Is your goal for 2020 to do a 5K or a half marathon? Where do you start? Which one? What do you do? How do you make it happen?
Mandy Jo is putting together a travel and walking package for 2020, actually, there will be two of them. The first one is to participate in the Country Music Half Marathon or 5K. This will take place April 23rd thru 27th. The races take place on April 25th. The second race is to participate in the Great Smoky Mountains Half Marathon or 5K. Mark your calendar for September 10th thru 14th. There will be 3 prices – half marathon, 5K and cheerleader available for both races.
Included in your vacation package will be a training schedule, hotel, race entry, some meals, and vacation activities.
Details, pricing and sign up coming soon. Be sure to subscribe to this page to get updated.
Let’s talk about taking the detours. I’ll give you a couple of tips for detours.
We just got back from a 10 day business/personal vacation. Does your business send you to conferences? Do you take a day or two ahead and/or afterwards to see where you are visiting?
One of our businesses just had a conference and we went down ahead of time and then continued for a week afterwards. We visited family during our travels. We didn’t have anything concretely planned for one of our days. We took advice from a friend that was local to where we were at and did an impromptu trip. We were also driving on the highway and saw a sign that sounded interesting, so we got off at the exit and found a beautiful water fall. Plus, a very scenic drive to get there.
I have TripAdvisor on my phone and I use it extensively. I search for places ahead of time and also while we are there. It’s a great tool to use both on the road and at home.
So, take a day or two before and/or after your conference/business trip to explore the area you are in.
Now that we are back home, how can we take detours?
I am the one that does not like the highway. I love to take the backroads, so I am glad to be done with the freeways. Although, we did take quite a few backroads while we were traveling.
Take the backroads or at least a different way home than what you did on the way to work
While you are on the backroads, check out the restaurants, parks, and various businesses. You never know what you are going to find.
Maybe you are leary of taking the impromptu detour, then plan a detour.
Go to TripAdvisor ahead of time and plan some extra fun things to do.
In summary:
Take a day or two before and/or after to explore
Take the backroads or a different way home
Plan a detour either at home or on the road for business
I hope this has been helpful, you can join me on my personal profile on Tuesday mornings for my weekly chat and you can join me back here on Adventures and Walking on Thursdays at 8 pm Eastern time
Metamora, Michigan, it’s a small town in Lapeer County. One time a year the town grows exponentially for a couple days. This is because of their Metamora Country Days and Hot Air Balloon Festival that takes place every August. This festival has a whole lot more than just hot air balloons going on. However, that is the main reason that I have been going back year after year. The second reason is for the fish dinners that the Metamora Lions put on. They also offer more to eat than just the fried fish dinners, but that is my favorite.
Let me tell you about how I started out going to this awesome festival so many years ago. I was living in Metamora and as with many small towns, if there’s a festival going on in town, that’s where you want to be. The festival takes place the 4th weekend in August and when I was walking in the Crim Festival of Races in Flint, Michigan it would conflict for the parade on Saturday and how late I stayed at the festival on Friday. Most years that I was not in Flint for the races I was at the parade and I was taking pictures of the Elf Khurafeh Shriners’ Motorcycle Drill Team while they were driving in the parade. This was an easier parade to do that with, but I’ll cover that in another post.
So, what all do you do at a country days & hot air balloon festival? Well, aside from the obvious there are a lot of things to do. There are the truck and tractor pulls out behind the Lions hall, where you should bring your ear plugs to sit and watch them. For those that like a little bit of adventure, there are monster truck and helicopter rides. Of course, there are bouncy activities for the little kids. Inside the Lions Hall there is an arts & crafts show, be sure to pick up some locally made maple syrup from Elling Tree Farm out of Elba. In the area covered area outside the Lions Hall is where the food is and places to sit and eat. Also, I can’t forget the chicken poop fundraiser. This is where they have a chicken pen that the bottom is sectioned off like a bingo card with just numbers on it. They sell spots to patrons and once all the spots are sold they place the chicken in the pen and whatever spot the chicken poops on is who the winner is.
