Chicago!
The double decker bus was the way to go!

The Chicago River

Financial District

June 7
Chicago! We made a full day of it driving to the train station at 8:00 AM and returning to the Manor after midnight. What a beautiful city. With the train ride into the city, we didn’t have to worry about traffic and parking relieving a lot of stress right off the bat. We took a bus to Trolley stop #1 and off we went. We got an education on Chicago and were entertained at the same time. The weather was perfect. We went through the financial area, the “Magnificent Mile” with all the high priced shops, along the waterfront with its lovely parks, across the Chicago River, and past beautiful buildings both new and old. Our eyes were forever darting here and there.

We got off the bus at the Art Institute of Chicago and spent a couple of hours enjoying an audio tour of the Impressionists and American artists. The Impressionist collection is outstanding.

Art Institue of Chicago

Monet on the Italian Coast

A Fabulous Toulouse-Lautrec

Renior
This is one of two Renior's that he painted in preporation of his "Luncheon of the Boating Party."

Back on the bus we toured Lakeshore Dr. It was such a sparkling clear day we could see all the way to Indiana We got off at Navy Pier with its history going back to 1916 when it served freight and passenger traffic. Restored it is totally lined with attractions, shopping and restaurants. We walked a good way down to find the Smith Museum of Stained Glass. I’m reading “Clara and Mr. Tiffany” by Susan Vreeland and this museum fit right in. Windows designed by Luis Comfort Tiffany and Frank Lloyd Wright were part of the collection. Thanks to the Smith’s many of the original windows have been saved. We also picked up our free sample of the famous Garret’s popcorn, a mix of cheese flavored and caramel corn. Norm remembered it well! People were coming out with grocery bags full of this delicious mix. It’s been going strong since the 30’s and now has stores all over town.

Navy Pier - What a busy place and it wasn't even the weekend.

Lovely Tiffany Window

Navy Pier

Our guide talked about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 as we drove by the only two surviving structures, the water tower and the city water building across the street. 2,000 acres was left in devastation and 100,000 people were left homeless. Having to clean up the rubble left behind, they threw it all into the lake building up the shoreline. The parks are now on top of that rubble with stadiums, museums, an aquarium, a planetarium, fountains and paths to stroll through gardens. Architects were in their hay day as the city was rebuilt. The city continues to evolve with beautiful buildings being added to the skyline. Flower are everywhere in hanging baskets and lush planters. It is truly a beautiful city.

Only building along with the water tower to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Only in a big city - three little dogs and 5 inch boots!

Grandpa Nash’s uncle Charles was a President of Vice President of Pullman Car Co. and lived in Chicago into the 1940’s. He owned a fancy apartment on the bay. I wish I knew just where it was.

We had hoped to take a couple of the neighborhood tours but the day had vanished. I would have loved to see the Oak Park area. Many Frank Lloyd Wright homes are there. With advice from our tour guide, we chose Petterino’s (I think that was the name) for dinner. Besides us, lots of famous people dine here. It was one of the Obama’s favorites before moving to the White House. Our dinners were delicious and they got us out the door in time to catch a cab to the north end to the Apollo Theater. The “Million Dollar Quartet” has been playing at this small theater for over four years straight. We first heard of the Million Dollar Quartet when we visited Sun Studio in Memphis (May 11). Hearing the story of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Sam Pickens coming together at Sun Studios with owner Sam Phillips on a cold December afternoon, made us ever so eager to see the play. The theater was a rocken’ and a rollen’ with music made famous by these four amazing rock stars. The music was high energy and nonstop without an intermission. The play does a good job of telling the story of how Sam Phillips changed music forever with his discovery and promotion of these poor country boys. Knowing the history and actually seeing the very room where these guys had this now famous jam session made the play even better. We were tapping our feet and grinning through the entire show. My favorite performers were Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. The person who played Elvis had the look, the sound and the moves down pat. The young man who played Jerry Lee Luis stole the show in my book! They were all good! I was out of breath just watching them. We hated to see it come to an end. By the time we caught a cab to the train station and got home it was after midnight. This day was one fabulous experience all the way around. I love this city!

