Category Archives: fun

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Taking a rest

I haven’t been saying much lately here, but I am writing and blogging a lot elsewhere.

Catch me 6 days a week on my photoblog Michigan in Pictures where I post photos and words about Michigan.  The blog is almost 8 years old and probably my favorite web project ever – I learn something new every week.

With my love Laura I started eatdrinkTC, a guide to the culinary culture of Traverse City, Michigan. It’s a ton of fun to work on and lets us share our love of good food and drink and the wonderful people in our town who make that happen. I even got to interview one of my very favorite food writers, Michael Ruhlman.

Let me know what you think (about anything) at these places or in the comments.

The photo was taken by my father of the apple tree in the back yard of the house I grew up in. 

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Fistful of Awesome: Guy on a Buffalo edition

What do you get when you take one part Grizzly Adams, one part Flight of the Conchords, one part Mystery Science Theater and one part Buffalo? Four parts of awesome! Watch all 4 parts of this incredibly quirky series starting with part one and get some links below.


You can hear more from The Possum Posse on their website and – if you are so inclined and in which case I’m a bit concerned about you – watch the entire hour-and-a-half saga of Buffalo Jones on YouTube.

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1/5 of 5k

Wow. Photo by Marco of the huge crowd. Well over 4000!

We had a giant crowd for the 2012 Traverse City Wine & Art Festival, and while the numbers aren’t final, we had nearly 5000 folks at the Grand Traverse Commons to see Rusted Root (who were great!) and enjoy the offerings of 27 wineries, 20 artists, 8 restaurants and some extremely hard-working volunteers and staff.

This was nearly double last year and the biggest party I’ve ever thrown. Marco who helped me keep the production rolling snapped this shot and when I got on stage right before Rusted Root I was blown away to see how our vision of 4 years finally materialized.

Check out some of the photos right here.

PS: Got an idea for a 2013 headliner? I’m all ears!

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Kayaking the Outlet

Kayaking the Outlet

“The Outlet” was the point where the folks of the area learned a lesson about the importance of being very sure about your measurements. In my favorite book about the history of Northern Michigan, Waiting for the Morning Train, Bruce Catton explains how a project to connect Crystal Lake to the Betsie River and ultimate Frankfort and Lake Michigan went horribly awry after a surveyor got the relative elevations wrong by over 25 feet.

The historical marker reads:

In 1873 an ambitious but ill advised project was put through in an effort to connect Crystal Lake and Lake Michigan with a navigable channel. The original level of Crystal Lake was, at that time, much higher than its present level. The project was a complete failure in respect to its accomplishing its proposed purpose. The result was the lowering of the lake and exposing a wide stretch of beach around the entire lake and making possible the development of Crystal Lake as a resort and residential area as well as the site of the village of Beulah. This monument, erected by the people of Benzie County, stands at the original level of Crystal Lake. 1978.

Laura & I “kayaked” the mile+ of distance from the Outlet to the Betsie yesterday. Most of the way was hard going, many times more “dragging a kayak through a puddle”, but it was an incredible journey with all kinds of wildflowers and TONS of dragonflies.

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Looking forward to SuperDre at Electric Forest

SuperDre is one of the Michigan artists who I have yet to see. That sorry state will end at the first-ever Electric Forest*. EF is sponsoring Absolute Michigan, and I’m working to help promote the festival in Michigan. We are giving away a pair of tickets to the Electric Forest Festival this weekend as the kickoff to our Festival Summer promotion, through which we’re going to give away as many tickets to Michigan festivals and events as is humanly possible.

All you have to do is be on our mailing list. Seems easy enough…

*check out Bob’s interview of Jeremy Stein, founder of Electric Forest and its predecessor Rothbury.

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Forget Idaho.

Tahquamenon Falls I

Laura and I just got back from a weekend in the Upper Peninsula. At every place we visited – Miner’s Castle, Grand Sable Dunes, Sable Falls and even Tahquamenon Falls – we were the only people.

Our own private UP … minus the 3 ft tall hair.Checking all these amazing attractions out made me wonder why there’s any season that Michigan isn’t mobbed by scenery seekers.

Here’s the slideshow and let me say that the trout from the fish market in Marquette is amazing!!