My daughters absolutely loved seeking out the fairy doors in Ann Arbor. I discovered a similar door…read moreat the Whitmore Lake post office. And at last count, there are three in the park next door to the post office. :-) Enjoy the magic!

This is my daughter's favorite pastime in Ann Arbor. She loves fairies, mythical creatures,…read morefantasy, and the entire magic of the experience. We love to seek out the tiny treasures around the streets and buildings. You can never be too old for fairies and fun. Over the years we have taken so many pictures of the kids next to the different doors. We were very inspired to purchase our own doors and fairy gardens. It really adds a bit of charm to this city and we are never tired of looking for that bit of joy hidden around the corners or tucked in the stores.

Hard to miss this 212 foot tall tower on the campus of the University of Michigan. They do offer…read moretours but not in the late afternoon when I was here. Instead, you can sit in the courtyard and listen to the carillon ringing. The Burton Tower was built in 1936 as a memorial for University President Marion Leroy Burton, who was president from 1920 to 1925. The carillon itself it the world's fourth-heaviest and has 53 bells weighing 43 tons. It has a concrete shell with a limestone facing. [Review 11121 overall, 894 of 2019.]

Overlooking State Street in downtown Ann Arbor,Michigan is the landmark Burton Memorial Clock Tower…read morelocated on the campus of The University of Michigan.It houses a grand carillon built in 1936 as a memorial for University President Marion Leroy Burton (presidency: 1920-1925). This beautiful carillon is the world's fourth-heaviest, containing 53 bells and weighing a total of 43 tons.It stands at 192 feet it is used for housing education offices. The high-rise tower was designed in an interesting mixture of art deco and art moderne architectural styles The design was greatly influenced by Eliel Saarinen. . . . . #universityofmichigan #burtonmemorialclocktower #burtonclocktower #seetheusa #photografxworldwide #waynesalvatti #michigan #annarbor #uofm #goblue #marionleroyburton #carrillons #belltowers #M #annarbormichigan #ilovemichigan #iloveuom #wolverines #bells #elielsaarinen #architecture #architecturalphotography #historicallandmarks #uofmcentralcampus

Hamtramck ain't really the best neighborhood. Nonetheless, it's an opportunity for folks to learn…read moremore. They've got the Disneyland art installation that's def worth seeing. My GPS led me right in front of the house. Head out back. It stretches only across two backyards. You'll see lots of random things, like an old TV, the top half of a mannequin, paintings, an airplane, etc. Not sure what it all means. At the end of the day, we could invest more in neighborhoods like this.

Honestly thought this place was going to be interesting and fun but it was very small located in…read morethe heart of Hamtramck and very unique but could tell they had kind of let the place fall apart. But still a experience at least stop by and see for yourself. Does have a strong artistic vibe.

The naked mile hasn't been the same since about 1999…read more That was the biggest year ever, when hundreds of students ran naked down South University Street, across the Diag and into Regents Plaza, (some of them celebrated by wading through the fountain near the student union, or by giving the cube a spin), and tens of thousands turned out to watch them run. I was new to U of M in 1998, and I had no idea that there was any such event, so I was a little surprised to leave Angell Hall one evening and find naked students streaming across the diag and up the steps of the art museum. Among other things, I learned that evening that people without clothes really need to be carefully posed to look good. Running doesn't help, and I imagine stop motion photography is worse. The tradition of running naked on the last day of classes started in 1986 when a group of athletes did it on a whim. The event got bigger every year until University President Lee Bollinger, a very dour man, made a fuss about it, and the police started threatening to arrest naked people, something they still haven't done, as far as I know. The American Pie sequel is based on the real Naked Mile at U of M. Personally, I think a lot of presidential hopes will be dashed by the photos that were taken that night in 1999, but I never saw any harm in letting the students have their little romp. I'm sure there is still some surreptitious streaking going on around the end of the semester, even now.

