Grand Rapids and NEHA

My work sent me to the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) annual meeting in Grand Rapids, and I had a chance to visit family and friends and spend some time checking out the city. Other than a very brief visit last month, I haven't really explored Grand Rapids as an adult. GR is changing swiftly, with a fair amount of new construction. A lot of the old buildings are being refurbished into lofts and restaurants. It seems to be a city on the rise. And it doesn't hurt that there's a great beer scene. Here are a few pictures from my trip:

Flying over Louisville.

Hey look, it's Kalamazoo!

It's an astronaut!

A small Egypt exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

A neat exhibit at the museum.

Bridge over the Grand River.

There's a lot of neat old architecture.

A converted brick building and nice brick streets.

Of course I tried some local beers!

This was a cool beer - Genetic Drift from Speciation Brewing.

Grand Rapids at dusk. I walked across these bridges a lot because my hotel was across the river from the convention center.

Inside the downtown market.

A Frank Lloyd Wright house in the Heritage Hill historic district.

One of the bigger sessions at the conference.

Awesome relief saved from the civic center building that was partially torn down to build the convention center.

Inside the convention center.

Beautiful weather for the first couple of days!

Lots of great old brick architecture in downtown. This is the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

More interesting architecture.

I spent most of my time in River Overlook D.

The classic view of Grand Rapids.

I didn't have time to visit, but the Gerald R. Ford museum was a block from my hotel.

President Ford's gravesite.

A nice street with patio seating.

Smoked trout at the Søvengård.

We had some beers after dinner! When in Grand Rapids....

Trying some Atwater brews.

A neat mural.

Tacos for lunch!

The fish counter at the downtown market.

The symbol of Grand Rapids, an Alexander Calder sculpture, La Grand Vitesse.

The cute East Town neighborhood.

A little overcast on my final day. I took a walk on the riverfront path.

The fish ladder that helps fish get around the man-made falls on the river.

Lots of nice brick buildings like this around the city.

See ya later, GR!

Michigan - Shena's Wedding and Paul's Birthday

In June we took a quick trip up to Michigan for our friend Shena's wedding... which happened to be on Paul's birthday. First we spent a few days with family in Western Michigan, including a surprise boat cruise on the Grand River to celebrate Paul's birthday and some time hanging out in downtown Grand Rapids.

We flew over Cedar Point on the way to Michigan.

Detroit on the left; Windsor Canada on the right.

We hung out with a giant wiener in Climax at Bowman's BBQ.

Cruising down the Grand River.

On the boat with whisky sours.

Paul's sisters re-creating Titanic. Luckily we didn't hit an iceberg.

Paul and Betsy's birthday!

Eating lunch at the Downtown Market with Tina and Amelia.

After our family visit, we drove over to the east side of the state and spent some time with friends, visiting downtown Detroit and going to the wedding in Livonia. We had some Lebanese food at a restaurant called "Sheesh," which then became our favorite term of the weekend. As in, "sheesh, I need another beer" or "sheesh I'm tired!" In Detroit we visited the Eastern Market, rode the people mover, and walked along the river. 

Shena and Kyle's wedding was gigantic (375 guests) and we had a great time hanging out with old friends from Kalamazoo. Bonus: there was an ice cream bar at the reception. Congrats to the couple!

Eastern Market in Detroit is brought to you by Kid Rock.

Hanging out on the Detroit River.

Downtown Detroit from the people mover.

The Renaissance Center.

Hart Plaza.

The "Spirit of Detroit."

"Welcome Neighbors" cookie with the Kzoo kids at Shena's wedding.

Gettin' hitched!

Little kids getting down on the dance floor!

Of course we made a quick stop for Tim Bits before leaving.