Midwest Guest

Gerald R. Ford Museum renovation in Grand Rapids, Michigan

I always admired President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford.

The couple had strong roots in Michigan, and their tenure in the White House came at a very difficult time in the history of the nation.

Through it all, the Fords remained as a steadying and calming force in the nation's capital, and President Ford is widely remembered as a graceful example of the orderly transition between presidents--even in the wake of a loss after a hard-fought election race between two men who cared deeply about our country.

I visited the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan early this past summer to check out the scene just as workers put the finishing touches on a major renovation to update the museum's exhibits and open a new 8,000-square-foot learning center at the facility to accommodate conferences and classroom-style sessions.

 

The $13 million museum renovation retained exhibits like re-creations of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room from Ford's time in office that remained visitors' favorite features of the facility, but it also represented a near-gutting of the museum's interior to present the Fords' story while using the latest technology to create a more immersive and interactive re-telling of the tale.

One museum exhibit spotlights Ford's relationship Willis Ward, a U of M team mate and his roommate for road games during football season. In 1934, Georgia Tech insisted they did not want to play U of M's team if it included the African-American Ward. The guy Ward called "my man Jerry" wanted to support Ward by refusing to play the game. Ward personally urged Ford to play, although Ford did so under protest. The incident strongly influenced Ford's later stands and thinking about racial prejudice. Ward and Ford remained life-long friends, and Ward became lawyer, a member of the Michigan Public Service Commission and a judge in Detroit.   

The renovation is also notable for design elements that enhance the energy efficiency of the building.

You can read my story Presidential Treatment: Museum Renovation Energizes the Gerald R. Ford Story in the Fall/Winter 2016 issue of Experience Michigan Magazine, a publication that appears as an insert in Chicagoland area newspapers twice a year, or read it online here.   

 

My Experience Michigan piece included professionally produced images provided by the museum, but I did take along a camera when I visited the museum for the story and share a few candid behind-the-scenes images from the day as I watched workers put some of the final touches on the museum just prior to the building's grand re-opening festivities.

Check out some other stories I've written here about the museum over the years: Visit the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Paying tribute in President Gerald R. Ford in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Betty Ford, the Nation's "First Mama".

Read more about Ford and his presidency by checking out Write it When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford by Thomas M. DeFrank, Gerald R. Ford by Douglas Brinkley and Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life by James Cannon. You can also read more about Betty Ford in Betty Ford: Candor and Courage in the White House by John Robert Greene.

© Dominique King 2016 All rights reserved

NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis

Basketball is big in Indianapolis, especially as March Madness gets underway over the coming weeks, but a visit to the NCAA Hall of Champions at Indianapolis' White River State Park gives visitors a good idea of the importance of not only basketball, but a whole array of sports to student-athletes, their development and Indiana's economy each year.

 

 

We visited the Hall of Champions last summer and enjoyed seeing the way the facility displayed the history of NCAA sports and athletes by means of interactive displays like trivia games, pick-up basketball in the facility's classic 1930s-style gym and simulated displays that allow visitors to virtually compete in a number of sports.

The 30,000-square-foot facility is a museum, exhibition center and conference center that is next to the National Collegiate Athletic Association's national office.

 

 

The building is interesting to me because of its architect, the well-regarded Michael Graves who specialized in modernist, and later, postmodern architecture. You may recognize his name a designer of teapots and other home goods, which is how I first became aware of him as he designed lines for Target, and later J.C. Penney's.

Graves grew up in Indianapolis, graduating from the city's Broad Ripple High School in 1952.

His notable architectural designs included a number of buildings for Walt Disney Company facilities through the 1980s and 1990s. He was also involved in the redesign, renovation and updating of the classic 1920s Beaux Arts museum building at the Detroit Institute of the Arts with its 1960s and 1970s additions (a total of nearly 600,000 square feet). That project also included 65,000 square feet of new construction at the DIA during the later part of the first decade of the 2000s.

 

 

The NCAA Hall of Champions opened in March of 2000 after the organization moved to Indianapolis in 1999.

