Montgomery Gentry
Gary Allen
Thompson Square
Eric Church
Sara Evans
Blake Shelton
Monday, August 18, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Michigan - Day 8
For our last day in Michigan we headed back to the shore, but this time we decided to explore Saugatuck. It's a cute little town with art galleries and restaurants. We ate really good hamburgers at The Butler. And watched the chair ferry make it's trip across the Kalamazoo River.
We drove out to Oval Beach, and waded in Lake Michigan. It's so strange. It's a lake, with signficant wave action and you can't see across it. One might think it was an ocean. But, as my sweatshirt says; no salt, no sharks!
We ate dinner in the nearby town of Douglas, at Zing Eat Drink. Our steaks were excellent, but we were disappointed to only find one Michigan wine on the menu.
Tomorrow we go home. I'm ready.
We drove out to Oval Beach, and waded in Lake Michigan. It's so strange. It's a lake, with signficant wave action and you can't see across it. One might think it was an ocean. But, as my sweatshirt says; no salt, no sharks!
We ate dinner in the nearby town of Douglas, at Zing Eat Drink. Our steaks were excellent, but we were disappointed to only find one Michigan wine on the menu.
Tomorrow we go home. I'm ready.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Michigan - Day 7
Today our destination was the Meijer Sculpture Gardens. Several people told us it was a must-see while in Grand Rapids. They were right. It's an interesting mix of art meets gardens. There were a few sculptures really liked.
But the most impressive was the American Horse. It's based on a design created by Leonardo DaVinci.
After lunch at the cafe, which has a wonderful Chihuly glass display (see more about Chihuly's work here).
We headed back outside to visit the Children's Garden. It was wonderful. they have fountains, a treehouse village, sculpture, and a miniature Great Lakes where kids (and adults) can float boats down the lakes. It's very interactive.
Dinner tonight found us back at Founders Brewing Company.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Michigan - Day 6
After one last meal - group breakfast - everyone headed in their own directions until next year. We packed up our stuff and returned to Grand Rapids. We couldn't check into our hotel early, so we headed downtown to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
This was the first Presidential Museum I had visited, and I was impressed. Gerald Ford is a presidential anomaly. He was never elected to be vice-president or president, yet he had to see our country through a very difficult time. The museum had a nice exhibit on his growing up years in Grand Rapids, his tenure in the House of Representatives, and his presidency. The museum grounds also house the graves of President and Mrs. Ford.
After leaving the museum we wanted a late lunch/snack and stumbled on Founders Brewing Coumpany. They have a really nice taproom. Really good food and beer. I had a glass of Rubaeus, their seasonal raspberry ale, and we split the beer cheese dip. I have a feeling we'll be back before we go home.
Once we checked into our hotel and got settled, we drove around Grand Rapids a bit. We decided we needed one more snack before calling it a night, and ended up at Smokey Bones. We had eaten at a Smokey Bones in Louisville a few years ago, but decided to skip a large meal and snack on appetizers this evening.
This was the first Presidential Museum I had visited, and I was impressed. Gerald Ford is a presidential anomaly. He was never elected to be vice-president or president, yet he had to see our country through a very difficult time. The museum had a nice exhibit on his growing up years in Grand Rapids, his tenure in the House of Representatives, and his presidency. The museum grounds also house the graves of President and Mrs. Ford.
After leaving the museum we wanted a late lunch/snack and stumbled on Founders Brewing Coumpany. They have a really nice taproom. Really good food and beer. I had a glass of Rubaeus, their seasonal raspberry ale, and we split the beer cheese dip. I have a feeling we'll be back before we go home.
Once we checked into our hotel and got settled, we drove around Grand Rapids a bit. We decided we needed one more snack before calling it a night, and ended up at Smokey Bones. We had eaten at a Smokey Bones in Louisville a few years ago, but decided to skip a large meal and snack on appetizers this evening.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
MIchigan - Days 4 & 5
Friday and Saturday were our Family Reunion days. We spent most of the time hanging out with the family and just spending time together. On Friday a bunch of us had lunch at Hank's Tavern. The food was good, but the service was so-so. One of the cousins made a special request which the kitchen didn't honor. One the servers replied, "That's how it comes" and walked away.
On Friday evening, our hosts for this reunion invited us to their home for a light dinner. It was nice to just relax and visit. We spent some time working on filling in some gaps in the family tree.
Saturday morning we all met at Toast 'N Jams for breakfast. The food was excellent, and obviously one of the best places in town since the entire time we were eating there was a line waiting for a table.
We headed to Holland after breakfast. It's a cute little town with a nice downtown shopping district and some cool public art. I loved this.
We paused briefly for beverages at the Curragh Irish Pub. It was convenient meeting place. Since the weather was beautiful we did some browsing and bought a few souvenirs. Some wandered down the farmers market. And then we had to have some ice cream at Kilwins before heading back to Muskegeon four our reunion dinner and business meeting.
On Friday evening, our hosts for this reunion invited us to their home for a light dinner. It was nice to just relax and visit. We spent some time working on filling in some gaps in the family tree.
Saturday morning we all met at Toast 'N Jams for breakfast. The food was excellent, and obviously one of the best places in town since the entire time we were eating there was a line waiting for a table.
We headed to Holland after breakfast. It's a cute little town with a nice downtown shopping district and some cool public art. I loved this.
We paused briefly for beverages at the Curragh Irish Pub. It was convenient meeting place. Since the weather was beautiful we did some browsing and bought a few souvenirs. Some wandered down the farmers market. And then we had to have some ice cream at Kilwins before heading back to Muskegeon four our reunion dinner and business meeting.
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