My friends and I have made several yearly trips to see the Michigan Wolverines play at the University of Michigan (aka The Big House). This year, we added a new twist to the trip. Instead of staying in Ann Arbor, Mich., we stayed at my sister’s lake house in Watervliet, Mich., about half way between Chicago and Ann Arbor.

We left Friday afternoon and made it there for dinner at the Easy Street Inn in nearby Coloma. It came highly recommended by my sister, and it did not disappoint. The highlight was the clam chowder soup, definitely one of the top five soups I ever had.

Saturday, we had about a two-hour drive, which we easily made in time for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. The game between the Wolverines and the Nebraska Cornhuskers was a lackluster effort by both teams, resulting in a 17-13 Nebraska victory. Many fans (including my friends) called for the firing of various members of the Michigan coaching staff.

Regardless of the outcome, it is always cool watching the Wolverines at The Big House. It is such an iconic stadium. It originally opened in 1927 and recently was expanded to seat about 110,000 rabid Wolverines fan, including us.

Disappointed by the loss, we drowned our sorrows with pizza and cannoli at Palermo’s. The outstanding meal helped ease our Big Blue pain. As I have previously well documented, I am a cannoli elitist, but Palermo’s cannoli passed my test.

On Sunday, we watched the Chicago Bears lose to the Detroit Lions from my sister’s house with her and her husband. Unfortunately, the wrong team won again.

Despite the two losses, we had a great weekend in Michigan. This again proves you don’t have to travel far to have a great time. It also proves your teams don’t even have to win to enjoy yourself (although one win would have been nice).

— John Wroblewski, online contributor