The building's design reflects Graves' expertise in accessible design, a subject he became more aware of after an illness left him paralyzed from the waist down in 2003.
The museum area of the building has two levels of interactive exhibits that tell the story of the 24 NCAA sports. I thought it was particularly good about representing both women's and men's sports, and we had a lot of fun finding the stories of notable student-athletes throughout history displayed in the exhibits.

An electrical fire struck the building in November of 2007, and the hall closed from then until reopening on March 12, 2009. We certainly saw no sign of the fire damage when we toured the building, though.

In a sad irony, Michael Graves died on March 12, 2015 at the age of 80.

The conference center portion of the Hall of Champions hosts many events like weddings, parties and meetings for other organizations with areas that can accommodate gatherings as large as a formal dinner for 350 people.

The NCAA Hall of Champions seeks to provide greater understanding of the NCAA, its more than 1,100 colleges and universities with over 450,000 student-athletes competing in NCAA sports. Each year more than 54,000 athletes compete in NCAA championships in Division I, II and III sports.

Tim getting into the interactive spirit of the NCAA Hall of Champions

The importance of sports for the athletes is certainly big, but the economic impact of the NCAA operations and events for Indianapolis and the State of Indiana is also huge. An estimated more than $183 million came through NCAA championships between 2005 and 2013. Operations and events generated more than $161 million in 2012 alone through the NCAA's daily operations, events, vendors and job creation.

The NCAA Hall of Champions opens daily, except for Monday and a few holidays.

You can also connect with the NCAA Hall of Champions on the Web site, Twitter or Facebook.

Want to learn more about Michael Graves and his work in architecture and design? Check out Michael Graves: Images of a Grand Tour by Michael Graves with Brian Ambrosiak or Moleskine Michael Graves Inspiration and Process in Architecture.

© Dominique King 2016 All rights reserved

Find out why Mohican is the "Camp and Canoe Capital of Ohio" at Mohican Adventures

We loved our recent visit to Ohio's Mohican State Park and stay at the lodge there, but it's also worth visiting the Mohican Adventures complex nearby, a place where you'll find plenty in the way of outdoor sports and adventure for the entire family.

Dick Frye loved canoeing, skiing and other outdoor sports. His enthusiasm for river canoeing, in particular, led him to establish the Mohican Canoe Livery in Loudonville in 1961, which became a catalyst for popularizing the sport on the Mohican River as well as other rivers in Ohio.

Frye's work in promoting the Mohican area and co-founding the area's Camp and Canoe Association eventually led to the area's fame as the "Camp and Canoe Capital of Ohio".

His original canoe livery eventually became Mohican Adventures, which today offers canoeing, camping and more.

We recently visited Mohican Adventures to see some of the different activities available to visitors.

There is, of course, canoeing in addition to kayaking, rafting or tubing. You can choose among several different trips along the Blackfork and Mohican Rivers from April through October.

Honey and her family embark on a rafting trip

Visitors can rent canoes, kayaks or rafts for 7-mile or 15-mile trips, depending on whether you want to go out on the river for a couple of hours, or make a 4-5 hour trip of it. You can also rent a tube for a nice, lazy float down the river on a hot summer day.

If the water conditions aren't quite right for a river trip, you have other options like miniature golf with three lighted courses of varying levels of difficulty, riding go-karts or tackling Mohican Adventures' Aerial Park, which has five different courses ranging from a comfortably low-level course for beginners and the youngest climbers to a challenging course which finds more experienced climbers taking on more high-level feats of balance and skill.  

The advanced Aerial Park climbers were fun to watch, although I don't think you'll see me up there any time soon!

You can connect with Mohican Adventures on their Web site or Facebook page.

Be sure to also check out my story about our stay at the Mohican State Park Lodge.

Looking for outdoor adventure? I always suggest taking along the Ohio Atlas and Gazetteer, one of Delorme's great map guides to roads, rivers, campgrounds and more!

Thanks to Xanterra Parks and Resorts and Mohican State Park Lodge, which provided lodging, meals and on-site activities for my review, with no further compensation. I was free to express my own opinion about my stay and experiences, and the opinions expressed here are mine.

