Grand Rapids Update

[Scenes from everyday moments of our lives. . .]

The best neighbors you can have are a family of Sand Hill Cranes: Bob, Carol and little Teddie.

the Cranes

The Grilled Cheese Fest, held at Fuller Park in Grand Rapids and sponsored by the Cheese Lady of Grand Rapids, was packed with hungry folks enjoying a gorgeous autumn afternoon.

Grilled Cheese Fest 2022

Celebrating nephew's Ben's 42nd birthday at the Rainbow Grill in Hudsonville, with his dad and gram, where I had a thoroughly scrumptious  chicken salad.

a true chicken salad

Ben's birthday

However, usually it's home cooking for us: here is my marinated pork sirloin steaks ready for the gill and baby potatoes ready for roasting.

home cooking

Back out for dinner with the Galloways where I polished off a tasty Cubano sandwich (sans pane) at Third Nature Brewery in Rockford.

Third Nature Brewery

An arboreal neighbor who has seen better days.

survivor

Susie and I took her mom to a CRC church in Byron Center one afternoon for a Lucas family reunion luncheon and sing-a-long.

songfest at the Lucas reunion

On a gorgeous September afternoon I came across these three veterans buried in Winchester Cemetery, Byron Center, Michigan. Thought you'd like to meet them.

George Otto, 126th Infantry, died in France

Levi Higby, 6th Michigan Heavy Artillery, died in New Orleans, LA

James A. Burwell, 126th Infantry, killed in the Argonne Forest, France, buried in France

Tunis VandenBerg 1921-1999

Husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, uncle, friend and small town physician who was part of the Greatest Generation. . . Remembering his birth 101 years ago today.

c. 1943, navigator, B-24, U.S. Army Air Corps, World War Two

1942 Tunis (right) and his brother Len with Tune's new car, Grand Rapids, MI

Visiting Friends in Traverse City

I can't recall the last time one of us said "Hey, let's pack a bag and get out of town for a couple of nights." But that's pretty much what we did last week.

It began with a simple text to friends Patty and Paul in Grand Haven asking if they'd like to get together for dinner. Patty shot back a note asking "how about coming up to our condo in Traverse City?" And we thought, "Sure, why not?" 

And so Thursday afternoon November 3 we left Eagle Ridge Court and drove north up US131. After about 2 hours on the road we found ourselves wandering around the grounds of the old North Michigan State Hospital looking for their condo.

Now it should be made clear that the hospital, a psychiatric institution with a distinguished past,  has been closed for many years. Since its closure most of the buildings have been resurrected as  retail shops, studios, offices, restaurants, and, of course, living spaces.

former maintenance workshops, condos to the left and right and retail in the center

Patty and Paul's building

After unpacking and settling in we just enjoyed doing nothing special but standing around, chatting, counting the minutes until Happy Hour. . . and dinner. 

That evening we walked a couple hundred meters to the largest and grandest of the original buildings of  the old hospital, Building 50, now used for offices, retail shops and two restaurants, one of which, "Stella" was our venue of choice for dinner. (We ate here over 7 years ago with friends Richard and Pauline.) Located in the basement the restaurant is quite large and we ate in what was once part of the root cellar complex.

Friday morning began with sun and blue sky. Patty gave us a tour of the old hospital grounds, now part of a conservancy trust that includes two huge barns used for events, lovely gardens, at least two of which are designed for children, and a large network of trails that meander through the woods and the hills behind the former asylum. We also had the opportunity to pay our respects to the cow buried at the hospital,  prize-winning Colantha Walker (photo below).

strolling on one of the numerous trails around the old hospital grounds

the original caretaker's cottage undergoing renovation

Judith Groleau's Labyrinth

the only known grave on the hospital grounds

one of two children's gardens

the former men's wing awaiting renovation

After our morning stroll we stepped across the street for brunch at Sugar 2 Salt, a lovely space that served up some absolutely scrumptious food. I had Ham Risotto on a bed of mashed Butternut Squash. You should've been there. . . 

brunch at Sugar-2-Salt

After brunch and the rain notwithstanding the four of us piled into their car and headed out of town, north up the Old Mission Peninsula. After stopping at Burritt's Market for steaks (more about that later) and then Folgarelli's Market for a dinner wine, we made our way up Rte 37. 

Our goal, if indeed we had one, was to stop at 2 Lads Winery for both the view of the East Arm Grand Traverse Bay and a wine tasting, both of which we successfully achieved with much fanfare on our part. 

(Tip: stick to the whites, the red Pint Noir Paul thought thin and lacking in much character; the rest of us sampled flights of whites and thought the Riesling and Cabernet Franc quite nice. Prices a bit high vis-á-vis say French or California whites. But hey it's local.)

wine tasting at 2 Lads' Winery on the Old Mission Peninsula

Once we were back at the condo we popped over to Left Foot Charley's Winery for a glass before dinner. The rain refused to let up but we tucked ourselves into their outdoor tent away from the Swiss dinner for the evening which left quite a pungent aroma just about everywhere. The one drawback was the solo guitarist playing pretty much directly at us refused to take a break.

a glass of local wine at Left Foot Charley's near the condo

Returning to the condo for the night Paul fired up the grill for the steaks, microwaved the potatoes and haricot vert (compliments of Burritt's Market) and we sat down to another delicious meal washed down by a bottle of Modus from Ruffino in Tuscany (half the price of 2 Lads Pinot and twice the quality we thought). On the anniversary of my dad's death and his birth we always try to have steak (his favorite), a tradition Susie and I replay for her dad Tunis as well. Anyway, Paul and Patty were up for joining us and Paul loves a good steak. . . and his were exceptional to be sure! 

in memory of my dad who loved steak and baked potato

The next morning, Saturday was overcast but no rain yet. The four of us walked down to Building 50 to check out the Farmer's Market that had just moved indoor for the winter. Mostly craft vendors but some farmer's there as well and I picked up a pair of parsnips and a Napa cabbage for later in the week.

