincoln rubbings

Sadly, neither of these waysides were created by Historian Grandpa Andreasen

A young Davy Crockett

Taking a ride with creepy Abe Lincoln standing behind us

We decided to stop on our way back north to Chicago at a restaurant in Gibson City where Lincoln's middle school German class once took a field trip.  Lincoln needed to see if his memory of the experience had been embellished...

...Nope!  The decorations haven't changed in 15 years.  Bennett fully approved.

...And the food was superb. Here's the Bavarian pretzel with herb butter.

From top:Tracey ordered Schnitzel a la Holstein, spaetzle noodles, and potato cakes; Bennett selected Schweinebraten with applesauce; Lincoln devoured a Thuringer bratwurst, a Weisswurst, and a slice of Kassler Rippchen with sauerkraut, red cabbage, and garlic mashed potatoes.

We capped the meal off by selecting ein stuck Kuche from the dessert platter.  Once again, Lincoln's memory proved to be startlingly accurate and utterly devoid of exaggeration.