On this week's episode, host Phil Tower welcomes John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman, hosts of the popular Michigan travel show, “Behind the Mitten." John and Amy joined Phil to highlight some hotspots for Michigan travel this summer and share some off-the-beaten-path places that are their favorites and highly worth checking out. Some of these places include northeastern Michigan on the Lake Huron shoreline, the Manistee area, and several of the delightful suburbs in the greater Grand Rapids area. “Behind the Mitten” is heard on over 20 Radio stations in Michigan, and their podcast has more than 400 episodes. John is a longtime journalist, early adopter of social media, and a member of the Central Michigan University Journalism Hall of Fame. Amy is a former chef with 20-plus years of experience, a craft beer expert, and a freelance writer. The show has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as a "Best in Category" weekend specialty show.
Online: Behind the Mitten
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend, a publicaffairs program. Well welcome in. It's
West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Thankyou for tuning in across whatever iHeartRadio station
you happen to be listening to,and don't forget we are a podcast as
well. You can find this programin all of our other iHeartRadio West Michigan
Weekend segments at Woodradio dot com onthe left hand side of the page.
(00:26):
I am on location today at avery wonderful place here in West Michigan with
a couple of friends. We've hadthem on the program before. It's been
way too long since we've had themon. And they are the hosts of
a program that airs on Wood Radioon Sunday Night and several other radio stations
across the state of Michigan. It'sthe premiere Michigan travel and tourism show.
(00:51):
Don't Tell Dave Lorenzo I said thatJohn Gonzales Amy Sherman, host of Behind
the Mitten, We are here bythe way archival Brewing. It's really quiet
because it has not opened yet.But John, just John knows everybody.
So he made a phone call andleve I led us in so welcome,
guys, welcome to the program.Thanks for having us back. Yeah,
(01:14):
it's been a long time and wewanted to here. We are in the
middle of June. Summer's going tobe over in a couple more days,
I say, facetiously, just kidding. There's a lot of summer in Michigan
to enjoy. And we talked aboutthe last time we did a program,
talked about some places to enjoy inMichigan. Some you are very well familiar
(01:36):
with or should be in. Somemaybe not so much. And you,
guys, I know because we havemutual friends in the Gaylord area. That's
that's a great spot. We've talkedabout it. In fact, just two
weeks ago, our friend Paul beachNow was on this program touting the benefits
of Gaylor. So Gaylor gets notime in this program. Sorry Paul,
(01:57):
Sorry Paul, you're out of luck. You're out of luck. But check
it out. Gailared Tourism for anyquestions you have about a beautiful area,
a very often overlooked area. ButI wanted to talk with you guys.
You I get to live vicariously throughyour behind the Minton travels. You go
all over the place, spend alot of time in northwestern Michigan, in
(02:19):
the Grand Traverse County, Gaillard,where have you been, Amy Sherman that
you you were like, this isnot as bad as I thought it would,
say. You live vicariously through something. Do come along on our journey?
Yeah, very rarely, very rarely, although we did get to do
co America Park. That was itwas a lot of fun. But you
(02:39):
guys talk about traveling in Michigan.We love we Michiganders, especially West Michiganers.
We love to go up north.A lot of people who are up
early on a Sunday morning are maybegoing to head up to a cottage or
already at a cottage. So I'llstart with you, Amy Sherman, someplace
(03:00):
as you would recommend. There's alot of summer left and it's easy just
to get in the car and drive. And even the mackinaw Bridge is only
four hours away from Grass, onlyfour hours away from Grand Rapids. The
hop, skip and a jump.You guys, every time I look at
your Facebook feed for behind the Mitten, you're going over the bridge. We
feel pretty lucky about that. Andyou know, we should say one thing
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that has come to our attention overthe last ten years of doing this is
when we say we're going up north. That's kind of a stick in the
face to everyone in the up becausethey're like, we are up north,
and yet most of us below thebridge we consider up north the lower Peninsula.
So we do like to always shoutout to our Upper Peninsula friends and
say, we know you really arethe true North. Fair enough, fair
(03:40):
fair enough. Well, I wouldsay that while we do get to go
to fabulous places like Mcan Island thatwe love so much, I think both
Gonzo and I are big fans ofthe hidden gem, the small place that
maybe doesn't get all that national attentionlike a Traverse city or a Macina Island,
and we love to seek those thoselittle places out. I know that
we both recently just got to govisit Manistee for a tourism conference meeting,
(04:05):
and we were blown away with oneof the incredible beauty of the beaches there.
You know, we always think aboutSleeping Bear Dunes. Well, maniste
is just south of Sleeping Bear Dunes. But what a charming town. We
got to do a couple of tours. They have an incredible history there that
I was I was actually really blownaway with how extensive, how huge like
(04:26):
their history was. According to theMidwest and logging and stuff like that.
You hear a lot about like Hoteand caliumet up in the key one of
but Manistee has a lot of thingsgoing on and building wise, like if
you're into like architecture, Mayanna Steawas crazy, right, guys, I
went to a cool museum where youcan see a lot of the history come
alive. We saw, you know, different antique items. But you know,
(04:47):
I think what to Amy's point,just walking through the downtown is very
walkable, right, Yes, youcan see the history right before your eyes.
It's amazing to see these old buildingsstill preserved. Go in that museum,
right, I mean, go inthat museum because you're going to find
yourself. Maybe you might. I'llstop here for ten fifteen minutes. You
can be there for an hour withouteven realizing. Really, Okay, what
(05:08):
is the Manasee Historical Museum? Andit's okay to write downtown on the main
street there, and it's one ofthose museums. I Every museum comes in
with its own philosophy is how toshare their collection. And I say this
because my husband talks about this allthe time. You can decide to like
label everything and really pick out thepieces that you want to highlight in your
collection. Or you can be likethe Manasee Historical Museum where you just put
(05:29):
every single thing you own out ondisplay. I love that, no explanation,
and so you just get to wanderthrough and experience it. And then
there are docents there that can talkyou through, like what is this?
Because of the things, I'm like, I don't even know what that is.
Right, Yeah, there was apharmacy there that they kind of recreated
the pharmacy, or like, what'sthat big stack of paper there? Oh,
those are the prescriptions. They justkept putting them, one after another
(05:50):
after another. You're like, wow, one hundred years. It's interesting.
You talk about the downtown area andthe beauty of the old buildings. The
river runs through downtown. It's great. It's got a lot of great places
to eat. I haven't eaten inManisteine a while. But you know what
it's called. You guys learned thisin the museum, right, it's the
(06:12):
Victorian city. Oh I didn't didI? Yes, Yes, there's a
sign I wrote, I read aroadside sign. So yeah, and it
is. It's just a great place, easily overlooked. Like you said,
and this is going to sound strange. Everybody has heard of the very fancy,
high end, stunningly beautiful views thegolf course, Arcadia Bluffs, just
(06:38):
a hair north of Manistee is andI'm going to try to get this right.
