Month: July 2022

July brought us to our first post pandemic concert, back after two years of absence from this concert series in Grand Rapids Michigan. One of our favourite artists was back on the program, the incomparable Lyle Lovett. We have attended this concert at this beautiful outdoor venue in the past and it is always worth the drive.

This time though, it was a trip with Xolo ( our Airstream).

We had our Boondockers Welcome (BW) host lined up, a Frank LLoyd Wright house tour, a trip to the beach….all the elements of a stellar road trip.

Michigan weather exploded its regular downpour on us. Every time we have driven down to Grand Rapids ….it has been in the pouring rain.

Even on Friday night, driving over to Fredrik Meijer Gardens, the rain continued to pour. We arrived in the parking lot to a little drizzle (Scotch Mist..!!) and by the time we took our place in the queue….it all dried up…..and held off for the entirety of the concert.

Lyle was fabulous as ever. I know I’m biased…as a diehard fan…..but The Large Band is always spectacular, and the performance is always polished and spellbinding.

The large band are all accomplished music artists in their own right…..the whole thing makes for a great show…!!

Another superb aspect to this venue is that you always meet great people, its such a lovely, almost informal setting as the concert continues through dusk ( and some years there are fireflies..!!)

Very satisfied with our evening, and our trip……we made the short drive back to our spot in Cedar Springs.

With morning we were pulling out, headed back to Ontario to regroup and make ready for the next big leg of our ongoing adventure. We took a chance on Saturday morning to try out a local breakfast spot in Cedar Springs, Sue’s Country Kitchen. Anything you might be thinking about this little local eatery is probably spot on. A truly charming and authentic place. The homemade bread is out of this world, the omelet…. fabulous. Not a matching couple of mugs, or set of cutlery in the place (or piece of furniture for that matter ). Rustic, I think is the appropriate description. If you ever pass this way….definitely stop for breakfast….its an experience. ( A good one….I promise..!!)

We had a wander round Cedar Springs….a quite charming little tiny dot on the map town….very pretty..!!

The bridge was out….!!

All pictures are clickable if you wish a clearer view. Clickable links for more information appear as underlined text.

Despite our intent to journey east, an opportunity to see one of our favourite artists perform in Grand Rapids at one of our favourite venues lured us slightly west again….briefly….but that will be the next post…..

In previous (pre pandemic, and pre Airstream ..!!) years we have travelled down and stayed in hotels locally. Grand Rapids is a great place for gastro pubs and microbreweries. This time , with our new found love for Boondockers Welcome, I had found a very promising host in Cedar Springs, just a little north of the city, 25 minutes from the venue (and 4 miles from a promising sounding brewery..!!)

Bonus this time was the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids. It’s another Frank Lloyd Wright restored home. (click here for more information)

The house is owned and maintained by Steelcase, one of the largest office furniture manufacturers in the world which was founded in Grand Rapids. Last time we were here we missed the tour b/c they only run them two days a week…this time we were prepared……tickets booked…….we were ready.

What a beautiful house it is……most definitely in keeping with others we have seen. It has been beautifully restored by the Steelcase owners…..and surprisingly, photography was allowed inside the house (much to the delight of my photographer…😅)

This place has a very similar feel to Darwin Martin House Complex in Buffalo, maybe its the same type of loving restoration. The enthusiasm and real love from the volunteers is the same in all the Frank Lloyd Wright houses. The decorative frieze pictured below had been painted over more than 40 times……its return is discussed with pride and wonder by the volunteers.

There were only four of us with our docent….the other couple were FLW superfans like us…..and we chatted her up enough that we got a couple of extra rooms on our tour.

Mr Wrights attention to detail and fascination with light yields some extra delightful moments in this house.

We were very pleased with ourselves for fitting this one in, it is a treasure.

Our Boondockers welcome (BW) host had recommended a trip to Grand Haven. A 45 minute drive from Grand Rapids. Following the travel mantra (always follow the recommendations…..even though this was not the laundry room…LOL) off we went, to the west side of Michigan and the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

It was a beautiful day, and so it was a perfect day to hit the beach, and to complete the Great Lakes set….with a swim in our fifth Great Lake..!!

…and a walk on the pier …….

….a bit of added excitement as the coastguard were called out, lights and sirens blazing…..

An absolutely beautiful place……

The host farm was a lovely property, and our site for the trailer next to a barn with a few resident sheep. Our gracious host met with us to help us get set up and told us of his missing cat ‘Shadow’ the barn cat. Shadow had not been sighted for some time but was still disposing of her daily kibble ration. (or was she..!!)

Scott met this little chap whilst filling the water jugs in the morning. We kept a respectful distance……but just had to take some pictures of ‘Shadow’….the funny lookin’ barn cat…!!!

As ever, all pictures are clickable if you wish a clearer view…..and underlined text is clickable links for more information.

