Midwest Guest

Photo Friday

I’ve always thought of mute swans as beautiful, but notoriously aggressive. The Wiki entry for mute swans notes that they can be tame, but they can also be impressively aggressive with their large size, threatening wing spread and hissing at those who come too far into their territory or too close to their nests.

I’ve heard several stories about boaters who inadvertently came too close to mute swans and ended up furiously paddling to get away from the agitated birds.

One of my more memorable times witnessing aggressive mute swan behavior came when we stayed at a cabin in small lakeside resort in northern Michigan.

A group of supposed outdoor writers occupying a nearby cabin made the mistake of feeding the mute swans by the lake. All was well until the writers ran out of food and went back into their cabin. The still-hungry swans walked right up to the door and began pecking on the glass, to the point that we wondered if they might break it.

The writers, trapped by a group of angry swans, shouted up to us to come chase the swans away.

We knew better.

The swans eventually left, but I always remember that lesson in keeping my distance from these beautiful birds.

So, it was fun to spot these large “swans” gracefully swimming near the John Ball Zoological Garden as we drove through Grand Rapids, Michigan.

These large paddle boats are a seasonal ride offered on a pond in the park just outside of the zoo. We caught several duos enjoying the beautiful sunny day with a 15-minute paddle around the pond in these uncharacteristically well-behaved swans.

Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts across the Web.

© Dominique King 2009

Grand Rapids Brewing Company recalls a piece of western Michigan history

Driving along 28^th Street in Grand Rapids Michigan near I-96 offers the pretty typical view of a main drag off of a major highway lined with malls, service businesses and a full menu of chain motels and restaurants.

It’s a little unusual for us to spend a lot of time along the main roads in a bigger city when we travel, but visiting Grand Rapids for quick getaway that included a family party meant we opted for convenience this trip.

Still, we always look for something a little more local to see or somewhere other than a large national chain—even when we stop for a quick meal.

Grand Rapids Brewing Company looked promising as a place to stop for a quick burger and beer as we drove past the homogeneous malls and fast-food places on the way back to our hotel on a Friday evening.

The present-day Grand Rapids Brewing Company recalls the historic heyday of the original brewery bearing the name. The original Grand Rapids Brewing Company started brewing beer on January 1, 1893 and quickly made a name for itself by becoming the largest producer of beer in western Michigan.

The future looked bright for the brewery as its Silver Foam beer became popular in many areas of the country. However, Michigan voted for Prohibition—the banning of the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol for consumption in the United States from 1919 to 1933. The original Grand Rapids Brewing Company sold its last beer on April 27, 1918.

The Grand Rapids-based Schelde chain in Michigan, currently consisting of a handful of Grand Rapids and Traverse City area restaurants, created a modern-day tribute to the original brewery in December of 1993 by opening Grand Rapids Brewing Company on 28^th Street.

The restaurant recognizes its figurative forebear with decorations featuring photos from the original brewery and other early 1900s artifacts, some donated by local residents according to the restaurant’s Web site.

The site tells about one notable donation coming from archeologists during a dig at a site used as a training camp for Michigan soldiers during the late 1800s Spanish-American War, where workers unearthed dozens of empty Silver Foam bottles discarded by the soldiers.

The modern Grand Rapids Brewing Company holds the distinction of having the state’s brewpub license number 2, according to the Michigan Beer Guide. The MBG goes so far as to make a case that the Grand Rapids Brewing Company is the state’s first true brewpub as the number one license belongs to Detroit’s Traffic Jam, which actually produced its beer across the street from its restaurant.

The menu at Grand Rapids Brewing Company offers tasty pub fare like burgers, pizza, steaks, ribs and hearty appetizers. Handcrafted beers include the brewery’s signature Centennial Silver Foam, described in the menu as “our link to brewing history”.

Bottom line—Show up thirsty and hungry. Prices are reasonable and food portions seemed huge—especially the olive burger I ordered, which towered on the plate with its cap of two thick onion rings. Our server recommended the Pale Ale Tap, and it complemented my burger perfectly.

© Dominique King 2009

Where is Up North?

I love going Up North. I always loved going Up North. And here in southeastern Michigan, everyone has a pretty decent idea of where you’re going if you tell them you’re going Up North.

You’re heading to northern Michigan.

A generally accepted demarcation line between Up North and the rest of the state seems to be M-46, an east-west state highway that runs roughly from Muskegon on Lake Michigan in the west to Sanilac on Lake Huron in the east. It’s one of just three major highways that trace paths across Michigan’s mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula.

