Google shows off its new Ann Arbor office

Web Pro News and the Detroit Free Press are reporting that Google opened its new Ann Arbor office to the public to showcase their cool office environment. The new office space will accommodate an estimated 1,000 employees and is currently home to 100 new employees. The Ann Arbor office will concentrate its work on Google's Adwords division. According to the Free Press, "Google was named the country's No. 1 place to work by Fortune Magazine earlier this year. It has 6,500 employees worldwide and receives 1,300 resumes a day."

Read the full Detroit Free Press article.

Extra Michigan related sites have been updated

I have made some updates and added a lot of new stuff to a couple of my extra Michigan-related websites at Squidoo.com. The poll at my Best of Michigan site that asks the question, "Has Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm done a good job running our state?" is showing a landslide number of NO votes with 80% of the votes being NO. I have also added a "Comment" feature to that site that allows you to share positive ideas and thoughts about Michigan. A "Hot Michigan Travel Deals" section was also added with a list if great places to stay around the state.

The Camping in Michigan site now has a few camping recipes, how to take care of cast iron cookware, and great deals on camping equipment.

Michigan Iron Industry Museum hosting an Open House May 20

On May 20 from noon to 4p.m. the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee (about 8 miles west of Marquette) is hosting an Open House. There will be free admission in addition to some light refreshments (rats, no pasties). The museum has its 2006 expansion to show off their informative iron history exhibits. Also, via the Michigan.gov website -

At 1:30 and 3 p.m., the group White Water offers a concert featuring traditional string music from Michigan's immigrant past. Seating is limited.

Tickets for the White Water concert are $7 per adult and $3 per child (age 5-12); children under 5 are admitted free. Tickets may be purchased at the museum beginning May 1 or at the door.

Did you know that Negaunee is Chippewa for pioneer? Now you do :).

Watch this incredible photo slideshow of the Escanaba area

Bud Lemire of Escanaba put together this great photo montage of the Escanaba area set to music. There are incredible photos of breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, huge Great Lakes freighters in Little Bay de Noc, fog rolling in off of Lake Michigan, and much more. It is hard to capture the beauty of the Upper Peninsula in pictures, but I think that Bud did a great job. He has pictures of the Escanaba area in all four seasons (yes there are more than just Winter and construction seasons in Michigan).

If the player does not work, you can view the video here.

Traveling in Michigan? Find out about road construction first

MDOT has a great resource to help you avoid sitting in traffic due to the usual summer road construction. There is a plain text version as well as an interactive Flash version of a map showing major road and bridge construction (or is it destruction?) projects on state roads as well as the interstates that crisscross Michigan. The map gives the tentative dates for the construction as well as what to expect as far as lane closures and detours. I find that it is well worth the time to try and avoid wasting the ever more expensive gasoline in our tanks by sitting in traffic. This allows you to seek alternate routes that just might (gasp!) make you slow down and enjoy the beautiful state of Michigan that you are traveling through.

You can find the map at the MDOT page at Michigan.gov. Also, there is a regularly updated listing of lane closures (which will most likely be more current than the MDOT map) that you can view here. The lane closure map allows you to search by region, county, routes, and filter it by date.

Enjoy some history during Michigan Week

Michigan week runs from May 19 through the 25th and May 23 has been designated (by State Senator Cameron Brown) as "Michigan Historical Marker Awareness Day." We have over 1,500 historical markers all over the state. I pass by about three or four every day just driving around White Pigeon. Anyway, you are encouraged to find out more about our state's deeply historic places and plan a visit to some of our historical markers. You most likely will not have to travel far to find a historical marker. Just like me, you probably live within a short trip of at least one marker.

Where to find a Michigan Historical Marker I enjoy Jim Brennan's website - The Michigan Historical Marker Web Site. He has photographed an estimated 1,575 of Michigan's historical markers. You can view the markers by county, topic, or via a search box. He includes the text from the marker as well as a photo of the site (if the marker is gone) or the site with the marker present.

You would be amazed at how many of Michigan's historical markers are stolen. A quick search for me turned up 5 historical markers within a five mile radius. He has the search function integrated with Google Maps so you don't even have to worry about asking for directions - just print out the map. It is truly a great site for any Michigan history buff or just someone wanting to learn more about where they live.

Also, you can purchase the book by Laura Rose Ashlee, "Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers" which is an excellent resource and companion to Jim's website. In fact, Jim credits Laura Rose Ashlee for providing information and photos of markers that were missing before he was able to photograph them.

So do yourself a favor and learn a little bit more about where you live. It will only take a little trip and hey, there might even be an ice cream stand along the way. Not a bad deal in my book :).