© Text Dominique King 2015 All rights reserved

© Photos Dominique King and Tim Marks 2015 All rights reserved

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Ohio's Mohican State Park Lodge

A fond farewell to Shooter and the Plymouth Whalers

Midwest Guest readers, those who follow me on various Social Media channels and folks who simply know me well in real life know of my love of hockey and particular affection for the Plymouth Whalers.

The Plymouth Whalers are part of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), a Junior Major team based in the Detroit metro area where many major league athletes started their professional careers as 16- to 20-year-old players.

 

 

If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen lots of shots from Whaler games, many of them featuring the team's mascot, Shooter T. Whale. Shooter, born on December 11, 2003 and hailing from the Arctic Ocean, according to a poster I have of him on in my basement stairwell, has long been one of the most visible faces of the Whalers and always has a smile or high five to share with you whenever you see him at a game.

 

 

We've had season tickets to Whalers' games for more than 20 years, and we've enjoyed every minute of every period of every game, but we've found that, like all too many good things, our relationship with Shooter and the Whalers soon must come to an end.

The Whalers started as the Detroit Ambassadors 25 years ago!

The team celebration of its 25th season is a bittersweet one as the last few games left in this season mark the end of the team known as the Whalers, which I suppose means that Shooter will soon lose the job that he seems to love so much.

Whalers ownership sold the team franchise to a group in Flint, Michigan that will move the team to a new home an hour or so north of here and plan to go forward under a new name.

I've long touted the team as a fast, fun, high-quality, affordable and family-friendly alternative to other astronomically priced "Big League" games, but the Whalers never seemed to be able to catch on with a "Hockeytown" crowd spoiled by easy televised access to hockey and what are, for most of us, all-too-rare chances to see a live NHL game.

Don't get me wrong, I've long loved the Detroit Red Wings (Tim and I had one of our first dates at the Wings' home opener at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena), but watching the Whalers always gave us an opportunity to see great hockey live at a price that didn't involve something just short of re-mortgaging our house.

 

Whalers (in pink) face off with Sarnia Sting in game to raise breast cancer awareness and benefit Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

Watching the Whalers all of these years allowed us to see many great players before they became "big league" players, and I've said that it almost always meant that we had "a dog in the fight" when it came to watching things like the Stanley Cup play-offs whenever the Wings did not make it to the final rounds.

One of my favorite memories in recent years of watching the Stanley Cup finals came in 2011 when former Plymouth Whaler Tyler Seguin played with the Boston Bruins during their run to a Stanley Cup.

Tyler Seguin (Whalers 2008-2010) returning to the Whalers' home arena in 2012 for a Whalers alumni game

Besides Seguin, we've seen players like David Legwand, Chad LaRose, Pat Peake, Todd Harvey, Robert Esche, Fred Brathwaite, James Wisniewski, Steven Weiss, James Neal, Jared Boll, Chris Thorburn and Bryan Berard at the early stages of their professional careers as Whalers before they made it as players for the National Hockey League.

We're very sad to see this era of our hockey-loving time end, but we'll always remember the team and look for players as many of them move forward into the NHL.

We wish all of the best for the players and all of the folks that worked for the team that gave us so much pleasure over the years.

For Shooter, who the arena announcer always introduces as "The killer whale without a tale", we bid a fond farewell as we thank him and his team for so many hockey great memories.

© Dominique King 2015 All rights reserved

Where I Live: Plymouth Whalers alumni game and season preview

I always love the approach of fall with the seasonal opening of local cider mills, the changing colors of the leaves, the great harvest at the farmers' markets, the cooler weather and the anticipation of a new hockey season!

We're big fans of the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers, a Junior Major team of skilled 16-to-20-year-old hockey players embarking on what they hope will be a long and successful careers as a professional hockey players.

The Whalers start their 25th regular season later this month, with their first home game happening on September 27 as they take on the Erie (Pennsylvania) Otters at the Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.

There are a couple of pre-season contests and scrimmages each year, but one of our favorite pre-season events is the Whalers' alumni game that happens every other year. This was the fourth semi-annual alumni game for the Whalers.

This year's alumni game happened at Compuware Arena on August 16 with Team Blue besting Team White by a score of 8 to 7. This was despite the best efforts of the game's referee to force a tie score in regulation in order to set the stage for a shoot-out, just as the alumni contest that happened two years ago ended.