One helpful list I found on the Web tells us that going Up North for the weekend means that you definitely live in Michigan, and further offers a list of tell-tale signs that indicate you live north of M-46 like having favorite venison recipes or associating the term “Big Mac” with the Mackinac Bridge that joins Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

I suspect the traditional Michigan’s own Mason-Dixon style line between north and south at M-46 has something to do with the highway’s designation as the state’s official demarcation line between a northern zone that allows rifle deer hunting and the southern shotgun zone where deer hunters may only use shotguns, muzzle-loading rifles and some handguns in season.

Yes, the start of firearms season for deer hunting is a big deal in Michigan—whether you hunt or not.

Want to walk in the woods after mid-November? Better make sure you wear one of those blaze-orange vests and make plenty of noise if you’re out in hunting areas. Want to stop for a burger and beer in certain places late in the autumn? Be prepared to see a large beer-company-sponsored “Welcome Hunters!” sign tacked outside of your favorite pub and the possibility that the keg with your favorite beer has already run dry by 8 a.m.

But I digress.

Occasionally I’ll see a reference to Up North referring to northern Minnesota or Wisconsin, but it still means getting away from the largest downstate cities and heading north to the less populated woods and lakes for a little rest and relaxation.

The Exploring the North site about traveling in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin describes “Up North” more as a state of mind, rather than a specific location. I’d have to agree with their assessment that Up North is a place to relax and refresh.

Up North, the pace of life is usually slower and the pleasures simpler. Up North is my favorite place (both in the literal and figurative senses), and I expect to take readers to some of my favorite Up North locations throughout the summer here at Midwest Guest.

Up North for me usually begins as I hit M-115 towards Michigan’s northwestern Lower Peninsula or as I get closer to the Big Mac to cross over the Straits of Mackinac and into the state’s Upper Peninsula.

There! I’m feeling more relaxed already!

© Dominique King 2009

Photo Friday

Check out the cool rides and hot guitar licks in the Rock Stars’ Cars & Guitars 2 exhibit at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan.

We had a great time at the opening for this show, checking out more than 20 custom cars, 50 custom guitars, stage costumes and rock props—many of them donated by the music star owners themselves.

 

The cars were the real stars of this show—something clearly evident at the exhibit entrance where a black-and-white 1958 Ford Ranchero took center stage among amps and a photo of Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen playing his five-neck Hamer guitar.

We saw the five-neck Hamer, one of B.B. King’s “Lucille” guitars and many other instruments on display that day.

 

I particularly loved checking out custom cars like the pearl-lavender 1953 Buick Skylark, complete with a matching amp and guitar, belonging to Metallica’s James Hetfield and Alice Cooper’s lime-green “Billion Dollar Babies” themed 1939 Lincoln Zephyr.

Check out my post at The Urbane Life for a story about our visit and for photos of the Skylark, Zephyr and some of the other action that day.

Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts across the Web.

© Dominique King 2009

A pleasant Peninsula in Ohio

Growing up in Michigan, the state made up of two distinct peninsulas, I’ve always heard the phrase (and our state motto): “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you”.

I’ve always thought of peninsulas, then, as large and mitten-shaped or maybe a wedge-shaped land mass surrounded by Great Lakes, including the chilly Lake Superior—so it was surprising to visit Ohio and find a Peninsula a considerable ways inland from Lake Erie and in the middle of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Peninsula is part of the larger Akron area and less than an hour from downtown Cleveland, but the charming little village retains much of its nostalgic appeal with many carefully preserved sites related to the historic Ohio & Erie Canal and its role in fostering development in a young nation during the early 1800s. The National Register of Historic Places includes the Peninsula Village Historic District, as well as over 20 other locations in town.

Peninsula takes its name from the fact that the crooked Cuyahoga River takes a sharp bend around the town to form a peninsula-like arm of land.

Celebrations of the 1827 opening of the Canal meant opening Peninsula to a wider world with an easier route to facilitate trade with the eastern states. The small town took advantage of its location and the geographic features that gave it more of a seaside feel by becoming a “seaport town”.

Little Peninsula soon took some of the characteristics of larger seaport towns with five hotels and 14 establishments a local Chamber of Commerce Web site characterizes as “honky tonk” bars.

Peninsula’s proximity to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and the presence of the red Peninsula Depot park visitor center in town, makes it a great place to rent a bike to ride along the Towpath Trail, catch a train for a scenic day trip though the park, shop a bit or, as we did, hit a “honky tonk” to catch a bite to eat.

I loved the retro look of the old Peninsula Nite Club sign in front of the Winking Lizard Tavern, so it became the place for us to stop for a burger and a beer.