June 8 Travel and Frank Lloyd Wright
We got up bright and early to head west toward our next destination, South Dakota. We made a stop in Spring Green, Wisconsin to see Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home. After reading the book “Loving Frank” my interest was peaked to pay a visit Taliesin. I was really the only one interested in the 2 hour tour. Chris and Norm found a nice shady place for a nap after our late night. We began our tour with the grounds and exterior as the setting and the architecture was so important the Frank. He began construction in 1911 and was forever making changes over the next 48 years bringing it closer to his architectural ideal. He advised his clients to buy up all the land within the view if it was view property and he followed his own advice. It is set in 600 acres of beautiful rolling hill countryside. So many interesting things were was pointed out to us both about the man and about his talent. I think we spent an hour just outside learning what was important to him visually. He was not interested in practicalities at all. A good example was the fireplaces. They are lovely but don’t draw worth a darn. The house originally had animal buildings attached making it a sweeping expanse. He had seen this done in Italy. Eventually he brought in architecture students and converted the animal quarters to apartments. As we moved inside our excellent guide continued to educated us with stories and details into the man who became such a well known and sought after architect. So much of what I had read in “Loving Frank” came back to me as we continued through the tour. Inside we saw the furnishings he designed as well as well as the room designs. He actually went through a period where he insisted that his client sign a contract that he would design the home and landscaping in its entirety including all the furnishings from furniture to dishes and draperies, etc. The clients were to bring only their toothbrushes and clothes! He would even design two dresses for the wife to wear when entertaining. He had the right to inspect the home at any time to make sure that no changes were made. Unbelievable as it seems, there were some contracts signed! I think his ego matched his genius. I thanked Chris and Norm for taking the time for me to have this experience as it put us 3 hours behind in our drive west. We spent the night in an RV place on the Mississippi River.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin

June 9
The drive today was a long one but we made it to the Badlands National Park in time for dinner. The drive through Wisconsin and Minnesota took us by one large well care for farm after another. They are all individually owned, no large corporations. The entire area looked prosperous. We passed by huge wind farms with the gigantic windmills. As we crossed into South Dakota the land changed to ranchland and we were in the wild west. We made one quick stop at the Corn Palace - totally covered with corn. Each year a new design is put up!

Corn Palace completely covered in corn!

June 5 and 6 - Lake Michigan Shore

Chris is walking along the shore of Lake Michigan in a sand dune area - beautiful.
Looking out at the water made us feel like we were in Hawaii.

June 5
We took a scenic drive in the afternoon along the beautiful west side of Michigan. Driving south from Mackinaw City, we made a couple of stops. Chris and I walked over the dunes to such a beautiful beach; dunes, turquoise water and blue sky. It would have been a great place to sit in beach chairs and soak in the beauty. A group of teenage girls were in their bikinis squealing as they attempted a dunk in the cold water. We had been clued in to stop at Legs Inn. A Polish immigrant fell in love with this area and started building this inn with the help of the local Indians back in the 30‘s, including the furniture and art pieces. Everything was made from local wood and drift wood. He continued his creative work until he died at 81. They have been serving food here for 80 years. We continued south through the “tunnel of trees” to the quaint and upscale town of Harbor Springs. Homes on along the water are in the $2 million range. The big fancy places are out in a gated community on a spit! We checked out a couple of the shops but realized it was a little out of our price range with $250.00 cotton blouses. We were checking out a map when a woman stopped to ask us if we needed any help. She led us to Tom’s Mom’s Cookies! It turned out that she had just retired from Paramount Studios where she had a career assisting in producing TV shows. Now she is directing the “Young Americans“ with their shows. It was interesting to look her up online and find her name, Susie Freeman-Johnson, and that she worked on one of our favorite TV shows, Cheers! She was a hoot and the cookies were the best ever. We looped back up through the interior past a small ski area. It looked like bunny hills at best. Michigan is gorgeous. I had always thought of Michigan as being industrial. It has industry but most of it is forest and farming with gorgeous shorelines.

