Sunday, May 24, 2015--Battle Creek to Detroit via Lansing and Ann Arbor
We were interested in seeing both Lansing and Ann Arbor mainly because of the two major university campuses, but also to explore their downtowns. Lansing surprised us by having a rather plain downtown with little happening there. The Capitol was undergoing restoration on its dome and was closed for the Memorial Day weekend. We walked the streets, but found nothing much of interest .
The campus of Michigan State University is away from the downtown area. They have a beautiful campus with lots of open green spaces. It was rather quiet, but some people were around. Unfortunately, the buildings were closed because of the holiday weekend, I guess. We drove up and down the streets through the campus seeing the massive buildings that seldom had any special architectural charm. As I stated above, it is the green spaces that make the campus pretty. We stopped at a park and ate a picnic lunch in the car, since there were no picnic tables in any of the green spaces we saw. We would have liked to have had an ice cream cone at the Student Center from the shop operated by the campus dairy farm, but the building was closed even though their literature said it is open on Sundays.
Ann Arbor was more interesting. The campus and the downtown area have grown together. There were crowds on the streets and on the campus. We wandered around watching people and looking at the buildings. The Law School Quadrangle on campus was especially beautiful mainly because of the architecture of the old stone buildings. The campus had prettier buildings than the campus at Michigan State, but their campus lacked the open green spaces that Michigan State had and that would have made it more attractive. Downtown, we searched for Fairy Doors--small doors for gnomes that businesses have made in a campaign to have something interesting downtown. Unfortunately, the campaign has not been highly successful, so we really had to search; finally, we came across about 4 of the doors.
Monday, May 25, 2015--Back to San Antonio
Our flight was at 6:05, and we had to return our rental car. Therefore, we set the alarm for 3:30--UGHHHH! Everything went smoothly, though. We made it into San Antonio around 11:00. That brought us back to reality. Wes had to leave for Corpus, since he had a class scheduled to begin Tuesday morning. I had to start dealing with both my new and old homes again and had to start studying for an exam on Friday to become a Certified Tourist Ambassador. Life goes on.....
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Lower Western Coast of Michigan
Saturday, May 23, 2015--Grand Rapids to Battle Creek
Today was a warm and sunny day. As part of Memorial Day Weekend, the tourists were out, especially at most of the places we went which are popular tourism destinations on the western coast of Michigan.
We went to Holland, Michigan, first. It's a Dutch settlement that has gone whole hog on the connection to The Netherlands. They have an amusement park named Dutch Village , a tulip garden with a windmill imported from Holland, architecture which sometimes relates to a Dutch style, etc. (Unfortunately, the tulips were gone, but we saw so many tulips up north that it didn't matter to us.) The downtown, however, stands on its own as a delightful shopping district which draws people just for that purpose. There are several blocks of very nice Victorian-age commercial buildings with intricate design features. The shops serve local people as well as the tourists, because they contain popular clothing stores such as Jos. A. Banks, Talbots, etc., as well as fancy gift shops, restaurants, etc.
Holland was having its Saturday farmer's market downtown, and it was crowded with people enjoying the spring weather. Most were buying plants for their lawns or porches. But everything was being sold--cheeses, breads, vegetables, chocolates, meats, etc. It was fun to see it all and to watch the crowds there. A lot of very white legs and shoulders were in danger of becoming pink by the end of the day!
From Holland, we headed south stopping at smaller towns that cater to tourists wanting to be near the water and to enjoy the atmosphere of quaint villages. We stopped at Saugatuck, Douglas, and South Haven. Saugatuck seems very exclusive while being casual. It is built around a lake lined with nice homes with boats out back. The downtown has lots of boat slips with some of them housing huge yachts. Douglas is across the lake from Saugatuck and is more laid back. It's main street is much shorter, it's lake front is more quiet, and the number of tourists is much less. We ate our picnic lunch there on a bench in front of the Old School House.
South Haven reminded us of a poorer, smaller Holland, but it combined the big downtown with shopping with a beach and a pier which made it a very nice all-around place to visit. We walked the streets seeing the shops and watching the people, then we walked to the beach and out on the peer continuing to watch everyone. Jet skiers were in the water performing tricks--corkscrew turns and backward flips.
After visiting those places, it was time to head inland, since we have to be in Detroit tomorrow night. We drove through Paw Paw, another town with a nice lake lined with homes, and Kalamazoo where we toured the campus of Western Michigan University and drove through the downtown. We also stopped at Sweetwater's Donuts there and were impressed with the selection and their prices. A dozen is about a 30% discount from buying single ones, so we sure were tempted to eat a lot of caolories!! Instead, I had one buttermilk donut and Wes had one chocolate donut with a peanut butter frosting.
We are staying in Battle Creek tonight which is a part of the Kalamazoo metropolitan area. Our hotel is just two blocks from another Sweetwater's Donut location, so we are fighting temptation. It's open 24 hours per day!! We will head out to eat dinner and to explore Battle Creek some in a few minutes while trying to avoid stopping at Sweetwater's.
Today was a warm and sunny day. As part of Memorial Day Weekend, the tourists were out, especially at most of the places we went which are popular tourism destinations on the western coast of Michigan.