This Peninsula bar and restaurant is part of a small chain of 13 locally owned and operated eateries, but its real claim to fame was as a 1940s hot spot where “Big Band” greats like Tommy Dorsey and Glen Miller Bands entertained crowds. Today it’s a pretty typical sports bar and favorite stop for bicyclists and for people attending a concert at the nearby Blossom Music Center for a pre- or post-show meal.

Read more about our visit to the rest of the park in History and nature trace a path through Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Read about our stay near the park’s Brandywine Falls in Cozy B&B and spectacular waterfalls draw visitors to Ohio’s Brandywine Falls.

© Dominique King 2009

Celebrate Michigan Week

I remember Michigan Week when I was in elementary school. Each year, when that week in May rolled around, teachers invariably taught at least one of their classes to perform the classic “Tulips are blooming in Holland…Michigan” song for an all-school assembly.

If this You Tube clip is any indication, many Michigan school children still participate in this time-honored tradition—complete with the goofy dance steps!

Michigan Week originally began in 1954 as a way for various groups to promote the state in a unified campaign just before the beginning of summer tourism season. Don Weeks, then Michigan’s Economic Development director pitched the idea to then-Governor G. Mennen Williams and the state legislature.

Weeks won governmental support for the special week, and a ceremony marking the beginning of work on the Mackinac Bridge to unite Michigan’s two peninsulas marked celebrations of that inaugural Michigan Week 55 years ago.

Michigan Week continues as a mid-May tradition in the state to promote pride among residents and to celebrate the things that are uniquely Michigan.

Look for stories about some of my favorite Michigan places, including some of my favorite “Up North” locations, in coming months.

Meanwhile, I will spare everyone my dubious singing and dancing talents, forgoing an encore of the “Tulips” song in favor of listing some of my favorite Midwest Guest posts about Michigan.

Port Oneida Rural Historic District celebrates northern Michigan’s agricultural heritage

Assembly line at Detroit Historical Museum

Walk through Detroit history at city’s historical museum

Ann Arbor’s University of Michigan Museum of Art reopens

Shay Locomotive moves lumber industry in Cadillac

Polar bears play at the Detroit Zoo

Paradise at Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

Art and ice collide at Michigan’s Dennos Museum Center

Hike to Big Sable Point Light

Motown magic comes out of the shadows one summer night

Motown makes major milestone (Motown’s 50th anniversary)

Happy Birthday, Betsie! (Point Betsie Lighthouse 150^th anniversary)

Down on Main Street, out on Woodward (Clawson’s classic car show)

Car Crazy (classic cars cruise Woodward Avenue during Dream Cruise)

© Dominique King 2009

Photo Friday

I’m sharing a couple more photos from our recent visit to author and naturalist Gene Stratton Porter’s home in Rome City, Indiana.

Gene treasured her time on Lake Sylvan and when she designed her home there, according to our tour guide at the site, she included what she called her “Million-Dollar window” in the parlor to best showcase the lake view.

I also loved a pair of owl statues perched atop columns flanking the drive leading through the woods to the house, so I’m including this shot of one of those wise old birds.

Read more about our visit to the Gene Stratton Porter home in my story from last week, Indiana in bloom at Limberlost North.

We were fortunate enough to visit the home just as the wildflowers started to bloom in Gene’s gardens. Check out a few more photos to see what’s blooming at Limberlost North this spring in my Photo Friday post from last week.

Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts across the Web.

© Dominique King 2009

Cozy B&B; and spectacular waterfalls draw visitors to Ohio’s Brandywine Falls

I love waterfalls, and I love small Bed & Breakfast inns, so staying at the Inn at Brandywine Falls turned out to be the perfect way for us to spend a long Easter weekend.

 

 

The spectacular 60-plus-foot bridal-veil Brandywine Falls is just few steps from the inn, a historic 1848-vintage home with six guest rooms that innkeepers George and Katie Hoy lovingly decorated with period furnishings and antiques from the area.

We picked a relatively quiet weekend in early spring to stay at the inn, but quickly found ourselves part of a large extended family as George and Katie’s adult children and their families gathered at the inn for the holiday weekend. The spacious James Wallace Parlour room where we stayed during the weekend offered us a quiet and private retreat, but Easter morning brunch was an especially festive occasion as the extended Hoy family gathered for a meal. The gregarious group readily included us as family-for-the-weekend and made sure the Easter rabbit delivered a couple of extra chocolate bunnies for their guests from Michigan.

 

 

The Inn at Brandywine Falls feels particularly homey because the innkeepers live on-site and the home offers plenty of common areas to visit with the Hoys and their other guests, get a little work done (the inn offers free Wi-Fi), relax or borrow a book from the inn’s library to read during your stay.