Still, the scores in these contests are never really important as the real winners include: the former players who get a chance to re-connect with their friends, long-time fans and billet families who hosted them during their time with the Whalers; long-time Whaler fans who love the chance to catch up with their favorite Whalers from years past; and the Children's Miracle Network at Beaumont Hospital, which received the proceeds earned from the game that day.

These games always seem like such good-natured matches, judging from the smiles you see among the players on ice, and they're a lot of fun for long-time fans like us.

The Whalers field two teams of players that always seem to include a few former Whalers who still currently play for National Hockey League teams.

I especially love seeing players who I enjoyed seeing during the early-to-mid 1990s like Dan Pawlacyzk (1993-1997) and Mike Morrone (1994-1997) and players that I admired as great skaters during their days as Whalers like Tyler Seguin (2008-2010) and Alex Aleardi (2010-2013).

There are always a few players currently signed to NHL teams that manage to come on back to Plymouth for the game as well. This year, players currently in the Big League at the game included David Legwand (Ottawa Senators), Brett Bellemore (Carolina Hurricanes), Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars), Stefan Noesen (Anaheim Ducks) and Matt Hackett (Buffalo), who is recovering from an injury but came out the cheer for the on-ice crew and mingle with fans at a pre-game autograph session.

Goalies Scott Wedgwood (2008-2012) and Bill Ruggiero (1999-2000) each faced nearly 50 shots on goal during the two 25-minute game halves. Wedgewood wore a camera strapped to his helmet to record the action at ice-level, and the two net minders split their duties by playing by alternating playing for each of the Blue and White squads.  

The lack of blocking shots and the unpredictability of knowing the current playing styles of players who haven't played together on a regular basis made for a high-scoring game.

Goal scorers included: Seguin (2008-2010), Bellemore, Legwand, Noesen and Kevin Holdridge (1996-1999).

Alumni who came in for the game included: Ruggiero, Shaun Fisher (1997-2000), Jason Lawmaster (1995-1998), Holdridge, Noesen, John Vigilante (2002-2006, and currently an assistant coach for the Whalers), Myles McCauley (2008-2010), Legwand, Mike Yovanic (2007-2009), James Livingston (2009-2011), Aleardi, Rob McBride (2000-2002), Wedgewood, Bellemore, Andre Robichaud (1998-2002), Seguin, Pawlacyzk, Joe Byrne (1996-1998), James Ramsey (1998-2001), Damian Surma (1998-2002), Morrone, Robbie Czarnik(2009-2011), Chris Terry (2005-2009), Hackett, Jamie Lalonde (1997-2000) and Jared Newman (1998-2002).

The end of another great game for the alumni players

You can catch up with the pro careers of former Whalers who are also current NHL players or NHL alumni here.

We're long-time season ticket holders for the Whalers, and I can remember watching the team when they first played as the Detroit Ambassadors during the 1990-1991 season at Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit. We've followed the team through their days as the Detroit Junior Red Wings (1992-1995), the Detroit Whalers (1995-1997) and now as the Plymouth Whalers (1997-present)

Whalers hockey is great hockey and family-friendly entertainment at an affordable price.

You can score individual game tickets online or at the arena box office in Plymouth. The team also offers season tickets (we've got great seats center-ice) or a nice selection of mini-plans, Family Value Packs and group outing options.

Download the Whalers app for scores, standings, news and more.

Connect with the team on Facebook or via Twitter where the Whalers often post trivia questions and interact with fans during games (I'm still trying to perfect my Smart Seat Tweet trivia form as I'm not the speediest with a phone keyboard, although I managed to nab a trivia prize once during a game last year!).

See you at the arena!

© Dominique King 2014 All rights reserved

Catching a West Michigan Whitecaps game in Grand Rapids, Michigan

It was a beautiful summer day, and we had great seats along the first baseline of the West Michigan Whitecaps' baseball stadium, when we watched the Grand Rapids-based baseball take on the Burlington (Iowa) Bees earlier this summer.

 

 

The home team didn't win that particular game, but the whole 2014 season represents a major comeback from a much bigger loss the Grand Rapids-based Whitecaps experienced in early January.

