Author: alohawild

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.

The smoke went from bad in Northern Michigan to covering most of Michigan. We started to execute our plan to get to Southwestern Michigan for a wine tour on Friday (staying Friday and Saturday in suite rooms with a view of Lake Michigan). I was still tired and slept until 7ish. Deborah and Jeanne met earlier for the complimentary breakfast at the Ramada Inn. Which proved once again that even something as simple to execute as breakfast can be totally hosed up, even in corporate-industrial versions. The one staff person for breakfast I saw move one cup at a time on a stack of paper cups to ensure the initial stack matched perfectly (while ignoring the other things that were missing). Bagels without cream cheese, no peanut butter, and syrup empty just describe part of the problem. But the eggs looked like real eggs, and sausages were not replenished until they ran out, and were likely good (I never saw them). It looked like a false economy with a single-threaded focus and no support from a manager.

But the room was clean and bright, and soon I was showered and ready to leave with Deborah and Jeanne. We got a hotel luggage cart, loaded up, took it to Air Chevy, arranged it all into the various spaces, and were soon off. Suggestions for breakfast were shared.

Bessar Museum returned to our list, and we arrived at 10, their opening time. Bessar is the name of the family that ran the local cement and other industries (mostly gone or sold off now). The family invented better ways to mold cement products and was in Alpena around the start of the 20th century. There is a lot of limestone and calcite in the area (used in abrasives, cement, and steelmaking). The family built (a cement cinder block building, of course) a museum.

We found a small Dale Chihuly collection quite nice. The pieces are all gray, reminding me of the family’s focus on limestone products. The history of Alpena was covered in a wonderful display of windows into 1800-style businesses set up as if the owner or clerk would be right back. Antiques, all placed as if in use, really made it feel real. The write-ups about native people and their suffering surprised us with the clarity and willingness to be critical. As with the previous NOAA exhibits, some of the archaeological items were stored in drawers. The stone points dated back 10,000 years and showed the changes and improvements over time. The use of copper surprised me, as did the pottery and repairs with copper wire. I learned some new things.

Finally, after investing more time than we expected on this small but marvelous museum (we did not stay for a planetarium show), we went out to a rock pile. Here, you were allowed to take what you found. Limestone from the local quarries was broken up and dumped in a pile, surrounded by walls of rough limestone, for searching and recovering fossils to take home. Yes, we pounded and searched the rocks. With a few rocks recovered (Jeanne is taking them home to the kids) and a few purchases from the gift store, we headed on our five-hour trip across and down Michigan.

Visibility was down, and it was gray everywhere with smoke now. I got a headache and seemed extra tired. I put on a paper mask, and that improved. Yikes! We all got masks on.

We stopped at the Moose & Stella Cafe for breakfast (about 200 air score) and had a heavy lunch and redo of breakfast. They had a crowd and seemed disorganized (and an extra plate of food was delivered to us that we took home in a box), but the food was good. I had lots of coffee as I had three more hours of driving to go.

The drive was a stair step on what I would call back roads that led to an excellent SW-headed highway, 131, and other easier driving. The traffic in Michigan was sluggish, and I had to pass folks driving below the usual 10 over. Grand Rapids skyline was missing in the smoke until you were very close, and then the rest would disappear.

We connected with Jason, our wine tour person, and the same one we used the previous day. We arranged lunch and will see him at 11 on Friday at our hotel. We will risk the smoke but will be carrying masks.

We arrived and learned that our rooms would have to be on different floors because they were the last rooms in the hotel. The weekend was selling out. We then headed out to find Forever Bookstore in downtown St. Joseph. It was a nice bookstore, and Jeanne and Deborah found things.

Dinner was not at the brewery we planned; there was an hour-long wait for a table. We found a higher-end place around the corner that was not too busy, and soon a brilliant server, Eric, was helping us find wines and food to try. He also wrote us out a list of places to try in St. Joseph and the nearby area. He loves Disney. We talked about our experiences, and he found the recent price hikes outrageous. He spent a lot on his last trip, more than he expected.