Leg Inn is not to be missed!
Note the white stove legs as roof decorations. Too bad we had already had lunch.

This is quite a room - everything made by the Polish immigrant.

Don't want to meet up with this in the night!

June 6
A long 8 hour drive today took us west of Chicago. We thought we had picked an RV park fairly close to the city but we are about two hours away. Instead of going into the city two days, we are going to take the train in and see as much as we can in one day. We will take a trolley tour to get a good overview.

June 3

We reached our furthest north point of our trip today on the north shore of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in the tourist town of Mackinaw City. It is where throngs of tourists come each summer to ferry over to Mackinac Island. We are in that throng but before the rush! Mackinac Island is the #1 tourist spot in Michigan, so of course we didn’t want to miss it. The first part of our drive north was farmland and then it turned to lush forests. The sun was out by the time we headed out to see the town. Many of the motels are the small single story places from the 50’s but in beautiful shape. Everything on the water side of town looks freshly painted and ready for the summer. This place pretty much closes down by the middle of October so money has to be made in just six months. Fudge shops are everywhere, a little bit of heaven at every turn. The Murdicks opened the first sweet shop on Mackinac Island in in 1889, and fudge shops have multiplied in both the city and the island since then. We visited two of the 22 lighthouses that line the tip of Michigan. These two are built of Cream City brick and don’t have the traditional lighthouse look. With the opening of the Erie Canal, shipping increased and by the mid 1850’s, lighthouses were being commissioned. These two go back to the 1860’s and 1880’s and have been beautifully restored. Even with the lighthouses, the waters going around the tip are a graveyard of sunken ships. Fort Michilimackinac was built here in 1715, to protect the fur traders. I’m glad they shorten the name to Mackinac and Mackinaw, both pronounced the same. The British moved the fort to Mackinac Island in 1780, with Americans taking control in 1796. It went back and forth a couple of times but still stands today with the original walls and many originally buildings. The “Mighty Mac” or Mackinac Bridge opened in 1957 connecting Michigan to its northern peninsula. It is just short of five miles long. When it was built it was the longest single span bridge in the world. They have a transport services where you can call for a driver if you are too nervous to drive it yourself. We drove it expecting it to be nerve racking but it’s no different from other long bridges. Maybe in the winter when it’s icy and windy it would have a different feel.

These two pictures are two of the lighthouses along the tip of Michigan.

This is the passenger ferry we will take tomorrow to Mackinac Island.

The Almost 5 Mile Long Mackinac Bridge
The "Mighty Mac" connects the two parts of Michigan.
On one side is Lake Huron and on the other it's Lake Michigan.

June 4
We woke up to blue skies this morning and took the Shepler passenger ferry over to Mackinac Island this morning. They picked us up at the KOA and delivered us to the dock, very easy. We chose the 10:30 boat that went under the Mighty Mac before taking us to the island. What a quaint and charming islands this is! It is wonderful that automobiles were banned in 1898 because their sputtering scared the horses. Now all travel is by horse drawn carriages, bicycles, or on foot and it adds so much to the charm and peacefulness. We smiled when we saw bicyclists delivering boxes to the post office, taking large bags of aluminum cans to the ferry dock for recycle, and workers cycling in their uniforms going to their jobs. It was nice to be here before the tourist season really gets going. It must be a little crazy for two months. The only way to get here in the winter is to fly in. The year round residents have to stock up on supplies and hunker down! There are 100 carriages of all sizes and over 400 beautiful draft horses. Manure must be an issue! Thank goodness 80% goes to compost. We saw guys all over town with their manure bins on wheels doing their duty. The carriage tour took us through town, past the Grand Hotel and into the state park before stopping at the fort. It was a great way to see the island with only one day. We got some of the history along with some great story telling from our guides. I loved seeing the wild flowers as we rode through the State Park, We got out at the arch for photos. Our guide did a bit of great story telling in his off hand way on the formation of the arch. What a beautiful scene with the crystal clear water below and blue skies above. We were surprised at the gorgeous turquoise color of the water near the shore.