We went to Holland, Michigan, first. It's a Dutch settlement that has gone whole hog on the connection to The Netherlands. They have an amusement park named Dutch Village , a tulip garden with a windmill imported from Holland, architecture which sometimes relates to a Dutch style, etc. (Unfortunately, the tulips were gone, but we saw so many tulips up north that it didn't matter to us.) The downtown, however, stands on its own as a delightful shopping district which draws people just for that purpose. There are several blocks of very nice Victorian-age commercial buildings with intricate design features. The shops serve local people as well as the tourists, because they contain popular clothing stores such as Jos. A. Banks, Talbots, etc., as well as fancy gift shops, restaurants, etc.
Holland was having its Saturday farmer's market downtown, and it was crowded with people enjoying the spring weather. Most were buying plants for their lawns or porches. But everything was being sold--cheeses, breads, vegetables, chocolates, meats, etc. It was fun to see it all and to watch the crowds there. A lot of very white legs and shoulders were in danger of becoming pink by the end of the day!
From Holland, we headed south stopping at smaller towns that cater to tourists wanting to be near the water and to enjoy the atmosphere of quaint villages. We stopped at Saugatuck, Douglas, and South Haven. Saugatuck seems very exclusive while being casual. It is built around a lake lined with nice homes with boats out back. The downtown has lots of boat slips with some of them housing huge yachts. Douglas is across the lake from Saugatuck and is more laid back. It's main street is much shorter, it's lake front is more quiet, and the number of tourists is much less. We ate our picnic lunch there on a bench in front of the Old School House.
South Haven reminded us of a poorer, smaller Holland, but it combined the big downtown with shopping with a beach and a pier which made it a very nice all-around place to visit. We walked the streets seeing the shops and watching the people, then we walked to the beach and out on the peer continuing to watch everyone. Jet skiers were in the water performing tricks--corkscrew turns and backward flips.
After visiting those places, it was time to head inland, since we have to be in Detroit tomorrow night. We drove through Paw Paw, another town with a nice lake lined with homes, and Kalamazoo where we toured the campus of Western Michigan University and drove through the downtown. We also stopped at Sweetwater's Donuts there and were impressed with the selection and their prices. A dozen is about a 30% discount from buying single ones, so we sure were tempted to eat a lot of caolories!! Instead, I had one buttermilk donut and Wes had one chocolate donut with a peanut butter frosting.
We are staying in Battle Creek tonight which is a part of the Kalamazoo metropolitan area. Our hotel is just two blocks from another Sweetwater's Donut location, so we are fighting temptation. It's open 24 hours per day!! We will head out to eat dinner and to explore Battle Creek some in a few minutes while trying to avoid stopping at Sweetwater's.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Old Coastal Towns and a City Disaster
Friday, May 22, 2015--Traverse City to Grand Rapids
Traverse City is really a nice place. It's interesting that the downtown area is more alive than the suburban mall area. Somehow, the city has managed to turn the downtown area into an entertainment and dining complex along with a center for offices (which are still being built with several new office buildings in the area). The downtown even has two cinemas, along with lots of bars and restaurants and food truck parks. It is filled with nice old buildings which all seem to be used rather than vacant.
We left there this morning to head south. We drove to Manistee which bills itself as a city of Victorian buildings. The downtown has several blocks of wonderful, old buildings. Unfortunately, many are vacant. The downtown isn't very successful economically, but it is beautiful. Also, they have a very nice river walk they have built behind the row of downtown buildings that goes all the way through town to the shores of Lake Michigan. Many apartments overlook it, and people seem to enjoy it for jogging. It also houses a municipal marina where people can dock their boats in an area that is safer from the storms while allowing quick access to the lake.
Ludington was our next stop. It has a very successful downtown which attracts tourists, but the buildings are far from being as nice as the ones in Manistee. Part of the popularity of this town, however, is that it is also the dock for a car ferry that goes across Lake Michigan between there and a city in Wisconsin. The ferry was there loading for an outgoing trip.
We stopped at a roadside park for lunch. It was fine for a while, but then the wind picked up making it difficult to deal with the food and making it too cool to enjoy being out. We went back to the car to finish our dessert.
Muskegon was the surprise of the day. We went downtown to find a strange situation. There were a few old scattered buildings and a few new scattered buildings, but there were empty lots all over the place. I questioned whether there had been a disaster, because it reminded me of downtown Waco after the tornado years ago that left lots of vacant lots. When I got onto the computer later to see what had happened, it had been a disaster, but a man-made one. The city tore down many of their old buildings and built a shopping mall to try to save downtown. It worked only for a decade or so before someone built a suburban mall and the stores started leaving downtown. They eventually tore down the new downtown mall and are trying to fill the gap left by it with new buildings. They have a long way to go. The photos of what used to be there give an idea of what a disaster the idea was to tear down most of downtown and build a "modern" shopping mall.
Our destination today was Grand Rapids. It's the second largest city in the state and in some ways the most successful one lately. It has a very large downtown area which has a mixture of many beautiful old buildings and newer modern ones. They've created open spaces for people to congregate, and they have brought in many university programs to keep downtown more alive. It also has new city facilities (arena, theater, convention center) along with gleaming modern office buildings to indicate that it is a progressive place. The river has "rapids," but they are man-made ones with constructed lines every 100 yards (meters) or so that cause the water to ripple over them and on down the river.