Is it first anakama? No,Yeah, it's a nekama and then
you get into Arcadia. So justa great place to drive. You can
drive M twenty two up there.But the whole area from Manistee to the
north, just a great area,maybe a little bit unheard of because it's
(07:00):
just a little south of the partthat he typically goes to Sleeping Cartoons and
all of that stuff. So thatthat was a nice little that was a
fun, little fine to the spring. I felt like, yeah, Chris,
I think if you continue going north, you're gonna run to Frankfort.
Frankfort, you know, one ofour favorite places, which you know that's
also a little under the radar too. I don't think it still is.
Yeah, I don't think people knowFrankfort as much as you know, maybe
(07:21):
Traverse City or Sleeping Bear Dunes.But it's a great brewery, great walkable
downtown as well, a great seat. Well, yeah, it's pretty quiet.
The beach is incredible. There's agreat lighthouse there, Frank's. You
can get some awesome chili cheese friesat this awesome restaurant owned by from our
good friend Joey Bartuski. And thenBenzonias and Beulah are nearby. The whole
(07:42):
Crystal Lake is so gorgeous. Yeah, and a lot of those I hate
to say it because my family hasbeen vacationing in that area for years and
unfortunately the secret got out because thoseareas are very popular. There's some great
eateries in those areas. But we'refocusing on the West side. John,
you just spent some time recently withour mutual friend Paul Beach. Now we
(08:05):
should not get galored anymore time,but it just he just got it.
Just I love how we did that. You were in Alpina, which is
a not a lot of people traveledfrom West Michigan to the East side to
Lake Huron. It's a beautiful area. You've got Sheboygan, You've got Taois,
Twist City, East Twist, allthese great communities. What about Alpina,
(08:31):
Well, so there's a community therethat Amy and I have been wanting
to get to because we just wedon't get there enough. On the show,
we talked about this actually quite abit, like we need to get
over there, we need to checkout the different towns along Lake Huron,
because you don't hear a lot aboutLake Huran. Amy always talks on the
show that Lake Michigan is the greatestof the Great Lakes Queens. It's hard
to argue that, right, right, also have it like superior. It's
(08:54):
hard to argue as well. Butthis National Marine Sanctuary is like four thousand
square feet that runs all the wayup to Macnall all the way down along
the Lake Huron, and this MarineSanctuary oversees everything. There's underwater exploration,
archaeology going on right now. There'sshipwrecks, the largest collection of shipwrecks in
(09:16):
the world, I believe, yes, And really this is Lake Huron,
Lake Kuron. And by the way, you said four thousand score feet,
I think you four thousands. Okay, thank you. I knew it was
a lot. I just knew itwasn't. I'm sorry. Yeah, they're
probably going like this is why Ineed Amy with me on the here.
(09:39):
Uh well, I've always had JohnGonzalez to a hired standard because he is
a journalist and I am not.My math skills are impeccable. I am
a mere low broadcaster. But johnskills, except for math, are very
good. Yeah, math is anall journalist. I hate math, but
I aggress. It's just an incrediblearea. It's it's it's it's lively.
(10:03):
And then these these tours you cango on, you can get out of
kayak and this is what amy,Amy, I've set it up for you.
You're doing it. Okay, good, Yes, I'm gonna video.
I'm going a video. I gotit all set up. You're gonna get
on a boat and you go outthere and watch these ship You can see
these shipwrecks. Some are as lowas as close to eight feet. You
can get I mean you can almostlike dive down and touch them. Really
(10:24):
you can. You can have youcan starkle, you can dive down.
You can see these shipwrecks right infront of your eyes. And the water
is crystal clear in the bay there. It's just yeah, it's just stunningly
beautiful and it's yeah, it's oneof those places I think a lot of
people don't know exists in Michigan.And then in addition to that, maybe
you're not into you know, kayakingor paddle boarding over these shipwrecks. But
(10:45):
they're downtown is super charming and theyhave all sorts of things like Friday night
aren't walks and concerts and all thisother stuff in a little, you know,
little corner of the state that onyour point your finger that you might
not think about. Yeah, they'regonna watch some new boats for tour is
later in June, actually later thismonth, they'll have some new tours out
there and they've inviters to come outthere and explore those tours. And you
(11:07):
know, a glass bottom boat toit. Right, if you don't want
to paddle yourself, you can justrelax. Correct. Actually, what they
what they do is they are theiralligators like Kuran I heard that's as Charlotte.
No, they put the they putthe kayaks on the boats, and
then they take you out to thesite. You go farther out. Yeah,
it's incredible what they have. Justlooking at the setup and the brand
(11:28):
new boat just came in. Theyhave the glass bottom boats too. If
you don't want to do the kayaking. You can just see them right there.
But if you want to do thekayaking, they'll take you out out
on the lake and show you rightwhere to go. I like that.
And this is Alpina, Michigan.And I'm sure there is a Alpina Tourism
dural website you can check out.But again, a place that is often
(11:50):
overlooked by a lot of folks inWest Michigan. And it's interesting when you
talk to people from the Detroit areawhere they will go, and a lot
of them do go to Northwestern MichiganTraverse City, but they go to they
have different places they go to.They may go to port Hereon or sat
Oney three man, they're all goingstraight up twenty three. Yeah. I'm
glad you mentioned Portyon because I wasgoing to say that next. Amy and
(12:13):
I have spent several several shows outin the Port here On area and we
continue to be impressed. Not onlythe Blue Water and the Blue Water Bridge
are there, but it's it's aboating community too, right Amy, Oh,
it definitely isn't that that one is? I don't think that's on a
lot of West Michigan's radar because it'smeant it's a straight shot east and it's
going to take you a minute.But once you're the long drive, yeah,
it's a bit of a drive,but it is I mean they when
(12:35):
they say Bluewater country, they meanit. That water is so blue it's
insane. Their history is incredible.A lot of people might not know that's
where Henry Ford or I'm sorry,edzel Am, I saying Thomas Edison grew
up in Port Hereon, and theyactually have a museum there that's educated to
them. So there is a lotof history going on in port here On
as well. And then you alsohave the added bonus of being an international
(12:56):
community, which that's another thing wetend to forget about in Michigan sometimes if
you don't live in one of thosesaid communities. I grew up in a
community that was an international one.But like Sue, Saint Mary, port
Uron, you really do have thatflavor. It's different, it's a little
bit different than it isn't make sureyou watched the exit signs. I can't
end up whether you are in Detroit, Sue San Marie, or you can't
(13:18):
end up yes, And then thatconversation is never goes well, yeah,
what are you doing in Canada songand do you have your passport? Because
you need a passport to get back. I've had a lot of people have
reminded me of that, and thatis Port Kuron to Sarnia. That's that's
the bridge, right. Yeah.Yeah, And I tell I tell a
story about how I came back froma Shania Twain concert in Ottawa at four
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in the morning, Like, uh, what are you doing back here?
