Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City is Expanding

Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City just announced they are expanding their indoor water park and adding condominiums as well. A 41,000 square foot expansion of the indoor water park will more than double the current 38,000 square foot water park. The water park expansion will be located at the site of the current outdoor pool area (which will be relocated). Construction will begin this fall with completion hopefully by next June.

We just stayed up there a week ago and had a great time as always. I can't imagine what they will be adding to the water park. There was already more than enough to keep the kids happy and busy so doubling it should theoretically double their fun :).

The Traverse City Great Wolf Lodge has a pretty cool website. Check it out.

News of the Great Wolf Lodge expansion courtesy of the Traverse City Record Eagle.

Fly the Flag With Pride

Today is Flag Day. You don't hear about it much these days. About the only thing the press seems to grab hold of for a story around Flag Day is whether or not Congress should pass an amendment banning the desecration of our Nation's colors. If you have a flag, raise it up today of all days. Honor those that have purchased our right to freedom at the highest of costs. Lets raise our millions of flags today in defiance of those that wish to taunt us with burning 'Old Glory.'

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

To the Top of 'The Mighty Mac'

One of the first stops on Susan Agers summer trip around Michigan was to the top of one of the 552-foot tall towers that hold up the Mackinac Bridge. She received over 1,000 suggestions from readers on where to go in Michigan this summer. You can follow her travels at her blog www.freep.com/gosusan. You can still keep giving her suggestions via her blog. I don't know exactly how she is choosing from such a plethora of options. It has to be difficult to trim down the list and experience a tiny bit of what Michigan has to offer this summer.

I look forward to her the rest of her Michigan trips and will keep you updated on the interesting locales she visits.

Read her first-person account of going up the tower and the beautiful scene she took in at the Detroit Free Press. It had me feeling claustrophobic as she entered the "coffin-like" elevator and weak in the knees at the thought of only having a 42-inch high railing keeping you from falling off of the 552-foot high tower.

Update on the Strawberry Cream French Toast

Just had the strawberry cream french toast that I gave out the recipe for yesterday. The review is in, that was an awesome breakfast! Accompanied with a steaming cup of black coffee it was all I could do to not eat more than I did. We even have leftovers to eat for tomorrow's breakfast. Yum!

Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam

My wife makes the best strawberry freezer jam. I hoard it throughout the year and am just now nearing the end of the last container of last year's jam. I love it so much that I wanted to share her awesome recipe with you. When I asked her for the recipe this morning she chuckled. She brought me the package of freezer jam pectin and told me that she just uses the recipe on the back. All this time I thought she was using some old family recipe! ;)

Of course, anyone making freezer jam is most likely using the same or at least a similar recipe. I do think that the quality of the strawberries is the key, though. Everyone might use the same recipe, but you have to use quality berries.

So, without further ado, here is the strawberry freezer jam recipe from the back of the Ball Freezer Jam Pectin package.

1. Measure 2/3-cup sugar into bowl. Add package Fruit Jell Freezer Jam Pectin; stir until mixed.
2. Crush strawberries. Combine 1 2/3 cups crushed strawberries with pectin mixture. Stir 3 minutes.
3. Ladle jam into clean jars (Ball makes great plastic jars with screw-on lids) leaving 1/2-inch headspace; apply lids. Let stand until thickened (about 30 minutes).
4. Serve, Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or Freeze it for longer storage.

Yields 2-8oz. jars

P.S. If you are at all like me you won't have to worry about storing the jam in your fridge for more than 3 weeks. It just won't last that long :).

DeVos Leads Granholm by 8 Points

In the latest Detroit News/WXYZ-TV Poll, Dick DeVos is shown to be leading Governor Granholm by 8 points. DeVos has 48 percent to Granholm's 40 percent with another 12 percent undecided. The poll has an error rate of 4-points. Now, 48 percent is not exactly an overwhelming majority by any means. If it were something like 60-40 that would at least show a clear majority preferring one candidate over the other. Democrats will say that DeVos bought his lead with the millions he has spent on television ads. Republicans will say that it is DeVos' message that is resonating with voters as well as Michigan's economic woes that has enabled this lead in the polls.

I am not too big on polls. Remember the exit polling performed in the last presidential election? Supposedly Bush was being soundly trounced.

Read The Detroit News for more information regarding Michigan's race for the next governor.