West Pier Drive-In

Remember the good old days of carhop service, and drive-in restaurants? Waiters and waitresses would run out to your car, take your order, and your food would magically appear at your window?

......... Nope? Me neither. But my parents did! And they told me about this great drive-in restaurant called West Pier Drive-In, right across the river from where we live. It's been ranked the #2 burger in Michigan, so Cait and I decided we would go see what all the hype was about. 

Apparently the shop opened up in 1958, and has been owned by its current operators for the past 26 years. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't overly impressed with the exterior. But in my experiences, it's these kinds of places that have the best food, so I had a feeling something real tasty was a comin'. The menu was simple, and inexpensive, which I was into:

Almost immediately after pulling in, a friendly waitress came up and took our order. 

And then, this happened: 

They hook your tray of food onto your car window! Get.In.My.Belly.

We feasted. Cait ordered a hot dog and fries, with a strawberry milkshake to wash it all down.

I ordered a cheeseburger and onion rings, with a chocolate shake. Awwwww yeah baby. 

The cheeseburger lived up to the hype. IT WAS HUUUGE. And delicious. A little bit messy, but definitely worth it. I would do it again. The onion rings were pretty good too. Cait liked her hot dog, but her french fries were a disappointment. They looked b-e-a-utiful, but were a little bland. Not like that really mattered to us; we were both so full, it was probably for the best that we didn't eat them. They would have had to remove us from the premises via a crane and hoist mechanism. 

Maybe next time. 

BFFs

Good friends don't let you do stupid things.
Best friends don't let you do stupid things... alone.

This is me and my best friend, getting into stupid things over the years:

I've known Christine since grade 2. She's by far my oldest and truest friend. We've both been really busy over that past few years at different universities, but just recently Christine has written her final exams and has moved back home to start her career. YAHOO! Watch out world, this ginger is going to take you by storm. 

She stopped by today to say hello, so I thought I would congratulate her on her accomplishment. 

Then over a cup of tea, we discussed economics and pertinent political issues (.... and boys...... orrr mostly just boys). Since it was a celebration, I decided to bust out my mom's fancy tea cups. Everything just tastes better out of a fancy cup.

This dynamic duo is back and ready for action.

Let the stupidness begin.

Agawa Bay

When I was a little girl, up until I started high school, my summers were always spent up North at my parent's cottage. When I say "cottage" I don't mean a luxurious wooden cabin on the lake, decked out with A/C and a television. Oh no no. There was a lake, but there was nothing luxurious about it. I would run around all day long with my little sister and cousins, completely barefoot and free, playing cops and robbers on our bicycles. Those are some of my favourite memories. 

Sometimes my parents would take us on day trips. One that really stuck with me was our trip to Agawa Bay, a provincial park just north of where our cottage used to be. 

Not bad, huh? 

Since this is one of my last summers back home, before year-round learning in clerkship and residency begin, I wanted to take a look around some of my old stompin' grounds. So, my adventure gal pal Cait and I packed up in my faithful Jeep, and hit the road. After a really straight forward drive (we weren't lost at all... hahaha) we finally made it! 

  

To get to the pictographs, the real star of the show, there was a short hike to the rock ledge. 

And then... TA DAA!!! 

We made it. After a quick lesson from the helpful guide, we ventured off onto the ledge, to take a look at the pictographs. These pictographs (or ancient rock paintings) were created by the Ojibwe, and are one of the most famous Indigenous archaeological sites in Canada. They're beautiful representations of canoes and animals, as well as mythical creatures and abstract figures. (To be completely honest I was gripping the ledge with fear the entire time; didn't totally take in their beauty. Good thing I snapped some pics, and can enjoy them from home). 

 These kids were adorable! And totally fearless. 

 Can YOU spot the pictographs? (Hint: upper left)

After a bit more wandering around the beaches, Cait and I decided to head home. But there's just one thing you gotta do first. I'm pretty sure it's a rule. (Well probably not... but it should be). ICE CREAM!!! 

We stopped at one of my favourite places in the world when I was younger, called Agawa Indian Crafts. Seeing it now was so strange - everything seemed so much bigger back then. After making a few new friends, and a quick look around some of the shops, we headed back home. 

What's up, Kimosabi?

PS: before Cait and I headed out for the day, my mama showed me this old photo: 

She's the little girl, holding her mama's hand at the pictographs. Look at those pink pants!! And my grandma's socks! Ever sweet. She asked me to find this spot, and to take my photo in front of it. Here's mine: 

Hello, world!

My first blog, my first post! Let's see where this baby takes me.