What do you You were just crossthe border to go to the Ottawa and
now you're back here A couple ofhours later, I w to Shania Twain
concert. Yeah, they searched myvehicle. Yeah, no one does that
only in Michigan, or we shouldsay only in Canada. That's the voice
of John Gonzales. Amy Sherman iswith us. They are together the host
(14:03):
of Behind the Mitt and our gueston this segment of West Michigan Weekend here
on iHeartRadio, as we're doing oursummer preview of places you should go to
that John and Amy have been toand you and I have not. And
that's basically the subtitle of this program. You spent a lot of time in
mckinawe Island. I just wanted tomention this because the island is always changing.
(14:26):
I saw recently on can you imaginethis? On your Facebook post on
behind the Mitten some tour boats theSip and Sale the Sip and Sale,
which I thought was really interesting.Normally, when people think about boating and
Mcina Island, then think about aSchefler's ferry to and from the island and
not necessary and nice. Yeah,necessary and nice, but not normally Okay,
(14:52):
Now where they're on the island,most people just hang or hang and
explore. Is this something new tosip for a little while now? I
mean, it hasn't been around forlike thirty years, so it doesn't have
that storied history that a lot ofplaces do. But they are using a
historical boat on the Isle Royal theQueen of Isle Royal, right or Isle
Royal Queen. It used to bea ferry that would take people to Isle
(15:13):
Royal and then they purchased it andrehabbed it into this tour boat. And
I will say, I think Gonzowould agree with me. This is one
of the I think our one ofthe coolest things you can do on the
island that you might not know aboutbecause seeing the island from the water is
really magical. Yeah, on thisboat. Yeah, the straits of Mackinaw
are you know, we've just timeto We kind of use them as transportation
(15:35):
to and from the island. Butif you get on this boat on this
cruise, yes you will have afew beverages. Yes you will hear some
great musicians playing, but it's alsoan opportunity to just see the island close
up and from a different perspective,and also see the bridge. You take
that sunset cruise and if you havea beautiful pure in Michigan night and you
head out on that boat and you'rejust kind of having a few drinks and
(15:56):
having a good time, and thenyou start checking out the landscape and all
of a sudden you're under the MightyMac. Yeah, amazing. It's so
incredible when you're underneath that bridge.It's crazy. Now. You can also
take the bridge tour on Scheffler's ferryand they offer that like three times each
morning. Well really, I didnot know. On just the regular ferry
to go to the island. Itis marked as the bridge tour because it
(16:17):
does take about forty minutes as opposedto twenty minutes, but they do take
you out underneath the bridge and whenyou can look up at the Mighty Mac
from down below, I mean,it takes your breath away every single time.
Yeah, it's incredible. But whenyou see that sunset, that's the
pure Michigan moment there. But Sipand Sale, it is so much fun.
Not just for the sunset cruises.They also have history cruises that you
(16:37):
can go and they bring some ofthe local historians from the island to talk
about that part. I mean,they have like all these different options and
it's definitely a family friendly experience.On the Sip and Sale, they do
have brunch, I think boy brunch. Every once in a while they'll offer
the mimosas or Bloody Mary tours orbourbon tours, and they're always coming up
with some different ideas. But getwith a group of friends or make new
friends, you know, just geta ticket and go plan ahead. This
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is one thing that we especially onMcan Island, you have to plan ahead.
You must buy your tickets before youarrive on the island or you will
be disappointed. Because it's a verypopular place. But we're hearing that across
the state as everyone is so excitedto be back traveling again. So if
you don't plan ahead, you mightbe disappointed and not get to do the
things you want to do. Soif you have something in mind, now
go ahead and buy that ticket soyou can guarantee you Yeah, we should
(17:22):
say, just as a public serviceannouncement for impatient listeners, be mindful of
the fact that there are tons oflodging and restaurant facilities that are still short
staffed. Thank you. Be mindfulof them, be patient with them and
know that they are doing their verybest, and some places have to close
(17:42):
or they have odd hours. Alwaysyou know, phone ahead and check and
behind and be kind and you knowwhat, if you need to find another
place. We should also mention thereare a lot of new lodging options at
Macan Island, but right now inthe middle of June, probably want to
look at a trip in the fallin October. And I say that because
(18:04):
less busy and a time where it'sjust a lot easier to you know,
kind of have a slower pace onMacana Island and enjoy it. We would
we would agree with you on that. But if you do go this summer,
and if you have plans to go, we encourage you to go.
One thing that we talk a lotabout is getting off of Main Street when
you're on mcina Island. Even ifyou just walk up one more street to
(18:26):
Market Street, it's like a wholeother world, right, guns, Yeah,
it slows down quite a bit.And then I you know, with
both of us also encourage you togo into the interior island, you know,
go to the crack. With thecrack in the island. I mean,
there's just so many places you canwait. Wait, wait, that's
for another show. It's a goodone. Okay. There is a crack
in the island. We have discoveredit. You have photos to prove it.
(18:48):
Okay, it's not the Arch Rock. There's a crack in the island.
We should tell them really quick aboutArt Rock. Oh, yes,
we should. Okay, but we'llcome back to that really quick. There
is a crack in the island ifyou go up towards the airport, so
you hike up to the top ofthe island, and there are signs.
It's we didn't discover it. Everyoneknows about the crack. There is this
piece of granite at the top thatis cracked and happen. Everyone calls it
the crack and the island. It'snot like the Grand Canyon. Guys walk
(19:11):
in and you can get your photoin the crack in the crack. Okay,
So that's kind of wow, kindof fun. I never knew this
insider information there. Yeah, wehave a lot of those tips for back
An Island. But real quick,the Millican Centers are going to be debuting
at the at our Trock. It'sbrand new. It's it's the Milican Nature
Centers. Yeah, named after theGovernor Milliken, and just so many places
(19:34):
on the island that if you haven'tbeen, it's worth exploring. And I'm
so glad you said having done this. Where you can go through the Sunday
of the island, you can seethe golf course and just you know,
airport, all kinds of things thatnormally people don't see. John Gonzales Amy
Sherman are with us host from behindthe Mitten. By the way, real
quickly, you're online, You're onFacebook. All of your shows are available
(19:56):
as a podcast. You're also heardSunday night on Wood Radio sixty six pm.
And there will be a program onWood Radio tonight at six pm.
Yeah, and one of the previousepisodes you can hear me filling in for
John Gonzalez when Amy and I hadthe trait of spending a morning at Comerica
Park, which was a lot offun. So thank you for that.
