In mid September Brett and I met up with our friends Sarah and Matt for a Traverse City camper weekend. We first stopped at their property, some 30 acres in Kalamazoo county to ride in a side by side and explore what their plans for the property are for the future. Matt is currently building the pergola and the carport and outhouse. There is currently no electricity there. There are Trails for dirt bikes, side by side, and four by fours all over the property.

First off, we were in a camper so I packed for temperature variations that far north. It’s warm up to 80 during the day and in the 50’s at night.

What I packed that I used: yoga pants, sports bra, tee shirts, jeans, sneakers, long socks, a puffer jacket, a flannel, a long sleeved shirt, flip flops, a rubber wedding ring, sunglasses, shorts,

What I didn’t use: swimsuit but I should have,

What I forgot: water shoes, a baseball hat for hiking and tick avoidance, another sweater, gloves, and flip flops on the island we boated out to.

What I bought: a baseball hat, rocking camp chairs, (I purchased two gci outdoor rocking/foldable camp chairs on Amazon because our friends had them and they were amazing), sunscreen, and lots of food and beer.

First we stopped for diesel and beer and pizza in the class c 2005 camper. It comes with a garage for paddle board and kayaks, and a trailer for side by side which is street legal.

Three hour drive to traverse city

We stayed in the Traverse City State Park Camground. There is a pedestrian bridge that goes over Munson avenue and leads down to the east arm of the Grand Traverse Bay from the campground.

The first night (Friday) we Took the side by side 5 min down the road for drinks and hot dogs to cook over the fire and stayed up having a fire and star gazing. There was a chance of northern lights but we didn’t see them this time.

Saturday morning we woke and had some liquid IV and coffee with pumpkin spice creamer and did a 20 minute yoga video on yoga mats on the ground under the changing autumn leaves.

We lounged around the campground until around 2pm, and I worked hard to not be on my phone and instead breathe deep and enjoy the nature. I was feeling productive and coming up with so many ideas for the blog but I also wanted to be present, so I jotted quick notes.

We Drove to the bay and let Mieka play in the water and sand. It was Cold and windy by the water and hot once we were walking on Front street. There was a big Pride event going on. We Went to Rare Bird Brewey with a dog friendly patio. I had a Mango basil bliss drink and pork belly bahn mi. Twilight beer and smoked trout dip was what Brett chose.

After window shopping all along the central district in Traverse City we went back to the campground to change. We went to the Vasa hiking trail and promptly got lost. Fortunately we figured it out before sunset and we had a great time hiking.

Sunday we booked a pontoon charter from Blue Sky rentals. We drove fifteen minutes south to Spider Lake for a four hour boat rental on a 22 foot, 60hp pontoon that was dog friendly. We Went to a couple different islands, swam (this is where the bathing suit would have come in handy as the water here was much warmer than Lake Michigan). We packed snacks and drank breakfast beers and listened to music and threw the ball for Mieka on one of the islands. The temperature changed a lot from 8am to 12pm.

After we finished at Spider Lake we packed up the campground and emptied everything. We set back for Kalamazoo, about a three hour drive. Brett and I continued home to Chicago from there. All in all a great weekend and Traverse City is the perfect mix of nature and cultural things to do.

The Theater Residence is located in the Thonburi district. It took about 50 minutes by a Grab (SE Asia Uber) to get there. It only cost me about $15 USD.

Check in is at 12, but I arrived at 8:30 am and I was able to get in to my room at 10. It’s a Beautiful hotel, you walk into a covered but open air lobby with water canals surrounding it and a great view of the pool and courtyard. There is a smoking section off the lobby.

It lives up to its four star rating with large rooms, good water pressure, shampoo and lotions available, a safe in room, slippers and robes. There is a Refrigerator with drinks to purchase and microwave and snacks to purchase (you pay at the end of your stay). Some rooms have small balconies, including mine. The first thing I did was turn on the air conditioning which works really well, and then shower in a very luxurious rain shower.

The Pool is open 7-7.

Room service opens at 11:00am.

Multiple types of in room massage available- Thai massage 60 minutes is 900 baht (26 dollars) and you pay at end of stay. I booked a Thai massage for my low back after all those long flights and it was so amazing.

You can get large bills exchanged for small bills at the front desk which is helpful. The 7eleven down the road has a minimum of a 200 baht purchase on cards. There is Thai only tv channels, but the tv has the youtube app.

Breakfast is across the street at Theater Riverside from 6:30am to 10:30am with views of the river. I missed it this morning but will go tomorrow.

Local attractions include: Chao phraya river, wanglang pier, wat rakang, wat arun, guan yu Chinese temple, tonmakok restaurant, somdet to memorial, song thao kao doen market, wang lang market, khlong food on a longboat tour, royal barges museum, and more.

Tomorrow I’ll know if it’s loud here at night and can update where we went for activities and dinner in the Thonburi district.

I had a lot of anxiety the night before the trip. I physically was shaking and dropping things. I took my normal bipolar pills and then a klonopin and a propanolol. Later before bed I did an at home Mindbloom ketamine session and that lulled me to sleep and I woke up feeling confident.

