Welcome to Part 2 of our anniversary weekend vacation. READY?! Let's GO!
Day 2 starts off with that amazing breakfast at the Real Food Cafe. After that Mr. J and I headed into town. He had decided to take a brewery tour and the brewery that he chose only did 2 tours on Saturdays and it was limited to how many people could go. Well by the time he found out and looked online they only had 1 opening. I told him to go anyways and that I would find my way into the city and have some alone time! We parked at the brewery and it was less than half a mile to town so I had a nice walk. We didn't realize that there was a bike race in town that weekend. A lot of the streets were blocked off and it was a little hard to get around but that also meant there were a lot of people around so I never felt lonely or unsafe.
Since we had visited the GRBC the night before we had asked out waitress about where to go in town. She mentioned that they had a $4 bloody mary bar on Saturdays. Well I knew how to get to GRBC so back there I went for my alone time and a little drink!
So the premise is that you get to pick your spirits then they send you over to the bar to doctor up your cup of ice & liquor. There were 2 kinds of bloody mary mix (spicy & regular) and then about 20 different things to put in it! This one I choose jalapeno clilanto vodka, a spicy bloody mix, and then started in with the toppings. Blue cheese olives, a pickle, chunks of cheese, a stalk of celery, a strip of bacon, and a splash of olive juice! Sounds crazy but it was DELICIOUS!
I sat right near the window and enjoyed watching the cyclists go by. The bartender was an awesome girl and we chatted about life and kids several times. I also enjoyed being alone and taking thoughtful selfies.
After our afternoon in town we went back to our hotel to rest and take a soak in the hot tub. We also called and made a reservation for dinner for 8 pm. Yes I said 8 PM! We got real wild and crazy! We decided to go to a very nice restaurant as a treat since we didn't do presents other than the trip. We chose Ruth's Chris because Jason had heard good things and we knew we would love it. We got there early and decided to sit at the bar to have a drink until our table was ready. I had a wonderful gin martini and we took a few selfies.
For dinner I had the filet mignon with shrimp and we shared some garlic mashed potatoes. Both were VERY good. I also had a Cesar salad that I am STILL dreaming about! It was insanely good salad! Our waiter, Kyle, was very nice and very helpful in choosing our dinner. I have to give Ruth's Chris a big thank you because they had an entire page of gf options, including dessert, in their menu! That was very very helpful in knowing what I could & couldn't have.
After our meal they brought us out this gorgeous dessert plate! It was a great night to talk and reminisce and just appreciate how far we have come in 11 years and how thankful we are to God for bringing us together and keeping us that way!
On Sunday it was time to check out and head home but not before breakfast. Here is where my story is going to get a bit crazy. I am not gluten free because it's trendy or fun or will help you lose weight. I'm gf because I have an intolerance and will get sick if I eat it. But I have found a digestive aid pill that you can take when you are going to knowingly eat gluten or after you accidentally eaten gluten that will help your body digest it better. I keep these pills in purse for the times that I get accidentally glutened. I don't usually take them before and knowingly eat gluten. BUT on this day I took 4 (yes it takes my body 4 pills to feel ok) and ate most of this cinnamon roll. Yes we went to Real Food Cafe two days in row. And Yes we waited nearly an hour on Sunday because the place was packed! And yes it was worth it because the food was AMAZING! So while I don't condone taking pills so you can eat gluten because it still isn't good for my belly, on the rare occasion that I find something I'm going to eat it! We left Real Food cafe so stuffed we could barely walk! It's a MUST for anyone living or visiting Grand Rapids!
On the way home we also stopped at Cabela's and they had these creepy looking wolves right inside the front door. These were right about my eye level and it creeps me out to think about being that close to a real wolf. After we walked around Cabela's we headed towards home.
We had a REALLY awesome weekend away. It's so nice to get away just the two of us and recharge our batteries. It's important to make our marriage a priority and this is a great way to do that. A HUGE thank you to everyone who watched our kids so we could do this. It was a GREAT weekend!
Love, Lacey
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