Author: alohawild

We rose late, having left the curtains pulled, and had to rush. We did meet Jeanne for breakfast at 9, as planned. We are in Grand Rapids for two nights, having arrived late the night before. One of our plans was to see the Chihuly show at the marvelous Meijer Gardens while traveling to southwestern Michigan, but the smoke drove us even farther to St. Joseph and then Chicago. With the smoke clearing in Michigan, we agreed it was time to try Grand Rapids and the Chihuly show. We would hit the Presidential Library the following day, then return Jeanne to Laingsburg, and Deborah and I would head back to the Greater Detroit area.

Breakfast at the Hampton Inn Downtown Grand Rapids was nice (but there were no eggs served today, except in a breakfast bagel). We finished, but I had the blog to finish and some church items to do, so we waited until noon before heading out to the Chihuly show. We arrived in light traffic and found a nice parking spot. It was a partially cloudy day with wind. It helped keep it cool, and there was an occasional burst of raindrops, but nothing that lasted more than a few minutes and never enough to get much wet.

We had a 2:15 ticket for the special show, and found lunch first. It was a short line, but it still took a while for the food to reach us. A third of the menu was being ignored due to the salad issue and an outbreak of cyclosporiasis. I had a glass of wine.

Aside: Cyclosporiasis has been traced to Taylor Farms’ Mexican lettuce supply chain shredding plant, but a supposedly false positive had muddled the issue. Here is yesterday’s news.

We walked through some of the gardens, and the carnivorous and desert gardens were interesting. We also hit the store and found you could take home Chihuly for seven to nine grand. Nope. I got $1 pencils to take to friends.

We took the timed tour, and the works were amazing, and all looked fragile if not delicate (most pieces are very thick glass, though you would not think so from seeing them). The security guard shared that some idiot played a sound of breaking glass at the show, which upset the guard, and then another piece was lifted to see how heavy it was. The guard was happy we were all respectful.

The undersea grouping was the climax of the show. You expect it to sway, but again, it is not as delicate as it looks (they have a piece outside the exhibit you can touch and handle, and the glass is very thick). There is also a room of hand drawings sent via fax that include suggestions for finding a bar and then decorating it with a Chihuly chandelier, just for fun. Chihuly would send these faxes to groups all over to share ideas and thoughts.

It is hard to describe a room with different glass studies in various shapes and uses. It was just beautiful. Could it be unbearably lovely? So much so that it overwhelms you.

And like a salesman of old, “that is not all!” There are installations all over the garden, and especially in the Japanese-style garden, more outdoor Chihuly works. We took the trolley tour to see them, and impressive existing sculptures installed in the Meijer Garden. Again, it was hard to focus on it all, and it seemed you were only seeing a tiny bit of a wonderful whole. We took the tram twice to see everything and to stop at the Japanese-style garden. Deborah and I then walked the paths to see close up all the Chihuly glass. The sun did come out, and the lighting made the glass even brighter.

 

We found a pair of sisters as the servers at the ice cream place, now added to the children’s park. They were fun, and soon we had excellent ice cream, and they were laughing at my joke. Deborah was in eye-roll mode, rightfully, I think.

With that and our mood lightening by light and delight captured in glass by Chihuly, we found Air Chevy in a light rain. We returned to the hotel, then walked to Palio Grand Rapids for a lovely dinner. We even tried having our pasta seasoned by making Alfredo sauce in a wheel of cheese as an antipasto with the hot pasta. Wow! Our food, while a bit slow, was great, and we enjoyed wine, dessert, and a great ending.

Sorry that I cannot find the words. I have included lots of pictures.

Thanks for reading!

 

We rose earlier, feeling better in the new time zone and another hotel. Hampton Inns seem, to me, better run and cleaner than our recent experiences with Holiday Inn Express. Also, they are cheaper of late.

We got going, and I even managed to start the blog. The in-room coffee makers did make two cups of coffee each! We met Jeanne at the lobby for breakfast, complimentary, and it was busy, and the food needed some restocking (but it was handled quickly and with a smile). I had a good breakfast and talked to the General Manager, Ed, and he was happy to hear that I was enjoying my stay. Later, he would share with us some of the history of the local older hotels. Ed seemed to love this work and said, “Us older guys get placed in the older hotels” (Majestic Hotel—now a Hampton Inn—opened as Chicago’s tallest building in 1906).

