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Gourmet Michigan products in unique gift baskets. Great tasting jams, dried cherries, Sanders chocolates, caramel corn, Michigan fudge, and much more.
I realized I had not put up a poll question recently and after reading the behind the scenes for the upcoming "Fresh" Pure Michigan ad. I am highly anticipating this new ad that's set to start airing this fall. The commercial features scenes from Michigan's bountiful harvest and many other delicious Michigan products and amazingly beautiful places. So, what is Pure Michigan to you?
[poll id="31"]
Bell's Octoberfest Beer is hitting the shelves this week (week of Aug. 17th). It normally is available from September through the middle or end of October. I love the colors in this photo taken by Tom Bricker.
The emergence of Bell's Octoberfest can only mean one thing - Michigan's beautiful fall colors are just around the corner, er, calendar :).
SeekingMichigan.org has a great post today about Faygo and Vernors which included a link to this commercial. I thought the commercial was too interesting to not post, so here it is:
It wasn't until recently that I knew such limestone cliffs existed on the northern shores of Lake Michigan. As a lifelong Michigan native I had always had the notion that the southern edge of our Upper Peninsula just gently sloped on into Lake Michigan.
It was the natural harbor and close proximity of the limestone cliffs that drew the Jackson Iron Company's agent, Fayette Brown, to locate their iron smelting operations here. Limestone is a key ingredient in the smelting of iron ore.
Read MoreI was eleven or twelve years old when my grandparents took my cousin and I on the S.S. Badger car ferry out of Ludington. We were on our way to northern Wisconsin where my grandpa grew up and he wanted my cousin and I to experience a trip across Lake Michigan. What an experience it was! We had to go to bed early the night before because we were making an early start the next morning to get on the first trip across the lake. My grandpa had the car all packed and we slept in the clothes we would be wearing the next day. Grandpa woke us up in the pitch black early hours of morning. With a large thermos of coffee in hand Grandpa, Grandma, my cousin, and I made the three hour trip up to Ludington.
I remember the feeling of awe at how huge the S.S. Badger was when we pulled up to the dock. Threads of black smoke were rising up from the large stack as the coal-fired boilers were warming up. The dock was a hustle of activity as my Grandpa handed over the car keys so one of the attendants could drive it onto the car ferry. It took a bit longer than planned to load the Badger that morning as they had to load up a number of railroad cars first. I couldn't believe they still used the car ferry to haul rail freight.
When we were onboard and it was time to go my cousin and I made sure we were standing out in the chilly morning air. We didn't want to miss a thing as the ship pulled away from the dock and began the trip across the lake. The deck beneath us rumbled with the thrumming of the engines and spray began to fly off the bow as we left the harbor and increased to cruising speed. I watched the shoreline slowly dissolve into the hazy morning air and then, there we were, all alone on the big blue waters of Lake Michigan.
Never before had I been out so far onto the lake that I could not see land in any direction. It was a strange and peaceful sensation that only added to the excitement of the adventure. My cousin and I spent the trip exploring the entire ship (well, the parts open to the paying passengers anyway) and I was a bit disappointed when the harbor at Manitowoc, Wisconsin came into view. All too soon our voyage across the lake was over.
It was time to get back into the cramped confines of the car. No more wandering about with freedom in the fresh air. Back to playing games and getting on each others nerves to pass the time until we would pull into Tomahawk, Wisconsin.
Oh what a trip that was :). Someday, when my kids are older, I will take them on the S.S. Badger for an adventure that I hope they will always remember just like my adventure with my grandparents and cousin.
More information about the S.S. Badger Car Ferry as well as schedule and Fares - www.ssbadger.com.
Get a brief taste of the S.S. Badger in this wonderful Pure Michigan ad that made me remember my first crossing:
Last week I watched a superb documentary, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. It was recommended to me by someone on twitter (sorry, I can't remember who it was) and before that recommendation I had never heard of the documentary. Hank Greenberg was widely known as the first Jewish baseball superstar in the major leagues. He was constantly taunted with racial epithets by fans and ballplayers alike. He was also the first sports star to enlist in the armed forces when war was declared in WWII. He came close to tying/beating Babe Ruth's home run record with 58 home runs in 1938 - only two short of tying The Babe. This is really a well put together film that really gives you an in-depth look at Hank Greenberg, the man, in addition to Hank Greenberg, baseball player.
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