MICHIGAN TRAVEL TIPS
FROM
THE HOLOGLOBE PRESS
(The 54th Edition)by
Victor Edward Swanson,
Publisherwww.hologlobepress.com
RULES OF USE
The reports and stories contained on this Web page have been put together with information taken from "The Victor Swanson Fabulous Files of Places to See in Michigan and Wisconsin" and with information obtained from operators and staffers of tourist attractions and from press releases, Web sites, and other sources. The reports and stories are provided as a public service by Victor Swanson and The Hologlobe Press. Almost all persons and entities, such as staffers of radio stations, may freely use the materials; neither AAA Michigan nor any employee of AAA Michigan may use, distribute, download, transmit, copy, or duplicate any of the material presented on this page in any way or through any means.
- - - Travel Thoughts for Everyone - - -
When you are in Michigan, especially when taking a vacation, it is fairly easy to come across people from other states, and, certainly, it is easy to come across people from Wisconsin if you are in the Upper Peninsula, it is easy to come across people from Indiana and Ohio, if you are in the Lower Peninsula. Also, when you are in Michigan, you can come across people from other countries from time to time, and maybe some of the other people could be from Japan or Germany. If you are a resident of Michigan and you are near home--doing nothing more than everyday traveling--you could come across people from other states or other countries who are looking for places to visit.
Recently, I came across three Albanians, one of whom had been a resident of Michigan for a little over a decade and was yet not a citizen of the United States of America, and the Albanians were painters. All the painters were guys, and one of the guys was a little thirsty, and he wondered if he could have some water to drink. He had been drinking bottled water--you know, one of those bottles of water that you buy from a store. I had to report that he could drink water from the tap, since, for instance, where we were--in the southeastern region of Michigan--the water is safe to drink. For two of the painters, I went in to a talk about how my father had drawn up all the piping for the main building of the Allen Park Water Treatment Plant (Allen Park, Wayne County, the Lower Peninsula) in the 1950s, and I told the painters a bit about the water treatment plants in the southeastern region of Michigan and how water is taken in from the Great Lakes water system, and I gave a little history of water treatment plants and even wastewater treatment of the region. I mentioned a bit about well systems and how well systems in Michigan can have safe water and can at some places have an iron taste because of the amount of iron in the water.
I make this statement now for foreigners: The water taken from water taps is safe to drink, and, since the 1990s (at least), the belief that water from water treatment plants is bad has become a popular idea, which is why many stores sell bottled water, but I think the idea that public water is unsafe is a nitwit idea, especially since I have been drinking it for over fifty years and have suffered no ill effects.
Later in the day, after the Albanians were long gone, I thought about how I should have talked about fluoridation. I should have mentioned Grand Rapids, which is in Kent County of the Lower Michigan, was one of the first places where the public water was treated with fluoride, which helps reduce the chance of cavities. In fact, Grand Rapids was one of the test cities in the United States of America for the fluoridation of public water, and that was in the 1940s.
A persons's trip to Grand Rapids for a visit is very unlikely to include a trip to see how water of the public water system is treated; a person who is in the water-treatment field might go to see how water is treated for the Grand Rapids area, though.
Grand Rapids and the surrounding cities have a number of things for people to see that I could have talked about to the Albanians, and some of the things in Grand Rapids are the Blandford Nature Center, Celebration Cinema/IMAX, Centerpointe Mall, the Civil War Monument, DeVos Place, Fallasburg Park, the Fish Ladder Sculpture, the "Fluoride-themed sculpture," the Frank Lloyd Wright Home, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, the Gerald R. Ford Museum, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Children's Museum, Grand Rapids City Pools, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, the Heritage Hill District, the "John Engler" statute, Living Shores Aquarium, the Meyer May House, the Military Museum, the Public Museum of Grand Rapids (fully known as the "Van Andel Museum Center of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids"), the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, Rosa Parks Circle, the Sixth Street Bridge Park, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, the Voigt House Victorian Museum, and White Pine Trail State Park. Of course, by my running off a list of places, the guys might have been overwhelmed.
Actually, if I would have noted the places in the previous paragraph, I would have noted the information with two asterisks. Asterisk number one would note that they are most of the places that I have listed in my files under "Grand Rapids." Asterisk number two would note that, at the moment, I cannot report whether or no all the places are open for visits now.
When I was taking with the Albanians, we never did talk about what their country is like and what there is to see in their country, and we never did talk about what there is to see in Michigan and we--or I--never talked about the incredible variety of things that there are to see in Michigan.
If I were defending what there is to see in the Michigan to a person from communist or a socialist country, I would say--with power in my voice--something like, "Michigan has more than your country has, since your country is where the government blocks individuals from creating varied things," and I would give examples. This state has museums about bicycles and musical instruments. In the fall, people can go to apple cider mills and haunted houses and corn mazes. All over the state are water parks (either indoor-types or outdoor types). People run businesses that give people train rides or boat rides or hay rides, and, sometimes, the rides are on sand dunes along Lake Michigan. Businesses exist that sell locally made fudge or candy or popcorn. Along the shores of the Great Lakes are lighthouses. In both peninsulas, skiers can find places for downhill skiing, though the hills may not be like the mountains of the Rocky Mountains, and people have several months of time during which to cross-county ski, snowmobile, or snowshoe. Scattered about Michigan are nature trails, skate parks, planetariums, wildlife areas, restored boats or ships, restored houses and buildings, dinosaurs (fake ones), drive-ins, farm markets, flea markets, camp grounds, ghost towns, et cetera. And many, many individuals run all types of tourism-related businesses, and, I believe, they so much do not want a government entity to tell them, for instance, what products to make and what products to sell, and they do not need to be told what to do with their businesses by the likes of those whose resumes only note that they are "community organizers."