(20:18):
Mark felt you were a little nervous. Yeah, I was a little nervous
a lot, but you did agreat job. Okay, we're going to
talk Lower Peninsula, and I'm talkinglower I never hear you guys, rarely
hear you guys talk about things southof Grand Rapids. You know, South
Haven. You've been to a lotof concerts in Jackson, obviously Detroit.
(20:42):
There's plenty to talk about, butthat kind of lower Southwest Michigan area,
Niles and New Buffalo, New Buffalo, it's interesting and I think a lot
of people overlook those areas because theydon't have an up Northfield. But there's
they're just beautiful. I think Stevensville, which has used to have and I
(21:03):
have not been there year, isone of my favorite restaurants toasis. Oh,
that's a great spot. Italian restaurant. Yeah, Italian restaurant, very
well known, and just just behindTosi's is a neighborhood with homes that will
take your breath away on the beach. On Lake Michigan, but just a
great area, Benton Harbor, SaintJoe, just you know, South Haven.
(21:25):
I mean, do you guys spendmuch time there or is the area
you want to spend more time.I get to spend some time down there.
We have a very good friend wholives in Saint Joe, so I
get to go down there a lot. I feel like that whole part of
the state, that southwestern part ofthe state is on Chicagoan's radar more than
it's on Michigan's radar, and that'sa disservice to that part of the state
(21:45):
because it's just absolutely lovely. Churchbrewing in New Era is super fun and
cool. That's a great spot tovisit, the beaches all along the coast.
There are, of course fabulous downtownSaint Joe. We love visiting there.
You can walk everywhere, go toSilver Beach pizza, hit the carousel
if you're a kid, or thefountain outside. I've been known to go
through that. How about you,gott I haven't not done the fountain,
(22:06):
done the carousel. But also there'sa great winery scene too, the trail,
the winery trail throughout southwest Michigan we'lltake you some pretty incredible places.
You know. So if you don'twant to get to the busy parts of
the Traverse City area, which canget pretty busy during the summer, you
know, go down to Southwest Michigan, find a trail, find a few
wineries. They do a really goodjob of all the windy and what people
(22:27):
might not know. There are fourdistinct wine trails in Michigan and Southwest has
one of them. But they havean incredible map and a way to get
you. You know, you canyou can book rides and all of that
kind of stuff, and it isa super awesome way to experience it.
And down there it's so much aboutagriculture as well. You know, it's
about the fruit, it's about thevegetables. So it's definitely a huge part
of the experience in Southwest Michigan.Yeah, I definitely recommend. I think
(22:49):
we did fen Valley a year agoand a lot of a lot of Fun
Valley. They have quite a productiongoing on there, and if you go
to fun Valley you can actually thenright at the same there's a four Corners
right there's the Red Barn, whichdoes some work with therapeutic courses there's Fun
Valley, there's Modallas Winery right acrossthe street, and then there's Virtue Cier
So you can pull into one parkinglot and have a great afternoon. You
(23:12):
speak with very profound experience delivered tothem. Yeah, good stuff, John
Goodzaleus and both of you in ourfinal moments here, West Michigan has a
lot of places. Come back foranother session, Yeah, yeah, moments
your last words. Yes, Sowe have only so much time in West
(23:34):
Michigan. Are there places you guyshave checked out recently that you'd like to
share with our listeners, things thatyou might overlook? You know, I
think about the Lake Shore, butthere are Grand Rapids and Muskegan, and
we are heard in stations throughout GrandRapids and Miskegan. There are so many
places to explore. We talked aboutthe deck in Miskegan. Miskegan is really
(23:56):
having a renaissance and rebirth. Placesyou guys would recommend, Man, we've
got a couple of minutes left here. Well, I'll recommend just this place
that we're at right now, ArchivalBrewing Company Levi does a great job here.
He does historical beer styles which wehope to sample a little later in
the show because our boss wouldn't ushave one while we're working executive towers.
(24:19):
Yeah, I did not disclose thatfor a radio listening audience, but we
wanted to be at the end.It's okay, we thank you, but
no, this is a gorgeous setting. If you have not been to Archival,
when you pull in, you'll belike, what the heck? And
they have concerts out here a lot, right they do when it's a great
patio, uh dog friendly beer gardenin the back. And again this is
(24:40):
We're not receiving any free meals oranything for this, just good people.
And I really you guys have andI'm going to say this on a radio.
I have so much appreciation, passionand pain for people who put their
lives into restaurants. It is areally tough business and so I really celebrate
and up Levi and his family.They took a place that was an empty
(25:04):
clubhouse for this golf course for years, and I turned it into a great
spot. So for our friends inByron Center and the Lake Shore. If
you find yourself in Grand Rapids,especially in the north part of town,
there are a lot of great placesto explore archiveal here in Rockford, You've
got all kinds of places. Justit's really interesting when you stop and think
(25:26):
how big West Michigan is, Caledoniaall the way to Kent City. It's
just a lot of places to explore. Amy Sherman, you've been really quiet.
What do you think. I'm gladthat you brought up the checking out
some of the suburbs around Grand Rapids, because I think a lot of times
people they don't think about maybe what'sgoing on in eight or what's going on
in Rockford, and they are justbeautiful, charming towns. But I was
(25:48):
going to say one thing that Iexperienced last summer when I was living downtown
Grand Rapids was I think a lotof us come downtown with a set thing
in mind that we're going to gohave dinner here, or we're going to
go to this festival, and thenwe don't do anything else. And I
spent so much time walking downtown GrandRapids last summer that I really encourage people
to do that, to get toknow your city better on a more intimate
(26:08):
basis, because you never know whatyou're going to see as you turn a
corner that maybe never realized was there, or here's another thing like go go
walk around the Ford Museum downtown,go see the riverfront, go explore the
streets downtown and see and see whatyou can find in your own hometown.
Be a visitor in your own hometownthis summer. Yeah, shout out to
the west Side. You spent Youspent a lot of time on Bridge Street.
(26:30):
I do as well. And it'sif you have been over the river,
our downtown and east side. Friendsof Grand Rapids, you need to
check it out. Just so muchgoing on, even a lot going on
in Standale and beyond in Allendale.So much going on, and it's worth
it's worth just exploring and getting it. You know. Walking is a great
way to do that. It's avery walkable city. We get those little
(26:52):
electric shooters if you get tired.Those aren't everywhere Willie Phone, try those,
yes, So you know, shoutout to our friends at Mobile.
You wrote a scooter just last weekand you did great here on your face
when we said scooter. Amy andI got an opportunity to do these east
scooters not too long ago. Andlet's just say she was more comfortable than
I was because they're really fast.Okay, that's the way. Something about
(27:18):
her. We are just about outa time again. Where can they find
you guys online, amiangonzo dot com. Where are we going to be next
week? We don't know, butyou can find out there. Check out
the show amyangonzo dot com and theshow is behind the mitt and you hear
that on the iHeartRadio station would Radioand check it out Sunday nights at six
(27:41):
o'clock. You guys, thank youso much. You did a full show
and there was plenty to talk about, a lot of good tips in this
and we appreciate our listening audience joiningus. We will do this again next
week and I hope you'll be righthere on this iHeartRadio station for West Michigan
Weekend and iHeartRadio I'm Phil Tower,Thanks for listening. iHeart Media, West
Michigan Weekend, a public affairs programm.
