Number of Miles Driven: 151

States Driven Through: Indiana, Michigan 

Hours Driven: ~3 hours



Andy started us off on the right foot with eggs for breakfast. We headed out around 9:30 for South Bend and arrived at Notre Dame around 11 am. On our trip we noticed an 8 inch crack in our windshield – terrible Michigan roads. Not sure how it happened, but Michael was all set to take it to a glass shop when we got back to Kalamazoo so I called around and no one had appointments that would get us out of Kalamazoo by Friday morning. We (really, Desiree) decided it could wait til we got home.

When we arrived at Notre Dame, we started at the football stadium – it wasn’t too imposing but was very pretty with stone architecture that matched the “modern gothic”/cathedral architecture of the rest of the campus. We took pictures at the statue of Knute Rockney and at Touchdown Jesus. I’m fairly partial to Bama and UNC’s campuses – I think they are gorgeous. But Notre Dame really impressed me (much more than Michigan). The quads were surrounded by gothic style buildings with arched wooden doors and the grass was so green/lush. There were multiple fountains in quads with lush grass that were anchored by a beautiful cathedral and the Golden Dome of the Main Building. I asked the kids to pose for one too many pictures as we looped our way through the campus. I was resolute to not buy any Notre Dame gear, but after seeing the campus, I changed my  mind. 

Outside the Stadium


Touchdown Jesus



I asked Andrew if he thought he might like to come here and he quickly said “No.” I asked him why and he said “I just want to go somewhere else.” I assumed he meant Clemson, but he said “No, maybe Harvard.” Okay then… nothing wrong with setting the bar high I suppose – but it was the first I had heard of that (and shortly after he mumbled…”Maybe not..they don’t have good sports”). And then he said “Probably Clemson” (there we go…).

We ate lunch at O’Rourke’s (an Irish Pub of course!), and it was delicious. Michael and I split the jalapeno popper mac and cheese and the bbq/bacon burger (perhaps better described as an American pub – haha). The kids said it was the best lemonade they’d ever had.



We wrapped up our visit at the bookstore. I bought a hat and  Dani bought a shaker. Andrew tried to buy a hockey puck but they were all sold out.

Next stop – St. Joseph – about 45 minutes away from South Bend. We started at White Pine Winery in downtown St. Joe. The tasting room/winery is owned by Dave Miller -  one of Michael’s cousins. His mother and Michael’s maternal grandmother were sisters. We did a tasting flight – my favorite was the Reserved Riesling and Michael’s was the Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay – and we learned about how Dave came to own his own vineyard. He was very welcoming and gave us the “friends and family” discount. We stocked up on some bottles – including Effervescence, a delicious sparkling wine and also added some wine glasses to our dwindling collection. The kids stayed entertained by watching a show on Michael’s phone underneath the bar.

Downtown St. Joseph



With Dave Miller - Michael's cousin and owner of White Pine Winery

The downtown area of St. Joe was quaint with small shops flanking a brick street. The kids got some yogurt and we walked toward the beach which was one block past downtown.  They started at the big splashpad (which they loved) and then we went to the beach. The water was cold was tolerable and the kids were flopping all around in. Andrew didn’t wear his swimsuit and chose to hike his shorts up and go in knee-deep. They had no luck looking for shells but it was fun nonetheless.


First time in Lake Michigan





We headed back to Kalamazoo around 5:30 and Brianna was there when we got back. It was a fun reunion. We did pizza for dinner. The original plan was to have pizza at Silver Beach Pizza on the beach with the Franks, but we decided to nix those plans to make things easier since Brianna was just getting back from her work trip and the weather wasn’t fantastic. It didn’t rain on us, but it was overcast and the foreboding wind gusts suggested a storm was coming. 

It’s always fun to catch up and after putting the kids to bed we just hung out on the screened in porch eating popcorn and talking about life, future plans, comedians, parenting, jobs, scary border stories – you know...normal stuff. We also cracked open the Effervescence because it was a celebration of sorts to be reunited – even if only for a night.


Our temporary "home" - the Franks' house

The Franks had a camping trip of their own and a normal work/school day the next day, so we called it a night around 11:30/midnight. Unfortunately, Michael and I still had a couple of loads of laundry to complete, so we were up until about 1:30 – but it was well worth the late night.