The "Mighty Mac" from the Ferry

The Grand Hotel from the Ferry

Round Island Lighthouse

Bike Rentals are a big thing on Mackinac Island!

View of the Arch - Gorgeous

Our Favorite Guide

We decided to splurge and have the buffet lunch at the Grand Hotel. It is nice that they charge just to go into the hotel. It must keep many tourists on the outskirts making it nicer for the guests. The hotel was built in 1887 to handle the swell of tourists, and has the same charm today as it did back then. You must dress for dinner with the men wearing jackets and ties.

The Grand Hotel

Beautiful Table Set fot the Lunch Buffet

From the Porch of the Grand Hotel
Can you tell, I would love to stay here!

Tourism was in its hay day in the 1880’s but hit on hard times with the depression and WWII. It is back in all its splendor for us today. One of my favorite movies, “Somewhere in Time,” takes places here. The hotel made the perfect backdrop for the 1912 scenes. I have wanted to see this place since then! We walked down to the pool area through the lilac gardens. Huge lilac trees and bushes line the roads and gardens all over town. They are all in bloom! What a sight and the smell is heavenly. Lunch was amazing. It was like a beautifully presented cruise ship spread! We couldn’t eat again for the rest of the day. The dining room was sunny with summer prints on the drapes, white table clothes and flowers on the tables with silver water pitchers making a divine dining room. The windows looked out to the porch with its white rocking chairs overlooking the lake. Splendid!

I went to the fort while Chris and Norm went downtown. It is part of the State Park and fully restored to the 1880’s when it was purchased by the state. They have manikins that move while the story of a battle in 1812 took place. Soldiers were required to go to school before they required children to go. In the hospital, soldiers are suffering in their sick beds and as you walk in a nurse’s image is projected on the wall and she tells about one of the soldier’s ills. I toured the officers and enlisted men’s quarters. When I walked in the office I could hear the telegraph machine. They had a bath house by the 1880’s with small rooms lined up with bathtubs using hot water. Surprisingly they found that illness degreased. They were very fortunate to have a recreation room with a pool table, card table and bar serving beer. Coffee didn’t pay off. What lucky soldiers! Now Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts from all over Michigan spend a week here. They are ready to answer questions, some more than others, and are responsible for raising and lowering the flag each day. I stayed for the firing of the cannon before I met Chris and Norm downtown in time to do a little fudge tasting and go in a few shops. Before catching the ferry, I took a little walk to see some of the Victorian homes and take some pictures. By afternoon we had gray skies and a few showers. What a delightful day in a beautiful setting. I wonder what it would be like to be one of the 500 people who live here year round without being able to go to the mainland during the winter. It would certainly be a long cold winter!

The Fort

Hundreds of lilac bushes and trees were every where and
all of them were in bloom!

One of the displays at the fort at the hospital.
A young boy is being innoculated with small pox.

Our Fudge Shop of Choice
They had dark chocolate fudge with pecans!

Downtown on Mackinac Island
These baskets must be overflowing in another month.

June 2 - New Era, Michigan

June 2
We drove up to the small town of New Era this morning. It is north of Muskegon close to Lake Michigan in farming country. We found where my great grandparents farm had been on Arthur St. It sat on a hill that my great grandmother named Temple Hill. Mom and my Aunt Margaret were born in a house across the street in 1920 and 1922. Neither one are there now. When Mom was here 20 years ago, she met the owner of the hardware store in town who actually remembered my grandfather as the rural mail carrier and the farm where he lived! We had a copy of the directions he had written out for my mom with us today. We talked to Mom on the phone a couple of times to ask questions and let her know what we were seeing. We had lunch in a brick building from 1919, so it was here when she was walking around town. The pickle factory she remembered was gone and a new cannery was in the place of the old one. We saw old photos of the school she might have gone to for first grade before moving the California. The town still has about 400 residents just as it did in the 20’s and farming is still going on.

Here we are in New Era where Mom and Aunt Margaret were born!

This is where the old farm must have been.

This building goes back to 1919, so it was here when Mom and Margaret would come to town.
We had lunch here and enjoyed looking at the old photos that lined the walls.