Dinner was marvelous, with Jeanne having excellent short ribs while Deborah and I had the baked local whitefish in a wonderful sauce. We tried panna cotta for dessert but also ordered a crème brûlée; the crème brûlée was better.

With a few glasses of wine later (coffee after one glass for me), we headed back to our hotel to unload the car and rest. We drove by Silver Beach on the way. It was a good salvage of the day.

Thanks for reading!

I was driving north, and we passed Flint and headed to what we call “up north” in Michigan. I had started early at the hotel, my usual Holiday Inn Express with the industrial complimentary breakfast, and quickly packed and loaded up the rental, an Air Chevy, a hot, red-metallic, smaller SUV with a conventional gas-powered engine. I picked up Deborah and Jeanne at Deborah’s house, and we were out within thirty minutes of the plan.

We had a 1PM plan to ride the glass-bottom boat tour at Alpina to see the shipwreck in the shallows of Thunder Bay. I have watched NOAA videos of these wrecks for years (and of deeper ones not visible from the surface), and once dreamed of finding them when I was young and living in Michigan. I had read about a few of the sinkings before the wrecks were properly explored. We had about 3 1/2 hours of driving, and we started out with enough time to maybe grab a sandwich.

We stopped when a tire on Air Chevy coded. Deborah was familiar with the area, and she soon had us fixed and back in the car (the tire did not leak, and it was likely the high temperature that caused an issue). Maybe we could have a snack in the car and then finish lunch after the trip (I wasn’t thinking it was a good idea for me to eat before getting on a boat where you look down all the time).

We saw a wall of clouds that we met about the same time we left Highway 75 to head east to the shore of Lake Huron. The clouds looked orange to me, and that was the warning. Bad air and smoke were coming. As we were trying to make our time, we only stopped for a moment at a rest area, but we talked about getting some masks. I could smell the smoke even before we hit the gray-filled areas.

While driving in the now smoke-filled gray that removed the loveliness from everything, headlights were now on for most vehicles. We pushed on and called the boat people. They needed 1/2 mile of visibility to take the boat out, we learned, and the smoke was not dissipating (unlike morning fog or clouds). The boat people called later (while we were in an area with no phone service), and the tour was canceled. There was no rebooking for us as we planned to be in the Upper Peninsula the next day. We thought we might catch it on the way back.

We, now with time, stopped at a Meijer’s to get masks (they had only a few N95 masks in two-packs), a game, a swimsuit for me, and a few other things. The smoke seemed thicker when we left, and the water tower of Alpena was now more of a ghost of white on gray.

We found the 14th Hole Grill for lunch and found the gray now also orange as the sun was washed out by smoke. I had a BLT (with lettuce in short supply in Michigan and other states), with Jeanne having a prime rib sandwich and Deborah a fish sandwich. All of it was OK, with the soups (instead of a salad or the ubiquitous French fries) being obvious from a large industrial can.

We found the NOAA museum, free, with an excellent display. There are drawers you pull out full of recovered artifacts, dozens of spoons, nails, even portholes. We actually spent quite a few hours there (out of the smoke), and Deborah found me a $35 NOAA jacket. Had it been combined with the boat tour, it would have been fantastic, but still not bad.

With that done, we headed into the gray twilight with hints of orange to our hotel. It was a Ramada that had seen better days. It looks like it was wrecked once, rebuilt, and then run on a shoestring. Not bad enough to abandon, but disappointing. The rooms were bright and updated. Everywhere showed repaired water damage, and there was no stink of rot.

Burgers mostly, no lettuce, this time. Mixed drinks were $5 and $6 imported beers (on tap), and the lowest dinner ticket in a while. The bartender, Audry, shared that she has no car, rides a bike in, and is now worried about the smoke. She rides a bike even in the winter, but this is the first time she is worried, she shared.

With the driving and the smoke and the stress, I was tired. We canceled all our hotels. I found a wine tour from The Bottle Run that we used last time, and booked us a hotel in St. Joseph far on Lake Michigan in southwestern Michigan. Later, this too would fill with smoke as the hazard flowed across the state from Canada.

I went to bed early and slept most of the night. The travel, time change, and stress had accumulated for me.

Thanks for reading.