Tired. For the first time in my life I slept in until 12:40PM, Chicago time. 1:40PM Toronto time. I’m not as cranky as I usually am when I sleep in, but I suppose it was necessary. From heretofore I shall speak in Chicago time, as it’s what I’m involved in now.
We were up at 4:10AM to be out and on the road for a little after 5:00. Hit a Starbucks for a quick bite and a big coffee and we were off. The border crossing was a breeze, and it was about 30 minutes in that we pulled off for breakfast at The Fly Trap in Ferndale, Michigan. I had seen it on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and decided to give it a try, with their Green Eggs and Ham highly regarded. It was an excellent breakfast, both Paul and I really enjoyed it, and in no time it was back on the road.

From there it was the road to Kalamazoo:


Next stop – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Bell’s is one of the more esteemed brewers in the States, owners of the popular Expedition Stout and Hopslam IPA. Being that I was driving I avoided the 10% stout, settling on picking some up at the General Store to take home, and sipping on a Java Stout while I was there. Paul opted for the Kalamazoo IPA, which doesn’t compare to the Hopslam (similarly, the Java Stout doesn’t compare to the Expedition) but was a great beer in its own right.

At this point we’d made great time, over an hour ahead of schedule, but didn’t count on a THREE AND A HALF HOUR delay in getting through Chicago, from the South entrance to our hotel on the North end. We got to the hotel, checked in, dropped our bags, got directions, and booted it downtown for our Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers show. It was great, probably the best we’ve seen them, and we took the opportunity again to hang out with the band a bit afterwards. Finding out Paul was building a Telecaster Roger Clyne himself has offered to sell one of his Telecasters, assuming his son doesn’t lay claim to it. I gave him my card and we’re expecting possible contact in mid-June for one gently used Daphne Blue Highway One Telecaster!
Back to the hotel at 2:40AM we hit the sack and woke up not long ago. Looong day. We’re off now to Chicago Music Exchange, Goose Island, and Kelly Joe Phelps in concert in Evanston. Talk to you later!