We drove down to Muskegon to see the ferry dock where she and her sister rode the ferry on their own to visit their parents in Milwaukie (long story). It was an overnight ride on a ferry powered by coal engines. Surprise, surprise, the ferry or one like it was docked across the bay. We had a good view of it! They actually have tours at times.

Ferry similar to the one Mom and Aunt Margaret took as
young gilrs to visit their parents in Milwaukie.

Further south we had our first sighting of Lake Michigan. We saw beaches along the Atlantic Coast that looked much the same. It was stormy and windy so small waves were breaking on the sand. There was even a surf shop nearby. We found another frozen custard place. Yea! It was quite a day!

Our first view of Lake Michigan

June 1 - Around Detroit

June 1
The Henry Ford museum celebrates the American genius. I thought this was a museum about Ford and the development of the automobile, but thank goodness had been informed otherwise. There are amazing collections illustrating the industrial growth in the US. They had a huge display of farm equipment and tractors, early machines used in the textile industry, machine shop machines, printing presses, telephones, kitchen appliances and more. They had an interactive display on automation that kids were involved with. The section on US history was laid out really well but we only had time to hit the high spots. The traveling bed that George Washington used during the Revolutionary War and his personal “kitchen trunk” were displayed. The bed folded out of a trunk, very ingenious. Another display had the chair Lincoln was sitting in at the Ford Theater when he was assassinated along with fabric from the dress Mary was wearing. We could actually go inside the very bus where Rosa Parks refused to go to the back. My oh my! The Presidential limo President Kennedy was riding in when he was shot is there along with many of the other Presidential limos.

George washington's Traveling Bed and Kitchen Trunk

Chair Lincoln was sitting in when he was shot at the Ford Theater.

Rosa Park's Bus

They had a 1,000 foot circular home that was a hopeful prototype after WWII, but it didn’t catch on. They never actually sold a home. A man involved in the design went on to develop the geodesic dome at Disneyworld.. It was built out of the most modern materials and the whole thing could be made in a factory and shipped. One was made and they family lived in it for 20 years. They entire house it right here. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and large living area. It was called the Fuller Dymaxion and was part of Beech Aircraft. They went onto a successful airplane business. They couldn’t get the $10 million needed for promotion and development.

Fuller Dymaxion Home

They had a fabulous section devoted to the history of the automobile beginning with the very first motorized vehicle in the US. I loved seeing the motor home that Charles Kuralt rode around the US in for CBS doing his “On the Road“ series. Other favorites were the second car to drive across the US covered with mud and a picnic umbrella attached, the very first school bus, an early VW camper bus, a 1929 tent trailer, and the trailer that the Charles Lindberg family used as they vacationed around the US. Lindberg recorded all the places they visited on the shelf paper covering the bottom of one of the kitchen drawers.

"On the Road with Charles Kuralt" Motorhome

Second Automobile to Cross the US
Note the musd and the patio umbrella sticking up.

1929 Tent Trailer

 

VW Camper

We certainly didn’t have time to see everything. Greenville Village is another entire area covering 30 acres and is divided into 7 historical districts. It would be a whole day by itself. The home that the Wright brothers grew up in was moved here. They also have a bus that takes you to a Ford Motor Company tour. It truly is an amazing place and we just scratched the surface. It was crawling the school kids on field trips!

We left in time to see the Cash and Cari Warehouse. Cash and Cari is a show on HGTV that we have followed. Her third season will be on soon. She does estate sales on TV. One of the tings that I like about her is that she seems very caring with the families and what they are going through. Some of the items end up in her warehouse or RePurpose Shop. She was at the warehouse and came out to meet us! She is darling and full of personality. She filled us in on how she got started and ended up on TV!



Cari from "Cash and Cari" Show
Her aunt took the photo and must have moved.

This is a bench she repurposed from a head and foot board, darling.

Norm checking things out.

First thing in the morning we hit an estate sale. To me it was a dirty smelly home full of junk but to Norm is was a treasure trove. He bought a camera for $3.00 that looks like it will sell on eBay for $800!