I got to O’hare at 7:30am for a 10:20am flight because I had issues using the JAL app and I couldn’t pull up my ticket or see if I had TSA pre check. I got it sorted out at the bag drop off/check in counter (it’s because of the layover/continuing on internationally) and went through pre check and was able to enjoy about two hours in the American Airlines flagship lounge. It was really nice and self serve for food and alcohol. It had a nice selection of both American and Japanese breakfast items.

I flew Japan Airlines business class with lie flat seats. It was so worth it. I Stayed up til 3am on the 25th, woke up at 6am, fell asleep on the plane from 1pm til 8:30pm (Chicago time) so I’d beat jet lag. Before sleeping I had a Bloody Mary and lunch and freaked out for a few because I didn’t realize Japan airlines also took USA chargers and my adapter wasn’t working. But I paid 18 dollars for WiFi and Brett talked me through it. I Took Motrin pm and melatonin and a Olly stress relief pill to sleep. Below in the collage photo, the hearts are appetizer and then list of ramen shops recommended by the stewardesses, bottom right was lunch, I slept through dinner if there was one, and then the ramen on the top left was a snack before landing. Business class seat came with slippers, toiletry bag, headphones, blanket, pillow, privacy screen. I used weighted eye mask and my ketamine therapy playlist for sleep was glad for my fleece because I was cold (although I’m sure I could have asked for another blanket, I was just too drowsy to sit up and call someone over). 13 hours+ flew by in this seating set up and with being tired. Last two hours of the trip I listened to my audible book Somewhere Beyond The Sea by TJ Klune.

About an hour and a half before landing we had to put our seats and window shades up, and the privacy screens down. At Japan airport arrivals you go through a quarantine area where you fill out a questionnaire on temperature and health and then a bunch of questions about if you are bringing anything into the country. Use jal.web and answer the questions there and get the QR code for fastest moving through the line. You get fingerprinted and passport scanned and moved on to customs. Show QR code at customs desk and get a stamp or sticker in your passport. I Told them I was just staying for a layover and they were fine with that. I Went through a secondary screening area before leaving where I showed everything again and explained why I only had a backpack and purse. There is optional luggage storage in the airport and I wish I had done that for my backpack because it was heavy. Exit down one floor to trains or taxis. I stopped at the restroom and the Japanese are brilliant because the sound of running water plays while you are seated on the throne to go to the bathroom. I chose a taxi because with limited time on the layover and a heavy bag I didn’t want to get lost using the trains.

The weather was sunny and in the 50’s F when I left the airport. I wore a tank top, sweater, and fleece, and I went back and forth between chilly and warm depending on how much walking I was doing with my heavy pack. It Took about an hour and 25 minutes at 4pm to get to Asakusa and see the Senso Ji temple due to traffic. In Japan they drive on the left and you walk or stand on the left, let people pass you on the right. My taxi driver spoke enough English for us to get by, but I had downloaded Japanese on the Apple translate app ahead of time in case I needed it. Say “Cardo” to ask if they take card. I didn’t learn much Japanese besides hello, Konichiwa, excuse me, Sumimasen, and thank you, Arigato.

I took out 10,000 yen at the airport atm, about 63.50 because I only planned to be out and about for around 6 hours. I used card for all taxis. I used the cash at a small souvenir store, getting a small wallet, a magnet, and a pair of earrings. I actually got the earrings because I forgot additional earring backs for my ear piercings and I lost one and was worried the hole would close up over the next two and a half weeks. I got the wallet because I realized while practical my water fly front carrying bag is, I still wanted a wallet for it. I booked a ticket ahead of time to Tokyo Tower on trip advisor and that was convenient that I just had to show a bar code when I arrived there.

At the Senso Ji temple I learned to never face you back to Buddha statues or take selfies with them. I also learned there is a place to purify your hands before entering the temple. To get to the temple you see one of the huge gates at the front or sides, and you walk through a bustling outdoor market to get there.

I walked all over the temple grounds and looked at food and souvenir stalls. Everywhere around were drink vending machines. I had read that if you buy something to eat or drink you don’t walk around and consume it, you stay close to where you purchased it. It is also hard to find trash cans so plan to carry a bag with you for trash if the shop you purchase from can’t take it back from you. I was disappointed because I really wanted to find a vending machine with novelties but all I could find were drink ones. They did have public restrooms on the temple grounds which was nice.

Next I went into the Asakusa shopping mall, and pictures were not allowed there. If you go underground you’ll hit the train stations and if you go up you’ll find clothing, food, house wares, and book shops. My cousin AnnaRose told me to go to the higher floors to find the more affordable things. I needed to pick up socks and a bra and I did that on level 6. From there I grabbed a taxi and went to Tokyo tower. I used my trip advisor QR code and the line at 6pm was very short, I was on the first elevator up. Tokyo at night is breath taking.

There are two floors to choose from, and I explored both. I grabbed a soda and a water at the cafe, where they also served food, desserts, and mini wines. After the tower I walked to a 7eleven and got some of the grape gummies pictured below. My cousin actually sent me this picture, I forgot to take one of the packaging before I ate them. They are spectacular and taste like real grapes.

