We have officially made it halfway through the year! What are some wins either at work or outside of work you are proud of?
For me I worked my ass off and have pivoted to a new area of business and out of a manager role! 🎉
The hours of research, networking, interviewing, and loaning in have been worth it to make a move to a tech role in CRM. No more being responsible for other adults getting their work done!
Morning all! Wanted to throw a quick post together to recap our recent roadtrip. I got many of my hotel recommendations from this group when we were planning. A big thank you to all of you! This is gonna focus most on the hotels. We tried to book all local hotels through their website but did book two chain stays for convenience along the way. One thing across the board all the hotels needed…. Blackout curtains. Nary a blackout curtain was seen on this trip and it was needed!
Stop 1- We set off from East Texas and headed to Branson. This was a two day stop to visit family so no real highlights to share.
Stop 2 - We stayed at The Highlander in Iowa City and honestly… I’d probably pass it up again. It wasn’t bad but it did not live up to the hype. We got tons of emails leading up to it promoting how unique it was but it was just a revamped standard hotel. Nothing to write home about. Clean. Decent hot breakfast. No elevators so be aware if you have mobility issues, you’ll want to be on the first floor.
Stop 3 - Don Q Inn is my Roman Empire. It’s older, it’s a lil musty (but they give you a dehumidifier and we ain’t bougie), it’s everything a roadside themed hotel should be. We loved it. The folks that run it are super kind, they do a standard hot breakfast, it’s super quiet, and right down the road from House on the Rock. Perfect quirky stay that we already want to do again. It also doesn’t not have an elevator so if you want a specific themed room, it’s probably worth a call to ask about accessibility.
Stop 4 - We are officially in the UP! Cedars Motel in Ironwood was perfect! Super nice front desk, we had an interior king room. Private, quiet, clean, comfy beds. It’s right by the Porkies so easy access to the parks. Would recommend especially if you’re up there for winter sports, they had plenty of parking for trailers. No breakfast though which is normal for the traditional roadside motels.
Stop 5 - We moseyed up to Marquette and had a room at the Cedars Motor Inn. This property is way bigger than we thought! It’s actually two areas that are connected. We stayed on the cedar side. Another quiet, big room (we noticed most of the rooms were larger than your average corporate hotel), hot breakfast. We tried the indoor pool but it was too chilly for us. We did take advantage of the dry sauna though, small but clean and well functioning.
Stop 6 - This was our most rural stay out in Grand Marais. We stayed at The Dunes Hotel. This is a very small hunting lodge esque stay. They have maybe 10 rooms, clean but it is older so you can hear your neighbors easily. If you’re just looking for a place to rest your head, it’s perfectly fine. No breakfast here but they do have a microwave and fridge for ya.
Stop 7 - Bear Cove Inn in St. Ignace was a fun one. It’s all nature/bear/animal themed rooms. They are just slightly out of the hustle and bustle of things so it was quiet, roomy, they give you casino vouchers. No breakfast here but it’s another smaller motel with about 10 rooms. We would recommend this for sure if you’re in the area and wanting to stay near Mackinac Island.
Stop 8 - We are now on the long road home and stayed at a Rodeway Inn in St Joseph… it was cheap, clean, and the front desk girl was friendly. That is all I have to say about it. 🤣 Wouldn’t stay there again if you were wondering.
Stop 9 - Someone here recommended Allerton Park and I want to say you nailed it. Such a unique stay, we were the only ones not part of a conference but it was so quiet and comforting. We were in the Gate House on the second floor with a private bath. Slept great, if you stay you have to view the gardens, they are amazing. Was a great way to spend a night and morning. Checkout isn’t until 11 so you can really have an easy morning. No breakfast here though.
Stop 10 - We just stopped at a tried and Tru in Arkansas on the way home. We stay at Tru’s semi regularly so we know what to expect on our last night.
Overall our verdict was if you don’t care about breakfast, go for that local roadside hotel. All the places we stayed were clean, friendly, and easy to deal with.
We had a ton of rain while we were gone and came back to five foot tall salvia greggi and zinnias, roses, and hydrangeas showing out!
I love the one that looks like a giant dandelion fluff!
My husband and I just went and I’m obsessed. We perused the gift shop but the designs for this season aren’t doing it for me.
Weird ask but does anyone have any old tees they want to get rid of? Happy to pay and for shipping 😊 Looking for a Large and a XL.
Shoot me a message or drop what you got in the thread!
If you’re a current employee I hope you take advantage of all the various virtual and on-site events we have going on this month.
Noticed several of these popped up in my wildflower garden patch. Does anyone know what it is? It’s pretty but if it’s secretly a tree I need to get to work! Located in 8B Texas.
I really am out of my depth here. Because honestly I don’t care about all the details I just know what I want it to do!
We have 3 acres of mostly Bahia grass. The grass grows fast and the ground I would say is fairly bumpy due to all the trees we have surrounding us.
It’s gotta be a ride on… because I’m done push mowing this beast of a yard when our mower breaks down. I want to be able to cut the grass but I’d also like to be able to have a little bucket attachment to push and move mulch. I wouldn’t hate a tiller attachment option in the long run. But we have a walk behind tiller so it’s not crucial. The goal is to eventually turn it into a more flowerscaped area.
I’d like to keep it under 3500$ if at all possible for a good machine I don’t have to fiddle with every time I take it out! But open to going up to 5.
Edit to add: I’d prefer it not be a zero turn. That’s just from a comfortability of use for me. I’m a gal who likes my riding mower old school.
We mowed two weeks ago and it died on us right at the end. Did some troubleshooting and got a new battery, now it’s doing whatever this is… any advice or help to get it to turnover would be very much appreciated!