Northern Beers

We were so lucky that of all the people who could have shown up for our reunion, our friends Ethan and Josh were there. 

We had drinks at our former choir director's house one night and dinner there the next. His dogs were super friendly and climbed on my lap immediately - I didn't object, of course.

On Saturday, we decided to set off to see some beautiful Norther Michigan sites and to visit an ice cream place we used to love - Moomer's. I thought the stuffed (but real) animals in this display might like to taste my ice cream.

Michigan has always seemed like a beer wonderland to me, and this area was no different. Kira and I discovered a particularly impressive beer list at the Hofbrau (another old haunt) the first night we were in town. I had a great Vanilla Java Porter (delicious!) by Atwater, a brewery in Detroit. It's amazing to me that a remote, sort of truck stop kind of place like the Hofbrau would have such great beer. And yet, Michigan. 

Along with visiting Moomer's on Saturday, we went to Shorts Brewing in Bellaire, MI, per my request. I love the beer of theirs that I've tried in Ann Arbor and I was excited to try whatever they had on hand. Lucky for me, everyone else was up for a little road trip because it took an hour to get there.

Kira and I split a flight of tasting portions and I took diligent notes in the same notebook I used in Asheville before my voice came back. My friend Josh was rather impressed with my note taking - he said I was a beer connoisseur, though I told him it's mostly John's interest rubbing off on me. 

Shorts had a long list of beers on tap to try, and (not sure if you can see in this picture) all of the tap pulls were little legs wearing shorts...of course.

Visiting Shorts was everything I hoped - they had great and weird beer and great food. My favorite beer would have to be the OMGWTFBBQ, that tasted like bbq sauce with a sweet and smoky aftertaste. They also had a great and also weird bourbon barreled IPA that tasted first like hops and then like bourbon. But it was also good! 

After a stop at Moomer's, we decided to try another brewery in Traverse City - Right Brain Brewery. 

Kira and I also shared a flight here. We liked the Shrute Farms beet beer (yeah, as in, Dwight Scrute), though it was very earthy (like a beet). None of the rest really blew my skirt up, but I did like the special pour of their bourbon barrel ale that I requested. 

I loved getting to try all the fun Michigan beers and I was pleasantly surprised to see so many of them at the little grocery store in Interlochen. I was able to get some of Shorts' Soft Parade and Autumn Ale to take home. 

The next day, Kira and I set off for Canada. We stopped in Cadillac for breakfast at Cheryl's, and if you're in the area, I would highly recommend it. They have great breakfast specials with a view of the lake and delicious homemade cherry-rhubarb jam that I was able to get in a take-out container. If I make it back to Interlochen in another 5 or 10 years, I would definitely stop at Cheryl's again.

IAA "Reunion" Day

On the second day of our trip, we headed to campus to wander around and sit in on some classes with our former teachers. 

We walked down to the lake from the Academy side, a ways away from our cabin.

Seagulls hanging out on top the dance building.

The fall colors on campus were stunning.

Main campus, between the dorms, cafeteria, and classroom buildings. 

We attended Mr. McCall's Early American History class on the slave trade. Mr. McCall was definitely one of my favorite teachers and it was fun to chat with him about the class material, and to pick his brain about the shutdown, the 2016 election, etc. 

(Me, Kira, Mr.McCall, Tracy)

Only a few of us registered for the reunion, supposedly the reason it was canceled, so we easily fit into a group photo. 

 We wandered around the concourse where our academic classes took place.

Saw some old faces...

and some new flyers for theory tutorial and the Chamber Singers concert.

We saw the new (to us) library in what used to be the gym. When we were there, the music library was very much like a dungeon underneath the cafeteria. But now it's a swank, college-style building with the internet and everything.

Kira and I also attended Dr. Van Maanen's first year music theory class and participated in the day's lesson on second species counterpoint. Woohoo!

 The day ended with a trip to the photo archives where former Academy conductor, Byron Hanson, hauled out a bunch of containers of Academy photos from 2002-2003. It was a perfect thing for us to do, and we almost definitely wouldn't have gotten to do it if lots of people had attended the "real" reunion.

If you'd asked me ten years ago if I would want to teach at Interlochen, I would have said definitely not. It's so cold and isolated in the winter, and I couldn't imagine wanting to endure that indefinitely (little did I know we would move to Canada, so the joke is on me). Now, though, I'm in my 7th year of teaching (!!!) and I would totally jump at the chance to teach at Interlochen. The kids are engaged, the institution supports creative work, and it's prestigious, so famous people visit on a regular basis. I might not want to live in Northern Michigan forever, but I would happily sign up for a winter there if it meant I got to teach in such a vibrant, intellectually stimulating place. And the winters are the price for what are a pretty beautiful summer and fall. Not that they have a job opening or anything, but I may keep my ear to the ground now that I've visited as an adult and witnessed the great teaching that takes place there. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have been a student in such a place.

Shrine of the Muse Divine

After my high school reunion this weekend, I've decided to post a whole series of landscape photos. Because northern Michigan is just that beautiful!

Our cabin was beautiful, too. But I only managed to take a photo of the fake moose head on the wall of Kira's room. I kind of wanted to take that moose head.

And also our cabin from the front. 

Since I've been getting up early this semester, I was able to sleep in until 7:30 and still see the sunrise each day we were there. And as Kira was able to book us a cabin right on Green Lake, I made a special trip outside each morning to take pictures as it happened. 

Our cabin was about a mile from campus, near Diamond Park Road, surrounded by the firey fall colors. 

I was compelled to take a photo every few minutes or so when the light changed. 

Also, we were near Indiana Street! I realized that in the same week I will have spent time in Interlochen, Bloomington, and London. All three of my schools in a week. It's sort of like an autobiographical road trip. 

The sun really started to come up and the lake changed color quickly.

And then everything started changing color.

The view from the porch.

On the last morning, it was fairly windy and the water was choppy. 

What an amazing place this was to go to school. No wonder I decided to become a composer.

It was so good to be back.