Cheese Lady in Grand Rapids

We were thrilled with our recent discovery of the Cheese Lady in Grand Rapids.  Only open three months, they were doing a brisk business last Friday afternoon.  Susie gave us samples and sold us on several products which make up into beautiful gifts in their wooden boxes. We bought cheese made in Benton Harbor, Muskegon and Fennville. Yum! They taught us a new word: "turophile", which means lover of cheese! To go with their fine foods, they sell good quality Eagle Eye import wines. The Cheese Lady started in Muskegon and they have an additional store in Kalamazoo. Woohoo!

Silversides Submarine in Muskegon

Treat your kids to an adventure of a lifetime with a sleep over on the USS Silversides Submarine in Muskegon! First launched in 1941, it is now part of the Great Lakes Memorial and Museum. Daily tours are offered on this WWII gato-class submarine where you can explore both the top deck and the levels below. You learn that she sank 23 ships. Silversides was used in the making of the movie Below in 2002 when they towed her out to Lake Michigan

Montague's World Largest Weathervane

Montague, just north of Muskegon, displays the world's largest weathervane, standing 48 feet tall with a 26 foot arrow. A 19th century schooner named Ella Ellenwood graces the top. Her home port used to be in Montague. The whole sculpture weighs two tons with a weather station in its base. It was built in Montague by the employees of the Whitehall factory.

Hart-Montague Trail State Park

The 22 mile paved pathway between Hart and Montague was the first converted railtrail in Michigan. Bill Field of Shelby was a man of vision. He was able to purchase the former railroad and then donate it to the State of Michigan, making it one of the first "Rails to Trails" projects in our state. It opened in 1991. The map is provided from the Michigan Department of Natural resources. Winding through a portion of the Manistee National Forest, it's the first linear state park in Michigan with a paved pathway 8 feet across. In the winter the trail is used by snowmobilers and dog-sledders! Today marks the one year anniversary of our blog. We started with a railtrail in Detroit: the Dequindre Cut Greenway and we thought it à propos to speak about the first converted railtrail in Michigan on this anniversary. Thanks for supporting us.