Traverse City is really a nice place. It's interesting that the downtown area is more alive than the suburban mall area. Somehow, the city has managed to turn the downtown area into an entertainment and dining complex along with a center for offices (which are still being built with several new office buildings in the area). The downtown even has two cinemas, along with lots of bars and restaurants and food truck parks. It is filled with nice old buildings which all seem to be used rather than vacant.
We left there this morning to head south. We drove to Manistee which bills itself as a city of Victorian buildings. The downtown has several blocks of wonderful, old buildings. Unfortunately, many are vacant. The downtown isn't very successful economically, but it is beautiful. Also, they have a very nice river walk they have built behind the row of downtown buildings that goes all the way through town to the shores of Lake Michigan. Many apartments overlook it, and people seem to enjoy it for jogging. It also houses a municipal marina where people can dock their boats in an area that is safer from the storms while allowing quick access to the lake.
Ludington was our next stop. It has a very successful downtown which attracts tourists, but the buildings are far from being as nice as the ones in Manistee. Part of the popularity of this town, however, is that it is also the dock for a car ferry that goes across Lake Michigan between there and a city in Wisconsin. The ferry was there loading for an outgoing trip.
We stopped at a roadside park for lunch. It was fine for a while, but then the wind picked up making it difficult to deal with the food and making it too cool to enjoy being out. We went back to the car to finish our dessert.
Muskegon was the surprise of the day. We went downtown to find a strange situation. There were a few old scattered buildings and a few new scattered buildings, but there were empty lots all over the place. I questioned whether there had been a disaster, because it reminded me of downtown Waco after the tornado years ago that left lots of vacant lots. When I got onto the computer later to see what had happened, it had been a disaster, but a man-made one. The city tore down many of their old buildings and built a shopping mall to try to save downtown. It worked only for a decade or so before someone built a suburban mall and the stores started leaving downtown. They eventually tore down the new downtown mall and are trying to fill the gap left by it with new buildings. They have a long way to go. The photos of what used to be there give an idea of what a disaster the idea was to tear down most of downtown and build a "modern" shopping mall.
Our destination today was Grand Rapids. It's the second largest city in the state and in some ways the most successful one lately. It has a very large downtown area which has a mixture of many beautiful old buildings and newer modern ones. They've created open spaces for people to congregate, and they have brought in many university programs to keep downtown more alive. It also has new city facilities (arena, theater, convention center) along with gleaming modern office buildings to indicate that it is a progressive place. The river has "rapids," but they are man-made ones with constructed lines every 100 yards (meters) or so that cause the water to ripple over them and on down the river.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Vineyards, Orchards and Quaint Villages
Thursday, May 21, 2015--Traverse City Area
There are two peninsulas that jut out to the north of Traverse City. Each has a roadway designated as a scenic byway. We spent today exploring those.
M-37 Scenic Byway goes up the Old Mission Peninsula, a very narrow spit of land. It ends at the Mission Lighthouse. It is lined with many grand homes--both old and new. Along the way were several wineries, lots of blossoming cherry trees, and a very interesting Mission General Store to see/visit. While in the store which sells everyday items for locals but also has lots of unique and interesting items for tourists (such as an old pickle barrel, old-fashioned cake donuts, lots of out-of-date items from far in the past, etc.), the lady asked where we were from and announced, "We have Indiana, Ohio, and Texas here right now!"
M-22 Scenic Byway goes up and down a much broader peninsula to the west of the one above. The countryside is probably not as scenic and the homes are not as grand as on the other one, but there are a number of really nice villages--Suttons Bay, Northport, Leland, and Glen Arbor. There were wineries and more cherry orchards along this route, too.
On the western end of M-22 is a cut-off on M-109, another scenic byway, to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We ate a late picnic lunch there and then did the "Dune Climb." It's a huge dune that has no vegetation on a wide swath of it. People climb it, but there's a surprise. From the parking lot, it doesn't look so high. But that first part leads to a plateau with another climb behind it which leads to another plateau with a final climb behind it. We spent about 1 1/2 hours climbing the dune, enjoying the view, and returning back to the bottom of the dune.
By then, it was late afternoon, so we explored one more village--Empire, which is the home of the park. Then we returned to Traverse City for the evening.
There are two peninsulas that jut out to the north of Traverse City. Each has a roadway designated as a scenic byway. We spent today exploring those.
M-37 Scenic Byway goes up the Old Mission Peninsula, a very narrow spit of land. It ends at the Mission Lighthouse. It is lined with many grand homes--both old and new. Along the way were several wineries, lots of blossoming cherry trees, and a very interesting Mission General Store to see/visit. While in the store which sells everyday items for locals but also has lots of unique and interesting items for tourists (such as an old pickle barrel, old-fashioned cake donuts, lots of out-of-date items from far in the past, etc.), the lady asked where we were from and announced, "We have Indiana, Ohio, and Texas here right now!"
M-22 Scenic Byway goes up and down a much broader peninsula to the west of the one above. The countryside is probably not as scenic and the homes are not as grand as on the other one, but there are a number of really nice villages--Suttons Bay, Northport, Leland, and Glen Arbor. There were wineries and more cherry orchards along this route, too.
On the western end of M-22 is a cut-off on M-109, another scenic byway, to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We ate a late picnic lunch there and then did the "Dune Climb." It's a huge dune that has no vegetation on a wide swath of it. People climb it, but there's a surprise. From the parking lot, it doesn't look so high. But that first part leads to a plateau with another climb behind it which leads to another plateau with a final climb behind it. We spent about 1 1/2 hours climbing the dune, enjoying the view, and returning back to the bottom of the dune.