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend, a publicaffairs program. Well welcome in. It's
West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. Thankyou for tuning in across whatever iHeartRadio station
you happen to be listening to,and don't forget we are a podcast as
well. You can find this programin all of our other iHeartRadio West Michigan
Weekend segments at Woodradio dot com onthe left hand side of the page.
(00:26):
I am on location today at avery wonderful place here in West Michigan with
a couple of friends. We've hadthem on the program before. It's been
way too long since we've had themon. And they are the hosts of
a program that airs on Wood Radioon Sunday Night and several other radio stations
across the state of Michigan. It'sthe premiere Michigan travel and tourism show.
(00:51):
Don't Tell Dave Lorenzo I said thatJohn Gonzales Amy Sherman, host of Behind
the Mitten, We are here bythe way archival Brewing. It's really quiet
because it has not opened yet.But John, just John knows everybody.
So he made a phone call andleve I led us in so welcome,
guys, welcome to the program.Thanks for having us back. Yeah,
(01:14):
it's been a long time and wewanted to here. We are in the
middle of June. Summer's going tobe over in a couple more days,
I say, facetiously, just kidding. There's a lot of summer in Michigan
to enjoy. And we talked aboutthe last time we did a program,
talked about some places to enjoy inMichigan. Some you are very well familiar
(01:36):
with or should be in. Somemaybe not so much. And you,
guys, I know because we havemutual friends in the Gaylord area. That's
that's a great spot. We've talkedabout it. In fact, just two
weeks ago, our friend Paul beachNow was on this program touting the benefits
of Gaylor. So Gaylor gets notime in this program. Sorry Paul,
(01:57):
Sorry Paul, you're out of luck. You're out of luck. But check
it out. Gailared Tourism for anyquestions you have about a beautiful area,
a very often overlooked area. ButI wanted to talk with you guys.
You I get to live vicariously throughyour behind the Minton travels. You go
all over the place, spend alot of time in northwestern Michigan, in
(02:19):
the Grand Traverse County, Gaillard,where have you been, Amy Sherman that
you you were like, this isnot as bad as I thought it would,
say. You live vicariously through something. Do come along on our journey?
Yeah, very rarely, very rarely, although we did get to do
co America Park. That was itwas a lot of fun. But you
(02:39):
guys talk about traveling in Michigan.We love we Michiganders, especially West Michiganers.
We love to go up north.A lot of people who are up
early on a Sunday morning are maybegoing to head up to a cottage or
already at a cottage. So I'llstart with you, Amy Sherman, someplace
(03:00):
as you would recommend. There's alot of summer left and it's easy just
to get in the car and drive. And even the mackinaw Bridge is only
four hours away from Grass, onlyfour hours away from Grand Rapids. The
hop, skip and a jump.You guys, every time I look at
your Facebook feed for behind the Mitten, you're going over the bridge. We
feel pretty lucky about that. Andyou know, we should say one thing
(03:20):
that has come to our attention overthe last ten years of doing this is
when we say we're going up north. That's kind of a stick in the
face to everyone in the up becausethey're like, we are up north,
and yet most of us below thebridge we consider up north the lower Peninsula.
So we do like to always shoutout to our Upper Peninsula friends and
say, we know you really arethe true North. Fair enough, fair
(03:40):
fair enough. Well, I wouldsay that while we do get to go
to fabulous places like Mcan Island thatwe love so much, I think both
Gonzo and I are big fans ofthe hidden gem, the small place that
maybe doesn't get all that national attentionlike a Traverse city or a Macina Island,
and we love to seek those thoselittle places out. I know that
we both recently just got to govisit Manistee for a tourism conference meeting,
(04:05):
and we were blown away with oneof the incredible beauty of the beaches there.
You know, we always think aboutSleeping Bear Dunes. Well, maniste
is just south of Sleeping Bear Dunes. But what a charming town. We
got to do a couple of tours. They have an incredible history there that
I was I was actually really blownaway with how extensive, how huge like
(04:26):
their history was. According to theMidwest and logging and stuff like that.
You hear a lot about like Hoteand caliumet up in the key one of
but Manistee has a lot of thingsgoing on and building wise, like if
you're into like architecture, Mayanna Steawas crazy, right, guys, I
went to a cool museum where youcan see a lot of the history come
alive. We saw, you know, different antique items. But you know,
(04:47):
I think what to Amy's point,just walking through the downtown is very
walkable, right, Yes, youcan see the history right before your eyes.
It's amazing to see these old buildingsstill preserved. Go in that museum,
right, I mean, go inthat museum because you're going to find
yourself. Maybe you might. I'llstop here for ten fifteen minutes. You
can be there for an hour withouteven realizing. Really, Okay, what
(05:08):
is the Manasee Historical Museum? Andit's okay to write downtown on the main
street there, and it's one ofthose museums. I Every museum comes in
with its own philosophy is how toshare their collection. And I say this
because my husband talks about this allthe time. You can decide to like
label everything and really pick out thepieces that you want to highlight in your
collection. Or you can be likethe Manasee Historical Museum where you just put
(05:29):
every single thing you own out ondisplay. I love that, no explanation,
and so you just get to wanderthrough and experience it. And then
there are docents there that can talkyou through, like what is this?
Because of the things, I'm like, I don't even know what that is.
Right, Yeah, there was apharmacy there that they kind of recreated
the pharmacy, or like, what'sthat big stack of paper there? Oh,
those are the prescriptions. They justkept putting them, one after another
(05:50):
after another. You're like, wow, one hundred years. It's interesting.
You talk about the downtown area andthe beauty of the old buildings. The
river runs through downtown. It's great. It's got a lot of great places
to eat. I haven't eaten inManisteine a while. But you know what
it's called. You guys learned thisin the museum, right, it's the
(06:12):
Victorian city. Oh I didn't didI? Yes, Yes, there's a
sign I wrote, I read aroadside sign. So yeah, and it
is. It's just a great place, easily overlooked. Like you said,
and this is going to sound strange. Everybody has heard of the very fancy,
high end, stunningly beautiful views thegolf course, Arcadia Bluffs, just
(06:38):
a hair north of Manistee is andI'm going to try to get this right.
Is it first anakama? No,Yeah, it's a nekama and then
you get into Arcadia. So justa great place to drive. You can
drive M twenty two up there.But the whole area from Manistee to the
north, just a great area,maybe a little bit unheard of because it's
(07:00):
just a little south of the partthat he typically goes to Sleeping Cartoons and
all of that stuff. So thatthat was a nice little that was a
fun, little fine to the spring. I felt like, yeah, Chris,
I think if you continue going north, you're gonna run to Frankfort.
