During the last week of July 2011, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend from the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. 1,300+ miles were driven, hundreds of photos were taken, and dozens of Michigan beers were drank. Hilarity and misadventures ensued.

Day 7 – July 30th, 2011

This was our last day in the Upper Peninsula, and we had a long drive from Marquette to Gaylord. Thankfully, we planned to break the drive up with stops along the way. I missed the Keweenaw Peninsula already, but I did not miss Steph spending hours with her head out the car window, yelling “MOO-sees!” in hopes of luring a bull moose out of hiding.

Our first stop was just what appeared to be a regular roadside park (there are many in the Upper Peninsula), but while walking around I noticed a sign for the Face in the Rock. I could make a proto-Facebook and/or Wall joke, but–aw crap, I just did.

The Face in the Rock was a totally random find on our part, but it showcased all the history around us in the Upper Peninsula. But enough history–we wanted to see some bears.

My neck tasted like Froot Loops, I guess.

Oswald’s Bear Ranch  is a gem. It is a family run tourist stop, with a bunch of black bears on display. Upon paying for admission, the lady attendant informed me thus: “You and yer woman can get yer picture taken with a cub.” Hot dog. I (sadly) handed my camera over to one of the bear wranglers, and he (sadly) switched from the full auto mode (where I set it for him) to a different setting, resulting in a slow-shutter speed and blurry photos. Oh well. The other wrangler had us sit on either side of a black bear cub in a chair.  Yes. In. A. Chair. We held our hands out, and the wrangler filled them with a bear’s favorite  food: Froot Loops.

He must be very popular.

The cub happily munched on the Loops de Froot, while the camera guy went to work. Then, much to my surprise, the cub turned toward me and started to LICK my NECK. If you have never had a bear cub lick your flesh, it is a rather unique experience. Joking aside, I never once felt in danger, except maybe in danger of too much cute.

"Hmm. Yes, this is quite good, but I would have rather enjoyed a bit of honey. *AHEM* I mean hunny."

There are many, many bears to view at the Bear Ranch, and it is easy to tell the place is a labor of love for the Oswald clan (OK, well they do charge to get in). Enough with the bears though–waterfalls and beers awaited!

"It comes in pints?"

Not far from the Bear Ranch is the Upper Tahquamenon Falls State Park (which I entered without any additional charge with my Recreation Passport), which is home to the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery and Pub. It was a hot day, so the place was jumping, but fortunately we were not forced to wait too long for table. I was ready for a beer, post-haste however.

Steph and I shared a flight of samples. I was heart-broken to find out they no longer had their cherry wheat on tap, which was a favorite during my visit in 2008 (I still share the tale of it to this day, whenever I am gathered around a roaring fire with the young ones, and the moon is full).

So pretty. Except for the stupid stake thing in the bottom of the frame.

I, at long last, was able to eat some fresh Lake Superior trout (Steph had a pastie). A senior couple from south Texas worked their way through the crowd (ignoring the line of folks waiting for a table) and took a seat on the unused half of the table next to us, much to the confusion of the couple using the other half of the table (I’m a fan of run-on sentences). More interesting was how they enjoyed their lager: they sprinkled salt into the beer. They told us it was What Was Done when it came to enjoying a lager back home. We had never heard of such a thing, but Steph equated it to salt with a margarita. Regardless of how they drank their beer, it was great to see tourists from out of state visiting the Upper Peninsula.

The Upper Tahquamenon Falls are quite the sight. Good job, Nature.

Obligatory Slow Shutter Speed Photo of a Waterfall Photo

You can walk between the Upper and Lower Falls, which we did not do because it took awhile. But, the Upper Falls State Park is very pretty, and was perhaps the busiest of all the State Parks we visited.

Where is Mario when I need him?

I spotted this interesting growth on a tree.

"And here is our State bird, the Whatsit."

Sadly, the Falls were our last stop on our Upper Peninsula Odyssey. We did drive through Paradise, but we did not have time to go to the Shipwreck Museum, and that is a place worth spending a few hours enjoying.

We headed South, back to the Land Beneath the Bridge, and back to our daily lives, but with plenty of memories and photos to make us thankful for the beautiful state we call Home.

Bless you, Michigan. Stay beautiful–because if your looks start to go, I’m on the first plane out to Northern California.

During the last week of July 2011, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend from the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. 1,300+ miles were driven, hundreds of photos were taken, and dozens of Michigan beers were drank. Hilarity and misadventures ensued.

Don't even think about it.

Day Six – July 29, 2011

Breakfast was at a little Finnish restaurant in downtown Houghton, Suomi Bakery and Restaurant. It was another recommendation by a friend.  I had what they called a “Finnish Pancake”: a sort of baked custard thing called a Pannukakku.

Pannukakku, I choose you!

I loved it. Suomi was a great place for breakfast–the staff was super friendly, AND the give you a whole carafe of coffee for your table. My kind of people. I also bought a loaf of nisu, which is a sweet bread. Tasty stuff (it is good for french toast).

After breakfast, we ventured North toward Copper Harbor, and we took the Brockway Mountain Drive–which is something You Must Do.  It is a scenic drive to the top of a mountain, and it is a beautiful drive. But, prior to reaching the peak of the mountain, we stopped at the Jampot–a bakery/jam shop run by a bunch of monks (see their no parking sign above). And let me tell you, they do great work. We bought a jar of thimbleberry jam (it only grows in the UP here in Michigan) and a PB & J brownie (a friend’s recommendation). Outstanding.

Good work, Michigan.

The view from the top of Brockway Mountain is “drop to your knees, wow” worthy. You are around 700 feet above Lake Superior.

Note: not a still from a JJ Abrams movie.

The most impressive thing about the view from the top of the mountain is the trees and water just keep going. There was a dog walking around in the parking lot by the gift shop, and we figured it was just the park ranger. In the store, the woman (with a thick accent) told us the dog was just “the welcoming committee.” And, Steph finally found some greenstone jewelry.  But wait–it cost more than we had in cash and the shop could not take credit cards.

What to do? Steph and the lady worked out a deal: she wrote down all of Steph’s information (address/CC number) and told us to go to Grandpa’s Barn, a book store in Copper Harbor. There, they could run a credit card sale. So, she came down from the mountain with a ring, although my mom was disappointed to hear she was wearing it on her right hand. And that she paid for it herself.

In Copper Harbor, we got the ring business out of the way first thing–and got to see a super cute retriever puppy at Grandpa’s Barn. Next was a visit to Fort Wilkins State Park. After finding a place to get pasties for lunch (thanks to the ladies at the State Park for help), we  walked out to Agate Beach.  It is a hike, but very much worth the work.

