What's Your Favorite Holiday?

Halloween is my favorite holiday.  But this post is not about Halloween,  It is about another holiday that is a very very close second in my list of favorite holidays.        Christmas!

Today we stopped in southern Michigan at Bonner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth. This is the world's largest Christmas store.  If you love Christmas, you NEED to get here. I am specifically thinking of people like my friend Brianna Bonnet and Dad and Pat. But everyone needs to see this place for themselves.

Here are some of the facts I learned about this store.

• more than 350 decorated trees displayed
• items from over 70 countries
• over 150 different styles of nutcrackers
• artists in the store personalize over 100,000 ornaments each year
• if you stretched out the light sets sold in ONE year they would span 530 miles
• the electric bill averages $1250 per DAY
• there is an online store
• the entire building is 320,000 sq ft (approx. 5.5 football fields) but only 96,000 sq ft is used for the salesroom
• about 100,000 outdoor lights illuminate the building
• the outdoor Santa is 17 ft tall and the snowman is 15 ft tall
• the weekend  after Thanksgiving is of course the busiest with as many as 50,000 shoppers
• over 2 million people stop here annually

We ended up spending about 2 hours wandering and I'm not sure we saw everything. It's like a Christmas overdose.

Next door is the Silent Night Memorial Chapel. It is a replica of the original in Oberndorf, Austria. There are signs all around with the lyrics to Silent Night translated into other languages.

Headed to Niagara Falls. Be there sometime tomorrow. Stay tuned.

On Our Way to Michigan

We were in Chicago for the Nebraska-Northwestern football game and had a little bit of time to sightsee.  Since we had been in Chicago recently, I wasn't interested in most of the big name things.  We had drinks and dinner at Kirkwood Bar (Husker hangout), found Oz Park, walked around Navy Pier, lunch at Gino's East Pizza, and  found the Leaning Tower of Niles (half the size of the one in Pisa). Saturday night we went to the game and Sunday we had breakfast at Lou Mitchell's which is located where Route 66 started. Then we headed into Michigan.

First stop on our way to Michigan was the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.  This was created a national lakeshore in 1966. It is over 15,000 acres and was created when the Wisconsin glacier melted 11,000 years ago. The water levels fluctuate creating a series of shorelines and dunes. I wanted to go see Mount Baldy, a 126 ft tall moving dune but it was closed. It's been closed for several years since a small boy fell in a hole and had to be dug out. (He is fine now.) We took a little hike and of course I checked out the beach.

our hiking path

near the water's edge

Lake Michigan

Then we went on to Michigan. We have never been to Michigan so this crosses off another state for both of us. We stopped for the night in Holland, Michigan. This is a very cute Dutch town and I can only imagine how beautiful it would be in spring when tulips are in bloom.  It is also on Lake Michigan. There is a cool Big Red Lighthouse.  The downtown area is lined with little independent shops.  We ate dinner at Boatwerks, a nice restaurant, on the waterfront. I want to come back and stay for an extended period of time in this small town. (Not in winter though.)

Big Red Lighthouse

In downtown, see the kid with left hand on his heart?  Happened all the time in my class.

Dutch Village was closed for the season.

Only shop open in Dutch Village.  Want a new pair of  wooden shoes?  Get them here.

Next we stopped in Grand Rapids to see the Gerald Ford Presidential Library and Museum. One of my favorite things in this museum was the letter from Coach Lambeau offering Ford $110 a game if he would come play football for the Green Bay Packers.

The Oval Office during Ford's presidency

Gerald and Betty Ford

LW sitting in the President's seat in the Cabinet room

One of my favorite quotes by Ford

Then we stopped for a short bit in Traverse City before getting to our condo in Mancelona.
Tuesday we drove to Petoskey. This is another cute small town that I'd love to come back to and stay awhile. We checked out the downtown shops and had lunch at Jespersons Restaurant before moving on to Mackinaw City.

We caught the ferry to Mackinac Island.  The island was the second National Park created.  Since 1898 there have been no cars allowed on the island.  Transportation is by bike, foot or horse and carriage.  If you rode a bike around the island you would have traveled 8.2 miles. Fudge is a BIG deal on the island.  Something to do with the right temperature and humidity. Murdick Fudge was the first fudge shop opened on the island in 1889 so of course that is where I purchased my fudge. We walked the main street checking out all the shops and then had a beer in a pub while we waited for our return ferry. It has rained all day so we weren't able to do and see as much as I had hoped. This is another place we'll come back to eventually...in the summer though as the island and much of Mackinaw City shut down from mid October thru the end of spring. After grabbing dinner in Mackinaw City, we headed back to our condo to get out of these damp clothes and warm up.

Our ferry, the view of the island, the view of the main drag, lighthouse, Murdick's Fudge Shop and LW  on the ferry.

So long northern Michigan.  It's been great but we are now headed south.  Stay tuned...

Back to My Hometown

On Sunday, we left Council Bluffs and LW's family and headed east to my neck of the woods, the Davenport area. After a disaster with a tire tread in the road (see previous post), we arrived at my aunt and uncle's farm outside Tipton, Iowa.  My Aunt Bonnie had arranged for all her kids and their families as well as two of my other cousins to come hang out and stay for supper.  ( Bonnie, Rick, Darci, Tom, Alden, Alex, Denise, Ricky, Heidi, Erica, Caleb, Becky, Melissa, Schelli, Rob, Randy, Liz, Abby, and Andy) It was so much fun laughing and joking and telling stories with everyone. The food was great, especially the chocolate drop cookies (made by Abby).

Monday morning after taking the car in for an estimate and having breakfast, we headed to see Dad and Pat.  After some lunch in West Branch, Iowa, we visited the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.