Frankfort, you know, one ofour favorite places, which you know that's
also a little under the radar too. I don't think it still is.
Yeah, I don't think people knowFrankfort as much as you know, maybe
(07:21):
Traverse City or Sleeping Bear Dunes.But it's a great brewery, great walkable
downtown as well, a great seat. Well, yeah, it's pretty quiet.
The beach is incredible. There's agreat lighthouse there, Frank's. You
can get some awesome chili cheese friesat this awesome restaurant owned by from our
good friend Joey Bartuski. And thenBenzonias and Beulah are nearby. The whole
(07:42):
Crystal Lake is so gorgeous. Yeah, and a lot of those I hate
to say it because my family hasbeen vacationing in that area for years and
unfortunately the secret got out because thoseareas are very popular. There's some great
eateries in those areas. But we'refocusing on the West side. John,
you just spent some time recently withour mutual friend Paul Beach. Now we
(08:05):
should not get galored anymore time,but it just he just got it.
Just I love how we did that. You were in Alpina, which is
a not a lot of people traveledfrom West Michigan to the East side to
Lake Huron. It's a beautiful area. You've got Sheboygan, You've got Taois,
Twist City, East Twist, allthese great communities. What about Alpina,
(08:31):
Well, so there's a community therethat Amy and I have been wanting
to get to because we just wedon't get there enough. On the show,
we talked about this actually quite abit, like we need to get
over there, we need to checkout the different towns along Lake Huron,
because you don't hear a lot aboutLake Huran. Amy always talks on the
show that Lake Michigan is the greatestof the Great Lakes Queens. It's hard
to argue that, right, right, also have it like superior. It's
(08:54):
hard to argue as well. Butthis National Marine Sanctuary is like four thousand
square feet that runs all the wayup to Macnall all the way down along
the Lake Huron, and this MarineSanctuary oversees everything. There's underwater exploration,
archaeology going on right now. There'sshipwrecks, the largest collection of shipwrecks in
(09:16):
the world, I believe, yes, And really this is Lake Huron,
Lake Kuron. And by the way, you said four thousand score feet,
I think you four thousands. Okay, thank you. I knew it was
a lot. I just knew itwasn't. I'm sorry. Yeah, they're
probably going like this is why Ineed Amy with me on the here.
(09:39):
Uh well, I've always had JohnGonzalez to a hired standard because he is
a journalist and I am not.My math skills are impeccable. I am
a mere low broadcaster. But johnskills, except for math, are very
good. Yeah, math is anall journalist. I hate math, but
I aggress. It's just an incrediblearea. It's it's it's it's lively.
(10:03):
And then these these tours you cango on, you can get out of
kayak and this is what amy,Amy, I've set it up for you.
You're doing it. Okay, good, Yes, I'm gonna video.
I'm going a video. I gotit all set up. You're gonna get
on a boat and you go outthere and watch these ship You can see
these shipwrecks. Some are as lowas as close to eight feet. You
can get I mean you can almostlike dive down and touch them. Really
(10:24):
you can. You can have youcan starkle, you can dive down.
You can see these shipwrecks right infront of your eyes. And the water
is crystal clear in the bay there. It's just yeah, it's just stunningly
beautiful and it's yeah, it's oneof those places I think a lot of
people don't know exists in Michigan.And then in addition to that, maybe
you're not into you know, kayakingor paddle boarding over these shipwrecks. But
(10:45):
they're downtown is super charming and theyhave all sorts of things like Friday night
aren't walks and concerts and all thisother stuff in a little, you know,
little corner of the state that onyour point your finger that you might
not think about. Yeah, they'regonna watch some new boats for tour is
later in June, actually later thismonth, they'll have some new tours out
there and they've inviters to come outthere and explore those tours. And you
(11:07):
know, a glass bottom boat toit. Right, if you don't want
to paddle yourself, you can justrelax. Correct. Actually, what they
what they do is they are theiralligators like Kuran I heard that's as Charlotte.
No, they put the they putthe kayaks on the boats, and
then they take you out to thesite. You go farther out. Yeah,
it's incredible what they have. Justlooking at the setup and the brand
(11:28):
new boat just came in. Theyhave the glass bottom boats too. If
you don't want to do the kayaking. You can just see them right there.
But if you want to do thekayaking, they'll take you out out
on the lake and show you rightwhere to go. I like that.
And this is Alpina, Michigan.And I'm sure there is a Alpina Tourism
dural website you can check out.But again, a place that is often
(11:50):
overlooked by a lot of folks inWest Michigan. And it's interesting when you
talk to people from the Detroit areawhere they will go, and a lot
of them do go to Northwestern MichiganTraverse City, but they go to they
have different places they go to.They may go to port Hereon or sat
Oney three man, they're all goingstraight up twenty three. Yeah. I'm
glad you mentioned Portyon because I wasgoing to say that next. Amy and
(12:13):
I have spent several several shows outin the Port here On area and we
continue to be impressed. Not onlythe Blue Water and the Blue Water Bridge
are there, but it's it's aboating community too, right Amy, Oh,
it definitely isn't that that one is? I don't think that's on a
lot of West Michigan's radar because it'smeant it's a straight shot east and it's
going to take you a minute.But once you're the long drive, yeah,
it's a bit of a drive,but it is I mean they when
(12:35):
they say Bluewater country, they meanit. That water is so blue it's
insane. Their history is incredible.A lot of people might not know that's
where Henry Ford or I'm sorry,edzel Am, I saying Thomas Edison grew
up in Port Hereon, and theyactually have a museum there that's educated to
them. So there is a lotof history going on in port here On
as well. And then you alsohave the added bonus of being an international
(12:56):
community, which that's another thing wetend to forget about in Michigan sometimes if
you don't live in one of thosesaid communities. I grew up in a
community that was an international one.But like Sue, Saint Mary, port
Uron, you really do have thatflavor. It's different, it's a little
bit different than it isn't make sureyou watched the exit signs. I can't
end up whether you are in Detroit, Sue San Marie, or you can't
(13:18):
end up yes, And then thatconversation is never goes well, yeah,
what are you doing in Canada songand do you have your passport? Because
you need a passport to get back. I've had a lot of people have
reminded me of that, and thatis Port Kuron to Sarnia. That's that's
the bridge, right. Yeah.Yeah, And I tell I tell a
story about how I came back froma Shania Twain concert in Ottawa at four
(13:41):
in the morning, Like, uh, what are you doing back here?