"441, 442, 44...6. No, wait. 4..uh..Crap!"

I quickly saw how this beach earned its name. It is all stone. Surprisingly, it is comfortable to lay on.

Guess what we're giving out on Halloween.

I also quickly learned that if I ever need to keep Steph busy for several hours, I should just teleport her to Agate Beach. She kept herself very busy looking for pretty rocks. And licking them. Yes. Licking them. She claimed this was so she could see the colors and patterns easier. Gross.

I could have walked back to town, spent a couple hours in a bar and she wouldn’t have noticed I was gone. This was the only time on the whole trip where I had to be the one to say “we really need to get going.”

Cue Moria jokes!

Our next stop was the Delaware Mine Tour. Sweet Mother of Batman. We walked 100 ft (I think) below ground on a self-guided tour. It was 45 degrees below ground, which was refreshing. But–it was SUPER creepy. It didn’t help I kept making Lord of the Rings/Moria jokes. Steph was not amused, and was very scared (I wasn’t doing much better).

"Hello?"

Sadly, our Journey Beneath the Earth was cut short when a bat swooped by Steph’s head and she freaked out. Oh well. Side note: the owners of the mine have pet skunks, and they are super-cute (smell thingys were removed).

Moscow Mule

In Calumet, we went to Shute’s Bar and, thanks to another friend’s recommendation, ordered a Moscow Mule. I did a write up about the experience for The Idler. Bit of trivia: the copper mugs our drinks came in were worth $25, EACH. Fancy drinkware for a $4 drink.

Hanging out at Shute's

Shute’s, like the Doghouse in Houghton, is vintage from the 1800s and is jaw-dropping beautiful. Did you know Calumet was considered as one of the towns to be Michigan’s capital before Lansing was chosen? Also, Calumet (and a big chunk of the Keweenaw) is part of a National Historical Park. Steph and I ran into a Park Ranger while walking up and down the street.

Wow.

There are a lot of really old buildings in Calumet, and most are not in the best of shape–but they make for great photos. And there is a microbrewery! I learned about Red Jacket Brewing Company from John at Michigan Microbrews, and it was great. Steph had their oatmeal-espresso beer (10% ABV), which she said was “Coffee, in beer form.” After a sip, I agreed. I had the Pale Ale, which was also tasty. Red Jacket is in the Michigan House Cafe, another historic, gorgeous bar (good chow, too).

Please don't poke the building.

Then, we begin the schlep back to Marquette. This was perhaps the longest and most tiring of drives I had to do in one stretch. Hours later, we stopped for a late dinner and a flight of beers at the Jasper Ridge Brewery in Ishpeming.

Bottoms up.

Once again, we were treated to blueberry beer, which was tasty, as was the pizza (I’m a sucker for bar pizza). Our arrival to Marquette put an end to our very long day, but it was a fun, long day, and perhaps one of my favorite of the whole trip. I went 700 feet above lake level and 100 feet below ground level all in the same day–what’s not to like?

Next: the long drive home, waterfalls, beers and bears–oh, my. Oh, my indeed.

–

Daniel J. Hogan is the geek half of Ginger and the Geek. He is also a photoblogger and host of the Magic of Eyri Podcast. He likes Lord of the Rings jokes. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

During the last week of July 2011, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend from the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. 1,300+ miles were driven, hundreds of photos were taken, and dozens of Michigan beers were drank. Hilarity and misadventures ensued.

Colors.

Day 5 – July 28, 2011

[The title of this post is a reference to a song by that modern day bard, Mojo Nixon. - Ed.]

Leaving Marquette in our wake, Steph and I continued our pilgrimage toward the twin jewels of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton-Hancock. Our first stop was the Da Yoopers Tourist Trap, which is free (and has bathrooms). It is a collection of humorous outdoor exhibits which poke fun at Yoopers and tourists. You can find it near Ishpeming, which has the best high school team in all Creation: the Hematites.

At said Tourist Trap, I picked up a bag of Trenary Toast: thick slices of dry Cinnamon toast, which will last until Doomsday (give or take a week). “It’s sort of like lembas in Lord of the Rings,” I told Steph. A blank stare. “Uh, forget it…” Pro Tip: dunk your Trenary Toast in coffee or milk.

On our way toward Baraga, I spotted the sign for the Canyon Falls Roadside Park and decided I needed a break from driving. Am I glad I did.

Water! Rocks!

You need to see this place. This was my first (but not last) “Wow!” moment of the trip. The trail kept leading us further into the forest, where we did see the titular falls–and so much more.

Love it.

But the falls did not show up all at once, we had to work our way down the path and were treated to some great views of the river.

This reminded me of those creepy floor monster things in Legend of Zelda.

Like this waterfall foam, uh, ring. It just kept spinning, and spinning, and spinning, and spinning.

Rocks! Sliding! Over the years!

This is the stuff which really blew my mind–I did not expect to see such rock formations. On our trip down the trail, we were joined by a guy in a suit and tie–perhaps on his lunch break–he told us: “This was going to be a National Park, but then World War II happened and they never got around to it.”

"STEPH WUZ HERE"

The falls were very pretty, but I was more impressed by the canyon walls and rock formations which surrounded us. Steph climbed out onto a ledge and built a little rock tower (see photo above). I wonder if it is still there?

I wish I had brought my water shoes. And my wetsuit.

I was in awe of the whole place. Too bad our serene moment was ruined by a woman on her cell phone: “I’m on a hike. A hike! NO A HIKE! H-I-K-E! HIKE!” Sigh. But, Fate did me a solid a few moments later. A ways back into the falls, we came across what looked like the evidence of a picnic, but in fact a trio of 20-something bikini clad girls were swimming in the river. Huzzah!

The increasing heat caused us to seek the shelter of my car’s AC and we continued on toward Houghton-Hancock. But, we had one more side trip: The Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest, aka “Spider-Jesus.”

"Hi!"

This thing is huge. 60 feet tall. The shrine of Bishop Baraga earns the “Spider-Jesus” nickname because of the cloud platform he is standing on–which is supported by the four curved beams you see there. It is quite the sight.

Slam Evil!

This was another “Wow!” moment–and the second of the day. We basked in the awesomeness of the shrine before making the last leg of the trip. And let me tell you, I was NOT ready for the roads in Houghton-Hancock. One way streets! Big hills! Bigger hills! After a few days of two-lane flat roads, it was a bit much. We tried to drive to the Library for lunch, but, after I crossed the bridge and ended up in Hancock, I decided to just go back to the hotel and park–which took some time, thanks to the aforementioned one way streets. The drive over the bridge was nice, however.

