How Not to Cross the Mackinac Bridge

Some more trivia tidbits from my library copy of the Michillaneous book containing all sorts of strange facts about Michigan. Today I bring a list of some strange ways people have crossed the Mackinac Bridge as well as how not to cross the Mighty Mac. June 1973 An Amish family was traveling from Maine to Colorado and crossed the bridge in a horse-drawn buggy. The Bridge Authority closed one lane of the five-mile span for the one-hour crossing.

Labor Day, 1978 Farmers, in protest of government policy on beef import quotas and standards, blocked the one open traffic lane and backed up traffic for several miles as the annual Labor Day bridge walk took place.

In 1980 we have the following statistics -

• One out of 10,000 had to have their cars driven across for them because they were too afraid to drive themselves.
• One out of 27,000 ran out of gas.
• One out of 45,000 had a flat tire.
• Patrol cars stopped one out of 25,000 for not paying the toll.

Stay at Great Wolf Lodge for Only $139

The current special at Great Wolf Lodge runs from April 23 through June 10, 2006. Family suites start at $139. Go to tc.greatwolflodge.com and use the promotional code TSPRING to receive the discount. If you have never stayed at Great Wolf Lodge you just don't know what you are missing. Just so you know, regular room rates for Family Suites usually start at $279 so you are saving 50% with this deal. The important thing to remember with this deal is that you must book by April 30 to receive the special rate.

Yummy Cherry Recipes

Cherry Republic has some great cherry recipes that I will definitely be trying out. We get a lot of our cherry products that we carry from Cherry Republic. You can get similar items for less at your local grocery store, but I firmly believe that once you try their cherry products you won't make that mistake again. The Classic Cherry Turnovers and Cherry Bread Pudding are at the top of my list to try out. I have made the Slow Cooker Bread Pudding with dried blueberries so I am sure it would be even better with some dried tart cherries.

For cherry recipes to soothe your sweet tooth head on over to Cherry Recipes from Cherry Republic.

National Cherry Festival is July 1-8

The 80th National Cherry Festival takes place this year July 1-8. Traverse City will be bustling with all kinds of cherry-themed items and thousands of visitors. The festival's mission statement is, "to promote cherries, tourism and community." They definitely do that. 9,000 pancakes will be served up for breakfast on the 4th of July (with cherries on top, of course). On July 1-2 the Blue Angels will be showing off their aerodynamic skills over the waters of West Grand Traverse Bay. The National Cherry Festival will close with the Cherry Royale Parade on July 8.

For more details and information check out the National Cherry Festival website. For information on other fun things to do in the Traverse City area head over to the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau website.

Traverse City also has a new Frontier League baseball team - the Traverse City Beach Bums that will be playing a handful of home games during the weeklong National Cherry Festival. From the photos on the team website it appears that they have a really unique stadium. The main stands look like a beach resort. What a neat atmosphere for baseball.

National Cherry Festival article in the Traverse City Record Eagle.

An Environmental Governor

April 22, 2006, is Earth Day. A day to focus on ways to better the environment. In honor of this day, I thought I would mention former Michigan Governor, William Milliken, a pioneer in taking care of Michigan's natural beauty. I did not know it, but it was Gov. Milliken who campaigned for the $.10 bottle deposit law. Evidently, Milliken was disgusted with the amount of garbage along our state highways and wanted to do something to keep our state clean.

In addition to the deposit law, Milliken also saw the Michigan Environmental Protection Act in 1970, the Wetlands Act of 1979 and the Natural Resource Trust Fund come to fruition during his tenure.

Thanks to Milliken, our state is probably a lot cleaner than it might have been had we not passed those laws to help preserve Michigan's natural beauty and resources.

Read more about former Governor Milliken at the Traverse City Record Eagle.