Plan your Michigan Vacation Getaway

I created yet another Squidoo lens. This one is to help folks plan their next Michigan Vacation Getaway. This page covers the question of "What Up North means to you", our great Upper Peninsula, where to find a great Michigan resort, 3,000 miles of beaches along the great lakes, Quick Michigan Getaways, and a whole lot more. Don't let summer pass you by without enjoying at least a small part of all that Michigan has to offer.

Visit Michigan Vacation Getaway.

72 year old ex-Marine beats up would-be pickpocket

Awesome. As 72 year old ex-Marine Bill Barnes was scratching off a lottery ticket at a Grand Rapids convenience store a 27 year old would-be thief tried grabbing $300 in cash in Mr. Barnes' front pocket. Did I mention that in addition to being an ex-Marine that Mr. Barnes is also a former Gold Glove boxer and iron worker?

Jesse Daniel Rae (the pickpocket) must have thought that stealing money from Bill Barnes would be an easy feat. As soon as Barnes felt a hand in his pocket he grabbed Rae's wrist and rocketed off about six or seven punches before the store manager got involved.

Semper Fi, Mr. Barnes.

Read the article at The Detroit News.

Use this site to easily find a fireworks display near you

Michiganfireworks.com is THE place to find fireworks displays in Michigan. There are currently 446 different displays listed. You can search by 'Date' and by 'City' via a drop-down menu system. Meg Geddes is the gal who created the site and she puts a ton of work into putting all of this information together. Check it out at Michiganfireworks.com.

Explore Michigan's Drive-In theater history

I came across a pretty cool site in my browser's bookmarks that I had long ago saved and subsequently forgotten. Michigandriveins.com lets you explore the few current drive-ins still in operation as well as the drive-ins that are now closed, in pieces, or gone altogether. I find it neat to see a little piece of Americana from Michigan's past. Some of these drive-ins were quite impressive with small scale kiddie trains (the Bel-Aire in Detroit) and some were only in operation for a couple seasons (Constantine Auto Theater July 1948-September 1949).

Anyway, it is a pretty extensive site with photos, old ads, and current pictures showing the decay of some of the theaters and the longevity of the few still in operation. They even have a section devoted to drive-in restaurants both past and present.

WARNING! You will spend a long time at this site. Taking a peak at the past and the "good ol' days" that are now gone is incredibly time consuming.

Michigandriveins.com

Freak hailstorm dumps 2 inches of hail on Marquette

You have got to see the pictures at the Mining Journal of the hailstorm that hit Marquette yesterday afternoon. Apparently the hail fell in the midst of a tornado watch and severe thunderstorm warning. It is surreal to see a guy running through downtown Marquette in "drifts" of hail. Too weird.

Cyclists knocked off their bikes by a deer

A famous lawnmower and tractor company says that, "Nothing runs like a Deer[e]" and two cyclists up in Leelanau county now have first-hand experience to back up that claim. Dan Hofstra and Bob Otwell were riding along amongst a group of 15 cyclists when a deer ran out of the woods and sent Hofstra flying when he ran into the deer and then the deer slammed into Otwell before making it across the road. I had never heard of anyone on a bike having a run-in with a deer before, but apparently Hostra and Otwell join a short list that includes them and Tim Brick in the Traverse City area alone. According to the Traverse City Record Eagle both men suffered the following injuries -

Otwell suffered a broken pelvis and possibly separated his shoulder.

Hofstra received several stitches on his knee and sustained a possible fractured vertebrae.