Monday Check-In, 2/24/25 : Kalamazoo Art Fair, Grinders, Outdoor Walks

The weekend was a pretty decent one.

Back in February of 2018 my wife and I headed up north to Kalamazoo, MI for the annual Kalamazoo Art Fair. I can’t remember how she found out about it, but we booked a room at a hotel for the Friday night before and headed up after work Friday afternoon. We had dinner at the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange, which is this giant two or three story bar with a restaurant in it. The main floor was where the actual beer exchange was located. It was set up just like the stock exchange. They had like 30 different beers all up on this electronic board; the more popular the beer was selling the more expensive it was, where as the ones not selling as well were cheaper. I remember it was a pretty cool setup and I tried a couple different beers. It made you try stuff you weren’t familiar with because they were $2 or $3 a pint, as opposed to $7 or $8. Food was good, too.

The next day we got up, checked out, and hit the Kalamazoo Expo Center. Two giant room filled with vendors from all over the US. A lot of artists from Michigan, but they came clear from Wisconsin, the East Coast, the South, to sell their wares. I bought a couple prints from a painter, while my wife bought a vase I think.

We had a great time and thought we’d go again in 2019 but it didn’t happen. Then, 2020 hit and nothing happened. Anywhere. Well, we finally got back this year and it was a great time. We didn’t get a room as Kalamazoo is only an hour and a half drive, so we left around 9-9:30 Saturday morning and headed up. Unlike the last time we went when it was cold, wet, and overcast, this past Saturday was bright, sunny, and not nearly as cold as it had been. On our way through Three Rivers we stopped at Bullseye Market and bought some of their fantastic donuts, as well as some frozen brats for a dinner later in the week.

We made it to the Expo Center around 11 I think. It was pretty packed, too. I do remember pretty thick crowds in 2018, but you could barely make your way through this time around. Not an ideal situation when you don’t like being around too many people, but we made it through. I really didn’t plan on buying anything for myself. While I enjoy looking at all the homegrown art I never really have anything in mind to buy. But then I saw a booth where there were some homemade cutting boards and I was hooked. I’d always wanted to buy myself some really nice cutting boards and replace the cheapo ones I’ve had for years. Lo and behold, I found some. My wife convinced me to buy two, one for veggies and one for meat. Can’t argue with logic like that.

In the much less crowded room next door I saw some cool graphic artists that had prints for sale. I almost pulled the trigger but decided against it. I already have several prints at home I still need to have framed. But across the aisle I saw some amazing coffee mugs from a guy out of Pontiac, MI. I was instantly drawn to this amazing black mug with the Mothman on the side of it. There was also one with skull and cross bones and one with Bigfoot. Well I snagged the Mothman for me and the Bigfoot as a gift. My wife found this super cool retro mug as well. The colors remind me of the album cover to NIN’s Hesitation Marks.

As we were hitting the final aisle there was a table full of t-shirts. My wife stopped to look as they were all on sale for under $10. One was the head of a wolf, very cool looking, and words that read Ann Arbor Street Fair 2024. The ladies selling these shirts do all the screen printed t-shirts for the Ann Arbor Street Fair and these were the leftovers from years past.

Solid morning spent in Kalamazoo.

On the drive home I looked up the Ann Arbor Street Fair. It takes place this year July 17-19, over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We decided we’re going. Ann Arbor is a super cool town with tons a great shops(I hit up a killer record shop there before we went to Canada in 2019.) Figure we’ll get a place to stay overnight and peruse the several blocks worth of street fair(I guess there’s three different fairs going on concurrently.) Live music, food trucks, and all in a great college town. We’re in.

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Just on the outskirts of White Pigeon we stopped at a Mancino’s for lunch. Mancino’s was a staple of my late teen/early 20s as we had one in town. Amazing grinders, breadsticks, and decent pizza. Well ours closed probably 20 years ago, so whenever we have a chance to hit one up we do. This one is pretty desolate. The couple times we’ve been in there it’s been pretty empty, but thankfully the food is great. My wife and I split a ham and cheese grinder and a large order of breadsticks. Perfect way to end our excursion up north.

Sunday morning after a donut, coffee, and some writing I was able to take my walk outside. First time for that in a couple months. Sure, it was still cold but the wind was next to nothing and the sun was out. Got over 2 1/2 miles, which I could have gotten another mile in but I thought I’d go to the Y with my wife as well. I cut my walk short a bit and came home. Well, my wife changed her mind on the trip to the Y so 2 1/2 miles was all I got. I did get 15 minutes of work with my dumbbells and resistance bands, so that was good.

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I’m finding I enjoy getting out of the house more. Still not a fan of large crowds coughing and talking too loud, but it’s nice going somewhere and not feeling like I instantly want to get right back. I used to blame that on having a senior dog at home – and to some extent that was true – but I think most of it was just me. Letting go of worry and just trying to enjoy the moment is a good thing. I was in no hurry to get back on Saturday, which six months ago I would have wanted to get there right at 9am and be out in an hour tops. The idea of a three day street fair would have driven me nuts, but now I’m truly looking forward to that getaway in July.

I see my parents in their 70s slowly isolating themselves from everything, never wanting to go anywhere or do anything that requires over two hours of their time. I see that in them and I don’t want that for myself. Hey, I’ll always be a homebody. That’s me through and through. But getting out and experiencing things and seeing new people and new perspectives is truly a great thing. You’re not categorizing people based on their comments on social media, or what religion or political affiliation they are. They still might not be “friend” material, but in that moment in real life as opposed to the simulation on your phone or laptop they are real and you can connect on a human level. You know, like we used to do before we all lived on tiny, electronic boxes that have become our mental and emotional barometers.

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With these tiny doses of sunlight I’m feeling like I’m waking from a months-long hibernation. December of 2024 was a lousy month, and I think I just shut down a bit. Not like I gave up on life or something, but like someone that had been beaten up enough and was ready to call uncle. I entered my own, personal emotional shell so I could let the mental, emotional, and psychic wounds heal a bit. And coming up to the end of February I’m starting to feel those wounds have scabbed over. They hurt every once in a while, like a phantom limb, but I know they’re fading.

While we have a reprieve from winter this week, it’s not over. We have some more serious winter weather coming in the next couple weeks, but after that I think we might be on the way to warmer days. And with that, more outdoor walks.