Michigan Barn Preservation Network

Growing up in the country it is always sad to see grand old barns in disrepair when I am traveling around Michigan. There are numerous sagging and collapsing barns that are mere shadows of their former selves everywhere you look. Some are merely skeletons with all of the planking and roofing salvaged for other construction projects. Those new-fangled pole barns with their steel roofs and siding sure are functional, but they aren't much for looks. They just don't compare to the rough-hewn beams and thick pine planks of the barns from yesterday. The Michigan Barn Preservation Network (MBPN) is working toward changing that one barn at a time.

The MBPN is a non-profit organization that seeks to restore and preserve Michigan's barns. Their mission statement is as follows -

Promoting appreciation, preservation and rehabilitation of Michigan Barns, farmsteads and rural communities.

CNN Recommends a Visit to Michigan's West Coast

I was at cnn.com this morning looking for more info on the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (al-Qaida's leader in Iraq) when I saw a mention of Michigan in the travel section. They cover Michigan's west coast towns from New Buffalo on up to Ludington. The article is packed with glowing recommendations of things to do along Michigan's west coast and there is just too much to include even a brief snippet. It is great to see an "outsider" have such a high opinion of places to see and things to do in Michigan. The only beef I have is that they include Grand Rapids in Michigan's west coast, but they go no further north than Ludington. What about Manistee, Frankfort, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey, and the numerous other great stops along our west coast?

Anyway, read the whole article here.

They also have an article on Mackinac Island in reference to the annual Lilac Festival that runs June 9 through June 18. The article is titled, "Wander the fragrant streets of Mackinac Island." I assume they are thinking of the fragrant lilacs, but with all of those horse-drawn carriages there is another prevailing odor that adds its own unique fragrance to Mackinac Island's streets.

Don't get me wrong, I love Mackinac Island. I proposed to my wife there and we honeymooned there as well. I just think that people ought to know that there are three dominant things you smell when you depart the ferries. Lilacs, horse dung, and fudge.

The heat of summer melts them all together into a single scent that wafts on the cool island breezes. Bet you won't read that in a travel brochure :).

Michigan Gas Prices Week of 6/5/06

Regular unleaded will cost you $2.884 on average across Michigan this week. It is up almost $.10 from last week's average of $2.797. A year ago you could fill up for $2.13 on average in Michigan. We just came back from the Sleeping Bear Dunes area over the weekend and saw prices anywhere from $2.799 to $2.999. Gas prices courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report

Baseball Team's Success Brings Pride to Homer

UPDATE:Homer lost in the Diamond Classic championship game to Grand Ledge 7-6. Grand Ledge came from behind (6-1) by posting a ferocious comeback in the 7th inning. The big difference? Grand Ledge's season was ended last weekend in districts, but Homer is still in the hunt for a State Championship. Shoot, it's only their second loss in 110 games ;).

Homer, MI - A town the size of Homer (pop. 1,797) normally wouldn't be in the national spotlight. However, when your high school baseball team sets a new record for consecutive wins (a Herculean 75 in a row) people can't help but notice. The win streak ended in last year's state championship game, but this year's squad is currently 33-0 heading into tonight's Diamond Classic championship game against Grand Ledge.

Homer loves its baseball team. The only other claim to fame this small town had was Homer native Greg Barton winning two Olympic gold medals in kayaking at the 1988 games in Seoul, Korea. Well, that is not entirely true. There is also Cascarelli's Pizza & Pub which has been in business for what seems like forever to local residents (actually since 1935).

I have actually been to Homer a few times. It should be the image next to the definition of a small town. By the way, Cascerelli's has some of the best pizza I have ever tasted. If you love pizza, you have got to go there sometime.

How fitting that a town named Homer has a baseball team so successful that it has won 107 of its last 108 games? The baseball team has instilled a sense of pride that not too many towns of this size can attain. They are proud of their baseball team. They are proud of their town. If a town's size was measured with heart and compassion there would be no small mentioned in any description of Homer.

I will cheer on the Homer baseball team and wish them the best of luck.

Read the article at The Detroit News

MDOT Needs More Groups to Adopt Highways

Michigan is in need of more Adopt-A-Highway groups along a 23 mile stretch of I-94 beginning at the Indiana state line. Groups already made their first trash pickup from April 22 through the 30th. Two more pickup dates are scheduled for July 8-16 and September 9-17. The Michigan Department of Transportation supllies groups with everything from safety videos and vests down to the trash bags. I took part a few times in the Adopt-A-Highway program with my accounting fraternity at Western Michigan University. We had a large group and it didn't take more than an hour or two to clean up our stretch of northbound 131. It was a lot of fun to work together and make Michigan look a little bit cleaner in the process. It was also amazing and sad to see the amount of trash dumped along a pretty short stretch of road.

Visit www.michigan.gov/adoptahighway for information on pickup dates and applications for your group to participate in the program.

Via the Kalamazoo Gazette

Badger Car Ferry Video Clip

This is a neat (and short) clip of the Badger car ferry running from Ludington, Michigan to Manitiwoc, Wisconsin. I had the priviledge of taking this fun trip across Lake Michigan with my grandparents when I was a kid. To be out in the middle of Lake Michigan and not able to spot any land was a new experience for me. It shaved some time off of our trip, but also afforded my cousin and I the opportunity to roam all over the ship instead of being cooped up in the car. I see that they have a restaurant now as well as a movie theater and even a place for the little ones to play.

Check for departure times and pricing at ssbadger.com.

If the video player does not appear just go to youtube.com to view it.

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