Out in the field way behind the Lions Hall is where the balloons go up. This year they had bands playing out there for entertainment, plus the Masons have their ice cream sundaes and there was also pizza and BBQ available for purchase. Each time the balloons are scheduled to go up there is a pilots’ meeting. This is where they determine if the balloons will go up or not. I checked the weather for the area ahead of time and was pretty confident that they would go up. Sure enough, this year they went up. The great thing about this balloon festival is that they allow the public right up by the balloons, so I have been able to get great pictures and videos throughout the years.
Downtown Metamora has a variety of activities going on as well. There’s a car show, a vendor tent, the Masons also sell their ice cream sundaes down in the park (that’s before the field opens for the balloons), this year there was also a Civil War encampment and there are food vendors.
This small town brings in thousands of people that fill the parking spaces, even those that are specially created just for the event. In addition to the parking in town, there are also shuttles from the local high school and from a church.
Next year, be sure to put this on your activities list for August and when you come into town, bring your patience and have some fun!
One of my favorite places to walk is on our rails to trails system here in Michigan. There are so many rails that have been turned into trails. I have been fortunate to live near so many. For this post, we will focus on the ones in Oakland County. These trails all connect or at least they will shortly.
We will start at the Polly Ann Trail, which starts in Orion Twp at Joslyn Rd just south of Waldon Rd. There is no parking near this start. It is a short distance up the trail to parking at the Civic Center Park where you can access the trail. The trail wanders north through Oxford while passing by various bodies of water, woods, crossing some roads, both paved and dirt. While in Oxford the trail crosses a major road via a bridge.
In Orion Twp there is a connector from the Polly Ann Trail to the Paint Creek Trail that goes along Clarkston Rd and has a crossing into Camp Agawam, a former Boy Scout camp and now a township park. The Paint Creek Trail starts downtown Lake Orion and goes to Rochester. On the trail you will go by a pond that has a couple of areas for you to get off the trail to fish or put in a kayak. The water is not very deep though with tree branches in it, so if you stick around long enough you may catch a turtle sunbathing. Traveling south on the Paint Creek Trail you will come across signs from the old rail line. Plus, just off the trail is Paint Creek Cider Mill where you can get cider and donuts or a nice lunch or dinner.
When you get to Rochester there’s a short trail through town that connects to the Clinton River Trail. The trail follows Paint Creek, goes under Rochester Rd, and around the library. Then there’s a short walk to where it hooks up with the Clinton River Trail. You have the option of going to the left or right. To left will take you to the Macomb Orchard Trail as you cross over into Macomb County. When going to the right you will be on the winding trail that takes you under one freeway and over another which then puts you in the city of Pontiac.
I don’t walk in the city of Pontiac, but will pick it back up in Sylvan Lake. This then ties in with the West Bloomfield Trail. There are quite a few traffic crossings through the Sylvan Lake area. Once you cross over Orchard Lake for the 4th time you will have a longer stretch without a heavy traffic crossing. Also, along the trail you will have the chance to slow down and read the signs about the area. Lots of historical information on those signs. This trail ends at Haggerty Rd.
The next trail that ties in is not quite done as of this writing. It’s the Michigan Airline Trail. You’ll be able to continue through to Wixom Rd when this is finished, including going over M5 on a nice bridge. You’ll go through Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom. I haven’t been on this section yet, because although there is asphalt down, it is not ready for people to be walking, running and biking on it.
Let’s Go Walking Some Oakland County Michigan Trails. Still want to go further? You’ll have to take the sidewalk down Wixom Rd to Pontiac Trail and then head west to Lyon Oaks where you can pick up the Huron Valley Trail. This trail will take you to Island Lake Recreation Center or to South Lyon. Either way, you have quite the ride ahead of you. These are great trails to go running, walking and biking.
Whenever we go out of town for business conferences, we always make sure to do fun things and not make it all business. A couple of years ago I decided to break out of my fear of heights and try zip-lining. My train of thought was that you are in a harness, should be pretty simple. I was right!