By then, it was late afternoon, so we explored one more village--Empire, which is the home of the park. Then we returned to Traverse City for the evening.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Entering the Country of Cherry Orchards and Vineyards
Wednesday, May 20, 2015--Sault Ste. Marie to Traverse City in Michigan
The sun was shining, but the air was still cold today. It got below freezing last night. We traveled southward heading back to lower Michigan for the rest of our trip.
Just after passing the Mackinac Bridge again, we headed westward for the shoreline roads going through tiny villages such as Bliss and Cross Village. From the latter, we took M-119, a state roadway called the Tunnel of Trees Scenic Route. It is a beautiful coastal road not even wide enough for a center stripe. It is lined with tall trees on either side and with huge, expensive homes backing up to Lake Michigan for about 25 miles (about 40 km).
At the end of that roadway is Harbor Springs which is a very beautiful and exclusive little town on the water. It is so clean and has such nice shops in well-kept buildings downtown that it reminded me somewhat of exclusive little towns in California. We walked the streets and down to the waterfront. Then we drove through a very nice enclave filled with homes valued in the $2-3 million range.
From there, we explored Petoskey, a similarly fancy town with expensive homes and shops, except it is on a hillside with views toward the water. We entered several of the shops there--a nice toy store; Cutlers, a very nice kitchen gadget store; a fancy pie shop; etc.
Continuing onward, we drove through another nice town named Charevoix and through countryside filled with blooming cherry orchards and with vineyards. Unfortunately, it is too early for fresh cherries, or we probably would have been able to buy boxes of them along the highway. This area is the home of most of the vineyards in Michigan, and most of the wines produced are sweet ones.
Our destination was Traverse City. We arrived here at 17:00 and checked into our hotel. We will spend two nights here, because there are more nice places to explore to the north, northwest, and west of here tomorrow.
The sun was shining, but the air was still cold today. It got below freezing last night. We traveled southward heading back to lower Michigan for the rest of our trip.
Just after passing the Mackinac Bridge again, we headed westward for the shoreline roads going through tiny villages such as Bliss and Cross Village. From the latter, we took M-119, a state roadway called the Tunnel of Trees Scenic Route. It is a beautiful coastal road not even wide enough for a center stripe. It is lined with tall trees on either side and with huge, expensive homes backing up to Lake Michigan for about 25 miles (about 40 km).
At the end of that roadway is Harbor Springs which is a very beautiful and exclusive little town on the water. It is so clean and has such nice shops in well-kept buildings downtown that it reminded me somewhat of exclusive little towns in California. We walked the streets and down to the waterfront. Then we drove through a very nice enclave filled with homes valued in the $2-3 million range.
From there, we explored Petoskey, a similarly fancy town with expensive homes and shops, except it is on a hillside with views toward the water. We entered several of the shops there--a nice toy store; Cutlers, a very nice kitchen gadget store; a fancy pie shop; etc.
Continuing onward, we drove through another nice town named Charevoix and through countryside filled with blooming cherry orchards and with vineyards. Unfortunately, it is too early for fresh cherries, or we probably would have been able to buy boxes of them along the highway. This area is the home of most of the vineyards in Michigan, and most of the wines produced are sweet ones.
Our destination was Traverse City. We arrived here at 17:00 and checked into our hotel. We will spend two nights here, because there are more nice places to explore to the north, northwest, and west of here tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Cold with Snow on the Upper Peninsula
Tuesday, May 19, 2015--Upper Peninsula of Michigan
We headed across the Mackinac Bridge after breakfast this morning. Not long afterward, snow started falling. Of and on all day there was snow with strong, cold wind.
We drove along the southern coast as far as Manistique. Then we headed northward passing by Curtis and taking Michigan Highway 123, a scenic route through the woods to the coast of Lake Superior. Then we arrived in Sault Ste. Marie in the late afternoon--still with snow and cold wind. (Before Alaska joined the union, Sault Ste. Marie was often named as the coldest city in the U.S., especially in the winter.)
We forced ourselves to get out and drive around the city. We stopped to see the Soo Locks where the large ships pass through changing levels as they go from Lake Huron into Lake Superior. We drove around the downtown area, and we explored the campus of Lake Superior State University which is housed on the grounds of an old fort. But Sault Ste. Marie has little worth seeing. It is a rather poor city that is depressing to see.
We crossed the International Bridge to visit the other Sault Ste. Marie--the one in Ontario in Canada. It is a much nicer city--bigger, wealthier, more progressive, etc. We spent maybe 1 1/2 hours over there exploring. Then we headed back.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan may be a nice place to explore during warm weather, but the cold weather today did not aid in enjoying the lake side beaches and the small tourist towns that are built around the lakes (both the Great Lakes and the many small lakes).
We headed across the Mackinac Bridge after breakfast this morning. Not long afterward, snow started falling. Of and on all day there was snow with strong, cold wind.
We drove along the southern coast as far as Manistique. Then we headed northward passing by Curtis and taking Michigan Highway 123, a scenic route through the woods to the coast of Lake Superior. Then we arrived in Sault Ste. Marie in the late afternoon--still with snow and cold wind. (Before Alaska joined the union, Sault Ste. Marie was often named as the coldest city in the U.S., especially in the winter.)