I remember logging onto my computer on January 3and seeing images of a devastating fire that took firefighters from five different departments more than three hours to bring under control. The fire, started by a heater used by maintenance and repair workers in one of the suites along the first baseline side of the field, ended up destroying much of that side of the stadium.

Extreme winter weather that included bone-chilling cold, snow and ice, plus water pressure problems, exacerbated the difficulty for firefighters extinguishing the blaze.

Baseball fans despaired, knowing that the Whitecaps' 2014 season opening day lay only about  90 days away at that point, but team and stadium owners immediately vowed to have the ball park repaired, restored and ready for the April 8 season opener.

They kept that promise.

 

 

You'd never know the team suffered such a potentially devastating setback when we attended the game in its beautiful ball park last month. Our experience was certainly a great testament to the team, the owners and the support of the Grand Rapids area that made such a spectacular comeback possible.

The Grand Rapids area has a long history in baseball, but the town's last professional team before the Whitecaps' arrival in 1994 left the playing field after the Grand Rapids Chicks of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League disbanded when that league dissolved in the early 1950s.

(The Chicks, by the way, won playoff pennants in 1947 and 1953)

The Whitecaps is a Class A Minor League baseball team that became a Tigers' affiliate in 1997.

The team is also one of just a few teams in professional baseball with a privately-owned stadium built without relying on taxpayer money.

 

 

Area baseball fans helped name the Whitecaps in a contest staged by the team in 1993, which saw 1800 fans enter suggestions, coming up with 100 different possibilities. The name Whitecaps, entered by 22 different fans, became the team's moniker because it referenced the area's proximity to Lake Michigan and harkened back to a baseball tradition where many teams took names from their wearing apparel (White Sox, Red Sox).

Thank goodness some of the other suggestions like Office Workers, MugWumps, Fruit Flies or Wet Sox did not prevail!

The Whitecaps first took the field in 1994 and became the first professional sports team in town to win a championship in 1996. The team also went on to win Midwest League Championships in 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Whitecaps fans see many players who go on to play major league baseball, as well as many major leaguers who play a few games with the team during injury-rehab stints with the Whitecaps.

Seeing a game at the Comstock Park stadium is a lot of fun, and you definitely won't go hungry.

The ball park has a pretty amazing array of concession choices that include the infamous Fifth Third Burger, a four pound hunk of meat that costs $24 and clocks in at 4,800 calories. Few fans, by the way, meet the challenge of eating that burger, and there are plenty more human-sized meals and snacks at the ball park.

 

 

I saw a cart offering Lobster Macaroni 'n' Cheese, and folks who know me know what we (yes, it was big enough for two of us to share) ended up eating at the ball park that day!

The team also has three different mascots that include Crash the River Rascal, Franky the Swimming Pig and the newest addition to the team, Roxy the River Rascal. No, I'm not sure what a river rascal is, and I don't know the history behind Franky the Swimming Pig, but the mascot team, like other minor league mascots, is a lot of fun to watch and offers a lot of family-friendly contests and antics.

 

 

The team plays 70 home games and 70 road games each season competing in the 16-team Midwest League, and tickets, like other minor league sports games, are pretty affordable ($6-$14 per ticket).

Connect online with the Whitecaps on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The team is also very good about keeping in touch with their fans and ticket buyers online. Tim bought a batch of tickets to the game for us and several other family members. He received an email a few days before the game with some helpful tips about parking, directions to the stadium and links to information about the Whitecaps' roster and stats, as well as a link to the opposing team's site. He also received an email the day after the game we attended to thank us for going to the game, with links to information about future Whitecaps' games. I'd say that was a pretty effective use of social media and marketing.

Want to learn more about baseball in major and minor leagues in the Midwest? Check out Baseball Road Trips: The Midwest and Great Lakes by Timothy Mullin.

Also check out my recent stories about other teams in the Midwest League: Fort Wayne fans cheer on their Tin Caps baseball team and Seventh-Inning Stretch with the Lansing Lug Nuts' Big Lug.

© Dominique King 2014 All rights reserved

Fort Wayne fans cheer on their Tin Caps baseball team

Fans in Fort Wayne, Indiana, really love their baseball team!