We then packed up, got some carts, rolled the bags and things to the entrance, ordered the car from valet, and I checked us out. This was our best and cheapest hotel so far, in the Loop of Chicago! With everything orderly and loaded, including ourselves, I headed north of Chicago to a chocolate store that Deborah has tried to visit each time, and alas, halfway there we checked, and yes, they are closed on Mondays! We retraced our path and headed to South Chicago for the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry and the Obama Presidential Library (we could not get tickets; they are sold out months in advance) just to see the library. We spotted part of it as we drove in.

We found the underground parking, found a spot, noticed how few folks actually parked between the lines, and walked into the museum. We acquired tickets for the museum and U-505. We tried to get them while we were in line, but the line was faster than I was. We headed in with a plan to see a few things, find lunch (with our expectations low—and they were not surpassed), look at the model ship and nautical collection, and then enjoy the U-boat.

The plan went well, with us enjoying the large model train set, some full-sized trains, the weather items, and then the old town display. We watched some of a silent film about a pair of gloves and perfume spilling, creating chaos. The scan of the old movie was poorly done, with compression artifacts jumping all over it and then expanded too large a size and magnifying the problem. It needs to be rescanned at a higher rate without compression, but it was still interesting (and a good candidate for reworking, like we see in the old Star Trek series and the earlier Star Wars movies).

We found the Kitchen and all grabbed our own meal; I had baked pasta that could have been better with some meat in it. Deborah and Jeanne, experienced in the ways of child-centered cafes, picked premade sandwiches. But it was still good to eat. We finished, found the ships, and I enjoyed the model, especially the Souvenir of the Sea American clipper model (here for the ship). It was a superfast ship (which was wrecked in 1859).

We did the space center next. There are three major artifacts there: Apollo 8, Gemini, and Dragon capsules. H had not seen any of these before so close in such detail (I do not remember one this close and in good condition at Air & Space in D.C., but it might be there). I had not seen Dragon before, and the one here had flown twice to resupply the International Space Station. It was scarred and burned. Bits of the inch-thick white panels were marred with breaks and burn marks. Apollo 8, while at least a third the size, looked fresh (even though it was from the 1960s). Still, it was good to see Dragon and see the updates and size, as large as an SUV.

The U-boat is always a treat, and we showed up with the small group on time, and our tour guide, a former Coast Guard member, managed to convey the risk and suffering of the crew and their 30% survival rate. For the first time, I heard a full account of the salvage of U-505 and that the repairs to the ship, done in occupied France, used weak metal (which is why there are shot holes in the superstructure). The explosive charges were not activated, and the cap for the drain in the sub was not thrown away. We also learned that 1/3 of the crew accepted US citizenship offered to captured German troops. The crew was not reported as captured, violating international law, to protect the capture of code books and machines. The machine removed from the boat, Enigma, was on display (loaned from the Cryptological Museum, which opened after I left Maryland in Fort Meade, within sight of the National Security Agency.  I did not know there was a version with a paper tape printer. Wow!

We headed out after the usual exploration of the gift store and the acquisitions of plastic toys made in the mold-matic (my U-boat toy broke in my pocket while driving). The drive cost about $11 in fees for about 20 minutes of road time. We crossed into Michigan, the time moved back an hour, and suddenly it was dinner time!

We took pictures of the Presidential Library filled with happy smiling people. We will be back! We saw the new statue of the President and the First Lady from a distance. It looked like a lovely campus.

“You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there is new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We The People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”
–President Obama, 2015

Before we could get far, we had to add air to the same tire that went low, slowly losing five pounds of air pressure over five days. We waited for the person in front of us, using the car to measure the tire pressure, and then left it running for us (it ran out of time just as we started). A few bucks later, we had the tire back up to pressure and also used the car to measure it. South Chicago is no place for a flat, even near the Presidential Library. But it did feel a bit better now with the Library. Excellent!

We stopped at one town, investing twenty minutes, to discover that it was summer and the line for a table was out the door. Later, we stopped again, waited 25 minutes, and The Three Blondes Brewery worked for us. It was also later by then, and the crowd was breaking up. I had great tacos, Jeanne had a pizza, and Deborah had salmon. The noise, the hard floors, and the complex ceiling reflected the sounds, making it hard to hear at first. As folks left, we could hear each other again — a problem at many newer places. Tempted by their brewed products, I had iced tea as I had ninety minutes of driving to go and the sun would be down for some of it.

The rest of the drive was boring, and we soon reached Grand Rapids, but we could not figure out how to get to the hotel. The hotel is a parking garage?! We called, and they said, yes, drive in, park anywhere, and the lobby is on the third floor. Parker, the agent at the desk who had answered our couple of calls (we called to say we were coming in late, after 10), checked us in. The rooms were lovely.

