I am hoping to get to Chicago before summer is over. My annual girl's trip is the weekend of August 12, but I could be up for a weekend either later in August or better yet, sometime in September....

Linda

Oh yes, I'd love to see if we could make that happen! I'll wait to hear about a date,I have nothing in particular planned!

Annie

Linda,
We'll be in Chicago from around August 17-20. Not sure if that would fit in with what you've got organized.

Annie, we'll be driving right past you on Sunday, Aug. 7 and then again on our way back to Chicago, probably on Wednesday, Aug. 17.

We'll be in NW MI from the 8th - 16th, so lots of possibilities depending who's up to meet and what location works.

Ann, Aug 17-20 won't work for me at all. If it was over the weekend I could make it work, but not in the middle of the week.

Ah well, maybe next time! Have a great trip and I hope a few of the Michiganders will be able to hook up with you!

Linda

Wow, MY part of the world! Maybe Nancy, or Sherry, maybe even Peppi, I'll email them and see how their schedules are. We could do it at my house or we could meet somewhere along The Lake, like Ludington or Grand Haven. further south is Saugatuck and further north is Manistee and/or Charlevois or Traverse City, depending on where you are and what your route is.

Annie

I have been watching this since Ann posted.

BTW Traverse City: This month's Bon Appetite has and article on Traverse City and my daughter and the kids are flying up next week so something is going on there.

If it's at your house, Annie, Sunday August 7 would probably be best. (DH and DS will be with me.) From the 9th-13th, we'll be in Omena, a bit north of Traverse City, I could easily get away to meet for lunch somewhere. After that, our schedule isn't really set, but we will spend a couple of days in Harbor Springs (so Petoskey or Charlevoix are good too) at my in-laws and we might stop in to see friends near Gaylord.

A

My house is open for company if anyone wants to come and stay. I can make Traverse City any day if that's good for everyone else, or I can go further and go to Petoskey, depending on what others would like to do.

I can drive, I can host, I can cook, I can provide sleeping space, or all of the above!

Annie

Hi! Just saw this.

It's summertime and there is a lot going on all over Northern Michigan. I have two weekends in Aug that I attend art fairs.... Aug 6 and 7 is the one right by my house and the next weekend...Aug 13 and 14 is the Charlevoix Art Fair. Artists and visitors come from all over the country for the Charlevoix art fair. It's second only to the Ann Arbor Art Fair in this state. I go to the art fairs early on Saturday and am usually home by 1pm or so.

I'm open to ideas of what anybody wants to do. Traverse City is a lovely place to meet for lunch or something.

Or come here....
I have 1 BR that someone could use and of course there's motels and campsites nearby. My new kitchen is fully functional even if the rest of the main level is still waiting for it's redo.

Nancy

Hey, Nancy, Annie,
If it's the 7th, Annie's place would work better for me, as we'll be driving up from Muncie. On the next weekend, Nancy's area is better and we can stay in Harbor Springs.

Whatever preference you all have!
Ann

Either is good for me, I'll send an email to Sherry and Karen and Peppi and see if any of them have a preference or if they could make it.

Annie

OK, Sherry says she'll be in Canada the weekend of the 8th and in Indianapolis the following weekend of the 13th, but she could do my house midweek, maybe.

Karen (lakemayor) is up for anything we can play, pretty much.

Nancy has art shows both of those weekends too, so our choice would either be an art show on one of the weekends, or my house midweek, it appears.

Or Karen, Nancy and I could meet you in Traverse City sometime for lunch. If I go further than that midweek, I'll have to take a couple of vacation days from work, and it's kind of late notice with the new boss, but I might be able to make that work too.

So, what do you all think?

Annie

You've all got mail!
Ann

As it turns out, this is the year I should have planned a trip to Michigan. This week-end Aug 11-15 there will be a big celebration in Coopersville for the 50th Anniversary of Del Shannon's "Runaway"! Events will take place at the Coopersville Historical Museum, Sam's Joint Restaurant in Coopersville, Downtown Battle Creek (for a historical marker), and finally a Twirl Records reunion dinner at Denny's in Detroit! I just found out about this on Sunday.

When I was 15 years old, I got a call from Del Shannon in L.A. asking me to be president of his fan club. He also asked me if I could send him copies of his Australian and English EP's and his Coke and Pepsi commercials, which I had managed to collect but he had not. I had written him a letter describing my collections and what I had to go through to get it. I was president of the international club until I went to university at 18. I never got to meet Del, but I had phone conversations with him on a regular basis to collect information for the fan club bulletins. I made tapes of the phone calls, but my sister threw them out because I had stored then in our parents' closet.

Oh well... I guess I can visit Coopersville and Grand Rapids (where he was born) some other time.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Del Shannon

Lars, Coopersville is less than 50 miles from me, and they have a nice little park with a plaque commemorating Del Shannon.

Come to Michigan, I'll give you the grand tour, I promise!

Annie

It looks like Delta has inexpensive flights from LAX to GRR, with a stop in Minneapolis. I've been in the Minneapolis airport before, but I don't remember much about it, which I guess is good, because if it had been terrible, I would have remembered. My friend Jimmy is from Michigan, but he grew up in Ann Arbor or Lansing - I forget which (He was born in Korea). I should ask him if he wants to go some time. I think his stepfather still lives there, as well as his half-brothers.

I've also always wanted to go to Pittsburgh, but I doubt I could do that on a trip to Michigan.

Lars

Lars, Ann Arbor is only about an hour from Elery's house, and it's pretty "upscale" and progressive compared to some other places (Like Coopersville and White Cloud, LOL).

Ann Arbor is home of University of Michigan and it actually has a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, a lot of ethnic restaurants. Now that might not sound like a big deal, but Michigan has 5 Trader Joe's in the whole state, the only one outside the Detroit area is Ann Arbor. I know neighborhoods in Chicago and California have that many within a few square miles but not here.

You'd love Saugatuck too, very artsy community and only a few hours away from Ann Arbor, driving around from one side of the state to the other is relatively easy here and even Detroit traffic isn't like California traffic.

That offer for the guided tour is always good and Pittsburgh is only a 5 hour drive away from Ann Arbor so if you had a couple of days, you could actually do both!

Annie

Lars, if you go to Michigan and have a lengthy layover in Minneapolis I would never forgive myself if I didn't come meet you! LOL

Linda

Maybe I could have a stop-over in Minnesapolis! Kevin has been there on business, possibly because Target is one of his customers. I really don't know anyone in Pittsburgh any more, but I had pen pals there when I was in Jr. High and High School.

Lars