Settlers who came to the area in the early 1800s saw Brandywine Falls as a ready source of power. The Village of Brandywine became one of the earliest settlements in the Cuyahoga Valley with numerous saw, grist and woolen mills relying on the falls for power and driving the development of the area starting around 1814. Brandywine Village eventually faded into history, with the exception of the James Wallace house built by the son of one of the area’s first settlers and now serving as home to the Inn at Brandywine Falls.

The inn is part of the 33,000-acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park and is on the National Register of Historic Places, although a special arrangement allows George and Katie to continue operating and living at the inn for their lifetime.

 

 

We loved being able to step out of the house and walk over to Brandywine Falls via the 1.5-mile Brandywine Gorge Trail. The trail’s boardwalk follows along the gorge’s edge and a series of fairly steep steps takes hikers to the lower Brandywine Creek level for a closer look at the waterfalls.

Brandywine Falls seems to top most lists of favorite park attractions, and we spent much of our weekend taking photos of the falls. There are also several smaller waterfalls in the park and surrounding area worth seeking out if you have a couple of days to visit the area.

 

 

Read more about our visit to the rest of the park in History and nature trace a path through Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

We have some great National Parks in the Midwest. Read about seven of these wonderful parks in my story, Seven sensational Great Lakes National Parks.

Also check out nearby Chagrin Falls, another one of our favorite small-town destinations in the Cleveland area in my story, Chagrin Falls conundrum.

© Dominique King 2009

History and nature trace a path through Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is quite close to one of Ohio’s most heavily urban areas, with its proximity to Cleveland and Akron, but the natural setting along the crooked Cuyahoga River makes the city seems far away.

The name of the river, a corruption of the original American Indian name, aptly describes the 90-mile river that winds from Cleveland through forest, farmland, hills and flows in a “U” shape as it passes through Akron.

There are at least a few vantage points in the park where you can clearly see the Cuyahoga curve as it wends its way through the valley.

The park sits along the historic Ohio & Erie Canal. The history of the canal, a major artery for freight traffic in the area from 1827 through 1861 before railroads replaced it as a transportation and freight route, makes the area a fascinating place for those interested in the development of the United States as the young country moved into its adolescent period of growth.

The canal played a major role in opening up access for Ohio from the then-more settled eastern United States.

The canal remained an important source of water for industry and people in the area until 1913, when flooding destroyed much of the canal and led to its abandonment.

Today, visitors learn about the history of the canal and transportation in the area at sites in the park that include visitor centers and restored buildings with interpretive exhibits and information about park activities (much of the information in this article comes from a National Park Service brochure I picked up at park visitor center). View remnants of the waterway or travel the historic route of the Ohio & Erie Canal by following the park’s Towpath Trail. The Towpath Trail is open to walkers, runners, bicyclists and, in some sections, to horse riders. The trail follows the same path used by the mules that towed boats loaded with freight along the canal.

My park brochure reports that more than 100 species of birds nest in the valley, so it’s a great place for bird watching. We visited the park early one spring and spent some time taking photos of great blue herons nesting in an area rookery.

While we were at the park too early in the year to take an excursion on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, the railroad offers travelers a full schedule of theme trips and a relaxing way to explore the park in a vintage train car.

Bicyclists can ride the Towpath Trail in one direction and ride the train in the other direction for a small fee by flagging down the train at a boarding station. I would love to return to the park in warmer weather with my bicycle and do this trail-and-train trip.

We especially enjoyed visiting the Cuyahoga Valley National Park because it offered a great blend of a natural setting with trails, wildlife and the beautiful Brandywine Falls (which I’ll cover in another post), plus the historic sites where we learned how this area of the Midwest developed and connected with the rest of our country.

© Dominique King 2009

New at The Urbane Life

Check out my latest articles at The Urbane Life:

 

• Rack Track-a quick survey of bicycle rack locations in southeast Oakland County (MI)

 

 

• Catching Fireflies, using social media to support indie artists and eco values-Read about April McCrumb’s savvy use of an array of online promotional tools like a Web site and social media tools like a blog, Twitter and Facebook to promote independent artists and eco-friendly merchandise at her Detroit-area gift store.

 

 

• Eight great reasons to visit Kensington Metropark-This park is a gem in the Huron-Clinton Metropark system and one of our favorite places around metropolitan Detroit to hike, geocache, take photos, picnic and canoe in the summer.

 

The Urbane Life is a community blog for Urbane Apartments, a growing group of apartment buildings, luxury lofts and condos in metropolitan Detroit.

© Dominique King 2009