I had some paperwork to do on bill paying. I managed to sleep around 1ish.

Sorry this is late. I did not finish it in the morning and completed it in Grand Rapids on Monday night.

We were supposed to be on the Great Lakes, doing boat tours and visiting waterfalls, but instead we explored Chicago. We did have our masks on a few times as the air quality still slipped over 100 a few times, but the sun was out, and it was a typical hot and humid July here on the coast of Lake Michigan.

We rose not that early, even late for us, and met Jeanne at the usual industrial breakfast, but the coffee was a bit better (and in a urn), and I had even a bagel. We were not in a hurry, and Deborah and I walked about 1/3 of a mile to get some popcorn in tins. On the walk back, we found First United Methodist Church built into the Chicago Temple Building. There is a sky chapel, and it looks lovely. I attended the worship service, which was familiar and classic East Coast Methodist, with a lot of standing and responses. The organ, I learned, was a loaner, as their pipe organ was being replaced for many millions of dollars.

My tour was immediately after service; the earlier service (yes, they have two services) served communion, and Jerry covered the history of the church, the building, and the Methodists. The church was a log-cabin-style building that was rolled and floated from a mile away to its current location. This was lost in the famous fire. The church built in its place was demolished in 1922 to make way for the skyscraper, once the tallest building in the city (with a church spire on top and a chapel), with the Walgreens family (yes, the same ones with drug stores everywhere) paying for much of the work.

To reach the sky chapel, we (about five of us) took a brass-and-wood-lined elevator that matched the first-floor sanctuary (which was dark wood and new stained glass). Next, we climbed four steps to reach a small, personal, no-more-than-three-person elevator for the pastor (the parsonage was the next three floors) and to reach the sky chapel. This was followed by thirty more steps to the top of the building (and to the base of the spire, where the clarion, which plays for the city from morning to early evening, is housed).

It is a stained-window-lined chapel with cross beams covered in wood. The stained glass, art deco style but religious subjects, was bright, with one window opened to show how high we were, 26 stories (1/4 of the height of the Sears Tower). Benches instead of pews and not water, bathrooms, or anything. Just a room in what was, in 1924, the tallest building in Chicago. A sign warned that no more than 40 people were allowed by law, and any more would be extremely dangerous (the tiny elevator could be avoided by four stories of stairs).

It was a fun visit, and I walked back to the hotel. Linda and I talked about Mom Wild’s fall. Mom was OK, but not feeling well. I returned to Deborah. We then walked the three blocks to the Chicago Institute of Art. We got tickets and then found Chagall Windows on the way to their excellent cafe. This was the best food we had in Chicago; I was not surprised, as I always eat here and found it excellent. It ain’t cheap, but at least the extra is going to the museum.

We found the Impressionists and soon found ourselves immersed in room after room of paintings and other art. It is always a mix of relaxing, taking it in, and excitement about what is in the next room. We were looking for the art from the old board game Masterpiece this time.

The American paintings Night Hawks and American Gothic are in another building, and we had to go down, over, and back up to reach them. We misread the plans at the museum, and the Lee Miller show is next month. I recommend her story and photos (here), but instead found the miniature room collection. These were made to recreate various room settings from different periods, not as toys. I was fascinated by the model work and lighting, which are excellent. Some rooms have attached rooms that you can see if you lean one way. You can make out the extra furnishing. Always excellent.

I picked up pencils and some postcards as the museum closed at 5. Across Michigan Avenue is a Starbucks, and there we had a few drinks (iced coffees and water), and I finally ordered an Uber for too much money to take us to Navy Pier, which was a madhouse. We ended up at Harry Caray’s, which was a tourist joint, but it was available. We next took the Architectural boat tour on the Chicago River. It is about 70 minutes, and it is great to have the sun setting halfway through the tour, seeing all the buildings light up. Our tour guide, a younger guy, pointed out many buildings (some I remembered from the previous tour) and a few new items.

We took a sketchy taxi ride back to our hotel, with the driver finally finding our hotel.

And with that, our long day ended. Thanks for reading!

It is Sunday morning while I write this, and we have slept past our usual early rising before 7. Coffee has been summoned by the usual process in a Chicago in-the-loop hotel room, and now I have started to retell my Saturday, starting from the end to the start, and shortening the middle.