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Another one of the traditions we had formed pre pandemic was the food truck festival in Buffalo. Fortuitously it is held soon after the Allentown Arts fest, and since we had not started our trek to the East yet…we were able to attend.

Really its just an excuse to spend another weekend in Buffalo…..this town has been our home from home over the last few years…and it is really good to be back.

The festival itself was very busy again…which was great to see. We made the decision early to stop and have our favourite ‘Mike’ sandwich at Spot coffee……which kind of ruined us for the tasters….but the lines were long for the trucks…so we opted for a people watching tour this year.

City hall in Buffalo is such a lovely building, and that end of town has so many fabulous structures . From a conversation we had with one of our local friends some years ago….the greatest thing that happened to Buffalo was that, in the 50’s, when all the other major cities were tearing down their 1900’s to 1930’s architecture and replacing them with glass and steel, Buffalo was too poor……so all those beautiful old buildings are still standing…and are now being restored…..

There are always some great murals and unexpected artwork in this town. (Among the many things I love about this place..!!)

All pictures are clickable if you wish a clearer view, and clickable links for more information appear underlined.

On the continuing journey of Frank LLoyd Wright houses, the first one we ever visited was the Darwin Martin complex in Buffalo. This was a first time visit for the eldest daughter, and a great excuse to spend a day out and about with her.😁

This complex has been the subject of a mammoth restoration and reconstruction project guided by an incredible collection of volunteers who have taken this project from near ruin to its full former splendour.

It doesnt usually take much to persuade us to spend a day in Buffalo and this day was no exception. The weather was quite perfect, sunny but not too blisteringly hot.

Our last visit here pre pandemic was just as they were getting going with replacing the floriscape. Two years of pandemic restriction later and the garden is now well established and a magnificent compliment to this quite beautiful housing complex.

FLW built three housing complexes during his illustrious career, and this is the only one still standing. It consists of the main family house, the gardeners cottage, the carriage house and the Barton house which Darwin Martin had built for his sister on the same property.

At the Darwin Martin house, as with many of the FLW houses, there is no photography allowed inside the building. My resident photographer satisfied himself with scoping out the outside, and the pergola walkway down to the ‘greenhouse’.

We finished up the day at one of our very favourite haunts in Buffalo, the Allen St Hardware Cafe. A stop for dinner before heading home.

A great day out…!!!

For anyone in Southern Ontario, this house ( and the Martins summerhouse at Greycliff) are an easy day out, and, if you have even the slightest interest in architecture, or art in general, a must do trip.

Its a 2 hour tour around the house and gardens, and we have been here a few times before….but it never seems like that long. This place is just such a magnificent piece of design. That Frank guy really knew what he was doing…!!!

As always, the pictures are all clickable if you wish a clearer view, underlined text provides clickable links to further information.

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With the added ‘mom and dad’ bonus of two daughters visiting, a plan was hatched to take them up to Lionshead for the Saturday Farmers Market, followed by a hike along the Bruce Trail. We were proposing a little taster of the start of our trip last year and they were both up for it…so ……the cooler was verily packed with lunch morsels and lots of water……..and my purse with lots of bug spray….

Early morning start and on the road.

We made good time, and the weather was better than forecast….not that the forecast was poor….but it was a little warmer than we had expected.

It was quite comforting to be back at the market again seeing familiar faces….my favourite crepe lady was not there…(unfortunately..!!) and it was early in the season yet for the veggie people……

We took them up to our camp spot at Cape Chin…and set out for a fairly level hike on the Georgian Bluffs. It was warm….a bit of a cool breeze…..(cold on the ears..!!) but really pretty perfect for hiking.

Its such a lovely trail. I was a bit concerned it might seem tame after some of the mountain hikes and views…..but no…the Bruce Trail has its own beauty and challenges.

In particular, right at the point of the chin of Cape Chin, the trail opens out over Georgian Bay and the sapphire blue holds its own among any spectacular view in Canada…!! (Click here for a youtube video drone footage of the ‘Chin”)

The added bonus to my views of Huron would be the addition of daughters in the viewfinder…..beautiful on beautiful…!!! 😁

The last part of the hike back from the Bruce Conservancy house, where we stopped to look out from the big rock, had changed from the last time we were there…..The wander through the woods did not include the gnomes this time.(😂)…but a cool walk back through the woods and across the meadow without the pursuing cows…!!!

The stile from the last time we did this one has moved up the road.

The hike treated us to lots of seasonal wildflowers, orchids and a few of our favourite fun guys….!!!

….and WARNING…!!! a little slithery guy we found on the path…!!

We had planned to finish the day with a repeat of the dip in Dyers bay, but the evil old parents were voted down …!! It was as spectacular from the boat launch as we remembered it…..

A good day out with the girls.

_{(All pictures are clickable for clearer view. All clickable links are underlined )}

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