We forced ourselves to get out and drive around the city. We stopped to see the Soo Locks where the large ships pass through changing levels as they go from Lake Huron into Lake Superior. We drove around the downtown area, and we explored the campus of Lake Superior State University which is housed on the grounds of an old fort. But Sault Ste. Marie has little worth seeing. It is a rather poor city that is depressing to see.
We crossed the International Bridge to visit the other Sault Ste. Marie--the one in Ontario in Canada. It is a much nicer city--bigger, wealthier, more progressive, etc. We spent maybe 1 1/2 hours over there exploring. Then we headed back.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan may be a nice place to explore during warm weather, but the cold weather today did not aid in enjoying the lake side beaches and the small tourist towns that are built around the lakes (both the Great Lakes and the many small lakes).
Monday, May 18, 2015
Mackinac Island with Bikes and Horse-Drawn Buggies
Monday, May 18, 2015--Mackinac Island, Michigan
The day dawned with clear skies and a breeze. The bugs weren't quite so bad as yesterday. Maybe that was a result of the rains we got last night, or maybe it was because of the breeze. We caught the 10:00 Arnold Ferry along with a large group of college students and a few others.
Mackinac Island was a surprise in that there were hardly any bugs!! Do they try to control them? Or do the bugs not swarm there because the island tends to have breezes much of the time? Anyway, the day was much more pleasant than we feared.
As the boat docked, we could see the horse-drawn buggies lined up on the street waiting for us. The island does not allow motorized vehicles. There are horse-drawn buggies, horse-drawn wagons, and bicycles. That's it except for some motorized emergency and construction vehicles which are not normally seen. Even the garbage is picked up in a horse-drawn wagon!
The island was occupied back in the 1600s, but most of the growth occurred in the late 1800s. At that time, most of the island was designated a park--originally a national park and eventually a state park. It is most known for the Grand Hotel, a huge wooden building with a very long porch with rocking chairs. In the early 1900s, it was a typical summer hotel resort for the wealthy. Because of the uniqueness of the island with its no-cars rules, the hotel has remained popular through the decades. It was the location for the shooting of the film Somewhere in Time a few decades ago which also helped it retain its popularity.
The town has a very long main street that is lined with fudge shops, t-shirt shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. The island, because it is a park, is lined with trails and is encircled by a road that is popular with cyclists. Wes and I walked about 1/3 of the way around the island on the outer road, then we headed inland on trails that took us further to the far side of the island and then back over the hilly hump of the island to the town again. It's a mostly wooded island, so our hikes were nice with all the trees and wildflowers.
In town, we passed many beautiful old mansions, most of them huge and built of wood. We went though the exclusive Hubbard's Annex. We passed through the grounds and just in front of the Grand Hotel. Throughout all of this the sun was shining, the temperatures were comfortable, and the bugs were missing!
We caught the 17:00 boat back to the mainland and visited the old lighthouse here. By then we were tired and hungry. We ate dinner and returned to the hotel for the night.
The day dawned with clear skies and a breeze. The bugs weren't quite so bad as yesterday. Maybe that was a result of the rains we got last night, or maybe it was because of the breeze. We caught the 10:00 Arnold Ferry along with a large group of college students and a few others.
Mackinac Island was a surprise in that there were hardly any bugs!! Do they try to control them? Or do the bugs not swarm there because the island tends to have breezes much of the time? Anyway, the day was much more pleasant than we feared.
As the boat docked, we could see the horse-drawn buggies lined up on the street waiting for us. The island does not allow motorized vehicles. There are horse-drawn buggies, horse-drawn wagons, and bicycles. That's it except for some motorized emergency and construction vehicles which are not normally seen. Even the garbage is picked up in a horse-drawn wagon!
The island was occupied back in the 1600s, but most of the growth occurred in the late 1800s. At that time, most of the island was designated a park--originally a national park and eventually a state park. It is most known for the Grand Hotel, a huge wooden building with a very long porch with rocking chairs. In the early 1900s, it was a typical summer hotel resort for the wealthy. Because of the uniqueness of the island with its no-cars rules, the hotel has remained popular through the decades. It was the location for the shooting of the film Somewhere in Time a few decades ago which also helped it retain its popularity.
The town has a very long main street that is lined with fudge shops, t-shirt shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. The island, because it is a park, is lined with trails and is encircled by a road that is popular with cyclists. Wes and I walked about 1/3 of the way around the island on the outer road, then we headed inland on trails that took us further to the far side of the island and then back over the hilly hump of the island to the town again. It's a mostly wooded island, so our hikes were nice with all the trees and wildflowers.
In town, we passed many beautiful old mansions, most of them huge and built of wood. We went though the exclusive Hubbard's Annex. We passed through the grounds and just in front of the Grand Hotel. Throughout all of this the sun was shining, the temperatures were comfortable, and the bugs were missing!
We caught the 17:00 boat back to the mainland and visited the old lighthouse here. By then we were tired and hungry. We ate dinner and returned to the hotel for the night.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Frankenmuth, Bay City, and Mackinaw City (BUGS!!!!)