Starting with the end, the Majestic Hotel, now the Hampton, has been updated with modern generic hotel rooms that were once offices; it was the tallest building in Chicago when it was built in 1905. The Majestic Theater is also in the building, explaining why the hotel lobby is on the 4th floor. The original (and very dirty) windows are still in place, and the street noise they let pass drove Deborah to put in earplugs. Still, it is a nice room and very well placed.

It was about ten, we were both tired, as we headed to bed, and had just watched Suffs at the Majestic Theater, a musical we saw in Detroit, as we did not even go outside to get in, got rush tickets for $49. The show is magical and transports you into the early-1900s Vote for Women movement. The songs are modern, and while most folks represented in history existed, there is the usual rewriting and dramatization, but it is still brilliant and bright and brings tears to my eyes multiple times. There were cheers from the audience at various parts, and the person playing Wilson, while not stealing the show, was an excellent foe-ally. If Suffs is in your area, dear reader, I would recommend marching to the show.

Jeanne passed on the show and enjoyed a quiet night reading.

Before this, we had a slightly rushed dinner at the local German place I enjoyed the last time I was here. The place was solidly booked, but with some advice from the server, Susan, who would serve us, we found a table for four near a window. I never find German food to be great, but the presentation and taste of the food at The Berghoff’s Adam Street Bar were excellent. I had the Game Sausage Platter with Deborah going for Salmon and Jeanne going for a schnitzel. Everyone was pleased.

Before this, we checked into our rooms, as the trip to Chicago took us multiple hours because the stop-and-go at the toll booths was at least 30 minutes each, and there were two stops. The Hampton Inn rooms are the best we have had and, while not cheap, are cheaper than our recent accommodations. Hmmm. Hilton might move up on my list. Breakfast is complimentary.

We missed the hotel the first time as we just saw the Theater and missed the two-story sign and the one over the door. But a quick circle to align with one-way streets and me not hitting or scaring any pedestrians, we got the Air Chevy in front of the hotel. The non-complimentary valet took the car after we filled two small airport-like carts with stuff.

Going further back on Saturday, I drove the gas car, refilling it for $42, in St. Joseph, from Michigan to Indiana to Illinois and Chicago, paying the usual $10+ in tolls. Navigation mostly worked, and we were on highways most of the trip. I had only one “you-don’t-know-where-you-are” stunt driving, as I skipped four lanes and part of a margin to follow unnecessary instructions.

Sliding the story back more, we stopped at a lighthouse that was open for tours. At first, we thought it was Silver Beach, but the person collecting $15 for a non-local car returned our money, directed us to the next beach, and provided a map. This was a $10 parking fee (collected by an app I have), with us first trying for an hour for $3 (I later updated the time and paid the daily rate, another $7). We then walked out on the cement, slightly damp pier to the lighthouse. The lake had three- to six-foot waves. That often broke on one side of the pier.

We enjoyed walking and talking, but taking care with a sign of the kids who lost their lives jumping off the pier. Lake Michigan has currents, tides, and cold water that can quickly overwhelm anyone. Best not to fall into the water!

Deborah and I climbed the two spiral staircases and one ladder to reach the top of the lighthouse. There, we could see a storm coming in. It was an amazing experience. There could only be about five people at a time, so you waited your turn at each level, and we were glad it wasn’t hotter!

Jeanne joined us to walk to the end of the pier, only to be soaked by a heavy downpour and thunder and lightning. We were getting nautical! We stood in the open lighthouse; the other one was not open until the rain slowed and then abated. We then headed to Clementine’s Too for lunch, a recommendation from our server, Eric, a few days ago. Eric wrote all these out for us.

We were damp (Deborah went out to the car to get dryer clothing), and we enjoyed some pasta and salmon for Deborah, who wanted something simple and not fried.

I am time-boxed. We got up and had the usual industrial breakfast, packed up, and headed out to the beach and lighthouse.

Thanks for reading!

Jason, our driver for the South Tour of the Bottle Run, found me outside wearing a mask, getting more masks out of Air Chevy the Rental. Jason was our driver for our last wine tour (here is the previous blog), and he remembered us. We collected everyone and headed south for The Bottle Run Wine Tours. We first stopped, with the smoke diluting to a safer level as the day went on, at the Lavender Bliss Flower Farm (here) and enjoyed a peaceful moment among the flowers. We did not cut any to take. Jason did buy a vase filled with flowers to take home. Jeanne, Deborah, and I did purchase various items to take home, mostly as gifts. I was enchanted by small bottles filled with petals and other small flower parts.