Farmer's Market Saturday morning in Building 50

Back at the condo we packed up, said our goodbyes with a round of much-welcomed hugs and off we went back on US131 south and home. The return trip was uneventful and we were fortunate in beating the widely predicted storm. 

To learn more visit Traverse City State Hospital. 

PS - I took this photo out our front door yesterday, November 19, compliments of the first major snowstorm to hit Grand Rapids this year. . . 

The Berkshires, Kelli Rae, a grave in Vermont and home

Our quick trip out east was fast coming to end. Saturday morning we packed up, said our goodbyes to D & D, and with Dor's sandwiches stocked in our cooler we headed back west and eventually home. 

The plan for this penultimate leg of our return trip was to swing up into northwestern Massachusetts, cruising through the Berkshires as we made our way to The Clark museum in Williamstown and then to Mass MOCA in North Adams. We had recently learned that an old friend, Kelli Rae Adams was going to be on site at her exhibition at Mass MOCA so we thought we'd pop by and surprise her (we did).

Traffic was tolerable on I-90, the infamous Mass Pike, and we made good time to I-91 where we turned north. At Greenfield we left the interstate and got on Rte 2 west. Also known as the Mohawk Trail the road climbed and wended up through the mountains, along Allen Brook, and past dramatically gorgeous scenery enhanced by the autumn colors. 

(In fact, most of our return trip would be one wonderful, long color tour, something we really hadn't expected.)

Passing through North Adams we found Mass MOCA but since it was a bit early to try and meet up with Kelli Rae we drove a few miles on into Williamstown and The Clark.

We strolled the grounds taking in the lush beauty of this incredible space after which we had a picnic lunch of Dor's sandwiches (and Cape Cod chips, of course). 

Leaving Williamstown we made our way back to North Adams and pulled into Mass MOCA's parking lot. For those of you who have not had the opportunity of visiting this enormous space it is really quite overwhelming, and while contemporary art is not even close to the top of our list of interests, the artwork here is fun, engaging and certainly impressive, in scope and size if nothing else. 

entrance, just one of several buildings in the complex

Anyway, we soon found Kelli Rae and thoroughly enjoyed the look of surprise on her face when she spied us, especially Susan. 

Surprise!

Kelli's latest project "Forever in Your Debt" about the student debt crisis

Kelli and Susie

Back in our Providence, RI days Kelli used to come into Susie's shop in Pawtucket and even worked there for a short while. She always brought a sense of calm with her and a focus on the task at hand. Quiet, self-effacing and full of effervescence, she and Susie became fast friends.

The three of us spent too little time catching up but she was there to be available for the public to talk about her exhibition and we had "miles to go before we sleep." We hugged, said goodbye and promised to try and meet up again sooner than later. 

From North Adams we headed north up Rte 8 to Rte 9 in southern Vermont and then west to Bennington where we picked up Rte 7, the main north-south artery in the state. 

The sole reason for the Vermont leg of the trip was to pay our respects to one of Susie's dearest friends, Lena D. She passed away in July and, while Susie was able to attend her memorial service in Wallingford, she never got to the gravesite. We hoped to rectify that on this trip.

Unfortunately, our efforts to find the grave were in vain. Saint Patrick's cemetery, located on a bluff overlooking Green Hill Cemetery at the southern edge of Wallingford, was small to be sure but our searches on foot came up empty. Still, we were close by her and the location of the cemetery (as you can see from the photos) places her in a beautiful location over the Otter Creek Valley below.

From Wallingford we returned south down Rte 7 skirting Bennington and on to Troy, New York, where we picked up I-87 south. We left the highway near Crossgates Mall outside Albany, where the Northway (I-87) becomes the Thruway (I-87 south and I-90 west). We spent the night close to the mall and had a very nice meal at the 110 Grill, part of a larger food an entertainment venue connected to the mall.

The next morning we were on the road early and pretty much zipped through the fog-shrouded Mohawk River valley. Although the state is in the process of rebuilding some of the service plazas, we experienced no problems along the route. And, aside from stopping once for gas and then again to top off the oil, we made good time and were across the border by about noon. 

Once around Hamilton we left the 403 for the 401, stopping at the Onroute service area near Woodstock for gas and a short break. We then pushed on to the 402 and the US border, Susie driving us across into Michigan. Since we had Global Passes (Trusted Traveler Program), we crossed the border using the Nexus lane, allowing us to bypass the numerous cars waiting in other lines. Whew!

We arrived home a little past 6:00pm local time, unpacked, and sat with a glass of wine debriefing ourselves about the trip.

The time was short but reconnecting with old friends, visiting with family, enjoying new experiences and passing some of the most beautiful autumn colors the likes of which we hadn't seen for some time made the trip eminently worthwhile.

I wish you could've been there. . . Oh, and if you haven't seen enough images so far, you might find the next few items of interest

PS. For a tres cool example of the whimsy you can find at Mass MOCA listen to the singing hallway:

PPS. Two poignant dying sentiments and one curious tragedy:

James S. Cole, front

rear

Victoria Cole-Wilbur, front

rear

And right next door in Green Hill Cemetery:

Clara Congdon