The Blue Water YMCA in Port Huron

Port Huron's beautiful YMCA is right off the St. Clair River which you can see while swimming in the pool inside. Using the exercise equipment on the upper level you overlook the pool and river! Founded in 1886, the Blue Water YMCA has served as the region's single largest provider of health, wellness, fitness, childcare and non-school related physical education. All programs celebrate the core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility and guests are welcome for a small fee.  This Marshall Fredericks' sculpture is dedicated to all members, staff, volunteers and benefactors whose commitment has contributed to the success of the YMCA. We've featured this Michigan artist's works here and here.

Cathedral of St Paul's in Detroit

The Episcopalian Cathedral of St Paul's is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Established in 1824 in the Detroit area, it was the first protestant church in Michigan, before it even became a state! The architect, Ralph Cram, studied the gothic style in France and built the cathedral using medieval construction techniques (no steel!). The imposing structure, loaded with indigenous pewabic tile, stands on the corner of Woodward and Warren Avenue and is a very active congregation. They offer breakfast on Sunday mornings for everyone. Jeremy Tarrant is the outstanding organist who also leads the renowned Men and Boys choir.

Quay Street Brewing Company in Port Huron

Quay rhymes with sway.  We discovered a gem in Port Huron's Quay Brewery that we will definitely return to! From the left, we tasted a delicious Michigan Cream Ale, the Quay Street Wheat and the Raspberry Wheat ($1 each for 5 ounce samplers). We also leaped out of our seats for their incredibly luscious root beer made on the premises. They also have an awesome deck overlooking the Black River, and all thumbs up for their delicious vittles of which we tried the homemade bean soup, a tuna sandwich, their fish and chips and potato salad like Mom makes! Sydney was our great server and Andy gave us probably the best and most informative brewery tour we have ever been on.

The BOB in Grand Rapids

It's called the http://www.thebob.com/, meaning the Big Old Building in downtown Grand Rapids. This multi-use warehouse is huge (70,000 sq ft), over 100 years old with a cool catwalk up on the 4th floor. Abounding in nightlife with various bars, pubs and restaurants, there's something for everyone. Tonight's Friday Night Live at $19.95 per person includes a 3 course dinner and comedy show.

Mudgie's in Detroit's Corktown

This famous Mudgie sandwich is delicious!  This Corktown artisan deli with free wifi is a favorite in Detroit.   The homemade soups are fantastic and you can find gluten free sandwiches there as well.  Mudgie's will be in their current location on Porter Street until they move to larger digs on Library Street downtown in late April or May of this year.  

Moran Street in Detroit

On Moran street in Detroit, just south of the Davison on the east side of I-75 are located several homes that artists bought with the purpose of letting out their creative abilities.  They are featured here in Juxtapoz an art magazine out of San Francisco who helped fund this project.

Chelsea's Teddy Bear Factory

The Teddy Bear Company in Chelsea is a one of a kind store where you can watch the bears being made through the glass windows. They have embroidery machines right there that put names on their shirts as fast as you can buy them.  The flag representation in the back won a Guinness World Record for being the largest mosaic in the world (46 square feet) made of teddy bears (360 of them). And it's always fun to have your photo taken with the big grizzly ;}