Grayling Amusement Park to have 'Main Street America' theme

I have previously posted on the possibility of an amusement park coming to Grayling in March and last July. The newest plans to come forth from the park's potential builder, Axiom Entertainment, sound rather ambitious (to put it mildly). The idea for the overall theme of the park is 'Main Street America'. Plans for the 1,800 acre site include:

• Roller Coasters (can't be an amusement park without 'em, right?)
• Water Park (not sure if this is strictly outdoor, indoor, or a combination)
• Indoor Surfing
• Snowmobile Tracks
• Race Car Tracks
• Snowboarding
• A Working Farm
• 200 Acre Campground
• Amphitheater
• Hotel
• Shopping

Construction could begin this year with a partial park opening in the summer of 2010, local officials said.

Here are the comments folks left when I first posted about this potential park last July. What a bad idea!!! If it comes, I,m leaving for good. Grayling is an old fashion, trusting kind of town. This park will bring all kinds of scum and crooks. Grayling will never be the same. - Tammie Might be the only thing to improve the job oppotunities in this part of the state, everyone else seems to be leaving. - CDM I think it’s an awsome idea!!! can’t and you wont please everyone =) that’s what makes politics so fun! - Rick

Well, last I knew, Crawford County, where Grayling is located, was the poorest county in the state. That was some time ago and over the years it doesn’t seem to have changed much. It would certainly bring much needed money into the area.

Since it is straight up the !-75 corridor, it would be an easy jaunt. It would bring more tourists to the area. Not only would Grayling benefit but so would other towns that surround it. The motels would be full. The restaurants packed. But Grayling, at this point, does not have an abundance of either. Much less gas stations and supermarkets. And Grayling offers nothing in the way of shopping so they would eventually have to deal with that aspect as well.

It will cause the town to take pause and consider hiring more law enforcement as well. There are numerous things they will have to take into consideration.

What I don’t understand is how are they going to keep that park open year round, with the winters we have in the area? It’ll be interesting to see how it all unfolds. Needless to say, there is going to be even more rif raf coming into the area and overflowing into the surrounding towns as well. Just what we all want to deal with. Yea! - Binky

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Will the park be built? Will it draw enough tourists to stay in business? Will it help improve the Grayling economy?

We'll just have to wait and see.

Via the Traverse City Record Eagle

You won't believe what is on the Michigan's Best list for 2007

The Detroit News has compiled a list of 'Michigan's Best for 2007' in four categories. The categories are - Sports and Recreation, Entertainment/Media, Stuff to Buy, and Food & Drink.

More than 105,000 people mailed in ballots that appeared in The Detroit News and on detnews.com in categories that ranged from restaurants to recreation. We tallied the votes in each of the categories and this section presents the winners - in short, a users guide to Michigan’s Best bets for fun, bargains, food, and more.

One of the quirky things I found on their Michigan's Best Water Park was that Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio took third place. Why have a Michigan's Best list if you are going to include out-of-state items on your list. You might as well vote the Olive Garden as Michigan's Best Italian Restaurant.

Oh wait, they did. Don't we have at least three (the Michigan's Best list chooses the top 3 for each sub-category) Italian restaurants in Michigan that are not chain restaurants?

This reminds me of when the local paper runs a "Best List" and Taco Bell is voted as the best Mexican Restaurant. I won't even go into who was voted as best place for Burger & Fries, Best Fried Chicken, or Best Ice Cream because the top place finishers in each of those category was a lousy chain restaurant.

If you would like an original "Michigan's Best Burger & Fries" list check out my Squidoo lens about Michigan. I have added a poll where you can vote and/or add your favorite Michigan restaurant for Burgers & Fries.

Check it out.

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 :).

Good news - Michigan's tart cherry crop isn't as damaged as first thought

We deal with a lot of Michigan companies to get our great offering of gourmet cherry products and I am extremely pleased to read in the Traverse City Record Eagle that the tart cherry crop appears to not be as damaged by the harsh April weather as was first thought. The sweet cherry crop appears to be about 90 percent damaged in southeastern Michigan according to MSU fruit experts. Tart cherries are the type that are in the majority of the products which we carry. In 2002 (the last time the tart cherry crop received major damage) our suppliers had to drastically increase the prices for all cherry products.

Why did prices skyrocket? Only 15 million pounds of cherries were harvested that year compared to a great year like last year (2006) when 190 million pounds of cherries were harvested. Simply a matter of supply and demand.