Sunday, May 17, 2015--Detroit to Mackinaw City
Today was a travel day. We left Detroit about 9:30 and headed northward. We turned off on Michigan Highway 15 which is a scenic route. Our first destination was the town of Frankenmuth, a German-settled village which has built a huge tourist trade around a Bavarian theme. It has restaurants, shops, bakeries, etc., all in buildings with Bavarian-style architecture. The town is built along a river which has a steam paddle boat that gives tours, and there is a covered wooden bridge that goes over the river. It's very scenic, but it is also very artificial. It's a huge success with tourists, though, and the whole thing seems to have been developed by a woman named Evelyn Zender who first established a successful chicken restaurant in the city and then added one feature after another until it became what it is today.
From there, we drove to Bay City which has a very large downtown which is being redeveloped along its riverfront with a promenade, hotels, condos, etc. It also has a multi-block long section of Center Street that is lined with impressive old homes.
Next, we headed straight for Mackinaw City, our final destination which was another 2 1/2 hours away. We arrived at 18:00 and found exactly what Wes' sister had described that she encountered last May when she was here--BUGS!!! She claimed they were mosquitoes, but they actually are midge flies which don't bite and seem to be bugs much like the ones we call "love bugs" in Texas. They fly in swarms and tend to stay close to warm areas, meaning that they will swirl around a body and follow it along! It's a big hassle to deal with them. After checking into our room, we walked downtown with the bugs swarming while we tried to fan and swat them away. It would be nice to have one of those net headpieces that they sell, because even if they don't sting, they are bothersome and one has to be careful not to breathe them in through the nose or the mouth!
Mackinaw City itself is quite nice. It gets lots of tourists who stop here to visit Mackinac Island (a ferry ride away). (As the local brochure says, "Whether it ends in 'aw' or 'ac,' it's always pronounced Mack-in-Awe!") That (visiting the island) is what we will do tomorrow. The city where we are tonight has fudge and other types of candy shops, restaurants, bakeries, gift shops, and lots of motels. There are three ferry companies making the trip to the island and back.
It's going to be a hassle trying to enjoy the island tomorrow with these bugs. (To enter our room, we've learned to open the door just enough that we can finish pushing it open when we arrive. Then we walk down the hallway 5-6 doorways, turn, and run together to get ahead of the bugs. We rush through the door and close it quickly.) So far, we have found only a couple of the bugs in our room, whereas it is quite common to have a hundred or more of them swirling around our bodies outside. But being this close, we plan to go to the island even if we have to fight the bugs!
Today was a travel day. We left Detroit about 9:30 and headed northward. We turned off on Michigan Highway 15 which is a scenic route. Our first destination was the town of Frankenmuth, a German-settled village which has built a huge tourist trade around a Bavarian theme. It has restaurants, shops, bakeries, etc., all in buildings with Bavarian-style architecture. The town is built along a river which has a steam paddle boat that gives tours, and there is a covered wooden bridge that goes over the river. It's very scenic, but it is also very artificial. It's a huge success with tourists, though, and the whole thing seems to have been developed by a woman named Evelyn Zender who first established a successful chicken restaurant in the city and then added one feature after another until it became what it is today.
From there, we drove to Bay City which has a very large downtown which is being redeveloped along its riverfront with a promenade, hotels, condos, etc. It also has a multi-block long section of Center Street that is lined with impressive old homes.
Next, we headed straight for Mackinaw City, our final destination which was another 2 1/2 hours away. We arrived at 18:00 and found exactly what Wes' sister had described that she encountered last May when she was here--BUGS!!! She claimed they were mosquitoes, but they actually are midge flies which don't bite and seem to be bugs much like the ones we call "love bugs" in Texas. They fly in swarms and tend to stay close to warm areas, meaning that they will swirl around a body and follow it along! It's a big hassle to deal with them. After checking into our room, we walked downtown with the bugs swarming while we tried to fan and swat them away. It would be nice to have one of those net headpieces that they sell, because even if they don't sting, they are bothersome and one has to be careful not to breathe them in through the nose or the mouth!
Mackinaw City itself is quite nice. It gets lots of tourists who stop here to visit Mackinac Island (a ferry ride away). (As the local brochure says, "Whether it ends in 'aw' or 'ac,' it's always pronounced Mack-in-Awe!") That (visiting the island) is what we will do tomorrow. The city where we are tonight has fudge and other types of candy shops, restaurants, bakeries, gift shops, and lots of motels. There are three ferry companies making the trip to the island and back.
It's going to be a hassle trying to enjoy the island tomorrow with these bugs. (To enter our room, we've learned to open the door just enough that we can finish pushing it open when we arrive. Then we walk down the hallway 5-6 doorways, turn, and run together to get ahead of the bugs. We rush through the door and close it quickly.) So far, we have found only a couple of the bugs in our room, whereas it is quite common to have a hundred or more of them swirling around our bodies outside. But being this close, we plan to go to the island even if we have to fight the bugs!
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Market Day and Other Attractions
Saturday, May 16, 2015--Detroit
We started the day by going to the Eastern Market, named that because it is just east of the downtown area. It's an old, traditional market that is held on Saturdays each week and also on Tuesdays during the summer months. Up to 45,000 people go to the market each week. Even though there was drizzle today, it was crowded. There are 4 covered sheds offering flowers, herbs, vegetables, nuts, meats,baked items, and other products. It was fun weaving through the crowds to see what was for sale as well as watching the people there to buy. There were so many choices within each category. Wes was especially attracted to the pies (with homemade crusts) at one stall. I found a couple of the bakeries that had heavy, dense multi-grain breads and crusty sourdough breads interesting. Many of the items on sale today were plants, because it is just the beginning of planting season here. There were lots of hanging baskets, bedding flowers, potted flowers, etc.
