The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

While I had a wonderful trip and experience in my visit to Michigan this August, there were a few disappointing experiences as well.

The Good:
Visiting old friends and family; having a 94th birthday dinner with my mom; watching Verlander win his 18th game at Tiger stadium; living with two monster dogs for a month; visiting Ronald McDonald House and Belle Isle in Detroit; seeing Third Day in concert at DTE; visiting the Ford F-150 assemble line in Dearborn; attending services at Northridge Church, with (my favorite) pastor Brad Powell; revisiting Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in northern Michigan; and of course golf with my daughter, son-in-law and many dear friends.

The Bad & The Ugly:
Seeing the residential neighborhood near where I had worked completely devastated, and my mom's old home a couple of miles away completely destroyed. And while there are a great many charities, residents and volunteers trying so very hard to revitalize Detroit, seeing architectural landmarks in complete disarray, the filthy streets, abandoned and burnt out businesses and residential areas in Detroit that are so massive as to be discouraging to even the most optimistic city supporters.
Click to enlarge collage: 

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes

As you may know, the Sand Dunes were recently rated the “Most Beautiful Place in America,” by Good Morning America, and while that may be arguable, we have known of it’s spectacular beauty for years.

We used to vacation every year, as a family up at the Sand Dunes in the 80’s and 90’s. We rented a little cottage on Glen Lake at the foot of the Dune Climb. I had not been up there in about ten years, so Nadine, Frank and I went up for a weekend while I was visiting.

We visited all the old familiar places, Glen Arbor, Glen Haven, Fishtown in Leland and of course all the usual scenic Dune sites and hiking trails. We had a great time and took hundreds of photos and since a photo is worth a thousand words – click for some of the photos: 
https://picasaweb.google.com/104461058718739695077/SleepingBearSandDunes11#