Lets be on our way

pretty little town of Douglas

We went to a flute and percussion concert at the local church as we waited for the parade to start. Lots of interesting stained glass

Some of the many parade marchers. My favorite? A woman wore an enormous bra outside her clothes and stuffed it with spice bottles. What was this? A spice rack

Marching jellyfish

Mastodon being put together. We marched behind this but it was so slow, we scurried around it

French toast

Lots of anti-Trump paraders. Though Western Michigan is largely pro-Trump, this small neck of the woods clearly is not

We stayed in a custom built house full of custom built furniture and original art

Here we are, the Lesbian farmers. I am way back on the left. I didn't fully understand what we were supposed to be before hand. Recently on talk radio, that creep Rush Limbaugh claimed Obama was moving Lesbian farmers out into the heartland to make it more liberal. So we are the Lesbian farmers  (We are Farmers!!Da-ta-da, da,  da-ta-da!) coming to turn your state from red to blue.

Pretty house we stayed in deep in the forest overlooking the river

Saugatuck harbor

Gingko tree. Fairly rare in Michigan

Western Michigan is much later to change colors than our part

dunes

Oval Beach late in the day

Oxbow

Oval Beach, sunset

Lake Michigan

deer at dusk

So how did I happen to be prancing and dancing down a street way past 11 pm to the sound of throbbing hip hop dressed as a farmer being cheered on by the crowd along the  main street of Douglas with 10 fellow (at least one was a fellow) Lesbians (though for the record, my friend and I are, according to the local parlance, Breeders). How surreal it was!

We were in the twin towns of Saugatuck and Douglas on opposite banks of the Kalamazoo River where it empties into Lake Michigan. Both are artists colonies favored  by many Gays even though it is situated in a very conservative county. We were there by invitation of one of the mom's ex-sister-in-law who wanted our help dealing with genealogy issues. She and her partner live about 5 miles inland deep into the forest on a hill over looking the Kalamazoo River. Very spotty internet so no posting from me in a while, not that I had much time to do so.

I started off my very long day by running in my neighborhood before dawn. This was after a late night with the Moms (it was very fun). We were to be going to a gardening class on the way (how to prepare your garden for the winter, a snoozer, but I guess I learned some useful tips). We stopped for lunch in Fennville, where we had spent our last night on our bike ride. They bill themselves as where you go for cuteness and art when you can't stand the crowds of Saugatuck. We found an excellent café housed in an art gallery that served innovative food. Extra bonus, you could pick out a large pumpkin with your lunch entrée so now I have a pumpkin for Halloween (but no time to carve it) Did I want to buy a beautiful  handmade ceramic fox mask that would look so good in my living room? Enough is enough I guess.

We had a lot of time before the parade. We drove around Saugatuck where many were in costumes before eating at Douglass best restaurant (where Steve and I ate the last night we were there in December) Grapefruit martini, Hubbard squash spaetzle along with my wilted greens, butternut squash and chicken breast. Not good for my month long plan (with 5 more months to go). Bad enough that I had been at the Mom's the night before (nursing my lone wine glass for all it was worth) and eschewing starches. This weekend made me feel full of guilt. I had worked so hard..

If I had just stuck to the one martini but later wine and even later a bloody Mary. When I started to balk, I was told...how many times do I  get to come to Saugatuck, live it up, don't be a party pooper..ugh. For the record, this is my third time in Saugatuck in less than a year. How much easier it would be to just lock myself up at home and keep away from anything social because it always involved eating and drinking. For the Moms, I usually make the desserts. I poached pears in wine and made some sort of sauce from Greek yogurt. Zero fat and somewhat nutritious.

It was a beautiful, warm weekend to be outside though it did drizzle for half my run the next morning (after not getting to bed until almost 3 am).  I took lots of photos.The colors were not as developed as I had hoped but we still got to see a wonderful sunset on Lake Michigan. I am hoping that my runs outweigh my drinking way more than I should have but they never do, even if I spend eight hours bicycling steady. Oh well, tomorrow I will be good. Have to move on.

The parade was very fun. Lots of interesting costumes; lots of joking around. And her sister-in-law and partner were wonderful, interesting women. Long, long talks. (thus little sleep)

And soon, we will be on the road again and arrangements have to be made.

But tonight trick-or -treating. We will have Ms. Maya. At least it is somewhat warm and not raining.