After the convenience store it was only 7:30 and I wasn’t hungry, my internal clock was off and I felt more dehydrated than anything. I could have found a whiskey bar but most didn’t open until 8pm at the earliest and I didn’t particularly want to drink whiskey before an overnight flight to Bangkok. I chose to come back to the airport. I was tired, achey, and sweaty. I already had my ticket so I breezed through security (again a two step process) and found terminal 3. I was designated allowed to go in to the Sakura lounge because I’m in business class. I didn’t see showers but I found a changing room and I changed my tank top and febreezed all my clothes. I forgot deodorant in my carry on, (but go figure had sunscreen) so I made due by cleaning up as best I could and brushing my teeth. I grabbed a coke and a water and chose a place in the large lounge where I could put my feet up. I’m utilizing the slippers from my first flight as I write. Once again the food fare and drinks are self serve and Japanese in origin. I won’t know until a later post if I am happy with what I kept in my carry on bag (besides the obvious things like phone cables, a power brick, converter, sleep meds, fleece). Once I’ve been through Bangkok airport tomorrow morning and determine if I need sunglasses and lighter clothes and so forth I’ll update a post on what was useful and what wasn’t.

I could have stayed out in Tokyo until 9:30pm if I stayed in the location of the Tokyo tower, about a 25 minute drive to Haneda. Instead I ended up back here at 8pm. I’ll have another layover on my return from south East Asia and see if I venture out again. I could have planned better or been more adventurous, but for now I navigated one of the biggest cities in the world on my own for a few hours and didn’t have a panic attack. That is a win.

On a beautiful Saturday at the end of September our friends M and N got married in St Charles, IL. St. Charles has a population of around 33,000 people and sits on the Fox River. It is part of the tri-city area with Geneva and Batavia and the whole area is super cute and a huge local tourist draw.

It’s about a 40 minute drive from our home, so we decided to get a hotel. We didn’t realize that it was homecoming weekend for many local high schools and also several other weddings were going on in the area, so we managed to get one of the last rooms at a Hotel Baker.

Hotel Baker is “The Crown Jewel of the Fox”, an old world, historic hotel in central downtown. It has 53 rooms and those facing south have a river view. We had a second floor river view room, and parking is either street parking or 1 block west in a parking garage that is free for 24 hours.

The lobby is lovely, but there are rules you have to sign for when checking in. No smoking, no parties, no outside alcohol. I thought the outside alcohol thing was odd, but it’s probably because of the weddings and events they hold and the fact that there is a restaurant and bar on site.

For the wedding itself we walked about 4 blocks to Eden events. The event venue has multiple event rooms, and can host weddings, corporate events, baby and bridal showers, and more. We were in the the wedding rooms facing the Fox river. Walking in there was a bar area, and then a larger room that could be portioned off into a ceremony space and a dining space.

After the ceremony the larger room including the ceremony area was closed off and a cocktail hour began. The bar area and cocktail tables were in an L shape. We mingled for about an hour while the ceremony set up was taken down and the larger room turned into the dining area. Meagan and Nick opted for a sweetheart table and did something I thought was really interesting and fun; they didn’t put all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen at one table but instead mingled them at tables with the other guests. This was especially nice for me as I knew several of the other girls from the bachelorette party but not many of the other guests. The dinner consisted of a bread and salad course, and then three options for dinner, a chicken, a steak with chimmichurri, or a vegetarian squash pasta. During the dinner white and red wine were served. During the dinner the couple had their first dance, something they choreographed and was exceedingly cute.

Once their dance was complete a cake table was brought out. They opted for a tiramisu cake for the dessert after the cake cutting served with coffee and tea.

Once the dinner was over the bar opened back up and the cake area cleared away. The dj began playing music and there was an option to request songs. There was also a photo booth in the far corner with props.

The after party was about a 6-8 block walk from the Eden venue. We chose to go back to the hotel and change, and many others did as well. We slipped into cocktail attire and more comfortable shoes and walked south from Hotel Baker to The Office Dining and Spirits. The Office offers an indoor seating area and an outdoor patio. In a private venue section were after wedding snacks like sliders and chicken fingers. We spent most of the night on the outdoor patio in the lovely weather.

The next day we went for an early lunch at Alter Brewing right across the street on a walkable area. I had the slider trio of Nashville chicken with fries and Brett got the burger of the month. I tend to go for lights beers, and Brett did that morning as well as we were eating around 11:30. I love alter brewing, they have multiple locations and often have trivia and music bingo on weeknights.

We got back to my parents in the early afternoon to pick up Cal (after many texts from me and some prayers that he didn’t harass the cat all night. And I came home to this:

Cal and Abby have now bonded a little, Cal still comes up and barks at her and she just holds her ground and ignores him. They won’t be cuddling together anytime soon, but my worries were for nothing.

I can’t wait to get back to St. Charles in the spring for some additional exploration, it’s such a cute town and there is so much more to explore!