Huzzah, more beer.

We ended up walking to Keweenaw Brewing Company in hopes of lunch, but quickly learned they did not serve food. I gave the bartender my best (worst) “I’ll be back,” and ventured to the Library. A flight of microbrews was ordered, and every thing was right in the world. Good food, too.  This is where we first learned: you can drink for cheap in the Keweenaw Peninsula. I think this flight cost us maybe $5.

KBC OMG

As promised, we returned to Keweenaw Brewing Company for our second round of samples. Let’s back up for a second here though: Houghton has two microbreweries about a block away from each other. How amazing is that? Very. How cheap are pints at KBC? Very.

No cans here.

I’m already a fan of KBC, so it did not take any arm twisting to get me to visit. It was a bit odd drinking KBC out of a glass though, as I usually only get it in cans here in Lansing.

Our adventures did not end there either–we walked, at least a mile or so, up hill, both ways, to a gift store so Steph could search for some greenstone jewelry. Which ended up being too expensive. Hooray. But, our travels were not totally in vain. We stopped at the Doghouse and, as recommended by a friend, had a pickled egg (with another beer).

Don't eat more than two.

I was a bit, shall we say, concerned about eating such a thing. I have only ever seen pickled eggs in the likes of Simpsons episodes at Moe’s Tavern. But, this whole trip was an adventure, food included. I followed my friend’s eating advice to the letter: “Bite off the tip. Add hot sauce, jalapeno pepper. Eat. Don’t have more than two.” I did not inquire as the reason for the limited consumption, but I was happier not knowing. Our bartender gave us the history of the Doghouse, which was a gorgeous old bar in the Historic Douglas House. I love bars (and restaurants) with 100+ years of history.

Later, after visiting a few shops, one of which employed a very helpful local gal, we partook in the hotel’s (basement) hot tub and pool. This time, we did not have to tell anyone open it first. We dined downtown, and managed to catch the sunset. Somewhere in the distance, the bag pipes were played. No lie.

Next: Adventures Beneath the Surface of the Earth, a Moscow Mule, Copper Harbor, and more.

–

Daniel J. Hogan is the geek half of Ginger and the Geek. He is also a photoblogger and host of the Magic of Eyri Podcast. Seriously, it is so cheap to drink there. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

During the last week of July 2011, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend from the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. 1,300+ miles were driven, hundreds of photos were taken, and dozens of Michigan beers were drank. Hilarity and misadventures ensued.

Stare into his eyes. Yeah.

Day 4 – July 27, 2011

We said farewell to Manistique (again, after a delightful waffle breakfast) and headed North to Munising, home of the Pictured Rocks Tours and the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The weather was not looking all that great for a three hour tour boat-ride: dark, cloudy, rainy. Blergh.

I made the Executive Decision (starring Kurt Russell and Steven Seagal): we would skip the Pictured Rocks tour, unless the weather broke by the time we hit Munising.  Thankfully, the trek to Munising was not without its charms. I spotted a military surplus store, and practically did a U-turn at 55 MPH. I love military surplus stores. Why? All the wacky gadgets and gear. I came very close to buying a black trench coat, but the price was a bit much for a second-hand item ($40). I did not spot any MRE’s (Meal, Ready-to-Eat), otherwise I may have bought a couple for fun.

Not shown: someone in a barrel.

As feared, the weather did not break upon reaching Munising proper, but we checked out a couple waterfalls, which are plentiful near the town. Lunch was enjoyed at Dogpatch, a Li’l Abner themed restaurant, which is a Munising institution. It is a silly place, but in a good way. The chow is good and there is plenty of it. However, the highpoint of lunch was when a friend of Steph’s (from Lansing) spotted us across the room and came over. She was on her honeymoon. Crazy.

Steph and I toyed with driving to where you can walk to some of the Pictured Rocks lakeshore, but the weather was so iffy, we opted to walk around downtown Munising, stopping for a coffee at the Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore. Much to my joy, I found an Elric book, The Vanishing Tower (aka The Sleeping Sorceress). I always look for Elric books at used book stores, it is bit of a hobby.

Falling Rock has good coffee and a great book selection. I picked up a H. P. Lovecraft book during my previous visit in 2008. You can buy a mug and keep it on the wall. The walls have more mugs than a Jim Carrey movie.

But enough about books, coffee, and the oeuvre of James Eugene Carrey: the township of Christmas awaited.

Cue tumble weeds.

Christmas, Michigan isn’t so much of a township as it is, and mean no disrespect, a strip mall. You have two Christmas themed stores, one of which is closed (and has been since before my last visit in 2008), a casino, and a couple bar/restaurants. The giant Santa in the photo at the top of the post stands guard outside Santa’s Workshop, like a thin wooden Talos (yes, I just made a Jason and the Argonauts reference). Do stop in and check out Santa’s Workshop, they have some great gifts for sale, and the staff is very friendly. If you need to grab a bite, try Foggy’s Steakhouse.

Citizen (Candy) Cane in Fun with Selective Color Effects.

Sadly, the other Christmas tourist spot/shop is shut down. But, it makes for interesting photos (like the closed post office above).

Fun with Camera Perspectives™

Case in point. Mrs. Claus has seen better days. Also, try not to stare at her hand too long, as it is rather creepy.

"Before me stood an idol, its ruby and ivory visage crumbling and broken. Its piecing blue eyes looked into the very depths of my soul. In the darkness around me came guttural chanting,'Santathulhu fhtagn! Santathulhu fhtagn!'"

Speaking of creepy. I have no idea how long this stuff has been left on its own.

Stripes falling off? You need Stripe-Stop!™

I wonder what this place looked like in its prime, I really do. I don’t savor showcasing decay, but I feel that such things should be documented.

Blood Lane was already taken.

Christmas is worth a visit, especially if you enjoy taking photos. But, it is a “blink and miss it” kind of place.  After taking (too many) photos, we continued on to Marquette. Steph, thanks to the Roadside Attraction website, found out about Lakenenland along the way. It is sort of a UP version of the Meijer Sculpture Park–and better still, it is free. Stop in, it is worth your time.

It just keeps going and going.

I really loved Marquette. Steph and I had a lot of fun downtown on Front Street. It would also be the only place which reminded us of home, what with all the “big box stores” on the outskirts. I toyed with moving there for about three seconds, until I learned they get an average of 141 inches of snow a year. Oh, well.

Downtown Marquette is great. Steph found a Cajun restaurant (who woulda thought?), Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery, via Yelp and it was super-tasty. But, our next stop was even more fun–the Vierling Restaurant and Marquette Harbor Brewery: our first microbrewery of the trip.

Pardon the flash.