What do you You were just crossthe border to go to the Ottawa and
now you're back here A couple ofhours later, I w to Shania Twain
concert. Yeah, they searched myvehicle. Yeah, no one does that
only in Michigan, or we shouldsay only in Canada. That's the voice
of John Gonzales. Amy Sherman iswith us. They are together the host
(14:03):
of Behind the Mitt and our gueston this segment of West Michigan Weekend here
on iHeartRadio, as we're doing oursummer preview of places you should go to
that John and Amy have been toand you and I have not. And
that's basically the subtitle of this program. You spent a lot of time in
mckinawe Island. I just wanted tomention this because the island is always changing.
(14:26):
I saw recently on can you imaginethis? On your Facebook post on
behind the Mitten some tour boats theSip and Sale the Sip and Sale,
which I thought was really interesting.Normally, when people think about boating and
Mcina Island, then think about aSchefler's ferry to and from the island and
not necessary and nice. Yeah,necessary and nice, but not normally Okay,
(14:52):
Now where they're on the island,most people just hang or hang and
explore. Is this something new tosip for a little while now? I
mean, it hasn't been around forlike thirty years, so it doesn't have
that storied history that a lot ofplaces do. But they are using a
historical boat on the Isle Royal theQueen of Isle Royal, right or Isle
Royal Queen. It used to bea ferry that would take people to Isle
(15:13):
Royal and then they purchased it andrehabbed it into this tour boat. And
I will say, I think Gonzowould agree with me. This is one
of the I think our one ofthe coolest things you can do on the
island that you might not know aboutbecause seeing the island from the water is
really magical. Yeah, on thisboat. Yeah, the straits of Mackinaw
are you know, we've just timeto We kind of use them as transportation
(15:35):
to and from the island. Butif you get on this boat on this
cruise, yes you will have afew beverages. Yes you will hear some
great musicians playing, but it's alsoan opportunity to just see the island close
up and from a different perspective,and also see the bridge. You take
that sunset cruise and if you havea beautiful pure in Michigan night and you
head out on that boat and you'rejust kind of having a few drinks and
(15:56):
having a good time, and thenyou start checking out the landscape and all
of a sudden you're under the MightyMac. Yeah, amazing. It's so
incredible when you're underneath that bridge.It's crazy. Now. You can also
take the bridge tour on Scheffler's ferryand they offer that like three times each
morning. Well really, I didnot know. On just the regular ferry
to go to the island. Itis marked as the bridge tour because it
(16:17):
does take about forty minutes as opposedto twenty minutes, but they do take
you out underneath the bridge and whenyou can look up at the Mighty Mac
from down below, I mean,it takes your breath away every single time.
Yeah, it's incredible. But whenyou see that sunset, that's the
pure Michigan moment there. But Sipand Sale, it is so much fun.
Not just for the sunset cruises.They also have history cruises that you
(16:37):
can go and they bring some ofthe local historians from the island to talk
about that part. I mean,they have like all these different options and
it's definitely a family friendly experience.On the Sip and Sale, they do
have brunch, I think boy brunch. Every once in a while they'll offer
the mimosas or Bloody Mary tours orbourbon tours, and they're always coming up
with some different ideas. But getwith a group of friends or make new
friends, you know, just geta ticket and go plan ahead. This
(17:00):
is one thing that we especially onMcan Island, you have to plan ahead.
You must buy your tickets before youarrive on the island or you will
be disappointed. Because it's a verypopular place. But we're hearing that across
the state as everyone is so excitedto be back traveling again. So if
you don't plan ahead, you mightbe disappointed and not get to do the
things you want to do. Soif you have something in mind, now
go ahead and buy that ticket soyou can guarantee you Yeah, we should
(17:22):
say, just as a public serviceannouncement for impatient listeners, be mindful of
the fact that there are tons oflodging and restaurant facilities that are still short
staffed. Thank you. Be mindfulof them, be patient with them and
know that they are doing their verybest, and some places have to close
(17:42):
or they have odd hours. Alwaysyou know, phone ahead and check and
behind and be kind and you knowwhat, if you need to find another
place. We should also mention thereare a lot of new lodging options at
Macan Island, but right now inthe middle of June, probably want to
look at a trip in the fallin October. And I say that because
(18:04):
less busy and a time where it'sjust a lot easier to you know,
kind of have a slower pace onMacana Island and enjoy it. We would
we would agree with you on that. But if you do go this summer,
and if you have plans to go, we encourage you to go.
One thing that we talk a lotabout is getting off of Main Street when
you're on mcina Island. Even ifyou just walk up one more street to
(18:26):
Market Street, it's like a wholeother world, right, guns, Yeah,
it slows down quite a bit.And then I you know, with
both of us also encourage you togo into the interior island, you know,
go to the crack. With thecrack in the island. I mean,
there's just so many places you canwait. Wait, wait, that's
for another show. It's a goodone. Okay. There is a crack
in the island. We have discoveredit. You have photos to prove it.
(18:48):
Okay, it's not the Arch Rock. There's a crack in the island.
We should tell them really quick aboutArt Rock. Oh, yes,
we should. Okay, but we'llcome back to that really quick. There
is a crack in the island ifyou go up towards the airport, so
you hike up to the top ofthe island, and there are signs.
It's we didn't discover it. Everyoneknows about the crack. There is this
piece of granite at the top thatis cracked and happen. Everyone calls it
the crack and the island. It'snot like the Grand Canyon. Guys walk
(19:11):
in and you can get your photoin the crack in the crack. Okay,
So that's kind of wow, kindof fun. I never knew this
insider information there. Yeah, wehave a lot of those tips for back
An Island. But real quick,the Millican Centers are going to be debuting
at the at our Trock. It'sbrand new. It's it's the Milican Nature
Centers. Yeah, named after theGovernor Milliken, and just so many places
(19:34):
on the island that if you haven'tbeen, it's worth exploring. And I'm
so glad you said having done this. Where you can go through the Sunday
of the island, you can seethe golf course and just you know,
airport, all kinds of things thatnormally people don't see. John Gonzales Amy
Sherman are with us host from behindthe Mitten. By the way, real
quickly, you're online, You're onFacebook. All of your shows are available
(19:56):
as a podcast. You're also heardSunday night on Wood Radio sixty six pm.
And there will be a program onWood Radio tonight at six pm.
Yeah, and one of the previousepisodes you can hear me filling in for
John Gonzalez when Amy and I hadthe trait of spending a morning at Comerica
Park, which was a lot offun. So thank you for that.
(20:18):
Mark felt you were a little nervous. Yeah, I was a little nervous
a lot, but you did agreat job. Okay, we're going to
talk Lower Peninsula, and I'm talkinglower I never hear you guys, rarely
hear you guys talk about things southof Grand Rapids. You know, South
Haven. You've been to a lotof concerts in Jackson, obviously Detroit.