We picked up Steve Salisbury, who could join us today (we were staying inside for much of today’s wine tours) and is a local wine historian and makes podcasts (here). It was a joy to have Steve with us for this trip. Jason is excellent on tours, knows the wines, and makes everything happen as if by magic. Steve, our first time meeting him, was relaxed and talked about the wines, and we each took turns tasting and understanding what was poured. The wine bar folks were also helpful, knew their wines, and could lead you to wines you liked. Steve was quite happy with Jason’s vineyard selections.

Today we did three vineyards (last time I could barely walk after the fourth!), and Tabor Hill was our first. They have been making wine for a long time and are among the largest, offering not just wine but also distilled products (we stayed with the wines). There we got to hear Steve talk about winemaking, history, and down rabbit holes as we asked questions. Deborah called him riveting to listen to (I agree with her description), and Steve laughed, “I have been called many things, but never riveting before.” He relaxed after that, tasted with us, and talked about each wine as we went. He found it fun as we passed him around and shared Steve. Jason continued to watch and ensure everything went smoothly.

The Grand Mark, a sparkling wine, was fabulous (I learned that they ship from their online site to Oregon). My notes show “sweet & smooth.” Next, with lots of information (all forgotten now) on their wines, the staff poured me a Dry Riesling, which disappointed me as it was “all over the mouth” but with “less flav,” I wrote.

But, Steve and Jason’s recommendation, the Albarino was wonderful (and likely something I will order), with my notes saying “complex, tastes the soil, like a red,” and Steve had a class and smiled as he looked at me.

Deborah was hanging out with Steve as they did whites, and Deborah, Jeanne, and I would often pass a sample to each other. Their Sauvignon Blanc was “dry with an edge.”

Next, I tried their Cabernet Franc, which was solid and could have been from France. There was a hint of the soil complexity. Steve was excited and thought it excellent, and it was made from grapes on his land (he leases out his fields). It was less complex than a great wine, but Steve believed it would age into something special. “I have a bottle of this, I am going to have to open it,” Steve said (or words to that effect). Steve even suggested that a leaner steak would go with this wine. I suggested an NY Strip, and he agreed (later I would order one and think of the wine). Earlier, we had talked about vines, standing next to some at the vineyard, and that they are grafted and the wine is better if the vine “suffers.” Steve also commented that some of the wines show that the grapes have less character, like the still-great Franc from his land, because the Michigan soils are too good.

Steve also pointed out that the local grapes are grown on a moraine, a ridge of mixed, often rocky soil, and that the local grape-growing area is on top of this, giving them rockier soil and avoiding cold spots that often occur on lower land.

And while I was not yet overwhelmed by the wines, all of them tasting flat, I was quite happy when we got there. Domaine Berrien Cellars, still a large vineyard (here), but a smaller operation than the previous one, had a nice collection of wines, and we got another five tastings there.

Their dry white, Marsanne, was excellent and “complex with no troubling edges” were my notes. Everyone thought it was an amazing wine and an unusual grape for Michigan. I had Steve again, and we walked through a set of disappointing reds (I will not list them here), with the oak layered over the other tastes. Maybe they would improve with time, and Steve suggested decanting them would likely reduce the oak and let the wine open up. We leave our glasses out and get new ones for more tastings.

I should note that Deborah and Jeanne were enjoying white wine, and Jeanne was into dessert wines. They were finding some excellent wines. We all enjoyed the wines, and Jason and Steve added to the experience.

The Merlot at Domaine Berrien Cellars was my favorite of their wines, marked simply as “excellent wine” in my notes. The other reds got better when opened, as Steve suggested, but never reached greatness. Maybe with more time, they will improve.

Our last wines were from Golden Muse Winery, and I even bought (likely for too much with shipping) some of Dr. Analisa Leppane’s wines, the owner and winemaker, as she had no online shipping (yet). I did not try the Riesling, which I later learned, according to Steve, was as good as it gets (my words). My order and favs were 2021 The Toulouse Lautrec Méritage and the 2024 Pierrot Pinot Grigio.

Deborah enjoyed the art and thought it our best stop. We were having wine tasting fatigue at this point, and the wines seemed flat. Deborah suggested starting with this one next time. Steve and Dr. Leppane talked vines as she had just acquired 20 acres for grapes and was selecting a vine from a huge book of vines.

Time-boxed today… so let me finish. We had an OK dinner after saying thanks to Jason and Steve at TJ Grill and then watched the sunset over Lake Michigan at Jean Klock Beach.

It was a good day, and the smoke has, for the moment, receded from the area and Chicago.

Thanks for reading.