As was my goal for each microbrewery we would visit, I ordered a flight. The bartender teased us with a “OK, but you better finish them all.” I replied with, “Fear not, making beer disappear is my only talent.” And then she gave us eight (8!) samplers. I’d be lying if I said I could tell you what each of these glasses contained, but I am honest when I say I enjoyed them all. Their blueberry wheat, with said berries in the glass, was quite tasty.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for a night cap at The Wild Rover, which Steph fell in love with upon first sight. “It looks like a castle!” she cried. “How can that not be a fun place?” Her prediction proved true. It was very nice inside. We each had a beer, and debated which film started the superhero film craze.

Her: Unbrekable (she’s a Shyamalan fan girl, and the only reason I saw Last Airbender in the theater).
Me: X-Men.

Steph can turn the geek on when the mood strikes her.

Next: Spider-Jesus, Canyon Falls, and Houghton-Hancock.

–

Daniel J. Hogan is the geek half of Ginger and the Geek. He is also a photoblogger and host of the Magic of Eyri Podcast. It was X-Men. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

During the last week of July 2011, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend from the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. 1,300+ miles were driven, hundreds of photos were taken, and dozens of Michigan beers were drank. Hilarity and misadventures ensued.

It is called Big Spring because Very Clear Water With a Year Round Constant 45 Degree Temperature was deemed too silly.

Day 3 – July 26, 2011

After a tasty continental breakfast (with waffles no less), Steph and I headed West for our first stop: Big Spring (aka Kitch-iti-kipi), located in Palms Book State Park. We were once again blessed with a pretty day, which was good considering our stops for the day were all outside.

Big Spring is worth a trip to the Upper Peninsula alone–it is a magical place. OK, I say that a lot about places in the UP, but go there and tell me I am wrong.

Pretty.

Big Spring, as the name would suggest, is Michigan’s biggest natural spring. It cranks out thousands of gallons a minute, and the water is super-clear. You can see fish swimming around, plain as day. The water is 45 degrees–year round. That’s right, the water doesn’t freeze! Too bad we can’t make a PC out of Big Spring water, AMIRIGHT?

Ahem.

Pictures and words do not do Big Spring any kind of justice. It is a sight to behold in person. You ride a raft to the middle of the spring and can see straight down–there, fish swim past as the sandy bottom churns and swirls.

Near Palms Book is the Thompson State Fish Hatchery, which makes for a fun, albeit short and free, side trip. Fish are born and bred there–and are used to stock lakes and such. On the premises you will find vats of baby fish. Thousands of the little things. One wonders what would happen if you fell into the vat–would you suffer the death of a thousand nibbles?

The Fayette Historic Townsite was our next stop.

Slanty Shack.

Fayette is, in ever sense of the word, a ghost town. It had its hay day back in the 1800s, and the town boomed. Then, business dried up and this company town was deserted. It is preserved, to some extent, as a Michigan State Park. The empty buildings are still there, including the old furnaces and kilns. You can see all of this for only the price of a Michigan Recreation Passport. $10. That’s it. For $10 you get into Fayette and any other State Park (or you can save the $10 and just not bring a car).

Budget at least a couple hours here, as there is plenty to see and just walking along the beach and harbor is worth the visit. It is a gorgeous place. After Fayette, Steph and I grabbed lunch at DJ’s on the Bay. Four older guys were enjoying a lunchtime card game when we entered. We each had a whitefish sandwich and big cup of coffee. Tasty. With the weather being nice, and tomorrow’s being questionable, I decided to bump up our trip to the Seney National Wildlife Refuge to today.

How can you not enjoy this?

I have been wanting to visit Seney since 2009, and it was certainly worth the wait. It is over 95 thousand acres of land set aside only for animals. While not quite the same as a National Park, the refuge has the same goal: preservation. You cannot camp in Seney, but you can drive (or walk/bike) on a 7-mile loop (there is a spot to fish too). The speed limit is 15 mph, but that is way too fast if you have any hope of spotting animals.

The folks in the visitor center made it clear it was possible we would not see any animals (it is not a zoo), but we had a good haul: Trumpeter Swans (Steph claimed to have spotted more than 70), Canada Geese, ducks, chipmunks, butterflies, an otter or two, maybe a beaver (or a muskrat, or a mink), Sandhill Cranes, Eagles (near their nest), and Loons. I was very ecstatic about spotting the Loons–and better still, we were able to hear a few of their haunting cries.

"Hey! Wait up!"

We spent around two hours making our way through the refuge, taking time to stop and get out of the car, with my binoculars and camera at the ready. Snapping a good shot posed a challenge, as the animals were so far away (the Loons were out of camera range), but at least I had binoculars. Seney, like Mackinac Island, is a place were you have to slow things down to get the most enjoyment. This is not a “zip through and see everything” place. Nature sets its own rules here. I could (and would) have spent all day at the refuge. Hell, I could go every day for a week and see something new each time.

We saw more wildlife outside of Seney too: a deer family crossed the road in the morning, wild turkeys near the shoulder, even a turtle in the road (which I managed to avoid at the last minute). But Steph had her own favorites: a pair of older couples dressed in matching clothing at breakfast.

Steph was sitting across from me, enjoying her waffle, when I saw her eyes lock on to something behind me. I knew that look. It was her bewildered “OH MY GOD, WTF” look. She leaned in, “when we’re in our sixties, can we go on vacations wearing matching red panda t-shirts?”
“What?”
She nodded to the couple behind me. I pretended to check if there were any more bananas left and took in the sights. Wow. One couple was, in fact, wearing matching red panda t-shirts. Another was dressed in matching shorts and yellow polo shirts, with some kind of logo.

"Oops, nevermind."

After Seney, we returned to Manistique for dinner at Marley’s Bar & Grill (a recommendation from a friend). Marley’s had some great decorations: specifically the vast collection of Christmas decorations (I suggested to Steph that the Marley name may be a reference to A Christmas Carol). I also had one of the best sandwiches of my life: Cudighi. The menu said it was an Italian sausage type of sandwich, but I had never heard of cudighi (and I’m half-Italian with a large Italian family). I learned it is yet another Upper Peninsula dish, like the pasty. It was outstanding.

Post dinner, Steph and I photowalked a bit around downtown Manistique. They have an adorable main street with plenty of old buildings.

Next time: Munising, Christmas, and more.

–

Daniel J. Hogan is the geek half of Ginger and the Geek. He is also a photoblogger and host of the Magic of Eyri Podcast. Just the good half. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

During the last week of July 2011, I went on a road trip with my girlfriend from the middle of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. 1,300+ miles were driven, hundreds of photos were taken, and dozens of Michigan beers were drank. Hilarity and misadventures ensued.

