Erika had a baby shower to attend today in Galesburg which is a city outside of Kalamazoo. Both of us went to college at Western Michigan University which is located in Kalamazoo, one of the best cities in Michigan. I dropped Erika off at her girlfriend's house and got back on the road to head in the Kzoo. 10 minutes later I was at the Kalamazoo Brewing Company (Bells) for a beer. Bells is my favorite beer of all time, it is the best microbrew in the country and I would say the best in the world. Half my college career was spent at the brewery and I still drink their beer to this day. Unfortunately they didn't have wi-fi so I had a beer and took off. The beer I had was their Thumpin Pumpkin, by far the best pumpkin ale I have ever had. I used to think Old Penninsula, a small microbrew/restaurant in Kzoo had the best, but not anymore. Bell just started up a pumpkin ale this November and I loved it. They don't bottle it so its only at the brewery which is disappointing. Bells also has a kitchen but its open and staffed by a bunch of dirty hippies with dreads so I decided i would skip lunch.

I migrated a couple blocks down the street to a bar called Shakespeare's Pub. This is very cool bar owned by my friend Ted from college. I happened to catch him inside and got to hang out for a few. He gave me a very good beer called Corsendonk Christmas Ale which is a Belguim Ale made by monks. The beer was dark but had a bit of spice and holiday flavors. Its not a beer I would have bought on my own but I was impressed and glad that I got to try it. Since Ted runs a cleaner kitchen and has wi-fi, I camped out for a while, watched the Western Michigan Football game and surfed the net. Ok I didn't really watch the game, I hate football and didn't care when I was in school let alone now, but I did blog and catch up on the latest news.

From here I plan on driving around the campus and seeing the city. By then it will be time to pick up Erika and head back home. If you ever find yourself driving down 94 towards Chicago, stop in Kalamazoo and check out these two bars. Bells only have their own beer but Shakespeare's has a huge selection of microbrews and full bar. The food is great and there are pool tables and a shuffle board table. And there is also wi-fi for computer nerds like me who can't be without internet connectivity for more than 15 minutes.