Father's Day Weekend 2012 Part 1

Father's Day Weekend proved to be a special one indeed for me, thanks to my awesome family.

On Saturday we first went to the Library where they were kicking off their summer reading program for kids as part of the effort to prevent their brains turning into mush over the summer.

So the library had a mini-fair going on with a petting zoo, a dunk-the-librarian tank, indoor mini golf for kids and pony rides.

The line-up for the Pony ride was incredibly long, but worth it given the smiles on every kid's face that dismounted after a little ride around the parking lot.

So with the kids signed up for the summer reading program we packed and headed out upon the road, heading north.

The family had decided that for Father's Day they were taking me to the Wings Over Gaylord Airshow in Gaylord, Michigan.

This was quite the trip, a three hour there and three hour back affair zipping up I-75.

On the way up we stopped in Bay City for dinner. Father's Day calls for ribs and we used yelp! to look for a restaurant and sure enough there was a BBQ Restaurant off of I-75 in Bay City that looked promising.

From the outside it doesn't look like much, but looks are deceiving:

It's a small place, with a nice homey interior:

Tash and I ordered the Memphis-style dry rub Ribs for 2 with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted green beans and Abby the little kid pulled pork sandwich with roasted corn as a side and Leah the chicken nuggets and roasted corn.

Everything except for the chicken nuggets are made right there on the premises.

Service was friendly and excellent and then the ribs arrived:

Best. Ribs. Ever.

These ribs put the ribs I've had in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia to shame. Smoked right there on the premises, they're pretty much the definition of heaven on a plate. There was also a homemade bbq sauce on the table that was a perfect accompaniment.

It's an hour and a half each way trip to that restaurant and we're seriously thinking about driving there again for their ribs. Wow.

We talked with the owners and they were very nice down to earth folks who are just making the best darn ribs in the known universe in a low-key fashion.

We then drove on to Gaylord and pulled into the hotel and promptly fell asleep and got ready for the next day.