I am a fan of the Great American Road Trip.

I blame my father. In my teenage years, Dad would plan “mystery vacations,” which were road trips where only he knew our points of interest and final destination. Most of these surrounded around, as he put it, “dead presidents”–we would visit the grave or tomb of a Commander in Chief who had, to use the Monty Python vernacular, “ceased to be.”

The beatings will continue until you start having fun.

This July, I planned a week long voyage to, and across, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Joining me on this trek, was my girlfriend Stephanie, because we all need a co-pilot, or more specifically a navigator. Her smartphone quickly became the MVP of this trip, thanks in part to Google Maps and her Yelp app.

Anyway, enough preamble–let’s boogie. Day One – Sunday, 7/24/11

After our stop at the Michigan Welcome Center in Clare (on 127-North), Steph asked if we could make a slight detour to visit her old summer camp, Mystic Lake. She not only attended the camp, but was a counselor.

I never went to summer camp as a teen, but I feel as if it was a big part of my childhood thanks to summer camp documentaries such as Camp Candy, Salute Your Shorts, Ernest Goes to Camp, summer camp slasher movies, and the Meatballs franchise. Part of me feels a bit cheated, but then my not going to summer camp allowed me to spend many hours playing Earthbound for Super Nintendo and not talking to girls, instead of interacting with other teens at a camp or learning what a training bra looked like.

The location of the Indian burial ground was left off the map for some reason.

Mystic “Don’t Call Me Crystal” Lake looked like every summer camp I had seen on a screen: a mess hall, living quarters, and a swimming dock. The “buddy tag” system caught my eye.

“Buddy tags?” I asked. I read the rules painted on a large sign by the dock. It stressed only touching your own buddy tag, which amused me.

Steph said, “You don’t mess with the buddy tags.”
“Noted,” I said, wondering if this was ever turned into some manner of camp-centric pick-up-line (“Hey babe, wanna mess with my buddy tags?” or “I’d give anything to mess with her buddy tags”), which I floated by Steph. She rolled her eyes.

We walked past a weathered boat house, which had a flotilla of boats and canoes older than I. “Was there where everyone snuck out to at night to make out?” I asked.

Steph laughed, “Maybe, but there were much better places.” I didn’t press the subject. Steph led me to a series of tree-house like living quarters. Each “house” was named after an animal, something I’m sure the Harry Potter fans enjoyed.

Steph pointed to one of the houses. “I used to live there.”
“Beaver House?!”
“All of the senior girl counselors lived in Beaver House.”
“…Wow.” Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

We continued North, and stopped for lunch at Spike’s Keg-o-Nails in Grayling, which Steph found via her Yelp app. We shared an order of soft pretzels (with mustard, yum) and split one of the “famous” Spike burgers. It was worth the stop for the food and the people watching–a canoe race was starting on the nearby river, so Spike’s was flooded with folks wearing team t-shirts.

Dad’s side of the family has a cabin in Gaylord, which would be our stopping point for the evening. But, since Gaylord is only an hour from the Mackinac Bridge, we decided to drive up to the St. Ignace area and take in a few sights.

But, no trek to the Bridge is complete without a stop at Sea Shell City. It is a gift shop filled with all kind of sea-themed items, and the several hundred pound “killer” giant clam.

"I could kill ya if someone dropped me on yer head! So the killer title is quite accurate! Hey! Come back!"

It also houses a few other interesting items, like a pickled octopus, which looks like some manner of eldritch abomination one would find in a classroom at Miskatonic University.

"Our Cthulhu Cultist Combo-Pack also includes a feeler-covered mask, an idol, and a pocket version of the Necronomicon."

Post-Sea Shell City, we crossed the Bridge to the Upper Peninsula. We had hoped to stop at the Weird Michigan Wax Museum, but it was closed and for sale. We walked down the street to the Mystery Spot, but opted for the Maze in the Woods instead, as both of us had already visited the titular Spot. After paying for maze tickets in the Mystery Spot gift shop, we inspected some of the Mystery wares.

“A Mystery Spot hoodie would be fun,” said Steph.
“You know what they should really sell?” I said.
“What?”
“Women’s underwear with Mystery Spot written on them. With a big question mark on the crotch. Those would sell like earplugs at a Rebecca Black concert.”

Steph walked away. Quickly.

"Join us."

While venturing through the maze, I tried to remember an episode of Batman: the Animated Series, where the Batman said there was some kind of rule to mazes. I kept going left–which did lead us out. Cartoons saved the day again (related, ask Steph to tell you the “Aviary of Doom Episode” story).

Our next stop was the deer ranch down the road on US-2. We got to pet fawns, and feed white-tailed deer carrots–including white white-tailed deer and albino white-tailed deer (there is a difference).

Note: Not a patronus.

Our last stop was a sight seeing tower/gift shop place. It favored sea shells as a decoration.

"Starfish are SO last year."

It is the type of place where you pay a couple bucks to climb a tower to get a nice view of the Mackinac Bridge. Totally worth it.

I made it black and white because it is Important.

The shop appeared to be quite OK with graffiti on the staircase and tower walls. Nearly every available inch was covered. Steph added our initials to the collection, thanks to my trusty Hayner Pen. Van Halen and Poison fans appeared to frequent the tower.

There was not enough space to include Zeppelin Rules.

Tired and hungry, we returned to Gaylord for dinner at Gobblers (home of great turkey dinners) and to rest up for tomorrow’s adventure: Mackinac Island.

–

Daniel J. Hogan is the geek half of Ginger and the Geek. He is also a photoblogger and host of the Magic of Eyri Podcast. He finally saw what a bra looked like in his mid-twenties. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

"I...saw...a giant, burning lidless Eye. And some moron in a stupid, white hat."

F8, 50mm (prime), 1/100th, 400 ISO

Here is some Proper Photography. Reflections are where it is at, amiright? Look how everything bends and twists–such is Life. A series of Bends and Twists, forever going in a timeless spiral, with none of us knowing Where we are going.

Sure.

Taken at the East Lansing Arts and Crafts Show (the other thing going on during the East Lansing Art Festival). This reminds me, I need a new summer hat. My ol’ white one has seen better days.

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Links to my Other Stuff and Things:

Ginger and the Geek – Podcast 024 – Geek the Library, Books and Fashion

Geek Speak – GeekEats: Wine Caucus Fridays at Troppo, LoveLansing: the Hawk Island Triathlon

Lovable Geek – Full Body Mugshot, Stick Around

"I'm so AVERAGE looking."

