Posts in the category: Travel

Travel // Traverse City, Michigan 2014

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11 Notes

Traverse City has my heart and I think you’ll love it, too. It’s beautiful, friendly and good food is everywhere. The restaurants, wineries and breweries proudly share their cooperations with local farms, bakeries and cheese producers. It’s my kind of place. Scroll to the bottom of the post for links to everywhere we went. Lots of photos ahead! We stayed in a condo at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a thriving community that is a repurposed state mental hospital. It sounds pretty creepy, but the hospital treated their residents with respect and kindness. The hospital closed after the advancement… Continue reading ≻

Fourth of July Weekend 2014

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2 Notes
Butch's in Holland, Michigan // Dula Notes

Ok, I was just going to tack a few of these pics onto another post, but I had too many to share. We went to west Michigan and specifically my hometown of Holland, for the fourth where my Mom, Dad, brother and sister-in-law live. Marc’s brother and his wife also joined us and we packed in as much fun as possible. We drove the (almost) 3 hour trip after work on Thursday night, very excited about a 4-day weekend. It’s our routine to grab dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Holland when we arrive. This time we chose… Continue reading ≻

Travel // Chicago 2014

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20 Notes
Chicago // Dula Notes

I only just left, but I miss Chicago already. This wasn’t our first trip, but this was the first time we went without parents or siblings, exploring as we liked. The weather was chilly, mostly in the 30’s and low 40’s, and we would skip to the side of the street with the most sun to warm us as we walked through the city. It didn’t deter us from enjoying our long weekend in Chicago. We arrived around 3 pm and checked into our hotel. I had a long list of places I wanted to eat and since it was… Continue reading ≻

Travel // Detroit Institute of Arts

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6 Notes
The Detroit Institute of Arts // Dula Notes

There’s no way a few photos from my phone on a quick trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts will do it justice, but I’ll give you the express tour anyway. The Detroit Institute of Arts, or the DIA as we call it, is a beautiful place. The building itself is gorgeous and then it’s filled with masterpieces. Pictured above is the side entrance, but the front entrance is much more grand with huge steps. I suggest you go in that way for your first visit. The DIA has been in the local news lately because Kevyn Orr, Detroit’s emergency… Continue reading ≻

Lake Michigan on Christmas Eve

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6 Notes
Lake Michigan on Christmas Eve // Dula Notes

While visiting my parents in West Michigan, I got it stuck in my head that I wanted to go to the beach and see the snow and ice. On Christmas Eve, I asked Marc and my Dad if they wanted to visit Lake Michigan with me and after they checked that I was serious, they grabbed their coats. I’m pretty lucky to have people in my life that go along with my crazy ideas. I’m pretty sure nobody regretted the trip, though, because it was just gorgeous. When we arrived, the sun began to peek out through the cotton candy clouds.… Continue reading ≻

Cranbrook Art Museum + Saarinen House in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

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2 Notes

The Cranbrook Educational Community is located in beautiful Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The property is 319 acres and contains the Cranbrook Art Museum, Cranbrook schools, Cranbrook Academy of Art, the Cranbrook Institute of Science and Cranbrook House and gardens. I had never visited the property before and we went on a gray and chilly fall Saturday. It turned out to be the best weather for taking in the grounds as the cloudy sky made the trees and architecture stand out. Our plan was to visit the art museum, walk the grounds and we had a scheduled 2 pm tour of the… Continue reading ≻

Travel // East Bay Area, California 2013

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4 Notes

Whenever I need a truly relaxing vacation, I love staying with our friends Kelly and Kris in San Ramon. They are the kindest hosts and they live in a pretty part of California. They have an Asian pear tree that serendipitously ripens right when we like to take our vacations. Picking a ripe pear off of their tree is a treat worth the trip to California alone. Their home is a short drive to several other great destinations as well. On this visit, the old Bay Bridge closed and then the new Bay Bridge opened. We watched the time-lapsed video… Continue reading ≻

Travel // Big Sur, California 2013

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14 Notes

I can’t remember when I first heard about Big Sur, but I know that Pinterest had a hand in pushing me to get myself there. The images are too dreamy for words and now I have my own pictures of this magical place. You take picturesque Highway 1 from Carmel and soon you find yourself on a twisty two lane road far from everything, including cell service. Among the large mountains and ocean as far as your eye can see, you feel small. At some point on highway 1, we found ourselves behind a zippy Mini Cooper S, which we… Continue reading ≻

Mackinac Island 2013

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12 Notes

I was lucky enough to spend a long weekend on Mackinac Island (pronounced mack-in-aw) to celebrate Meg’s bachelorette party. I’d take this party over Vegas any day. Meg’s two aunts have homes on Mackinac Island and one of them offered to let us use her home as our party house! Just kidding. In between the fun times, we cleaned up after ourselves, did the dishes, a little laundry and took the adorable dog, Winky, for a long walk. A long walk where I slipped and slow-motion fell in mud and then we laughed until we cried. If you don’t know… Continue reading ≻

Travel // Dinner in Cincinnati, Ohio

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2 Notes

One last stop. On our return trip from Nashville, we were set to pass through Cincinnati around dinner time. I went to my phone to search for a place to stop. A restaurant called The Taste of Belgium caught my eye with its traditional Belgian cuisine. Right downtown and not far from the freeway, we found public parking and walked a short distance to the restaurant. The retro tile and bistro decor instantly assured me that I had made the right choice. House-infused liquor colorfully lined the bar. Going for the “go big or go home” school of thought, I… Continue reading ≻