Like a Virgin. Sea Day #3

 

 

Another sea day, and honestly - nothing to report. The kind of day that does exactly what it’s supposed to do.

Good food (as always), a bit of relaxing, and a gym session to balance out the plates that somehow keep refilling themselves. No rushing, no plans, no port times to watch - just the rhythm of the ship and the luxury of having nowhere else to be.

Sometimes the best days are the uneventful ones. 

Go Blue. Dairy Queen, deers & no donuts, a whirlwind week in Michigan

                                          

After days of anticipation (and a lot of silent panic), Thursday finally brought sweet happyness - we made it to Dairy Queen! Crisis averted. I was genuinely starting to worry that my beloved Blizzard would remain just a dream.

That evening, feeling sugar-fueled, we set out for a sunset walk around the neighborhood. Enter the deers. Herds of them. We counted 15 on a single street corner, standing there like they owned the place. Just staring. Judging. It was a beautifully warm night, the sky painted in pinks and golds, and we spotted dozens of pink blossoming trees looking straight out of Louvre. I even managed to get a few good photos taken of me, proving that yes, I was present for the magic.

For Friday night’s dinner I whipped up Pad Thai and kringel (because why not combine Thai street food with Estonian pastry?). All four of us enjoyed it and - dare I say it - I was pretty proud of myself.

Saturday meant a return to my happy place: Ann Arbor. We wandered the well familiar streets, grabbed some mini cupcakes, and attempted to revisit the mini donut place... which, to our dismay, had vanished into the entrepreneurial void.

We also walked down our street, and wrapped the day with Zingerman’s sandwiches - an absolute must. The ordering system was smooth: order on a screen, receive a text when it’s ready and go pick it up. Easy. But then came the tip screen, already defaulted to 18%. It was me placing the order, Scott picking it up, and naturally, we couldn’t decide who deserved the tip. In the end, the great stalemate meant… no tip. We worked for free.

On Sunday, we witnessed what seemed to be half the town doing yoga in a neighbor’s yard. Quite the sight. Later, we headed to Common Grill in Chelsea for dinner. It had been years - since Scott’s birthday in 2019 (or was it 2018?) - but it was just as amazing as we remembered. The menu still has a few items calling my name. Next time, perhaps.

Monday delivered another Dairy Queen moment (because why stop at one?), followed by dinner at an Italian restaurant that fully embraced the motto “Go big or go home.” The portions were enormous. Like, “you’ll need a to-go box and a nap” enormous.

And then came Tuesday - airport and airplane day. Armed with a Cookie Crumble Starbucks Frappuccino, I boarded three flights and eventually made it back home on Wednesday afternoon.

Go Blue. From Desert Dust to Cherry Blossoms

 

We kicked off Easter Sunday in Jackson, waking up at Scott’s mom’s house. The main plan for the day was to prepare and eat Easter lunch. I had been assigned dessert duty by my loving husband. Upon entering the kitchen, we discovered that Scott’s mom had already whipped up a Key Lime Pie (it was delicious!).

So instead, I was promoted to appetizer status and made asparagus wrapped in bacon, fried to  perfection. Scott bravely took on roast beef for the first time in his life - and did a great job. Meanwhile, Scott’s mom had also prepared stuffed potatoes. We enjoyed a nice very late lunch and as predicted, ate way too much.

Monday after work, we zipped off to Ann Arbor, each with our own shopping agenda. As soon as we arrived, we split up like expert pickpockets - I dived into TJ Maxx (and since I had never been there in spring, I was wow, the clothing selection was just overwhelming), while Scott tackled his errands.

We reunited for a quick detour to Home Goods (my second-favorite store after TJ Maxx), then met up with Rebecca for dinner at Knight’s - still as reliably good as ever. And what an amazing service!

Tuesday night was a cozy one in, and I cooked creamy lemon pasta with pan-fried chicken. Not to brag, but it turned out seriously good.

On Wednesday, we took a little drive down to Saline to meet with Sherry - someone I hadn’t seen since pre-2020. It was such a lovely meetup, filled with much catch-up, and - no surprise here - a massive amount of meat. Because if there’s one thing you don’t come to the U.S. for, it’s reasonable portion sizes.

Arizona dreaming with desert vibes. From owl sandwiches to canyon squirrels

  

One of us has clearly gotten more sun

Earrings!

Toasted owl brunch and approved sandwiches

Top: cactus fries and Brussels sprouts

Bottom: cilantro flatbread, bison steaks and rattlesnake sausages

We kicked off the day in The Toasted Owl Café. It had already been scouted and bookmarked online the day before. After a brisk morning walk through crisp Flagstaff air, we arrived hungry and ready. Scott ordered a sandwich and, after every two bites, declared to the world, “This is amazing.” He made sure every member of the service team knew that Europe is apparently a sandwich wasteland, filled with “sad little bread-based mistakes.” The man was passionate.

I went all in with a brie, prosciutto, and fig jam omelet (yes, that combo works) and a fluffy blueberry pancake. Everything was spectacular.

While Scott handled the checkout in the hotel, I wandered into their little shop — and discovered that they sell regular-sized candles for $58. If anyone's ever wanted to spend boutique perfume money on wax, I now know just the place.

We hit the road toward the Grand Canyon. On the way, we made a quick stop at a local indigenous-owned shop, where we chose our annual Christmas ornaments and a lovely pair of earrings.

Armed with a list of must-see viewpoints (thanks to a little help from ChatGPT), we spent the next few hours soaking up the breathtaking views of the South Rim. The sun was shining, the squirrels were out — and one particularly adorable little guy was spotted chugging water straight from a tourist’s bottle.

Next stop: Sedona, Scott’s old stomping grounds, where he lived for nearly three years. But not before a detour to the Oak Creek Canyon Overlook, just in time before they shut the gates at 5 PM. The views wer stunning and the wind was feral. Our selfie was almost airborne, and if you’ve looked at the photo above, you know what I mean.

As we arrived in Sedona, we settled into our hotel and immediately made a sunset trip to the Sedona Airport Scenic Overlook - a perfect end to the day, with golden light spilling over red rocks.

Dinner was at Cowboy Club, and it was a true Wild West sampler: cactus fries, bison steaks, rattlesnake sausage, cilantro flatbread, and roasted Brussels sprouts.