Nelis’ Dutch Village
12350 James Street- Holland, MI 49424
- (616) 396-1475
- Website
Our plan was just to go to the Gap Outlet. We left Saugatuck pretty early on our last day of vacation and J suggested we head to Holland to do a little shopping. We got to Holland before Gap opened and L looked across the pond from the parking lot and saw a carousel. We were screwed at that point. She saw a carousel and wouldn’t let it go until she got to ride it.
Nelis’ Dutch Village is a small theme park on the corner of US 31 and James Street in Holland. The park got it’s start in the 1950’s as a retail outlet for the Nelis family and it just sort of grew over time.
Like Gap, Dutch Village didn’t open until 10 and we were a little early. The lady working the admission counter suggested we check out some of the shops which open at 9:00.
Just outside the gates of Dutch Village is a small row of shops selling wooden shoes and other classic Dutch wares. You don’t need to pay admission to the park if you’re just going to shop. The shops are accessible from outside and there is parking right in front of them.
After almost buying L a pair of wooden shoes, we headed back to the park entrance. The admission is $10 for adults and there were three of us. L was still free due to her age, so it cost us $30 to get in. Read more…
Back Alley Pizza Joint
22 Main StreetAfter a couple weeks on the road for work and a family emergency, I made it home for a day and a half before we left again. We had a vacation planned and it’s something we had been looking forward to for months.
Once again this year, we rented a cabin at Kingfisher Cove in Saugatuck. We invited my parents and J’s parents to join us to spend time with their granddaughter and to split the cost a three ways.
J, L, and I made it to Saugatuck first. Makes sense seeing as we’re the closest. Next up was my parents. J’s parents were pretty late because J’s dad needed to work a full day before heading north.
We decided to order pizza the first night. We were hanging out on the porch playing with L and waiting for J’s parents. Those of us that were there were hungry and pizza would stay pretty good so J’s parents could eat when they get there.
J suggested we order from the same place we did last. Lakeshore Convenience Store. I pulled open the book of menus the cabin leaves to pull it out, but I found another one. J and my mom wanted some breadsticks and a salad too and Lakeshore doesn’t do those. I pulled out a menu for Back Alley Pizza Joint and we started looking over that.
We decided the pizza from Back Alley looked good plus they had the extra stuff we were looking for.
I put in an order for a large BBQ Pork Pizza, a large cheese and sausage pizza, a large traditional salad, and a whole order of garlic cheese bread. The order taker told me it would take about twenty minutes. Read more…
Tavern in the Green
3422 W. 95th StreetOK, last out-of-state blog for the time being. We spent one more night at J’s parents before heading back to mine for my grandma’s funeral. When her step-dad got home from work, we started discussing dinner. J’s mom brought up a fairly new place that I drove by earlier in the day when I made a beer run to Binny’s Beverage Depot on 95th Steet.
That restaurant is Tavern in the Green in Evergreen Park, IL. The sports bar/pub sits on 95th Street west of Kedzie Avenue in the south suburb. The space used to be a family restaurant, so I’m guessing the new place was a total overhaul.
It was a Tuesday night when we walked in for dinner and the place was fairly empty. The first thing you notice is the abundance of TV’s hanging from the ceiling. There are TV’s spaced every few feet hanging from the rafters so it’s impossible to sit anywhere in the space and not see a TV.
We were all pretty hungry when the waitress came over to take our orders, but first, we had to start with drinks. We all got some kind of alcohol with my mother-in-law and I both ordering Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA’s, J’s dad ordered a Miller Lite and J ordered a Raspberry Twisted Tea. Read more…
Chick-fil-A – Chicago Ridge
9600 Ridgeland AvenueI’m a little shocked. I didn’t think I’d ever be writing another blog about a Chick-fil-A. The only time J and I have ever eaten at one was on our honeymoon. We were traveling from Indianapolis to Kalamazoo to check out an apartment. We made a quick stop in South Bend, IN because we saw a sign for one right off the highway. Neither of us were super impressed and J isn’t a very big fan of their corporate stance on social issues.