Our first attempt at zip-lining was in St. Louis, MO at Adventure Valley. This was the perfect place for a first try. When we first get there, it’s a small place with both zip-lining and paintball. We had made reservations online, which is required so that you pick out your time slot. We upgraded to have the gopro camera on our helmets. We opted for just one and then switched part way through the courses.
Zipping along through the trees!
Our guides showed us how to get our gear on including hooking us in and unhooking us out on the course. Being that this was my first time and I am afraid of heights, it worked out well for me that the distance to the ground got larger as we went along. I gained confidence by the encouragement of the guides and my fellow zip-liners. It was nice to be in the earliest time slot and only one other couple with us. There was plenty of room up on the platforms and it was quicker to go through the course. Along with getting higher off the ground the lines got longer, which enables you to going at a pretty good clip.
We enjoyed our time zip-lining so much that we look for it when going places. So, the next place we went zip-lining at was in Frankenmuth. They had a festival that had the main street in town closed down and the zip-line right in the middle of the road and slightly downhill. For those that were taller than me (5’ 3”), they had to really lift their legs up towards the end so that they didn’t drag their feet.
Now one place you will want to put on your places to visit and zip-line is the Mega Cavern in Louisville, KY. Once again, this is a guided tour and they assist you with setting up the harness. As the name says, this is in a cavern, so wear long pants/jeans. One thing that we did take advantage of was the digital picture package. It’s so nice to not worry about our own cameras/cell phones. They have lockers to lock your belongings up in. You don’t want anything dropping, you won’t get it back.
Our first long zip was through hell, as they called it. Nice red “fires” at the bottom of the cavern. Also, along with the zip-lining there were a couple of suspension bridges. I was glad that they were well into the course after a few zips. These were a bit nerving to me with my fear of heights, but I successfully got across them. My favorite zipline here was the finish where you can race against someone.
From now on, we look for places to zip-line at when going out of town. One on my list is at the Ark Encounter, but that’s another post. To find your next zipline adventure, check TripAdvisor. Let me know if you like zip-lining and where your favorite zip-line is at.
I remember back in school that they would have you do your family tree. You’d generally only go back a couple of generations. However, as I have gotten older the family tree has really intrigued me. There are times that I will get going down a branch and get “lost” in the branch.
Do you know where your grandparents are from? How about your great-grandparents? Now can you go back further than that? Depending on the branch, I can go quite a few generations back. I did a report last night on myself and went back 20 generations.
If you do genealogy, what program do you use? What sites do you use to do your research?
For me, I want to do the majority of my research on the computer and for free. There is enough out there to get a really good start. Then some in person searching along with talking to your family members, especially the older ones. You never know what people other people know.
When you go to Ancestry.com, you can search for free. However, if you plan on clicking on the information, you are going to have to pay for that. You can visit them here:https://bit.ly/33l7J1H. I do use Ancestry for a lot of my searching. In fact, if you use Family Tree Maker, a lot of hints will pull in from Ancestry and not cost anything. Now, it doesn’t do it automatically, you are able to go through and compare the information to see if the match is correct or not.
Another website that I use is familysearch.org and this is completely free! It is through the Genealogical Society of Utah. According to their website they were founded in 1894 and now operate as FamilySearch International. This is the genealogical arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One day I will go out to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah in person and do some research. However, before going I will need to make sure I know who I am researching. They do have 4,600 local family history centers around the globe.
Find-a-grave is another free website that you can do research on. This will pull up information and sometimes pictures of gravesites. Information contained in the database relies on people going out and photographing the gravesite and uploading it. Any further information is tied together from the volunteer. Some of which is received from the cemetery. Here you will be able to search by cemetery or by person. It’s a great resource: www.findagrave.com.
Coming up on Sunday, August 11th is the 101st Robinson reunion in Ada, Michigan. This is the oldest continually running family reunion in the state of Michigan. The great thing about going to family reunions is that you can get the family tree updated and current. So, if there are new births, deaths, marriages, divorces, information of any kind, you can update your family tree. I will be taking my laptop. Also, one thing that I know that I have to get better at, is getting together with family outside of family reunions. I say it every year and need to set a date this time and that is to get together with a cousin that has the complete family tree on her computer and compare files. I will get that done.