Wow! I wasn't even born when this event first started happening. My roomate had an old videotape…read moreof it she always showed us. Crazzzzy!!! I wish *I* could have run in it ... haha

Parshallville Grist Mill & Cider Mill is one of my favorite places to visit in the fall. The donuts…read moreand cider are delicious. The cider is naturally sweet but not overwhelmingly so. Like everything else in 2022, prices have increased but are on par with other cider mills I've visited this year. A dozen donuts are $10 and a gallon of cider is $10. The people who run the cider mill are friendly. I believe the owner came outside to say hello to us as we were leaving. The building is historic and there is a nice area around the side of the building to sit and eat and take photos.

Donuts are great, even when it's crowded the wait is never bad. Interior is clean and has a great…read moreselection of food stuff and little items. It is close to 23 and is a nice stop for the family. We like the running water and are ours at the waters edge on the benches there.

Bright walls organized another colorful festival this year between Sep 16-18. Bright Walls Mural…read morefestival event include live mural painting, concerts, food trucks, dancing, magic show and even a dog-themed event. While they were unable to host international artists this year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Bright Walls team planned some pop-up art installations until finale in 2022. The festival is a free event open to all ages, and it is held on several streets in Jackson. All the art is free to be viewed and photographed. Along with the mural projects, there were a variety of street vendors and food trucks that cater to the public. I was thrilled to attend my first ever mural event. I mainly went to meet the famous artist couple Lisa and Victor, who create iconic post card murals. I am a huge fan of their art work. The amount of detail in their mural is amazing. I like their artwork which captures the town and display local points of pride. It was such a pleasure to meet this cool couple. Their mission is to paint in every state and to create a collection of timeless landmarks for locals and travelers to interact with across the country. They have created nation wide mural projects and this is their 52nd post card mural across America. This couple came all the way from California to help create a special Jackson greeting. This year "Greetings from Jackson" mural is the highlight of the festival. Each letter features some of the most iconic buildings and a Jackson landmark within it. With the new addition, there are now 41 murals to see in downtown Jackson since the inception of Bright Walls.

Prior to three years ago I didn't know much about Jackson, MI beyond there being a prison there…read more Around here going to Jackson is usually taken to mean going to jail for a long time. Three years ago I stopped for food on a road trip and discovered Jackson had two competing Coney Islands on the same block that had been open since around the time of World War I, a situation uncannily similar to Lafayette and American Coney Islands in Detroit. That was about all I took away from that short visit. Well, last month I was on another road trip and figured I'd stop to fill my belly at Jackson Coney Island since I'd already tried Virginia Coney Island and Jackson is the bizarro Virginia. I'm not ready to review either yet. They're just Coneys and I'm not ready to wade into the wearisome partisan debate. It's boring enough with American and Lafayette back home. But here, in the third paragraph, I will venture to review Bright Walls because it was such a pleasant surprise and unexpected hour long sightseeing tour. (It's nice traveling on a not so rigid schedule and to be taken away on a tangent like this.) Bold, colorful murals with all kinds of themes and plastered larger than life all around downtown Jackson and they are awesome. I wasn't good about reading all of the placards and you won't get any informative name checking or discussion about specific pieces here like I usually do with art museums but Bright Walls was a beautiful diversion, a definite departure from the drab and dreary Prisontown USA people around here usually picture when they think of Jackson. I can't speak on what goes on when the mural painting actually takes place, watching live painting or if there's special events, but the one other review didn't elaborate on that either. Suffice it to say I like what was left behind. Maybe some year I'll head out this way during the brightening of the walls and be able to provide a more comprehensive update.

Hamtramck Banksy Authenticated…read more (Posted on April 1, 2014 by Hillary) A stencil on the corner of Sobieski and Commor in Hamtramck was painted by none other than British street artist Banksy. This work is based on an earlier piece, "Laugh Now", commissioned for a Brighton night club in 2002. The new message can only be a reference to the 555 Gallery and their intention to sell part of a wall taken from the Packard Plant in Detroit. We couldn't believe it either, but when we heard from a friend of a friend that Banksy had again visited Detroit to make a statement about "commercialism, capitalism and the mechanics of the art market", we sent a request to Pest Control, a service that issues certificates on behalf of the artist. Despite their promise of a "lengthy and challenging process", they were quick to reply in this case. "Graffiti art has a hard enough life as it is - with council workers wanting to remove it and kids wanting to draw moustaches on it, before you add hedge-fund managers wanting to chop it out and hang it over the fireplace." "For the sake of keeping all street art where it belongs I'd encourage people not to buy anything by anybody unless it was created for sale in the first place." This entry was posted in Hamtramck by Hillary. This proved to be an April Fool's joke, but we had tons of fun visiting and discussing Albert Kahn, the Packard Plant, Banksy, the Packard Banksy, the 555 Gallery, and this "Banksy".