Their love for the Tin Caps was certainly evident, even as the team lost to league rivals, the Dayton Dragons, during a recent game at home. Fans remained upbeat and fully behind their team, with few of the 9000-plus crowd leaving before the game's end or the short fireworks show that capped the evening.

We always like watching minor league baseball or hockey games when we travel because they seem like a lot more fun and the fans seem a lot more enthusiastic than the fans at Big League games in our experience.

The team celebrated Social Media Night with hash tag, Twitter and Instagram contests as well as a visit from Jake the Diamond Dog, who delivered game balls to the pitcher, took water to the umpires during the game, caught flying discs and delivered flowers to a fan chosen as the Sweetheart of the Game.

Tin Caps' fans seemed especially spirited when we were at their Parkview Field, and that made the game a winning experience for us!

The Tin Caps, a Class A minor league baseball team in the Midwest League affiliated with the San Diego Padres, won their first Midwest League Championship in 2009 and clinched playoff spots in subsequent seasons. I'm sure that gives fans plenty to cheer about and fuel hope for many more winning games to come.

The team, established in 1993 at Fort Wayne, actually dates back to 1947 when they were the part of the Illinois League as a team from Mattoon, Illinois. The team moved to Keokuk, Iowa in 1958, then to Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin in 1963, then to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1984 before coming to Fort Wayne in 1993.

The Fort Wayne team started life in that city as the Fort Wayne Wizards and as a farm team for the Minnesota Twins before becoming a San Diego Padres affiliate in 1999.

Fans filled the team's old Memorial Stadium, breaking a record for attendance during the 1993 season when 318,506 fans cheered on the team.

The Wizards performed a disappearing act in at the end of the 2008 season, reappearing in 2009 with a new baseball stadium and a new name.

Parkview Field in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne opened its doors in 2009, and fans set a new season attendance record of 378,529 during a record-setting 94 wins that first season in the team's new home.

The team's new name, the Tin Caps, was a tip of the hat to John Chapman (also known as "Johnny Appleseed") who lived in Fort Wayne for a few years before his death and burial there at the age of 70 in 1845.

Appleseed looms large in legend, especially if you grew up watching the fictionalized Disney shorts and feature films about his life as a planter of apple trees and orchards throughout the Midwest, which portrayed him as wearing a tin sauce pan as a hat. Historians dispute many of these accounts of Appleseed and his eccentric apparel, but there's no question that the figure looms large at Parkview Field.

The team's mascot "Johnny" busily encouraged fans to cheer and support the team throughout the entire game.

Meanwhile, the story of Johnny Appleseed gives me yet another reason to return to Fort Wayne---to seek out his gravesite and learn more about the life of John Chapman, the man behind the legend.

The Tin Caps, like many minor league teams, offer great affordable and family-friendly fun with tickets ranging from $5 for a lawn seat to $8, $9 or $12.50 for reserved seats. There didn't seem to be a bad seat in the house, although I'd suggest those going to an evening game to consider trying to purchase tickets along the third baseline as the setting sun can make it difficult to see some of the action if you're sitting a ways out along the first baseline.

Thanks to Visit Fort Wayne for sponsoring my recent visit to Fort Wayne, Indiana, providing lodging, meals and help arranging interviews and tours of area attractions for my review, with no further compensation. I was free to express my own opinions about this stay and experiences, and the opinions expressed here are mine.

© Dominique King 2014 All rights reserved

Photo Friday: Fireworks at the Tin Caps baseball game in Fort Wayne, Indiana

This image somehow feels appropriate today!

I'm finding that more and more baseball organizations offer post-game fireworks on at least a few evenings every season, and we were lucky enough to catch the fireworks following a TinCaps baseball game recently in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

 

Look for a story here at Midwest Guest later this month about the TinCaps, a Class A minor league affiliate to the San Diego Padres.

Thanks to Visit Fort Wayne for sponsoring my recent visit to Fort Wayne, Indiana, providing lodging, meals and help arranging interviews and tours of area attractions for my review, with no further compensation. I was free to express my own opinions about this stay and experiences, and the opinions expressed here are mine.

