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Grand Rapids
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
All I wish is to be back in Michigan again. It’s not my biggest wish actually, but it seemed to be a great intro quote. I had hoped that you would like the rhyme scheme.
All I wish is to be back in Michigan again. It’s not my biggest wish actually, but it seemed to be a great intro quote. I had hoped that you would like the rhyme scheme.
We went to Michigan because Margherita said that she always wanted to go to Michigan... especially Grand Rapids. I’m not sure how this even came up in conversation, but it seemed the thing to do. Plus, my friend Angela insisted that the Great Lakes were rather big and worth seeing. I had only seen the great lake right in front of Toronto, and it was big, but you could see the other side. While it seemed great, I wouldn’t necessarily call what I saw great when I could still see the other side.
So we came to Michigan to fulfill Margherita’s life-long dream and to find out if you really couldn’t see the other side of the lake.
We arrived very late on the first night, and there’s not much I can really say about it, so we’ll start the ball rolling with the second day.
We started the day early by heading towards Saugatuck to go on the famous Sand Dune rides. They’re not as famous as they should be. I didn’t meet many people who knew that Michigan had sand dunes... or let alone sand, but it turns out the sand dunes are humongous. You get in these old re-converted jeeps and they bounce you around through the sand dunes where you can walk barefoot on what is the cleanest sand that I’ve ever seen.
The dunes are covered with some grass and growth here and there, and in the valleys of the dunes there is a little forest where the temperature drops ten degrees. The dunes have been one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area for a long time and unfortunately, aren’t as overwhelmed with visitors as they should be.
But if the rest of Michigan was as exciting as this... well, I wouldn’t take my future kids to Disney World.
From the sand dunes we headed into the town of Saugatuck, which is an ancient Indian word meaning, "Art Colony". It’s a cute little town near the lake (but not near enough to see it yet), with little artsy shops all over. They have a bakery for dogs... and well, I could go on, but that should really sum up the town. I mean, most towns go for the basic post office, bank, etc... but Saugatuck is an artsy destination, and they make sure that not only are your basic needs fulfilled, but also your dog's needs. If you like the So-Ho, you’ll be quite happy in Saugatuck. Or at least your dog will enjoy Saugatuck. I don’t get this last comment
We left Saugatuck to go for lunch in Holland. The natives seem to enjoy the reaction you get from saying the name Holland and the shock value associated, so I felt I’d use it too. Holland in Michigan? That’s just completely crazy! Complete madness. Who would have thought of such a kooky thing?
The city of Holland was founded by people from the Netherlands and they’ve kept their Dutch feel throughout. They plant the tulips, they occasionally wear clogs, and when it rains they look for the nearest dike.
Just adjacent to downtown is Windmill Island, which has a 240-year-old windmill. It was dismantled in the Netherlands and brought here. They have the traditional Dutch kids dancing in clogs. They have the Dutch house. If you look from certain points, you’d swear you’re in the Netherlands. We bought the prerequisite clogs and felt Dutch for just a moment.
From Windmill Island we went to the Dutch Village Theme Park where they have rides and attractions based on Holland. Between Windmill Island and the Dutch Village Theme Park you inevitably will feel a bit Dutch. While there we saw the "Golden Angel", which is a street organ, that played traditional Dutch music while dancers risked their lives. I say risked their lives because every kick sent a clog up in the air. One dancer lost her clog and nearly knocked somebody unconscious. We only learned later that the WWII Dutch Resistance was made up of dancers kicking their heavy clogs at people.
Anyway, while there Margherita got chosen to be a witch and had to be weighed to determine if she was an indeed a witch. I was ready to attest to the fact that at times she was pretty difficult and witch would be an appropriate term, but they felt weighing her was a more accurate means of determining her witchiness. I told them that they didn’t have to live with her and no scale could reproduce that feeling.
After they determined that she didn’t weight enough to be a witch, we moved on.
But wait you say! Can we possibly see even more in the Grand Rapids area? I mean we’re only on day one and we’ve seen dune buggies, Dutch people, an art colony, and almost had my wife declared witch. Yes, just when I thought that I’ve not seen enough old houses in my life, we saw the Hume-Hackley homes, which were two houses for the price of one. Each one was more Queene Anne than the other; having so much gingerbread work you could just eat it. The lobby of the Hackley house alone had more woodcarvings than you can shake a stick at, and I find this the most appropriate use of that metaphor as shaking a stick is really what one should do when they see woodcarvings.
But wait! The crazy Michigan fun didn’t end there. After the houses it was time for dinner and we ate at the City Cafe, which is located in the lobby of the Frauenthal Theater. The City Cafe should most be noted for their Caramel Nut Espresso Truffle, which was the best darn Caramel Nut Espresso Truffle that I’ve had in my life. Margherita tasted it and confirmed that it was the best Caramel Nut Espresso Truffle that she’s ever had too. Yes, of all the Caramel Nut Espresso Truffle’s that we’ve ever had... and believe me, we’ve had them quite often, this was the best.
After such a long day of fun in Michigan, the next best thing was to ride on the lake. Yes, to ride on the Great Lake. I’ve waited my entire life to see the Great Lake, because as the name implies, it’s not only really good, in fact, it’s great. Alas, our adventure was not to take us there yet. The weather started getting rough, all of the tiny ships were tossed. If not for the existence of Lake Muskegon, the night would be lost.
We did get to cruise on Lake Muskegon, which is as thrilling as the name implies, but the Great Lake was taken from my grasp. I reached forward with my dying breath and unfortunately Lake Michigan was beyond my reach. Too bad the weather was rough, but hopefully we will see the great lake.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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