We still don’t have a Chick-fil-A near us here in Southwest Michigan, but one did recently open up near J’s parents. After spending a couple days at my parents, we decided to go to J’s parents for a few days before having to head back south to my parents again. If you haven’t been paying attention or haven’t put two and two together yet, this trip home was because my grandma was in bad shape and Sunday morning, she passed away. J, L and I had to stay in town a few extra days for the wake and funeral, but we didn’t bring clothes for that with us. We could have just drove back to Michigan to pick them up and head back, but we decided it was more important to spend as much time with family as possible, so J and her mom went on an emergency shopping trip to buy some dress clothes for three of us.
We were taking advantage of coupons my mom and her mom had from various credit cards, so J and her mom went to the Chicago Ridge Mall while L and I stayed home and played with grandpa.
Just outside Chicago Ridge is where the Chick-fil-A popped up in Chicago Ridge. It’s on the Ridgeland Avenue side of the parking lot just south of West 96th Street. It’s a stand alone building in the mall parking lot right near the mall entrance. Read more…
Ale House Pub and Eatery
135 N. Kinzie AvenueAfter saying goodbye to my grandma, we headed back to my parents house for the night. We were sort of talking about heading to J’s parents, but my mom asked if she could have a sleepover with L and my brother’s two girls. We both thought it would be good for my mom to spend some time laughing with a 2,3, and 5 year old.
Since my brother and sister-in-law were now free for the evening as well, we asked if they wanted to go out for dinner. When they get nights out without the kids, they usually go to Texas Roadhouse or TGIFriday’s. J and I like to be a little more adventurous and my brother knows that so he brought up a new craft beer bar that opened about 20 miles away.
The Ale House Pub and Eatery is on Kinzie Avenue (also known as Illinois 50) just north of Broadway Avenue in Bradley, Illinois. My parents and brother all referred to it as something else that I should have known when they were trying to explain where it was at, but I still have no idea what they were talking about. Kinzie and Broadway is a pretty busy intersection, so it really wasn’t that hard to find.
The parking lot was packed when we pulled in just before 7:00 on a Saturday night. We both sort of made up parking spots in available spaces around the building. When we walked in, we were told there would be about a 45 minute wait. We all figured what the hell and just told the hostess we’d head to the bar which was pretty empty to wait.
The space is surprisingly huge. There’s a large bar area with tables when you walk in plus another dining room farther to the back and a second large bar area with a stage for live shows beyond that. That space was being used for a bachelerotte party and they were setting up the band for the night so that area wasn’t being used for general seating at the time. Read more…
Miller Park Zoo
1020 S. Morris Avenue- Bloomington, IL 61701
- (309) 434-2250
- Website
As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, we had to make an emergency trip to Bloomington, IL last weekend. My grandma wasn’t doing well and we wanted to get there to see her and be with my mom.
I was working on Mackinac Island when all of this went down, so as soon as I got back to West Michigan, we packed up and made the five hour drive south.
That’s a lot of driving for a two year old and she did incredibly well. She also did incredibly well at the hospital and provided some much needed smiles for my mom.
My mom wanted to stay the night at the hospital Friday night, so J, L, and I Pricelined a cheap hotel and went to get some sleep. I fully expected to get woken up in the middle of the night by my mom giving me the bad news and asking me to come pick her up.
That didn’t happen that night, so when we woke up Saturday morning, we wanted to do something with L before heading back to the hospital to sit with my mom.
If you follow this blog, you know that L likes animals. We have been to several zoos already this summer and we were close to a zoo that J and I hadn’t been to in quite a while.
The Miller Park Zoo is on a small plot of land inside Miller Park in the City of Bloomington. The physical address is on South Morris Street but the entrance is actually on Wood Street. You have to kind of wind your way through the park to get to the parking lot for the zoo. Read more…
Zorba’s Restaurant
603 Dale StreetAfter a night in a cheap hotel, what’s better than a cheap and greasy breakfast? We were in a college town, so I knew it shouldn’t be too hard to find a place like that and it only took a quick Google search to come up with a restaurant that fit the bill.
Zorba’s Restaurant is near Illinois State University on Dale Street between the one-way streets of Kingsley and South Main Street. It’s a little hard to find because you can’t really see it from either Kingsley or Main which is probably how you will be getting to the restaurant. There are a couple new development buildings which is where I was looking, but Zorba’s was there long before those buildings were thought of.