What last names are you searching for? What years? Have you connected with other genealogy groups? Have you done a search on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter? We have so many avenues to search. Here are a few surnames that I have in my family tree that I like to do research on:
Rindhage
Opitz
Robinson
Harrigan
Cooper
Lefler
Mowbray
Gross
Parmalee
MacKay
Clarke
Pickle
Griffeth
O’Grady
If you come across the same surnames in your family tree, we might connect. Connections are fun.
One of the websites that I like to browse for something different to do is michiganfun.com. This website is where you can find festivals and events around Michigan for just about every day of the year. This is where I learned about the Midland River Days and Balloon Festival.
We arrived in Midland and didn’t see any signs of the festival from the main road off of the freeway. Going just a few streets to the east we found the festival. Then parking was easy to find with available spaces and close to the festival.
From the edge of the parking lot where we were parked came the smell of BBQ chicken being made by the Lions Club. Kids were climbing the portable rock wall and sliding down the zipline. As we walked further into the festival we walked through the food truck area there were a variety of trucks including BBQ, pizza, Kona ice, and kettle corn.
The Tridge, Midland, MI
Next to the entrance to the Tridge, which is a bridge that crosses both the Tittabawassee and Chippewa Rivers where they intersect, there was set up an old tractor that was trimming wood. They were also branding the wood pieces with River Days on them for free souvenirs. A short distance from them was Ike’s Mobile Kayak Rentals.
For just $5 per person you were able to take a kayak ride down the Tittabawasee River. The ladies at the tent were very helpful in getting you a life jacket and knowing who was next. There was a guide out on the water that had a large yellow duck tied to the back of her kayak. It made her easy to see. She was out there to help make sure you didn’t go too far and assist if you needed any help. At the turn around point there was a rope hanging down from one of the tree branches. The rope reminded of something you would see kids holding onto and jumping into the river by. Putting the kayaks in and taking them out of the water was an intriguing contraption that made it easy for anyone to get in and out. You had no worries of the kayak tipping over while trying to get into or out of.
After our kayak trip we ventured over to the food truck section. We knew exactly where we were headed. It was the truck where all the smoke was coming from. This was Olvera’s BBQ. We have seen this truck at other food truck festivals, but have never eaten there due to the long line. This time there was no line, we lucked out. Undecided at first, because everything sounded and smelled good, we both had the rib plate with 1 side. There were many sides to choose from, such as cole slaw, beans, potato salad and chips. The ribs fell off the bone and full of flavor. There was sauce on them, but it was a light application and not dripping with it. We now know why there has always been a line up when at other food truck festivals.
To let our food settle, we took a casual stroll through the arts fair area. What great artists they had. Plus, for their festival t-shirts they had a few display shirts and the tables were filled with colors and sizes of shirts. The shirts were then printed on demand. This is good to note because then you don’t ahve
Balloons waiting in Midland, MI
My favorite part of balloon festivals is always the balloons. However, they are dependent on the weather, more so than the rest of the festival. A storm came through and they were unable to go up. What I did like though was the updates that they kept up with on their Facebook page. I highly recommend that any festival you are thinking of going to, visit their Facebook page and like them. Be sure to have the all notifications turned on. This way you know any updates that are posted. So, although disappointing that the balloons did not go up, the festival committee does not control the weather.
Overall, this was a festival that we’d go to again. Have you been the Midland River Days and Balloon Fest? What year did you go? What was your favorite activity?
July in Michigan means the Michigan Rib Fest is taking place. This year’s location was at Canterbury Village in Orion Township. We liked this location in the grassy back field area over last year’s location of downtown Royal Oak in an asphalt parking lot.
We entered through the steel frame entry that to me reminds me of the framing that one uses for the lighting at concerts. There’s a small entry fee and for those over 21 you get a nice paper wristband. However, with that wristband you can leave the grounds, go shopping and come back in for no additional charge. Plus, if you are military, you get in for free.
