Not a Bad Way to Spend a Thursday...

This has got to be one of the best Thursdays we've ever spent.  We had lunch at a Potbelly's today and then made our way over to DreamMaker of Ann Arbor to say hey to the owners, Bob and Lee.  Bob and Lee are a part of a small business group with my parents where they travel to each other's franchises (which are all over the country).   They use the time together to dissect every part of the business from head to toe to help better one another.  It's an incredibly neat program and has been extremely rewarding for everyone.  Over the years, the group has become a pretty tightly knit family of sorts.  Everyone was down at my parents' franchise just this past May so I had gotten the opportunity to see how it works (to a small degree) and meet everyone briefly.  So long story not so short, we stopped in to say hi and got a whole lot more than we were expecting.  We saw their showroom which is super awesome! And we asked them what we should do in the state and they gave us some really good recommendations (which is why we are where we are now) and then Lee told us that if we hang out for a little we can go flying. Flying? As in a kite? Or watch birds do their thang? Or ....nope. Flying. As in a plane. As in up in the sky. Above the ground. Did we stick around? Oh heck yes.

Our first look at the plane. It was getting some fuel

Uh oh. That's a tiny plane. What have we gotten ourselves into??

It was surprisingly accessible.

We're in the air. In a tiny box with wings. And it is awesome!

How incredible is this view? All photography credit goes to joshjosh for this one. It's an awesome picture.

Look in the middle of this one. There's a rainbow!

Lee, our fearless pilot and keeper of all aircraft knowledge

Can you tell what i'm doing here? Why yes, I am flying. Flying a plane. Flying. A. Plane. Holy Crap.

We flew over Lee's house. That's a fun way to see someone's house for the first time.

It's not just anyone who can pull off the whole talking ear muff thing. Future pilot? I think so.

Enjoying the view

We landed safe and sound and Lee tucked the plane back into the hangar. It only just fits in there.


We had an AMAZING time flying. We can see how this is an appealing activity.  Not gonna lie, we were both a little nervous and unsure about being in such a tiny plane (Cessna Cardinal) but it is waaaaaay better than any commercial flight. Lee said something to the effect of 'when he's up in the air and taking in the aerial perspective, all the problems seem tiny, far away, and not so important'. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Among the recommendations that Bob and Lee gave us, one of them was Frankenmuth, which they said, if you like Christmas, you should probably see. Frankenmuth is the Mecca of Christmas. No lie. The whole town is decked out in Christmas lights--all year round. Not sure it would quite as enjoyable in April or August, but when it's almost Christmas, it's pretty awesome. 



More pictures will follow. We only just got  here and will spend tomorrow exploring this Christmasland (which is very fittingly located on Christmas Lane.) Since we are in said Christmasland, we figured it was the opportune moment to decorate our "home" for the holidays...

Christmas penguin!

And...we put up the tree :)