© Dominique King 2014 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for May 2014

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

Seeing Red: How to fly with the Cardinals in St. Louis-Attending a hockey, baseball or other local sporting event while you're traveling is one of the best ways to experience a town like a local. Here Terri gives visitors to St. Louis a few tips and a list of suggested reads at the Off The Beaten Page Travel blog to help them experience a Cardinals game like a pro!

Watching the Lugnuts in Lansing, Michigan

Disability Access at Cedar Point-Jessie loves amusement parks like Ohio's Cedar Point. Mobility problems or other disability challenges? No problem says Jessie as she shows readers at the Wandering Educators blog how to easily enjoy a great day at the park with their families.

Film history abounds in Ohio-What do movies like "The Fortune Cookie", "The Shawshank Redemption", "Back Home in Indiana" and the more recent "Draft Day" have in common? Check out Vince's post at the Discovering Ohio blog to find out how filming for at least part of each of these films took place in Ohio.  

Have You Forgotten about Louis Bromfield?-Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield wrote many books, with some of them providing the basis for a dozen Hollywood films over the years. Bee takes us on a tour of his home at Ohio's Malabar Farm, which also provided a key scene for one of Hollywood's great romances-the wedding of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. Check it out at beesfirstappearance blog.

Peoria, IL: Caterpillar Visitors Center-Adam says a visit to the Caterpillar Visitors Center was especially appealing to his four-year-old son, but this sounds like a fun experience to me, too. Climbing on tractors, pushing buttons, "driving" the machines...yup, I'd be all about it! Check this unique, interactive museum out at the Visit Flyover Country blog.

Wheels O' Time-Positively Delightful!-What began as a barn built by a couple of car enthusiasts to store their growing car collections in 1978 is now a multi-building museum housing a collection that includes antique cars, trucks, clocks, model trains, toys and a train engine with a caboose where visitors can climb aboard in Dunlap, Illinois. Check out Maureen's story about it at her Positively Tuesday blog.

Love checking out unusual vehicles. This one is at the Gilmore Car Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Preparing for the Final Bout of 2014-Check out roller derby action in Cincinnati with Ronny at the Queen City Discovery blog. I remember watching women's roller derby on late-night television years ago, and my hairdresser has been in roller derby teams around town. This seems like a sign to me that I should finally get out to see a bout one of these days!

The South Haven Lakeshore by Day-I love following Aaron's travels online where he likes sharing his adventures in coffeehouses and around Midwest locations like this beach lighthouse in western Michigan at his The Adventures of elATLboy blog. By the way, congrats to Aaron and Erin on their recent marriage! Here's to many happy travels ahead for the two of you.  

Capturing the Spirit-I always like seeing what is happening in the tourism industry around the Midwest, so I appreciated seeing Muriel's take on the marketing efforts of various Nebraska-based groups and destinations. Check it out this group of videos Muriel collected at the Nebraska Outback blog.

Driftless for a Day: Hiking Wayalusing State Park-Kenneth takes readers of the Wisconsin Explorer blog on a hike at one of the state's great state parks. Wyalusing sits where the Wisconsin River meets The Mississippi River and you'll see plenty of images of views from the park's 600-foot-tall bluffs and along the park's Sentinel Ridge Trail.

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

© Dominique King 2014 All rights reserved

Seventh-Inning Stretch with the Lansing Lug Nuts' Big Lug

We love going to minor-league baseball games during the summer.

Lansing, Michigan is an easy day trip for us, and we've already traveled out to see their Class A minor league baseball team, the Lansing Lug Nuts, a couple of times this season.

It's always a fun and affordable experience, and one of the best things about it is that you can usually get great seats that are much closer to the action than you could ever score at a major league game.

How close?

A recent game found us just behind the dugout along the third-base line, putting us in a prime position to see the Lug Nuts' cheerleaders perform the traditional "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" song and cut loose a little bit with the Big Lug mascot (a purple dinosaur or all things) for a spirited seventh-inning stretch dance!

Be sure to check out my story about our first visit to a Lug Nuts game last year for more about the team and how to join the fun yourself.

© Dominique King 2014 All rights reserved