Biking to Dinner

Now that Paul's working third shift, we don't get to spend a lot of time together. He is trying to get used to the new third shift schedule and hasn't quite gotten in the grove yet. Yesterday, after Paul slept I asked him to come on a bike ride with me so that we could spend some time together before he had to head back to work. We decided to bike downtown to Parsley Mediterranean Grill. It's always fun biking downtown because there's always something going on and people are always out and about. Parsley's is about 4.5 miles from our home in Grand Rapids. We ate a lovely Mediterranean meal (Fattoush salad, Beef Kaftka, Pickled Turnips) and then rode back home. Paul decided to take the "hilly" way home as he is training for a 24 hour bike challenge. He will be competing to see how many miles he can do in 24 hours through all different types of terrain. That should be fun!

Food that's on the menu at Parsley's

Tuesday bike trip with friends!

Today Paul and I biked 25 miles with our friends Ross, Pam and Kenny. Paul and I rode up the ever dreaded Four Mile hill and to the Hull's house. When we got there, we met them and rode our bikes down Alpine toward the John Ball Zoo. We picked up the Kent Bike Trails and rode down to 28th Street to try out a gourmet hot dog place called Papa's Dogs and More. The owner of the store makes his own specialty hot dog buns and bakes the dogs right in the bun. There were several toppings to choose from. I had a hot dog with a garlic cheese bun and one with a pretzel bun. It was very tasty and unlike anything I had ever tried before. It was hard to bike 15 miles back on a full stomach though!  You can read Mlive's review of the restaurant here: http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/10/papas_dogs_and_more_bakes_hot.html

Now for some pics!