When I look at a fish such as this, I tend to “ooh” and “ahh” over its colors and such. But, I wonder: does it know how pretty I find it? Perhaps this fish has low self-esteem, and considers itself rather boring and plain. Sadly, I’ll never know–at least not until my Fish-Brain-Reader gets out of beta testing. This photo was taken at Preuss Pets in Old Town, Lansing.

Links to my other content:

Geek Speak:  Penguicon recap, Star Wars Day, Free Comic Book Day

Ginger and the Geek: Podcast 019, Dirty Feat and Derby Vixens

Mansense: Guitly Pleasures

Lost Highway: Dollman

…How does it do that?

Links to last week’s posts, and more, after the break.

• Tuesday was my first post with photos of people (that I can remember, and that weren’t of myself). It was from my friend’s wedding.
• Wednesday brought forth another batch of photos from my pal’s wedding.
• Thursday was the first installment in my Attraction Lost series–which are photos from abandoned tourist attractions.
• On Friday, I had a review of Geno’s Pizzeria for Examiner.com. Yummy.
• I also had a story about all of the fun food available at the Great Lakes Folk Festival in East Lansing.
• Saturday was a brand new LansingNext podcast.

Other links

• My blog was approved for addition to the Cool Photo Blogs directory. Awesome.
• This has been making the rounds, but OkCupid had some data about photos, cameras and how they correlate to getting dates. Amusing stuff. (via Photojojo‘s Twitter)
• Epic Edits had a good list of 10 No-no’s for Online Photo portfolios.
• Check out this frog!
• And for my follow hockey fans, check out this photo a botched engraving job on a trophy on Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy blog. It was thought to be a hoax, but ended up being very, very real.

Tomorrow: Photos of fire!

This is a photo I snapped of a barn swallow that wouldn’t leave me alone. Seriously. This thing appeared in the same spot for two days or so, just teasing me to take its photo.

Here is a color shot.

Pretty.

• I rapped about learning action photography on Monday. Includes photos of wet dogs, if you are into that sort of thing.
• The Magic of Eyri Podcast was nominated for two Parsec Awards! These awards honor speculative fiction podcasts (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc)
• Wednesday brought us a brand new Magic of Eyri Podcast. This is the last one until August–I’m taking July off.
• And Wednesday was another wacky edition of LansingNext. We chatted with John Palmer from Michigan Microbrews, and Mike Weber, who reviews Lansing bars. Oh, and we decided to do an “edgy” Fraggle Rock skit. You must listen to believe it.
• Thursday, I talked more photography, this time I blogged about shooting objects through other objects. Yeah.
• Lastly, a story I wrote for Examiner about Dimitri’s closing in downtown Lansing.

Some more big news–starting next week, LansingNext will be live streamed at 9AM on Saturdays instead of Wednesdays. The good news is, this won’t really hurt the podcast side of it, other than it being online a few days later. If you already subscribe via iTunes or RSS, then you won’t miss a thing.

What a week!

My goal after running in the Lansing Race for the Cure 5K was to meet or beat my time at the Detroit Race for the Cure less than a month later.  So, I decided what I wanted to focus on my endurance.

I wanted to run for longer with fewer (or no) breaks.  Training went well at first, I would run for 10 minutes straight, take a short power-walk, and then continue running.

It was working.

I also decided to run in different locations. I visited Woldumar Nature Center (a great place) and did my first nature trail run. Let me tell you, that was a whole other animal. But I survived and enjoyed  running there.

More recently, I was chatting with a friend about running and was talked into joining him for a run at a park near his home.  It is a trail built on a wet land and it is very pretty.

Last Friday, we had our first run together after work. It was great. We did (give or take) four miles.  We kept an even pace and didn’t slow down.  We decided to run again this past Sunday.

Another four miles, everything was fine–or so I thought.

We ran at 8:30 on Sunday morning and by the middle of the day, I noticed my right foot was a bit sore.

By Sunday evening, I could barely walk. It was bad. And painful.  I promptly purchased a bag of frozen peas and started icing/elevating my leg.  Monday wasn’t much better, because I was at work all day. I iced/elevated my foot when I could, but I was still moving very slowly.  This inspired the title of this week’s episode of LansingNext, “Dan and his Pimp Limp.”

By Wednesday I was feeling a bit better, but I was starting to (finally) take over-the-counter pain pills to fight any inflammation.  But, upon hearing from a few folks who had similar problems, only to find out they were much more serious than a sprain (including broken bones), I quickly called up my doctor and made an appointment for tomorrow morning.

We’ll see how that goes.

All signs are pointing to me not running the Race for the Cure in Detroit this weekend, which bums me out quite a bit.  Even if I am feeling better by then, I don’t want to chance making things worse.

But, I’m hoping I’ll be back in shape for the Race for Education here in Lansing come June.

Normally, I break everything up. I’ll record all of the lines for each character in a batch. For example, I’ll record all of Steve’s lines. Then I’ll start over and record all of Uncle Shameless, Zeroth, etc.

I then tend to do the Narrator lines last. I do not read straight out of the book. I adapt everything to document that resembles an audio drama script.

I put all of the sound files for each character into a folder, and when I assemble the episode in GarageBand, I follow the script and drag the files in that I need and edit accordingly.

I did it this, in part, to ‘stay in character’ the whole time. I voice act for multiple characters that a) sound different and b) talk in different styles/mannerisms–I do Steve a bit higher pitched and winy/sarcastic, while I slur and stumble my words with Uncle Shameless.

I decided to give recording ‘live’ a shot after being on a podcasting panel at Penguicon a couple weeks ago. My co-panelist mentioned that she did everything that way. I figured after 24 podcast episodes and 13 episodes of LansingNext, I certainly had the chops to try.

I’m glad I did. The process went very smoothly, and I was able to carry energy all the way through, because I wasn’t starting and stopping along the way. This was probably one of my better recordings, especially when it came to the Narrator lines (which I’m trying to make more ‘energetic’).

The real test will be in the editing. Will this make chopping an episode easier? Most likely. I just hopes it makes it faster. Episode 025, “Pirates!,” will be available on June 2nd at magicofeyri.com.

- This week’s episode of LansingNext: 012 “Of Moose and Mentor.”

- This week’s special episode of the Magic of Eyri Podcast, “Adapting a Novel to a Podcast.” This was a panel talk I did at Penguicon last weekend (which I still need to write about, sigh). Joining me on the panel is the super-talented Mary Robinette Kowal.

- Oh, and that podcast made it on BoingBoing. Woo hoo!

- I threw together a story for Examiner about where to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

- And lastly, this week’s development stories for Capital Gains. One. Two. Three. Four.

Have a fun weekend.

