Episode 22: February 2007
The highlights of the month include:
• Snowshoeing in Midland;
• Cooking soups in Traverse City;
• Working and relaxing in Houston;
• Indoor rock climbing in Midland.
As we ended January, the weatherman was predicting more cold weather in our future. Man, was he right! February was an absolutely frigid month in Michigan. The high temperature never seemed to get above 20 degrees Farenheit (-5 degrees Celsius), and the nights were very chilly, to say the least. In spite of the weather, Deb and I managed to find plenty to do to enjoy or escape the winter. For our first weekend of the month, we decided to explore an area of Midland that is new to both of us. On the outskirts of town in a large park that has lots of trails for hiking, bicycling, and other summer activities. In the winter, the same park converts is trails into tracks for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Having just gotten a new set of snowshoes each from my sister-in-law, Carol, we got our gear together and headed out for a test run.
The park itself was surprisingly well-equipped for outdoor winter fun. Lucky for us, it turned out to be a beautiful day. The sun came out – though that did not help the temperature much – and there was a relatively calm wind. Deb and I had our best winter gear on as well, which definitely took a lot of the bite out of the cold. We donned our showshoes – a perfect fit in both our cases – and took a two-hour hike through the forest. At one point, we walked alongside a river and saw teams of snowmobilers driving along on the ice-covered river!
The next weekend we cashed in on one of my Christmas presents. For some reason, I have a fascination with cooking. I certainly like to eat – evidenced by my growing belly – but I also enjoy trying my hand at cooking new things, and I fall into a trance when I watch someone else cooking. Imagine my surprise when Deb presented to me on Christmas Day the gift of an afternoon cooking class in Traverse City, Michigan!
Traverse City is a medium-sized town about two hours north of Midland. The town is situated along a bay that is an extension of Lake Michigan. It is a very nice town and a hot-spot of tourism in the summer months. People come to Traverse City for its boutique shops, beautiful lake views, cherries (it is home to the annual National Cherry Festival), and its wine. Yes, its wine! The area is dotted with several wineries and, though, Michigan does not come close to rivaling France, Italy, California, or Australia, it is very proud of what it can produce.
We got a chance to get close to the local wine industry during our weekend in Traverse City. The cooking class Deb booked for us was held at a winery in the hills around Traverse City, called Chateau Chantal. Our class revolved around winter soups and stews, and we covered the spectra of possibilities. There were six people (three husband-wife teams) in our class, and together we made 11 soups! We made everything from a lentil soup, to coq au vin, to a Thai coconut soup, to French onion soup and more. Deb and I made three soups: the Thai coconut soup with chicken, a provencale fish soup with a tomato base, and a cabbage soup. After whipping up all the dishes, we got to sit down and try them. They were, if we must admit, spectacular.
The winery itself was a very charming place. Half of the property was a winery and the other half was a bed and breakfast with about 20 guest rooms. Guests literally had a run of the place and were allowed to walk downstairs into the wine-making area or help themselves to a bottle of wine at the tasting bar. The winery was located on top of a hill, offering great views of Traverse City, the lake, and the other hills in the distance.
After a full day of cooking, Deb and I spent the next day walking around downtown Traverse City and doing a bit of shopping at the local stores. After a few hours of that, we decided to head back to Midland so that we could have an early evening before the next week of work.
Speaking of work, the next week our jobs took us away from the Midland cold. Both Deb and I had to travel to Texas for different reasons. Deb needed to visit some of her team members at our manufacturing facility in Freeport, which is about an hour away from Houston. I, on the other hand, had to go to our business office, which is located in Houston. So, the two of us flew down to Texas in the middle of the week on the corporate plane and then parted ways at the airport. After a few days of work, Deb drove up to Houston to meet up with me and spend a weekend in a city that did not have snow. Woohoo!
Deb came up to Houston on Friday night, and we started the weekend by having drinks with some of my colleagues who work in Houston. (What a great way to start relaxing, eh?) The next day, we went shopping and then visited a park that we spent a lot of time in when I was working in Houston during my business school years. The weather was great (around 65F/18C) – a little chilly, but a heckuva lot warmer than Michigan – and it was so nice to be able to sit outside in the sun again. For our last day in Houston, we visited Rice Village, the area around Rice University, and then gorged ourselves on a Texan dinner of steaks.
During that next week, we followed thru on yet another Christmas gift, this time one of the gifts I got for Deb. Deb has wanted to try out a dancing class for a long time. So, I got her the gift of Latin dancing classes and, to sweeten the deal, I signed myself up, too! Yes, that’s right, I convinced myself that even I can learn to dance. I suppose it is about time – I have no moves and no coordination. There is no where for me to go but up! In our first class, we learned the basics of the Cha-Cha. As a non-dancer, I must admit that the basic dance is pretty easy to pick up. We will see how I cope when we start adding other elements to the dance, like spins and whatever else. Still, after one class, I have to admit that I am enjoying it.
For our final weekend in February, we did not do that much. Deb was scheduled to fly back to Texas on Sunday so we really could not stray too far from Midland. On Saturday, I took my first tennis lesson (another Christmas gift from Deb) and then we met up for lunch. After that, we went to the local Community Center and tried our hand at their indoor climbing wall. Long-time readers may remember that I tried my first climbing wall in Switzerland. That taste was enough to make me give it another go. The climbing wall in Midland has been built inside an old racquetball court and, I must admit, they have done a nice job with it. After a 30-minute instruction on how to wear the equipment and belay our partner, we were on our own. It was a fun experience but really showed me that 1) I lack the proper climbing technique and 2) I really need to build some upper-body strength!
The next day, we got up early in order to get Deb to the airport for her flight. However, when we woke up we noticed that we had gotten quite a bit of snow overnight. In fact, it was still falling. We immediately checked on Deb’s flight status and saw that both her flight out of Midland and her flight from Detroit were canceled due to the weather. So, we went to Plan B. We lazed around the house for the day and got a bit of work done, too.
All in all, February turned out to be an adventurous month, despite what Mother Nature tried to throw at us. As we look ahead to March, we are definitely excited about the possibility of warmer weather (puh-leez!) and daylight savings time (the U.S. government kindly moved up DST by three weeks this year). Until then, stay warm or enjoy the sun, depending on what part of the world you are reading this from!