Just to put this little place on the map; I dropped through here on a recent trip into southern…read moreMichigan. There are a lot of little places like this along U.S. 12. Little local hobby farms and food shops selling local products and Amish butter. What set this one apart was the U-Pick strawberry field. Now, I'm a big fan of sustainability and advanced horticulture. This little place had it in spades, from their little poultry pen to their biomass pellet furnace. But the real show-stopper was the hydroponic vertical strawberry field. Stacked six pots high and irrigated from the top, this place had it together. NIce modular planting towers and an incredible thing to see. I remember grubbing along the rows of densely crowded strawberries in a conventional field as a kid, dragging along my flat to be filled. This place was a far cry from that back-breaking experience, more like shopping than picking. The place had a great welcoming ambience, with one of the better prices on local apples I'd seen, an inviting little pumpkin stand (a young couple with three small boys were picking theirs out. Definitely an "awwww" moment) and a nice selection of local produce and Amish products like roll butter and bread. Things are a little pricey here, admittedly. It's a tourist kind of place and the prices are indicative of the quality of the produce offered. But sometimes, it's not about the bottom line or finding a simple "bargain." It's about making sure that those who produce excellence can earn a living doing so. Excellence is to be found in abundance here, and its more about acknowledging that effort than anything else.

BURN IN HELL Or at…read moreleast while attached to a hearse. The man that designed this custom built bar and grill does just that at least once a year when he treks with the trailer to Hell, Michigan with his "open casket" grill. The grill, which was built over the course of 80 to 100 hours at The TechShop of Allen Park, is made out of a modified casket. The shell of the casket is mounted to a portable tow-behind trailer, so it draws onlookers when being transported behind a hearse, but with no visible tie-downs. (Video of the creator talking about the grill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0RXI8DHWgo) It contains a four-burner stainless steel grill that boasts 48,000 Btu of power. It boasts 496 square inches of cooking space, with electronic ignition and porcelain-coated, heavy-gauge wire cooking grates and a 20-pound propane tank. The other half of the casket includes a marine style waterproof radio and a 27-gallon cooler with built-in drainage features. Of course, the grill wouldn't be complete without tools that all have "Open Casket Bar and Grill" laser etched into their handles, and custom-made salt and pepper shakers. Why a hearse? Because the creator, Steven Frye, is also the founder of the Nightmare Cruisers Hearse Club for car enthusiasts. The club boasts more than 120 members, mostly from around Michigan, though some join from across the country. "We like to get together and do the cruises," Frey said. "When we do these cruises, we like to hang out with our friends, old friends and new friends. Anyone that has a hearse is welcome to join us, even if you are just a hearse enthusiast." Frey first bought his hearse to promote a product, "Dr. Frybrain's Pumpkin Embalmer," though most people thought it was just a name for his hearse, rather than an actual product. After a couple of years of explaining the product on the car, Frey grew tired of answering questions and instead just painted over the advertising. For a time, the club also held the record for most hearses assembled in a parade in 2011. Frey said the rule for any gathering of cars is that is has to be a parade; otherwise, the record would be held by the manufacturer. "We held the record for about 11 months," he said. "Then a group in the Netherlands broke the record. Almost all of them were 'in the business,' though. Only three of our hearses were owned by funeral homes.

This is awesome! I…read morehave seen this set up at the different car cruises around town, and I also saw it out at Hell Creek Ranch last year. The attention to detail is very professional. I've seen other casket grills, and none of them even compare. This one looks like it came direct from the factory. No other casket grill has a built in cooler, or on-board tunes! They normally only cook for club members, but you can generally get a casket-grilled hot dog for a donation to charity! Well done!