Julielyn and I were interviewed this past Monday night at TalkLansing HQ. I like the article a lot, and Tricia Bobeda did a great job of capturing a bit of the show’s humor and antics in print.

I was happy that she devoted a portion of the article to our producer, Jeff, who is an invaluable part of the LansingNext team.

It took some doing, but I managed to track down a few print copies of the issue. Seeing my face on the cover was a surreal experience, especially in the Noise boxes around town.

Me doing my best Mr. Scream impression

If you can find a print version to read, do so, as there are way more pictures of us in action at the studio.

It is great that the show got this kind of press, I am curious what our listen stats will be like for Wednesday’s episode (which can be streamed and downloaded indefinitely).

This plays right into why JL and I wanted the show to also be a podcast–when people can hear about, they can go to the site and check it out right away. I know we got a bunch of downloads and listens today because of that article, and the linking to it on Twitter and Facebook.

That is a key thing in media today–being able to sample something on demand. If people had to wait until next Wednesday at 11 AM to hear the show, many would totally forget about it.

To Listen: click on the gray play button below.

To Download the MP3: Right Click on the Download link, choose Save Target As or Save Link As from the menu and then choose where to save the .MP3 on your hard drive.

Show Notes

First Segment
00:00-03:36 (News, Ads). We start at 03:36.

03:36 – 14:00 Ignite Lansing, Daniel’s presentation, John Schnider’s article about Ignite, the ensuing backlash and Ari Adler’s response.

14:00 – 16:00 We chat about Jillian Granz, the MSU student who designed a dress for James Cameron’s wife to wear in the red carpet at the Oscars.

Second Segment
16:00 – 28:00 Interview with Ivy Hughes about Capital Gains, traveling and being a transplant from Colorado.

Third Segment
33:50 – 45:50 Interview with Ryan Knott about Lansing Happy Hour Club (you can search for the #lhhc on Twitter too), and as a performing singer/songwriter we ask him for advice on what not to eat or drink before going on stage (count how many times he says mucus).

Fourth Segment
48:30 – 59:59 Reading Month is the topic and here is  Daniel’s pick, Trizophrenia: Inside the Minds of a Triathlete by Lansing native Jef Mallet , who also draws the comic strip Frazz.

Julielyn talks about the Nook by Barnes and Noble and Daniel makes a terrible joke about “Waiting for the Schuler Schnook.” Julielyn’s book is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

After the books, Julielyn talks about March also being National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month – and the importance of being screened.

What’s on Your iPod? – Daniel’s pick for this week, David Bowie’s Moonage Daydream (Live). Julielyn then subjects us to the Glee! version of Don’t Stop Believin‘ by Journey. Daniel is not amused.

Daniel and Julielyn share some of their favorite afterwork activities and we read some listener ideas off Twitter (use the #LansingNext tag) and Facebook.

Capital Gains development stories: (listed newest to oldest)

Grand Ledge Receives More Than $400,000 To Rehab Downtown Rental Lofts
3/10/2010

New Prep School Targets Young Professional Parents in Downtown Lansing
3/10/2010

Replay Entertainment Exchange Owner Adds Online Apparel Service
3/10/2010

Fabinelli’s Handmade Candy Shoppe Opens in Downtown Williamston
3/10/2010

Haze Art Gallery and Studio Move into New Buildings in Old Town
3/3/2010

New Vendor Features Great Lakes Fish and Special Orders in the New City Market
3/3/2010

Gravity Works Design & Development Open for Business, Plans Move to TIC
3/3/2010

South Lansing Brunch House Offers Traditional Breakfast and a Lebanese Flair
3/3/2010

Salon 130 in Mason Expands to 3,000 Sq Ft, Offers New Services
2/24/2010

Log Jam in Grand Ledge Gets Renovation, Goes Smoke Free and Updates Menu
2/24/2010

Law Offices of David L. Zoglio Move to New Old Town Location
2/24/2010

AnnaBelle’s Pet Station Adding Staff, Introduces New Day Care Depot
2/24/2010

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Episode of LansingNext (I don’t know yet when episode 004 will be available for download, but I’ll keep everyone updated).

Episode 003 (listen or download)

Listen-o-tron! :: Downloaderize!

If you aren’t in know, it is a weekly talk show I do with Julielyn Gibbons. It streams each Wednesday at 11:00 am (EST) at TalkLansing.net.

To Listen: click on the gray play button below.

To Download the MP3: Right Click on the Download link, choose Save Target As or Save Link As from the menu and then choose where to save the .MP3 on your hard drive.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each of the segments.

Segment 1
-Downloads, fans, feedback.
-Olympics and Ryan Miller, pride of East Lansing.
-Google fiber follow-up.
-Knock out JL as Mayor of Cravings Popcorn by March 28th and win popcorn for a year.
-JL and pay it forward (no, not the movie).

Segment 2
-We talk to Kelly Steffen about Eve of Ignition, Spotlight Campus and the Hatch.

Segment 3
-We talk to Carla McWherter about Lansing Give Camp.
-Carla and JL talk about how much they adore Daniel’s hair.

Segment 4

-Ignite Lansing 3.0
-Daniel presenting at Ignite.
-The lolrus. Seriously. Kthxbai.

Segment 5
-We Rick Roll our listeners (per another’s request).
-”What’s on Your iPod?”
-Shout outs.
-MI Entertainment Oscar Party this Sunday at Lansing Mall Cinema.

Ingredients

• 1 good size eggplant (a large one will feed three people easily, if not four.  Check for damage first)
• 1 container of Italian style bread crumbs (these have the extra seasoning.  you can make your own with basic bread crumbs, just add oregano, dried garlic, etc).
• Extra virgin olive oil – you’ll need a lot, so get a good sized bottle. Darker the oil, the better. It’ll add a lot of flavor.
• 1 chunk of parmesan cheese (skip the powered container junk, get the real thing). Go to a place like Horrocks Cheese Room, where the price is based on weight and get only what you need (little goes a long way). Make sure you have a cheese grater.

