Gray day

I slept only fair in my fancy room; the forced air heaters are LOUD and woke me almost every time they went on.  So, there was lots of tossing and turning. But then, I'm used to that because of the noisy neighbors in my apartment.

My breakfast was delivered a few minutes after 9. They did send what I asked for, and it was nice to be able to eat it in my room, with the tv & computer. But, it wasn't very good; it was the same food they serve in the breakfast area (covered by paper & plastic plates), so if I'd gone down there, I could've gotten something instead of the watery/rubbery eggs. The carrot muffins weren't bad, though. 

They put a receipt under my door saying that they participate in Express Checkout and all I had to do was leave my key card in the room, so that's what I did. Still, it felt weird to just walk out like that.

I was excited about going to the Frederik Meijer Botanical Gardens & Sculpture park. All the reviews were rather impressive. When I got there, it was apparently children & old people day -- mostly children. There were school groups, pre-school groups and lots of moms and their children. Lots of babies, too. And then, there was the van from a senior citizen complex. 

When I went in, the clerk told me the price & I handed her my credit card & then asked if there was a AAA discount or any other discount, and she said, "Oh, it's too late now. And it's only 50 cents." I didn't feel like arguing about it, but I KNOW there is a way to override/void transactions.

I decided to start with the sculptures. There was an exhibit by....someone whose name escapes me at the moment. (I think it was Henneke ....something or other. They were unisex figures, all in rather pensive poses. After that, I wandered through the cactus exhibit, and then another plant area that had really cool pitcher plants of all sizes.

 (I took lots of pictures of them, but I did it with my camera instead of my phone & I'm having trouble uploading them at the moment. 

I then went outside to look at the sculptures. There were some very cool ones. My favorite was of a very realistic -- albeit huge -- man lying on a stone.

Even his face looked slightly flushed! There were a lot of other sculptures that were interesting, but a large part of the gardens was closed...for construction, of course. I would imagine that in the spring and summer, it's lovely, but on a cold, gray, winter-like day, it was kind of sad & desolate -- especially with their being partial sculptures, mud and few people. And they apparently weren't prepared to tell anybody anything.

After that, I went inside & looked at the caterpillars. A very enthusiastic docent practically grabbed me to to show me how to find them. (There weren't all that many.) I was not terribly impressed and was about to leave when another docent ushered me into the butterfly area. It was incredibly warm & humid -- my flat straight hair went back to its frizzy, curly self!  There were, indeed, lots of butterflies of all kinds and colors in there. 

And, it was a nice display, but not really any better -- or different -- than the one at the Detroit Zoo that I'd been to many years ago.  Everything I read said to plan 2, 4 or more hours. I struggled to fill 2 hours there, but I think it was because so much was closed. So, after the obligatory stroll through the gift shop, I decided to be on my way.

Holland wasn't very far and I had fond memories of it from a childhood trip, so I decided to head there. And thanks to my GPS, I found it. Well, Holland is now a mass of one strip mall after another, with all the chains we don't have in SE Michigan. I did find the Klompen and Dutch chinaware (I forgot the real name) shop. I was pretty much the only one there, and one of the women who was making the ceramics explained the whole process to me. She said that they are the only factory that does the whole process start to finish, from the pouring of the clay into the mold to the firing, glazing and painting. I did watch them work for a little while.  I was tempted to buy a windmill with a little wooden (well, china) shoe, but I realized it would just be more junk to not dust. And while I could appreciate the artistry involved, all of the stuff looked kind of...tacky. So, I decided to pass and move on. As I was driving, I saw what looked like the Holland that I remembered, so I drove in. Turns out, it was a very touristy area -- and it was CLOSED! I would've enjoyed the little shops, had they been open, but as it was, it looked like a sad movie set. Some of the stores even had goods inside, waiting for the spring/summer to begin.

So, having heard good things about Saugatuck, I decided to head there. It was another short ride...and another closed town. I got out & walked around for a bit, but the only things open were a drug store, a kitchen goods store and a Kilwin's that was selling popcorn for $20 a bag! I decided to head towards Indiana, but it occurred to me that I hadn't eaten & I was getting hungry -- and my sinus headache was coming back. I ended up going through Douglas, MI and had lunch at a very kitschy little restaurant called the Kuntry Kitchen. Their menu was overly cutesy & countrified, with things like "pork wif mash taters". But, it was the kind of place that gives you a smile because it's so hokey. I ordered a roast beef sandwich, but they were out of it, so I ended up with a hamburger -- and it actually overlapped the bun! It was kind of plain, except for the condiments, but it was actually a very good burger.

I was feeling like I was spinning my wheels & was also feeling rather discouraged, since I'd found the places I wanted to go but there was no "there" there. So I went to this little library and went online to see if there was anything in Indiana worth heading towards. While I was there & feeling like this trip was a really bad idea (for this time of year), I got a text from my former "pilot" from the road trip 3 1/2 years ago. She encouraged me to continue on, saying I'd regret it if I just went home after having planned to go away. So, knowing that she's always right about such things, I decided to soldier on to Elkhart, IN. And, I did what we did on our road trip: I didn't make a reservation & just walked into the hotel. I chose another Best Western, and almost as soon as I was handed the key card, I managed to lose it! I spent a good 15 minutes at the car looking for it. I'm sure I just put it down somewhere -- or in something -- but for the life of me, I couldn't find it. So, I sheepishly went to the desk and told the girl that I'd lost it. She gave me 2 more so that I could have a spare.

This Best Western isn't as nice as yesterday's, of course. And it's right behind a gas station.The room is the standard you'd expect, but the rest of the hotel doesn't have quite the amenities as the other one.  room does not compare to yesterday's, of course. There are 2 queen beds & the usual furniture, a fridge & coffee maker, but no microwave. 

And, did want to swim, although this pool is tiny. (I didn't swim yesterday, but I should have -- or at least, sat in the hot tub.) Four strokes is about all it takes to make it to the other side of the pool! Still, I swam for a little while & got rid of some of the stiffness that comes from sitting in a car for too long.Thisd instead of the little toiletry bottles of shampoo & conditioner (that I didn't take and, it turns out, I forgot to pack), there are dispensers in the shower. Oh well. Good thing there are stores all over the place.

After swimming, I decided to watch tv for a little while. And suddenly, it was after 9 and I hadn't eaten yet! The girl at the desk told me of a family restaurant that's open 24 hours, so I looked up reviews online. It looked decent enough, so I went there. I had a chicken croissant sandwich (broiled chicken breast, swiss cheese & bacon on a croissant) that came with soup and I chose a salad for my side dish. It wasn't bad.  This is apparently a popular restaurant; while I was eating, a party of at least 20 people came in -- and it was going on 10:00pm!

Tomorrow, I'm going to try for the Amish area. I know that I'm right near one. And there's a chocolate factory not too far away. I'm not sure what I'll do next, as this seems to be a really off time for doing this kind of thing. If nothing else, I guess I'm scoping out a road trip plan for a different season.