Then we met some more of my family at Lancer Grille in Eldridge. (Donna, Ron, Kim, Tony, Kayla, Chad,  Kenley, Gene and Mary). We had a great time visiting with them as well. So glad they came out to see us.

Tuesday, we dropped the car off to be fixed and went to Maquoketa for lunch and on to Dubuque.  There we rode the Fenelon Place Elevator. It was originally built to help a guy get home earlier for his afternoon nap instead of riding his horse and buggy all the way around the hills. The views were beautiful and the ride was fun.

Then we drove onto Dyersville to see the Field of Dreams site. This did not disappoint.  I loved it!

Following that we had lunch and then went to the National Farm Toy Museum. I've never seen so many toy tractors in one place.

Wednesday we went to visit Uncle Roland. He is actually Dad's uncle. He is my Grandpa Lloyd's youngest brother and the only one of his siblings still with us.  He will be 96 on Sunday.  We enjoyed our visit with him and his daughter Marcia.  Then we went into Davenport to the Figge Art Museum to see a special exhibition on "The Wonderful World of Oz."  They had Dorothy's dress and the wicked witch's hourglass on display, along with promotional posters and other memorabilia.  They also had a first edition book of L. Frank Baum's book.

Thursday involved less running around and we got our car back this afternoon. We will be headed to Chicago tomorrow.

Unexpected delay in leaving on Friday. The Cornhusker Band stopped to practice in Davenport so we stayed to watch.

Thanks eastern Iowa for a great visit and special thanks to Dad and Pat for letting us stay with them and run us all over the eastern side of the state. Now on to Chicago.

A Letter From the Mazda

Dear Interstate Road Debris,

Was that really necessary? I was just going along minding my own business, delivering J and L to their next destination.  What had I done to you? Throwing a piece of tire tread up into my path is not very nice. You cracked my front bumper and tore up my protective covering underneath. Did you realize I am brand new? Did you know I'm far from home? Did you care? Obviously you are not concerned with any of that. Now I've got to sit at the repair shop in Davenport for a few days and miss out on all the fun sightseeing that J and L are doing in the area. When I'm all better, I'll be moving on. You'll still be laying back there, probably seeing if you can find someone else to wreak havoc on. Good luck! You picked the wrong car to mess with cause I'm not going to let a piece of road debris stop me from seeing the country. The J and L Roadshow must go on.

Sincerely,

The gray Mazda 3 you met on I-80 in Des Moines on Sunday

Sad to Say Good-Bye

Well, our time here in Council Bluffs is coming to an end.  We have been here since September 1. This will likely be the longest we stay in one place during this first part of our trip. Onward we must go.  We've had a great time doing all of the usual things:

breakfasts at Village Inn and Hyvee

Cornhusker games and tailgating

lunches at LPL's (Home of the best pork tenderloin sandwich and our favorite server, our beautiful niece, Megan) and Godfathers Pizza (favorite taco pizza).

casino visits

Texas Hold 'em games with the family

watching Poppy's flag football team

watching our nephew, Abe win his first football game this season

weekly dinners at Cascios Steakhouse and Pizza King

Many thanks to the Shanks for letting us use their basement as our hotel.  Thanks to all of our family for the dinners, games, laughs, and time spent hanging out.

I guess we'll see you when we see you....Love to all of you
J and L

Right in Your Own Backyard LW

Even though LW grew up here in Council Bluffs, IA, this week we saw a few things that he hadn't ever seen or at least hadn't seen in years.  Here's what we discovered.

Black Angel Statue-A memorial to Ruth Anne Dodge sculpted by Daniel Chester French and dedicated in 1920.  It is weathered black by the elements.  A plaque near the base stated that it is the angel Ruth saw in her dreams and then she died 2 days later.

Lincoln Monument-This monument to Abe Lincoln is located at the spot where he overlooked the valley in 1859, and shortly thereafter proclaimed Council Bluffs to be the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Joslyn Art Museum-I went to the art museum because they advertised Picture Book Art by Marla Frazee as a new exhibit.  I liked the art center itself but I was a little underwhelmed by the picture book exhibit.  It just had frames from different books on the wall.  No info and not even some of her more well known books.Here are a couple pictures from my visit.

out front in the sculpture garden

Loved this portrait

one example  of Marla Frazee's work

Union Pacific Train Engines-On display, high above I-80, we found Big Boy, the largest steam  train engine ever built and the Centennial No 6900, the largest and most powerful diesel-electric locomotive ever built.

The Golden Spike-This is a 56 ft tall replica of the tiny spike that marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad in Utah. This monument was placed here in 1939 as a promotional gimmick for the movie Union Pacific.

Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge and riverfront area-crosses the Missouri River from Council Bluffs, IA to Omaha, NE.

Gerald Ford Birthsite and Garden-This spot marks where President Ford was born.  The house is no longer there but it has a beautiful garden and pavilion, including a few pieces of memorabilia.

There is also a time capsule that was buried here in 1976, to be opened in 2076.  I wonder what is inside.

Chef Boyardee Statue-In downtown Omaha we found a 6 ft bronze statue of Chef Boyardee in the ConAgra Plaza.

Memorial Stadium, Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, NE-

National Roller Skating Museum in Lincoln, NE-Here we found skates from famous people like Tara Lipinski, cowboy boot skates, skates signed by Drew Barrymore, and many many other things related to roller skating over the years.

Nebraska Holocaust Memorial in Lincoln, NE-Lincoln has a beautiful Holocaust Memorial.  There are bricks with just a few names of victims set among many, many stones meant to symbolize the sea of victims, There was a sculpture in the shape of the Star of David with scenes from history on each side.  There was a butterfly garden in remembrance of the children.

Lots of other statues-

Now that we have explored LW's hometown and surrounding areas, let's move east towards my hometown.  See ya there in a few days.