We found a parking spot in the small lot behind the restaurant and went inside. We were told we could sit wherever we liked and a waitress followed us with menus. The restaurant is a pretty typical greasy spoon Greek diner. The color scheme is blue and white and the booths are hard and uncomfortable. Perfect after a night of drinking. Read more…
Monical’s Pizza of Bloomington – Veterans Parkway
2103 N. Veterans ParkwayFriday was a pretty tough day for me. I started out in Mackinaw City, MI at 7:00 AM and by 6:00 PM, I was 520 miles further south in Bloomington, IL. I’ll just give you the short story here. My grandma was in the hospital at OSF St. Joseph in Bloomington and her prospect of recovery was very, very slim.
I picked J and L up on my way south then we picked my mom up for the last leg of the trip. After spending a couple hours with my grandma, we left my mom at the hospital then we headed to find food and a hotel.
Well, the hotel part was easy. I Pricelined a craptastic hotel not too far away in Normal, but food was the option we still had to figure out for ourselves.
Bloomington/Normal is not uncharted territory for J and I. We worked in the area for several years and spent many days in the Twin Cities. Still, it’s been over five years and things change…and we sort of drew a blank.
I drew a blank anyway, J popped in right away with her choice. She noticed a Monical’s Pizza on the way in to town and that’s where she wanted to eat.
I’ve blogged about Monical’s Pizza in the past. Most recently was their shop in Kankakee, IL. It’s the pizza I grew up on and I introduced to J several years ago. Read more…
Blue Water Grill and Bar
918 S. Huron AvenueLast night in Mackinaw City and I had just worked a 14 hour day on the Island. I was exhausted. My co-worker was exhausted. He chose to go to the hotel and go to bed. I had to find something for dinner though. I was hungry.
I used Yelp to look at what was around me. As I found out in a hurry, Mackinaw City really isn’t that big. There are plenty of restaurants though, so it came down to who had a menu online and who was closest to my hotel.
I chose Blue Water Grill and Bar on Huron Avenue which is also M-23 on the south side of Mackinaw City as you’re leaving town. It’s right near the long row of hotels that line this portion of M-23.
The restaurant has a nautical theme as you would expect. There is some connection to Arnold Mackinaw Island Ferry Line, but I’m not sure what it is. There was a lot of memorabilia from the ferry. There is a fairly large parking lot on one side of the building and you walk through a patio to get to the front door.
The inside of the restaurant seemed a little small to me. There is a dining room and a bar area. I had the hostess seat me in the bar area so I could watch the end of a baseball game and just be out of the way. They were getting pretty close to closing time when I wandered in, so the bar was empty when I sat down. I took a booth just because it would be more comfortable than sitting at the bar. Read more…
MaMa Mia’s Pizza
231 E. Central AvenueThe first day on Mackinac Island was a long one. We caught the 7:30 AM ferry from Shepler’s in Mackinaw City and didn’t catch the return ferry until 8:00 PM. By the time we got back, C.W. was exhausted and just wanted to smoke a cigar and go to bed. I still needed food and ordering a pizza so I could sit in my room and watch the Blackhawks game seemed like a good idea.
I used Yelp on my phone to try to find a pizza place. It’s kind of amazing that so many places in a tourist town don’t have websites. Finding a menu for a pizza place was incredibly difficult. I finally found a Facebook page for a place with pretty good reviews and, after much scrolling through pictures, finally found a menu.
I called in an order to Mama Mia’s Pizza at about 8:40. I kept it simple and just ordered a large pepperoni. They told me it would be about 20 minutes so I relaxed for a little while in my room before heading back downtown to pick up my dinner.
Mama Mia’s Pizza is in the main business portion of Mackinaw City on Central Avenue right on the corner of Henry Street. There is a plethora of on street parking and since we were in town during the week, finding a spot was not an issue.
The building actually serves a dual purpose. In addition to Mama Mia’s, it’s also home to the Mackinac Bridge Museum. The museum is in the upstairs portion of the building and it’s open when the restaurant is open. As a bonus, admission is free.
This is actually the second incarnation of the museum and pizzeria. Almost ten years ago, they suffered a fire that destroyed the building. They rebuilt and reopened two years later. Despite being fairly new, the pizzeria has the feel that it has been in town for a while. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 