From there, we visited New Town, the area just north of where we were yesterday. It has a concentrated development within about 4 blocks that includes several huge buildings (the old General Motors headquarters which is now called Cadillac Place and the home of Michigan government offices, the Fisher Building which was the headquarters for Fisher Body Works and houses an the old Fisher Theater, the Argonaut which now houses a school of design and art, the Alfred Kahn building which headquarters the architectural firm which designed many of the impressive buildings in Detroit, the St. Regis Hotel, and several smaller outlying buildings).
From there, we explored some exclusive housing enclaves in Highland Park--the Boston-Edison neighborhood and the Arden Park-East Boston neighborhood. Then we headed to the nearby Polish area of Hamtramck.
Having tired of the inner city area, we thought we would explore one of the more expensive parts of town--the Somerset Collection which consists of two malls on either side of a suburban street connected by an overhead sky walk. It was interesting to see how clean and nice the nearby area was in comparison to where we had been inside Detroit and to watch the people.
To end the day, we headed back to the inner city. We drove up and down the streets of Corktown seeing the old, small wooden residences that originally housed Irish immigrants and have been restored mostly by young residents in the past few years. While there, we also visited St. Anne's Church which is the oldest church in Detroit--a huge structure with nice stained glass windows and other features, although it is in need of LOTS of restoration work. The church was closed, but Joseph who attends services there invited us inside to see it.
Finally, we visited Mexicantown just beyond that which houses quite a few restaurants with outdoor dining, tortilla factories, bakeries, Mexican grocery stores, gift shops, etc. It is big enough that it makes a nice destination for tourists and people living throughout Detroit to enjoy its atmosphere and its offerings.
We started the day by going to the Eastern Market, named that because it is just east of the downtown area. It's an old, traditional market that is held on Saturdays each week and also on Tuesdays during the summer months. Up to 45,000 people go to the market each week. Even though there was drizzle today, it was crowded. There are 4 covered sheds offering flowers, herbs, vegetables, nuts, meats,baked items, and other products. It was fun weaving through the crowds to see what was for sale as well as watching the people there to buy. There were so many choices within each category. Wes was especially attracted to the pies (with homemade crusts) at one stall. I found a couple of the bakeries that had heavy, dense multi-grain breads and crusty sourdough breads interesting. Many of the items on sale today were plants, because it is just the beginning of planting season here. There were lots of hanging baskets, bedding flowers, potted flowers, etc.
From there, we visited New Town, the area just north of where we were yesterday. It has a concentrated development within about 4 blocks that includes several huge buildings (the old General Motors headquarters which is now called Cadillac Place and the home of Michigan government offices, the Fisher Building which was the headquarters for Fisher Body Works and houses an the old Fisher Theater, the Argonaut which now houses a school of design and art, the Alfred Kahn building which headquarters the architectural firm which designed many of the impressive buildings in Detroit, the St. Regis Hotel, and several smaller outlying buildings).
From there, we explored some exclusive housing enclaves in Highland Park--the Boston-Edison neighborhood and the Arden Park-East Boston neighborhood. Then we headed to the nearby Polish area of Hamtramck.
Having tired of the inner city area, we thought we would explore one of the more expensive parts of town--the Somerset Collection which consists of two malls on either side of a suburban street connected by an overhead sky walk. It was interesting to see how clean and nice the nearby area was in comparison to where we had been inside Detroit and to watch the people.
To end the day, we headed back to the inner city. We drove up and down the streets of Corktown seeing the old, small wooden residences that originally housed Irish immigrants and have been restored mostly by young residents in the past few years. While there, we also visited St. Anne's Church which is the oldest church in Detroit--a huge structure with nice stained glass windows and other features, although it is in need of LOTS of restoration work. The church was closed, but Joseph who attends services there invited us inside to see it.
Finally, we visited Mexicantown just beyond that which houses quite a few restaurants with outdoor dining, tortilla factories, bakeries, Mexican grocery stores, gift shops, etc. It is big enough that it makes a nice destination for tourists and people living throughout Detroit to enjoy its atmosphere and its offerings.
9-Hour Walking Day
Friday, May 15, 2015--Detroit
Our flights yesterday went fine. United checked our carry-on bags all the way through for free, so that made the transfer of planes in Houston much easier. We picked up our rental car and easily found our way to our motel where we are staying. Tired from getting up early (and to bed late the night before), we just explored our neighborhood and ate locally.
Today, however, we made a full day of exploring. We headed toward Midtown, a large area of Central Detroit just north of Downtown and just south of New Town, another section that makes up Central Detroit. On the way, we turned the wrong direction (due to it being unclear on our small map which expressway went where as they circle the central part of the city). That sent us off into East Detroit and allowed us to accomplish one of our goals of the trip: to explore the areas of Detroit which have been greatly abandoned over the years. We passed block after block that had maybe 2-3 houses with the rest of the block being open ground where everything had been removed. Of the standing houses, many of them have had fires in parts of them and are uninhabitable or falling down.
In my opinion, what has happened over time will work to the advantage of this city. Huge swaths of neighborhoods have disappeared. But they were neighborhoods with sub-standard buildings that would never be worth rehabilitating. By having the area cleared, it presents a great opportunity for redevelopment. But it is such a large area, that it will take decades--probably building outward from the downtown area until it eventually reaches the far corners.