Another summer tourist season is done, and a lot of places are closed, and the people who worked at the places that are closed could be heading south to spend the winter in Texas, Arizona, or Florida, could be planning things for their tourist attractions for next year, or could be getting ready to enjoy winter fun in Michigan, but many places are open and some places have opened up or are getting ready to open up for the winter tourism season. Even in the winter, it is possible to find people from other places in Michigan, such as in February when there are international skiers at the Pine Mountain Ski Jump at Iron Mountain (of Dickinson County of the Upper Peninsula). Of course, the people from other places that you meet this winter in Michigan will have to be bundled up--because it will be winter.
Your travel tips in Michigan in this edition of Michigan Travel Tips are:
The State of Michigan of the United States of America
- - - Public Service Copy for Broadcasters (four pieces) - - -
Number One:
It is fall, but I feel I should note to visitors of Michigan who
are listening what goes on in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
in the winter. A lot of snow falls in the winter, but it is rare
when the main roads are impassable. Keep that in mind!
Many people cross-country ski--the region has many miles
of groomed trails. Guys and gals can find a lot of ice-fishing
spots. In midwinter, there are sled-dog races, and, in February,
the Pine Mountain Ski Jump, which is at Iron Mountain, is the
site for an international ski jumping event. There are a number of
downhill ski areas. The U.P. has great snowmobiling areas,
such as in the northeastern quarter of the region, and the "I-500"
is one of the famous annual snowmobile races. Some museums
and art galleries are open in the winter, and one such place is
the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center, which is at Escanaba.
The U.P is abandoned in winter--no way. Enjoy your safe
traveling and vacationing in the U.P. this winter.
###
Number Two:
In the fall, leaves fall out of the trees, and the ground often
turns orange and red and yellow at least for a few weeks, and,
also, pine needles fall, but people do not travel the state in the
fall to see pine needles fall, and the reason is falling pine needles
do not leave the ground red and yellow and orange. When the
leaves and pine needles fall, deer are usually on the move, too,
and it is a time when the number of car-deer accidents increases,
and car-deer accidents are not confined to roads of rural areas.
Almost anywhere in the state--even in metropolitan big cities like
Dearborn--deer can show up along the roads, intent on crossing
the roads. What is bad is deer often travel in groups--a group of
deer may be two or three or four or more deer. This fall,
especially around dusk and dawn, watch for deer ahead in
Michigan. Do not try to dodge the deer, and if it looks as if there
is no way to miss a deer, keep both hands on the wheel.
###
Number Three:
In the science business, people try to explain what things
are or how things act through facts and logic and not through
emotions and feelings. A scientist might say, "There is a cause
and an effect," or a scientist might say, "This happened because
this happened first." In Michigan, a number of museums focus
on science. One of the biggest museums is the New Detroit
Science Center, which is in Detroit and which, by the way,
happens to have an IMAX theater. On the other side of the
state is Bridgman, and the science-place, there, is the Cook
Energy Information Center. Besides being the capital, Lansing
is the home of the Impression 5 Science Center, which is aimed
at children. And at Bay City is the Delta College Planetarium
and Learning Center. There are other places. Of course, there
is a cause-and-effect thing related to seeing those places. To see
the places, you have to get in that vehicle, set a course, and enjoy
your safe traveling.
###
Number Four:
Okay, let's do some kitchen talk now, especially since it is
done all the time on television, and we don't want to be left out.
If you are going to start making a meal, you will probably look
in the fridge for something. That fridge is the one in your kitchen
and not the "The Fridge" of Waterford Oaks County Park,
which is near Pontiac--that "Fridge" is a refrigerated toboggan
run designed for winter fun. Next, get the stove going, but not
that "The Big Stove" standing at the Michigan State Fairgrounds,
Detroit. That "Big Stove" is 25-feet high and built in 1893. When
you are done, you can wash your dishes in the sink--but not in the
"Sink Holes" of the Sink Hole Area in Presque Isle County of the
Lower Peninsula. Well, we have a theme--"The Fridge," "The
Big Stove," and the "Sink Holes." And that is what you can find
in Michigan if you go traveling. No matter where you go, use
those blinkers well ahead of time to enjoy your safe traveling.
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- - - Contact Information - - -
The Hologlobe Press
Postal Box 20551
Ferndale, Michigan 48220-0551
The United States of Americacopyright c. 2008
File date: 10 October 2008To see the next edition of Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel #55.
To see the previous edition of Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel #53.
To see the catalog page for Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel.
To go to the main page of The Hologlobe Press,
click on: www.hologlobepress.com.
For further reading, you should see the document
entitled THOUGHTS AND STATEMENTS
ABOUT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
for the individual woman and the individual man,
which can be reached by hitting this link: Thoughts.
For further reading, you should see the document
entitled THOUGHTS AND PIECES OF LOGIC
for the individual woman and the individual man,
which can be reached by hitting this link: Logic.
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