My first priority of going to the Michigan Rib Fest was to eat. I went hungry, which is by far the most recommended. With that, I didn’t look closely at the vendors. I did notice that Crown Royal was there making bags for soldiers. I wish I would have gone back to check out their booth closer. Plus, they had a royal purple chair.
food trucks
We got back close to the food vendors and found the monster truck rides. These were a portion of the asphalt parking area. It was far enough away from where you eat that you could only hear the siren noises that it made. The engine noises were minimal at a distance. Right behind it were the inflatables for the kids along with the portable rockwall.
This is all well and good, but what did we eat? I know that’s my first thought when reading an article about a rib fest anywhere. We walked around the food vendors before deciding which ones to go to. They were nicely spaced out and a variety of vendors. Along with barbeque they had Asian food and even ice cream available. Ice cream is a great vendor when you have the heat that Michigan has been having this summer.
After our tour of who all was there as a food vendor we decided on 3 vendors to try out their ribs. They all offered a 2 or 3 bone sampler for $5 or $7 respectively.
Smoke Ring BBQ 3 bone sampler
The first vendor that we went to was Smoke Ring BBQ out of Farmington Hills, Michigan. To fairly compare the rib samples, we did not get any sauce on any of them. Pictured to the right is the three bone sampler that we received. Note they are meaty and we found them to be tender and the meat fell off the bone.
I would eat at this food truck again. They were friendly when we approached the window. The food was up in a timely fashion and they had paper towels along with sauces and forks. Their sign caught my attention: “Sorry we didn’t bring our trophies and awards to display, we decided to leave them at home where they belong. All we brought was our DAMN GOOD BBQ” I have to agree that they have good BBQ.
Wild Hog BBQ food truck
The second vendor we decide to patronize was Hog Wild BBQ. They have a really flashy truck. I like the bright orange and the hog on a motorcycle. There was not a line at their food truck and I can understand why. We approached the window and they were not ready to greet us.
Our order was the two bone sampler with no sauce. We picked it up at the grill. The guys working the grill were not the welcoming committee. These bones were not very meaty and pretty dry.
Pork and Bones 2 bone sampler
We decided on Pork and Bones for our third food truck. The name really caught us and amazingly there was a very small line. Very friendly people at the window to take our order and when handing out our two bone sampler.
The rib sampler was very meaty and tender. The meat also fell off the bones. Definitely gave Smoke Ring BBQ a run for their money. In my book the two are tied.
For beverages we just hit up one of the lemonade stands. That was the longest line we waited in. The family ahead of us ordered 5 lemonades and the gals were overwhelmed. Patience is a virtue There are no refills, even for the large plastic cups.
Weiner Dogs Racing
We headed back to the front of the festival to the Hot Dog Pig Races, which we were on the schedule shortly. There was time to kill though, so we went into Yates at Canterbury Village and Michigan Market Place. Both are great for picking up some local finds. We did return to watch some Hot Dog Pig Races. They have both pigs and weiner dogs that race. It’s very cute and entertaining.
Overall we had a great time with some great food. I hope they have it at this location next year.
Walking up to the Dow Gardens visitor center entrance we were greeted with a garden of tulips and a very large origami bird. The variety of colors on the tulips were vibrant.
Upon entering we were greeted by a couple of smiling faces behind the counter. We were asked if we had an annual pass or if we needed a day-pass. We opted for the day-pass at $10 per adult, as we don’t live in the area. If we lived in the area the $20 annual adult pass would have been our option.
As we enter into the garden area from the visitor center, one can’t help but notice the quietness and stillness. Although we are only a short distance from a freeway and town, you would never know it.
The day was an overcast day, however, with all the rain that has been in the area lately the green colors were a brighter, more vibrant green than they had been. Upon reading the signs we went to the right to follow the path over to the Canopy Walk in the Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens.
