We have created a photo tour of Lowell, Michigan.
Lowell is a small community on the Flat River, about 25
miles from Grand Rapids. Since Lowell is right next door
to us, we find ourselves visiting often.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-eOmq5X-0s&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6]
Grand Rapids Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 all rights reserved
Photos by Bonnie Westbrook
The West Michigan White Caps start their summer season with their
opening day on Thursday, April 9th. It isn’t that far away and would
be a great outing for Spring Break Week. They have many promotions
and specials going on, so don’t delay, if baseball is your passion, get
your tickets now.
The match is with South Bend Silver Hawks and there will be a post
game fireworks show sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance. Altogas
sponsors Thrifty Thursdays throughout the season, which means
$2 beers, $2 Pepsi products, and 2 hot dogs for, yep, you guessed it
$2.
Big changes at the Fifth Third Ball Park this year:
New food items on the menu = monster burgers, frozen bananas,
Chicago-style dogs and more……+++
Fifth Third Ball Park has gone Smoke Free!! No smoking within the
facility but there will be designated areas outside the 3 entrances
to accommodate smokers.
Personal note:
I love baseball. I started with Little League and didn’t stop until my
better sense decided to limit my exposure to hurtful things. I played
on 3 separate leagues in my heyday. The White Cap games are
always a flashback to my playing days.
I sure do enjoy a good ball game.
White Caps Opening Day Directions to Ball Park
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Five Star Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Fireworks photo by Terry Westbrook
At 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, Ada Township Parks & Recreation
Department will present a workshop on how to plan and landscape your
yard as a quality habitat for local wildlife at Ada Township Park.
This Backyard Habitat Workshop will provide tips and tricks for landscape
planning and design, how to enhance your yard with the habitat elements
desired wildlife require, sources for native plants and a variety of other
resources. Backyard Wildlife Habitats are ideal ways for home owners,
schools and businesses to enhance their property and help support wildlife.
Whether you have a small garden area you want to use to attract birds or
butterflies, or a large yard "back 40" that you want to attract a variety of
wildlife, this workshop will provide planning tools and resources to meet
your needs and help you start on your yard this spring.
This Backyard Wildlife Habitat Workshop will also cover the procedures to
have your site certified through the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF)
Backyard Habitat Program. Participants will receive habitat development
support materials and application forms to certify your property with the
NWF. More detail about NWF is available at www.nwf.org.
To pre-register or for more information, call the Ada Park office at
616-676-0520 or email to adaparks@ada.mi.us. There is a $3.00 fee,
payable on site. Ada Park is located at 1180 Buttrick Avenue, N.E.,
just off of Thornapple River Drive in Ada, MI 49301.
There are additional April 17th workshops~ information available from
the Ada Township Web site.
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Five Star Real Estate
Video and photo by Bonnie Westbrook Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Cannonsburg Michigan is a small community northwest of Grand
Rapids. It is included in the Forest Hills School District and has had
growth in residential housing in the last ten years. There are many
elite homes built in this area because of the natural scenery,
prestigious public school system, and proximity to downtown Grand
Rapids. The small village of Cannonsburg has a long history, as
evidenced by the historic buildings which comprise the commercial
hub of the village today.
First, and our personal favorite, is The HoneyCreek Inn, pictured
above. We have been enjoying the casual atmosphere and the
wonderful food at the Honeycreek Inn for over 30 years. It bills itself
as "This Pub under Polish-Irish Management – Be Patient." Whatever
nationality your roots are planted in, this is a great place to eat! The
bar has select brews on tap and "The Daily Special" is always worth
trying.
The Grist Mill, pictured above, is a recent addition to
Cannonsburg, although the original building is one of the original
businesses, as noted by its name. The Grist Mill has a fabulous Deli &
Bakery, a lunch room where you can order a meal, a quick stop
grocery, and gas pumps on the side. Everything today’s
Cannonsburg neighbors might need. It is always busy and you can’t
get a better quick lunch anywhere.
The Bottle Shop is a beer, wine, and liquor emporium that serves the
Cannonsburg area. This building was the original general store for
generations. If you have a hankering for some liquid refreshment,
this is the spot to go in Cannonsburg.
This building houses The Cannonsburg Historical Museum.
Cannonsburg was founded in 1842, that is 167 years of local history.
We will have to make a special trip to see the local history preserved
here.
The last big attraction in Cannonsburg is the first for many in our
area – Cannonsburg Ski Area. This is one of the only local ski areas,
the other being Pando, which is smaller. Their website has a
Webcam, with real time pictures of the conditions.
As you can see, a nice sunny day in February, the slopes are far
from empty. The Cannonsburg Ski Area has a large open air concert
area that is used in the summer for Grand Rapids Symphony
Presentations, such as the July 4th Pops Concert which is a local
favorite. Our small tour is over, but towns like Cannonsburg are a
vital part of our Greater Grand Rapids Area.
We have many small towns and villages that have big attractions for
for the West Michigan travelers and outdoor enthusiasts.
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Five Star Real Estate
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Photos by Bonnie Westbrook
There has been no remuneration or compensation of any kind for our endorsement of restaurants & other businesses featured in this blog.
