When Tyler told me in October that he had gotten a role in a non-musical show at a local theatre, I immediately played calendar tag with him and bought tickets for Jas and myself to attend one of the performances. That’s why on Thursday, Dec. 19, Jas and I were headed to Interlochen again. We had tickets for Saturday night, Dec. 21. As you may know, Leslie (my precious DIL) works at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and was able to get us tickets for the Friday night annual “Sounds of the Season” concert. So we were looking forward to a lovely weekend.
The temperature was 32° when we left home on the 19th. The drive north kept us in the mid- to upper 20s, with cloudy skies. I saw a sign along the way for the “Cadillac Grill” in Cadillac, MI, and a look online at their menu motivated us to have a late lunch there, overlooking the snow-covered golf course of the Eldorado Golf Course. “Cadillac,” “Eldorado.” Do you see any connection there? It made me wonder if early Cadillac automobiles were built there. No, they weren’t. But when the village of Clam Lake was incorporated in 1877, the village was renamed for Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, a French colonist who started the first permanent settlement at Detroit in 1701, where Cadillacs were built.
My mother’s family and the city of Cadillac, Michigan, go way back. My mother was born in 1913. She said when she was a kid, her family would go to Cadillac every summer to visit her grandmother. Using tools available on Ancestry, I’ve been able to determine the area where her maternal grandmother lived in the late 1910s and early 1920s. As I drive through this town filled with RVs, camping trailers, and speedboats, I wonder what life was like back then.
We enjoyed our lunch at the Cadillac Grill. On a Thursday afternoon a few days before Christmas, the place was empty except for a few low-key groups of friends or coworkers sharing a pre-holiday lunch. And then we were back on the road toward Interlochen. We drove past the Interlochen Center for the Arts campus, then stopped at Tom’s Market to retrieve the items on the texted grocery list. When one lives about ten miles away from the nearest grocery store, shopping favors are gratefully accepted. By by 5:00, we were pulling up to our destination. Ty proudly showed us their “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree, that they had cut from an area halfway down to the lake. I love that tree beyond words; it made me grin every time I walked past it. (BTW, I love seeing their deck covered with snow.)
Friday was devoted to doing nothing. Both Tyler and Leslie worked, and Jas and I read and relaxed until dinner and then time to drive to campus for the Sounds of the Season performance. Honestly, every performance I’ve ever attended at Interlochen Center for the Arts is first rate. Here’s the program for the performance. Corson Auditorium was beautifully decorated for the season—subtle, not overwhelming. I especially enjoyed watching the very talented staff collaborative pianists accompanying the various vocal ensembles and soloists. What a lovely way to usher in the Christmas week.
Tyler, featured in the holiday marketing.
Photo credit: Old Town Playhouse
On Saturday we were focused on getting to the theatre for the matinee. We took two cars into Traverse City, as Tyler had an evening performance after the matinee. The show was the very funny “Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon.” It’s a mashup of six movies, typical of what you might watch on the Hallmark Channel if you were in a mood to just binge rom-coms on Christmas day. Tyler did a wonderful job, as I’ve seen him do in every show he’s been in. This was not a musical, which is unusual for him. This theatre mom was happy to see him on a stage again. After the show, we walked through the snow over to the eclectic Rare Bird Brew Pub for dinner, then Tyler went back to work and Leslie, Miss C, Jas, and I headed home.
Bows (Tyler, 3rd from right)
Photo credit: Old Town Playhouse
Sunday morning, we snapped this picture of the sunrise across Bronson Lake, and then headed home. We were concerned that there would be heavy traffic on I-75 and I-80, and wanted to get home before dark.
What a great way to spend holiday time with the family.
This is my favorite Welcome Center along all the Michigan highways. It is dedicated to the road workers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. This is at Clare, just before we exit Route 10 to head up through the woods. It is a must-stop coming and going.