Steps

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice eggplant into thin slices, the thinner the better as they’ll soak up more of the olive oil. You can do thick slices if you want. I keep the outer skin on.
• Salt eggplant and layer them in a colander, place colander in the sink with a heavy plate on top for 20 to 40 minutes. This draws out some of the bitter flavor of the eggplant. Use kosher salt if you have it.
• After eggplant sits, rinse and pat dry with paper towel.
• Pour a decent amount of olive oil in a large bowl (big enough that a eggplant slice fits into it). Season the olive oil if you want, I usually do with garlic (not too much) or oregano.
• Pour a decent amount of the bread crumbs onto a plate, next to the bowl of olive oil.
• Dip eggplant slices into olive oil, covering both sides, and then into the bread crumbs (again, both sides). Do that one at a time. NOTE: this is a bit messy, be prepared to have your hands covered in oil and bread crumbs.
• Layer slices (don’t stack) in either a baking dish or cookie sheet (cookie sheet makes them a bit crispier).  You may want to spray baking dish or cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Do this until you either run out of eggplant or think you have enough. If you run out of olive oil and/or bread crumbs, just pour out more.
• I season the slices before putting them in the oven with a little bit of extra oregano and the Outrageously Garlic seasoning by Two Sisters Gourmet (dried garlic, onions, etc).
• Bake for 20 minutes or so and keep an eye on it–especially if you have thin slices on a cookie sheet.
• Remove slices, put on a plate (careful! they are HOT), grate cheese over slices and serve right away! You can also cover them in pasta sauce (either buy pre-made or make your own). Simmer the sauce on the stove top while you are prepping and cooking the eggplant.

Extra Credit

• Pair with garlic bread and a nice red wine, pinot noir is my favorite (I don’t care if that is “right” or not ) and you got yourself an easy, tasty dinner that can feed quite a few people.
• Refrigerate leftovers for a tasty treat later–cold, breaded eggplant is yummy. They make a great sandwich (I’ll put cold pasta sauce on the sandwich too).

A weekly Internet talk show focusing on the people, issues and events affecting Lansing’s next generation.

We recorded this Monday night and we totally hit it out of the park. It was the exact opposite of how the recording of the first show went (there was a bit of a learning curve for JL and I). This episode was recorded “live on tape,” meaning we did everything in order as if it was going out live. The first show was done out of sequence and sort of pieced together.

In today’s episode, we talk about a super-high speed Google Internet fiber possibly coming to Michigan and Google Buzz in the first segment (I also make a reference to the film Short Circuit in hopes of explaining technology running amok to Julielyn).

After the break, we interview Chad Jordan of Cravings Popcorn, a company based right here in Lansing (Twitter, Facebook).

In the third segment, we chat with craftbeer enthusiast, John Palmer (Twitter, Facebook), about microbrews and beer breweries in Michigan (and I accuse Julielyn of setting the Guinness Brewery in Ireland on fire). I also share the legend of the Nain Rouge of Detroit.

Online security and such is the subject of the fourth segment, including Julielyn’s “Microphone Rule” when it comes to social networking. But, we shift gears and chat about the Team USA v. Team Canada ice hockey game. Which was AMAZING.

Our last segment features JL and I sharing favorite recipes and the always  popular, “What’s on Your iPod?” segment. JL picked “Call Me” by Blondie. My choice this week was a medley of music from the video game Contra, done as a high-energy heavy metal song by Lansing band Year 200x (Twitter, Facebook).

I believe that starting next week, the episodes will be hosted on TalkLansing.net and they’ll be on iTunes sooner than later.

To Listen: click on the gray play button below.

To Download the MP3: Right Click on the Download link, choose Save Target As or Save Link As from the menu and then choose where to save the .MP3 on your hard drive.

Check our first episode here.

Building a Healthier Lansing – a feature article for Capital Gains about the Power of We and AmeriCorp doing it what they can to make Lansing a healthier city.

Last week’s development stories for Capital Gains (I write four a week):

• Entrepreneur Institute Moves to 1,000 Sq Ft Space in Downtown Lansing
• Replay Entertainment Exchange Thriving, Expands Space
• The Tin Can Opens in Downtown Lansing
• Cravings Popcorn Moves to Old Town

Here is a nice bio that Capital Gains wrote about me to announce my taking on the development writer role.

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Now, onto the aural realm:

Last week’s episode of The Magic of Eyri Podcast.

Last week’s episode of LansingNext (featuring  Julielyn Gibbons and myself)

]]> http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/02/23/last-weeks-articles-and-more/feed/ 0 http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/02/17/lansingnext-001/ http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/02/17/lansingnext-001/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:36:04 +0000 Daniel http://danieljhogan.com/home/?p=507 Here it is kids, the first episode of LansingNext — the Internet talk show I co-host with Julielyn Gibbons for TalkLansing.net. I talked about the show in a bit more detail in a previous post.

To Listen: click on the gray play button below.

To Download the MP3: Right Click on the Download link, choose Save Target As or Save Link As from the menu and then choose where to save the .MP3 on your hard drive.

We talk about Smoke Free bars/restaurants in Lansing, urban chicken farming and Foursquare. We also talked about Ignite Lansing 3.0 with Nick Kwiatkowski and Lansing’s global appeal with Suban Nur-Cooley.

Keep in mind this is very much a work in progress, so things are a bit rough around the edges. I also apologize in advance for all my horrible jokes.

Heads up, there are commercials with our sponsors (and PSAs) and, full disclosure, Julielyn and I do get a cut of that money.

Lastly, unlike the Magic of Eyri Podcast, I was only the “talent” for this show–I didn’t do any of the engineering or production duties. I gotta say, it was nice not to have to worry about any of that for a change.

Make sure to become a fan of the show on Facebook.

Listen-o-Tron! :: Downloaderize!

Listenotron! ::  Downloaderize!

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In podcast news, I was looking over the download stats yesterday and I saw that so far this month, the first episode of the podcast (A Shameless Summer) already has over 150 downloads.

That’s over 150 people starting my podcast. Over 150 new listeners. Man, that is great.  Will all of them stick around after that first episode? I dunno, but at least they gave me a chance. That reminds me, I need to start advertising online again and soon.

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Speaking of promotion, I decided that I will be going to Penguion 2010 in April.  I contacted them yesterday and hopefully I’ll be on panels like I have been for the past two years. I had a blast last year, as I always do, and I certainly know more about podcasting this time around than last year (I think I had maybe three episodes or so up at that point).

The brief hiatus during December was nice. It gave me a chance to get a little bit ahead, although not as ahead as I was hoping for–but that’s the holidays for you.  Still, I’m glad I gave myself a bit of a break.  It was nice.

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I’m still going strong with the Year in Pictures challenge on Flickr. Here is today’s picture, taken at the Fish Ladder in Old Town.

You can see the rest of my Year in Pictures here.   I’m having so much fun doing this project, I’m very happy that I decided to give it a go.  I’m taking photos daily and messing around in Photoshop on a regular basis, which is a great thing.

And I’m experimenting more/taking chances as well when it comes to photos.  Case in point, this picture below, in which I used a “texture” in Photoshop.

Someone had a bunch of free textures on their Flickr page, so I decided to use one.  I like this picture a lot (even if it is a bit creepy), I may get it printed and framed for myself.