Michigan Day 7 This was the last full day we were to spend at the cabin on the lake. When we woke up to wind, overcast and temps in the 60s, our plans became pretty easy to schedule. We drove into Marshall to Dark Horse Commons for breakfast. Mary had a delicious mushroom and cheese…
A Return to the ‘Zoo’ —Part 2
Michigan Day 6 Another big day scheduled so we only spent 45 minutes enjoying the sunrise on the deck. We left around 8 AM for a bike ride on the Falling Waters Trail in Concord MI. The trail was entirely asphalt and well-maintained. Along the trail we stopped at Lime Lake where we once again,…
Kalamazoo-Where the water boils
Michigan Day 5 According to many references, the word kalamazoo is Potawatomi for “boiling water”. There is some discussion as to what “boiling” means, but it is likely because of the rapids in the Kalamazoo River. In fact, we later discovered that the locals refer to city as the “Zoo”. We planned on spending the…
A non-travel Monday
Michigan Day 4 After enjoying our wonderful view for an hour, we drove to north Marshall to Free Range Pancake House for breakfast. Mary had the Fresh Start crepe – eggs, ham, hash browns, cheese crepe with hollandaise; I had the ham and veggie omelette. The food was really tasty. Arriving back at the cabin,…
Ionia and points south
Michigan Day 3 We woke up Sunday morning to this view right outside our hotel window from our private deck. A search of coffee shops open on Sunday in Lowell turned up no results. What did come up while searching was Tim Horton’s Donut Shop. Even though we usually avoid restaurant chains, Tim’s seemed like…
Grand Rapids and Lowell
Michigan Day 2 Today we had a paddle race event scheduled. The 22nd Annual Riverwalk Kayak/SUP/Canoe race in Lowell. We packed up the van, ate a little hotel breakfast and left Grand Rapids for the 20 minute drive. Then the rear brakes on the van really started grinding. Only now the noise didn’t go away…
And the winner is…Michigan
Day One After extensive and detailed research, followed by weeks of committee discussions, along with a really close ballot, it was determined that the 2025 Paddle Pedal and Coffee Tour would be in Michigan. That’s not really quite true. I found two kayak events in Michigan spaced a week apart in mid-July so we figured,…
School’s Out Forever
Well at least according to Alice Cooper Seeing Alice Cooper’s concert has been on my bucket list for quite a while. Mary was a little dubious. After all, he does have a reputation for an edgy, shocking, and sometimes downright distasteful show. I knew what to expect. Mary knows now! The show was in Moline…
South Dakota by Pictures
2021 Sturgis Better late than never post? Recently, while reviewing some older posts, I realized that after our 2021 South Dakota trip (including several stops in Iowa), I had only included stories about stops we made in Iowa. So this post is a little different. It will show the SD part of the trip using…
Return to Burkesville
We’ve been visiting Burkesville KY since 2019. The weekend event is named River Festivus and it’s been improving each year we visit. We may have never attended this festival and race had it not been for the points competition in 2019 that had us traveling all around Kentucky and Ohio. The Mighty Cumberland River Run…