Four Green Fields in Royal Oak

This Royal Oak Irish pub has been on the corner of 13 and Woodward since as long as we can remember. With a huge amount of beers on tap plus a cider, a rootbeer and live music on the weekends, as well as good pub grub, well, it's truly a hopping place. It's nothing fancy, but there's a large local following and, come on, where else can you get a burger for two bucks?

The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island

It's elusive, mysterious, and has quite a reputation: the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. The front porch--over 600 feet long-- is the longest in the world. Open only in the summertime, it has been the lure of tourists from around the world since 1887. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour immortalized it in the movie Somewhere in Time filmed 30 years ago. What a treat to sit in one of the rocking chairs on the veranda and gaze out across the Great Lakes.

Dodge Park in Sterling Heights

We love the 50+ acres of Dodge Park in Sterling Heights, located on Utica Rd and Dodge Park. It has lots of paved trails that we enjoy in all four seasons. What's popular are the volleyball courts, the Thursday night summer concerts in the bandshell, the playground equipment, picnic pavilion and just taking in the beauty of the Clinton River and abundant wildlife.

Freighter Watching in St Clair

If you visit Palmer Park in St. Clair you will see this lovely statue of a mother and her son waving at the freighter passing by. It was commissioned by Alice Moore. Strolling along the boardwalk here is one of the major pastimes....and enjoying the boats sailing by on the St Clair River. There's always the ice cream shops right across the main street to add to the pleasure.

Anne's Table --Mackinac Island

Hiking the inner trails of Mackinac Island we came across this memorial to Constance Fenimore Woolson (the grand niece of James Fenimore Cooper) who used to vacation here on this little paradise island in the late 1800's. She was an author who wrote the novel Anne, about a young girl, drawing on her experiences living in these northern woods. It's truly a lovely tribute and it sure makes us want to pick up the novel and read it!

Millenium Bell

The Millenium Bell was created by Chris Turner and Matt Blake and inaugurated on December 31, 1999. It stands in Grand Circus Park on Woodward near the entrance to Comerica Park. Detroiters call it the Fish Head. It stands 26 feet tall and weighs 10 tons. They ring it on New Year's Eve. We're almost half way there (to the end of the year) when we will celebrate its 10th birthday. You can see the bell when you enter Comerica Park for a Tiger Baseball game ;}

Olga's Kitchen

Olga's Kitchen is celebrating 40 years since its inception in Birmingham by one Olga Loizon who was inspired by a family vacation in Greece to reproduce the delicious bread which became her signature sandwich: the Olga. This successful and thriving chain now has 31 restaurants in Michigan. We remember when there was only one! Suzie craves their original pita sandwiches made with beef and lamb, onions, tomatoes, a tangy yogurt sauce and sprinkled with cayenne pepper. Olga long ago passed the reins on to someone younger, but she still lives not far from the original eatery. She's been spotted giving cooking demonstrations at local Greek festivals! Opa!