Along the path there were small white signs with the wedding announcement on them placed along the path to the lawn area (known as Wedding Peninsula) where the wedding was to take place. There was a stream that flowed behind where the couple was to say their vows and a cinder bridge that reflected it’s three arches into the stream. The bits of purple in the trees nicely contrasted all the green grass and trees.
Sitting in the lawn was a six-paned wood window. It had the bride and groom each in their own panes, the bridesmaids, groomsmen, bride’s parents, and groom’s parents all in their own panes. What a great way to announce them.
Further along the winding walkway we came to a fork in the path and chose to go to the rose garden, which had some small gardens of tulips of a variety of colors. These were grouped according to the kind of tulip it was, there was a fringed tulip ‘labrador’, fringed tulip ‘cummins’, single late tulip ‘queen of night’, and more.
As we continued through the rose garden and tulips we came upon a light blue metal and light tan/gray wood bridge that would take us on a paved path to the Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens where the canopy walk is located. The canopy walk was why we came to the gardens. When you pay for entry into either the Dow Gardens or the Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens, you get entry into both areas.
Upon arriving at the stone patio of the visitors center for Whiting Forest of Dow Gardens there was an origami buffalo with a small origami bird on its back. At the opposite end of the patio the path continued on curved along to the forest where we came upon a small replica house of the Pines home. The Pines, which was the home of Herbert H. and Grace A Dow, is located in the garden area and you can get tours of it. Continuing along the path you go under a portion of the canopy walk. You then have a choice of paths to take. One will take you to the canopy walk entrance, one will take you to the playground and another to the learning center.
The path we took was the one to the canopy walk. This is accessible to all abilities. It has a nice long ramp that leads up to the walkway. There is something different at each end. We went first to the end with the net that you can climb in. I did try that. The next end had an area that went out that had a clear bottom and sides. With my fear of heights, I did not go out on that. The third end you have a wooden pod that is off to the left and the only access is a suspension bridge that is a single foot wide, not 12 inches, but you place one foot in front of the other to cross it. The pod has 2 levels to it, although the lower level is sized more for kids. Opposite that pod, is a pod that anyone can access. Continuing on after the pods you will come to the end and it is a nicely covered lookout area with benches for relaxing and a view over a lake. The view is spectacular and well worth walking out to see.
After going to each of the ends, we exited the canopy walk and followed one of the loops and went around a lake. This loop was sorta paved or at least was very well packed down. There were various paths that went off from this loop that were made of mulch. So, lots of options for walking and photo opportunities.
Although they do sell umbrellas in the visitor centers, don’t forget to take yours with you. There’s not a lot of places for shelter if it starts to rain. We brought one, thankfully because on our way back to our vehicle it started raining.
My overall impression of the Dow Gardens and Whiting Forest with Canopy Walk was that it is well worth the drive and admission fee. If we lived closer we’d get the annual pass instead of the day pass. Plus, a great place for people of all ages and abilities. You can purchase your pass on their website: https://www.dowgardens.org/.
Welcome to Mandy Jo’s new blog – Adventures and Walking. I am excited to bring you along for this new journey, which is this blog. My journey is in two parts that intersect. Part one is my adventures across Michigan and the USA. I love to travel and look forward to doing more throughout the years to come. Part two is my walking. I started walking competitively back in 2003 and have “only walked” in races since that point. This part will include my training, my races, and walking and fitness tips.
You will see reference to TripAdvisor, which I do get compensation for the links, but not the reviews. I will also be including offers for various places, services and products that I may get compensation from, but at no additional cost to you.
I have found a new app & website for trails. It is called Trail Link https://www.traillink.com/ It is USA wide and is free or you can upgrade for $29.99/year for unlimited map downloads. I am looking forward to using this and finding all kinds of awesome trails. I’m not sure if I need to upgrade yet or not. This is not an affiliate link, so I don’t get any compensation whether or not you decide to upgrade.
Most of the photography that I will be using in my blog will be my own personal photos. I will be putting a watermark/logo on my personal photos, this way you will know when the photos are mine or stock photos from the product, place or service.
There was a pop-up to sign up for my email list. Be sure to sign up so that you know when I have new blog posts.