(20:42):
There's plenty to talk about, butthat kind of lower Southwest Michigan area,
Niles and New Buffalo, New Buffalo, it's interesting and I think a lot
of people overlook those areas because theydon't have an up Northfield. But there's
they're just beautiful. I think Stevensville, which has used to have and I
(21:03):
have not been there year, isone of my favorite restaurants toasis. Oh,
that's a great spot. Italian restaurant. Yeah, Italian restaurant, very
well known, and just just behindTosi's is a neighborhood with homes that will
take your breath away on the beach. On Lake Michigan, but just a
great area, Benton Harbor, SaintJoe, just you know, South Haven.
(21:25):
I mean, do you guys spendmuch time there or is the area
you want to spend more time.I get to spend some time down there.
We have a very good friend wholives in Saint Joe, so I
get to go down there a lot. I feel like that whole part of
the state, that southwestern part ofthe state is on Chicagoan's radar more than
it's on Michigan's radar, and that'sa disservice to that part of the state
(21:45):
because it's just absolutely lovely. Churchbrewing in New Era is super fun and
cool. That's a great spot tovisit, the beaches all along the coast.
There are, of course fabulous downtownSaint Joe. We love visiting there.
You can walk everywhere, go toSilver Beach pizza, hit the carousel
if you're a kid, or thefountain outside. I've been known to go
through that. How about you,gott I haven't not done the fountain,
(22:06):
done the carousel. But also there'sa great winery scene too, the trail,
the winery trail throughout southwest Michigan we'lltake you some pretty incredible places.
You know. So if you don'twant to get to the busy parts of
the Traverse City area, which canget pretty busy during the summer, you
know, go down to Southwest Michigan, find a trail, find a few
wineries. They do a really goodjob of all the windy and what people
(22:27):
might not know. There are fourdistinct wine trails in Michigan and Southwest has
one of them. But they havean incredible map and a way to get
you. You know, you canyou can book rides and all of that
kind of stuff, and it isa super awesome way to experience it.
And down there it's so much aboutagriculture as well. You know, it's
about the fruit, it's about thevegetables. So it's definitely a huge part
of the experience in Southwest Michigan.Yeah, I definitely recommend. I think
(22:49):
we did fen Valley a year agoand a lot of a lot of Fun
Valley. They have quite a productiongoing on there, and if you go
to fun Valley you can actually thenright at the same there's a four Corners
right there's the Red Barn, whichdoes some work with therapeutic courses there's Fun
Valley, there's Modallas Winery right acrossthe street, and then there's Virtue Cier
So you can pull into one parkinglot and have a great afternoon. You
(23:12):
speak with very profound experience delivered tothem. Yeah, good stuff, John
Goodzaleus and both of you in ourfinal moments here, West Michigan has a
lot of places. Come back foranother session, Yeah, yeah, moments
your last words. Yes, Sowe have only so much time in West
(23:34):
Michigan. Are there places you guyshave checked out recently that you'd like to
share with our listeners, things thatyou might overlook? You know, I
think about the Lake Shore, butthere are Grand Rapids and Muskegan, and
we are heard in stations throughout GrandRapids and Miskegan. There are so many
places to explore. We talked aboutthe deck in Miskegan. Miskegan is really
(23:56):
having a renaissance and rebirth. Placesyou guys would recommend, Man, we've
got a couple of minutes left here. Well, I'll recommend just this place
that we're at right now, ArchivalBrewing Company Levi does a great job here.
He does historical beer styles which wehope to sample a little later in
the show because our boss wouldn't ushave one while we're working executive towers.
(24:19):
Yeah, I did not disclose thatfor a radio listening audience, but we
wanted to be at the end.It's okay, we thank you, but
no, this is a gorgeous setting. If you have not been to Archival,
when you pull in, you'll belike, what the heck? And
they have concerts out here a lot, right they do when it's a great
patio, uh dog friendly beer gardenin the back. And again this is
(24:40):
We're not receiving any free meals oranything for this, just good people.
And I really you guys have andI'm going to say this on a radio.
I have so much appreciation, passionand pain for people who put their
lives into restaurants. It is areally tough business and so I really celebrate
and up Levi and his family.They took a place that was an empty
(25:04):
clubhouse for this golf course for years, and I turned it into a great
spot. So for our friends inByron Center and the Lake Shore. If
you find yourself in Grand Rapids,especially in the north part of town,
there are a lot of great placesto explore archiveal here in Rockford, You've
got all kinds of places. Justit's really interesting when you stop and think
(25:26):
how big West Michigan is, Caledoniaall the way to Kent City. It's
just a lot of places to explore. Amy Sherman, you've been really quiet.
What do you think. I'm gladthat you brought up the checking out
some of the suburbs around Grand Rapids, because I think a lot of times
people they don't think about maybe what'sgoing on in eight or what's going on
in Rockford, and they are justbeautiful, charming towns. But I was
(25:48):
going to say one thing that Iexperienced last summer when I was living downtown
Grand Rapids was I think a lotof us come downtown with a set thing
in mind that we're going to gohave dinner here, or we're going to
go to this festival, and thenwe don't do anything else. And I
spent so much time walking downtown GrandRapids last summer that I really encourage people
to do that, to get toknow your city better on a more intimate
(26:08):
basis, because you never know whatyou're going to see as you turn a
corner that maybe never realized was there, or here's another thing like go go
walk around the Ford Museum downtown,go see the riverfront, go explore the
streets downtown and see and see whatyou can find in your own hometown.
Be a visitor in your own hometownthis summer. Yeah, shout out to
the west Side. You spent Youspent a lot of time on Bridge Street.
(26:30):
I do as well. And it'sif you have been over the river,
our downtown and east side. Friendsof Grand Rapids, you need to
check it out. Just so muchgoing on, even a lot going on
in Standale and beyond in Allendale.So much going on, and it's worth
it's worth just exploring and getting it. You know. Walking is a great
way to do that. It's avery walkable city. We get those little
(26:52):
electric shooters if you get tired.Those aren't everywhere Willie Phone, try those,
yes, So you know, shoutout to our friends at Mobile.
You wrote a scooter just last weekand you did great here on your face
when we said scooter. Amy andI got an opportunity to do these east
scooters not too long ago. Andlet's just say she was more comfortable than
I was because they're really fast.Okay, that's the way. Something about
(27:18):
her. We are just about outa time again. Where can they find
you guys online, amiangonzo dot com. Where are we going to be next
week? We don't know, butyou can find out there. Check out
the show amyangonzo dot com and theshow is behind the mitt and you hear
that on the iHeartRadio station would Radioand check it out Sunday nights at six
(27:41):
o'clock. You guys, thank youso much. You did a full show
and there was plenty to talk about, a lot of good tips in this
and we appreciate our listening audience joiningus. We will do this again next
week and I hope you'll be righthere on this iHeartRadio station for West Michigan
Weekend and iHeartRadio I'm Phil Tower,Thanks for listening. iHeart Media, West
Michigan Weekend, a public affairs programm.
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