In the papers, we not only read about these (temporarily) abandoned areas, but we also read about the fall of population from 2,000,000 to 600,000. But those people didn't leave the Detroit area. The metropolitan population is around 6,000,000 people. So as the redevelopment occurs, new residents and many who are now in the suburbs will likely decide to move closer to town to take advantages of the entertainment opportunities and the short commutes.
After finding our way back to where we wanted to be, we parked near the Detroit Institute of Art where we planned to visit later in the day due to its being open until 22:00 on Fridays. We walked down Woodward Avenue noticing that it is already being revitalized with new apartments, new office buildings, etc. Woodward is probably the most important artery within Detroit (not counting Interstate highways). It runs from the riverfront all the way out to the suburbs.
As we entered the downtown area, we branched off Woodward wandering back and forth as we saw things that looked interesting--Comerica Park, the baseball stadium; Ford Field, the not so impressive football stadium; Greektown Casino; Renaissance Center, the home of General Motors; the Guardian Building; the Pnobscot Building; the Fox Theater; the Fillmore Theater; etc. LOTS of redevelopment is taking place in the downtown area--not where buildings are being town down, but where impressive older buildings are being gutted and rebuilt within to create lofts, offices, etc. Downtown Detroit has definitely turned a corner and will be progressively improving over time. While there, we ate lunch at Lafayette Coney Island, a downtown institution since the 1920s--a hot dog with chili and onions.
Back out at the Art Institute after 6 hours of walking and exploring, we paid our admission and spent another 3 hours wandering its galleries. It is considered one of the more important collections in the U.S. and has been in the news lately due to the threat that the city, in its bankruptcy proceedings feared that it might be required to sell all the paintings to pay off debts. Eventually, the art was spared, and the museum kept its reputation which was enhanced in our eyes by the number of paintings that were missing from the walls with notes indicating that they were on loan for traveling exhibitions that are going to other major art museums throughout the world.
We were very tired after such a long day of exploring, so we again ate near our motel and rested for the remainder of the evening!
Our flights yesterday went fine. United checked our carry-on bags all the way through for free, so that made the transfer of planes in Houston much easier. We picked up our rental car and easily found our way to our motel where we are staying. Tired from getting up early (and to bed late the night before), we just explored our neighborhood and ate locally.
Today, however, we made a full day of exploring. We headed toward Midtown, a large area of Central Detroit just north of Downtown and just south of New Town, another section that makes up Central Detroit. On the way, we turned the wrong direction (due to it being unclear on our small map which expressway went where as they circle the central part of the city). That sent us off into East Detroit and allowed us to accomplish one of our goals of the trip: to explore the areas of Detroit which have been greatly abandoned over the years. We passed block after block that had maybe 2-3 houses with the rest of the block being open ground where everything had been removed. Of the standing houses, many of them have had fires in parts of them and are uninhabitable or falling down.
In my opinion, what has happened over time will work to the advantage of this city. Huge swaths of neighborhoods have disappeared. But they were neighborhoods with sub-standard buildings that would never be worth rehabilitating. By having the area cleared, it presents a great opportunity for redevelopment. But it is such a large area, that it will take decades--probably building outward from the downtown area until it eventually reaches the far corners.
In the papers, we not only read about these (temporarily) abandoned areas, but we also read about the fall of population from 2,000,000 to 600,000. But those people didn't leave the Detroit area. The metropolitan population is around 6,000,000 people. So as the redevelopment occurs, new residents and many who are now in the suburbs will likely decide to move closer to town to take advantages of the entertainment opportunities and the short commutes.
After finding our way back to where we wanted to be, we parked near the Detroit Institute of Art where we planned to visit later in the day due to its being open until 22:00 on Fridays. We walked down Woodward Avenue noticing that it is already being revitalized with new apartments, new office buildings, etc. Woodward is probably the most important artery within Detroit (not counting Interstate highways). It runs from the riverfront all the way out to the suburbs.
As we entered the downtown area, we branched off Woodward wandering back and forth as we saw things that looked interesting--Comerica Park, the baseball stadium; Ford Field, the not so impressive football stadium; Greektown Casino; Renaissance Center, the home of General Motors; the Guardian Building; the Pnobscot Building; the Fox Theater; the Fillmore Theater; etc. LOTS of redevelopment is taking place in the downtown area--not where buildings are being town down, but where impressive older buildings are being gutted and rebuilt within to create lofts, offices, etc. Downtown Detroit has definitely turned a corner and will be progressively improving over time. While there, we ate lunch at Lafayette Coney Island, a downtown institution since the 1920s--a hot dog with chili and onions.
Back out at the Art Institute after 6 hours of walking and exploring, we paid our admission and spent another 3 hours wandering its galleries. It is considered one of the more important collections in the U.S. and has been in the news lately due to the threat that the city, in its bankruptcy proceedings feared that it might be required to sell all the paintings to pay off debts. Eventually, the art was spared, and the museum kept its reputation which was enhanced in our eyes by the number of paintings that were missing from the walls with notes indicating that they were on loan for traveling exhibitions that are going to other major art museums throughout the world.
We were very tired after such a long day of exploring, so we again ate near our motel and rested for the remainder of the evening!
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