Our friends in the south are looking at bulbs coming up, birds nesting, and
other sure signs of spring. Our signs of spring in Grand Rapids Michigan are
a little bit different. We look with eagerness towards any signal that winter
is loosening it’s grip. If you are a Northerner, these photos will tell you
S-P-R-I-N-G is right around the corner:
The huge snow mountains in the parking lots are melting!!
Grand Rapids MI Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Have you ever dreamed of drinking craft beers fresh from the brewers casks?
Would you enjoy tasting new brews and rubbing elbows with other beer
enthusiasts? Well, set your calendars for Feb 28th in Grand Rapids, MI
Tickets are $ 35.00 which includes 12 drink tickets. Tickets are available at the following locations:
Whitecaps box office in Comstock Park
Rochester Mills Beer Co. in Rochester
Olde Peninsula Brewpub in Kalamazoo
Dragonmead Microbrewery in Warren
Old Hat Brewery in Lawton
Original Gravity Brewing in Milan
New Holland Brewing in Holland
The Livery in Benton Harbor
Walldorff Brewpub in Hastings
Kuhnhenn Brewing in Warren
Liberty Street Brewing in Plymouth
Sherwood Brewing in Shelby Township
Grizzly Peak in Ann Arbor
Schmohz Brewing in Grand Rapids
Siciliano’s Market in Grand Rapids
Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti
Arbor Brewing in Ann Arbor
Old Chicago Restaurant in Grand Rapids
Pauly’s Party Store in Lowell
Billy’s Lounge in Grand Rapids
Meanwhile Bar in Grand Rapids
Atwater Block Brewery in Detroit
HopCat in Grand Rapids
Here’s a few links to wet your whistle…..
Dress for the weather, this is an outside event.
Grand Rapids Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Michigan is one of the few states courting the film industry with
rebates and tax incentives. This should bring more film makers
to Michigan in 2009. In anticipation of the films and film crews
that will be needed to bring these projects to completion,
Grand Rapids Community College is offering 4 different courses
in training for film production.
These classes run from $125 to $1750 for tuition fees and some
require some technical knowledge and expertise.
TicTock Studios in Holland MI is co-sponsoring the Basic Film Set
Training to supply needed expertise to film makers here. These
programs are state approved and might qualify for No Worker Left
Behind funding to participate in the film training program.
Henry Ford Community College is also offering classes.
The classes at GRCC start in March, so check out the links and
you could be working on a movie set this year!
Click here ^ to subsribe to my Grand Rapids Blog
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate Five Star Real Estate LLC
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
The U.S. News and World Report has published their annual survey of the
best public high schools across the country.
These top open enrollment schools were placed into gold, silver,
bronze, and honorable mention categories.
Six public schools in Kent County were mentioned. Two Grand Rapids
inner city schools and 4 Grand Rapids suburban schools were named
in Best High Schools Kent County 2009.
City Middle/ High School, East Grand Rapids High School, Forest Hills
Central High School, Lee High School, Lowell High School, and Ottawa
Montessori School all received Silver or Bronze awards.
Schools are an important consideration when buying and
selling a home. Public schools in the Grand Rapids area
are some of the best in the country.
Grand Rapids Ada MI Real Estate ~ Five Star Realty
copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Photo of Forest Hills Central High School by Bonnie Westbrook
The January Series is back at Calvin College this month. We have several
talks that we have attended already. Today, we have an offer we are
preparing and the wind chill is -18 Degrees. I decided to stay home and
listen live to the 1 hour presentation by film director, Robert Rooy, on
Microfinance – Changing lives in Poverty. Robert has filmed all over the
world for non-profits so they can tell their stories via film. He is an
accomplished director and donates his off time to helping non-profits film
in remote locations.
He recommends Kiva.org as a means to donate to microfinance small business
opportunities for poor people all over the planet. This system really works.
So I checked it out and I am now helping Mujeres Unidos Group in Peru.
I will get monthly updates on their progress, whether they pay the loan back
and just how it helps their lives. Ain’t the internet great?
You get to choose where your money goes, and you get updates on how
they are doing. Paypal makes the payment easy and safe.
Please go to Kiva.org and take a look. You can donate as little as $25.
You could make a difference in someone’s life today.
For the price of a lunch for the two of us, we can actually
help people rise out of poverty.
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Five Star Real Estate
Copyright 2009 ~ All rights reserved
Calvin College is presenting their 22nd January Series – a liberal education
for the local community. Featuring world class speakers on topical subjects to
enlighten and educate our community. This effort is underwritten by local
businesses and charities. The 2009 line up of speakers can be seen here.
This year they are promoting new remote locations for viewing, which are
here in Western Michigan, but also locations all over the country and in
Canada.
Calvin College also offers The Archives online. You can listen to speakers
for the past 11 years in the comfort of your home.
It is not too late to catch a lecture. There are 7 speakers left on this year’s
agenda, including Christine Brennan, female sports columnist for USA
Today and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most
Influential People.
These are two speakers we plan on hearing in person.
Grand Rapids Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 ~ All rights reserved