Category: Michigan
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Weekly Wanderings: August 27, 2023
I’m usually a fast reader, but I took my time last week with a collection of essays by historian and journalist Timothy Garton Ash. In Homelands: A Personal History of Europe, Garton Ash blends his firsthand observations of political movements in various European countries (mostly in the former Soviet bloc) with broader analysis of European…
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Sleeping Bear Dunes
In my 50 Hikes in Michigan guidebook, Sleeping Bear Dunes occupies a full ten slots. This spot on Northwest Michigan’s coastline, about 40 minutes west of Traverse City, is renowned for its scenery, characterized by the stunning contrast of undulating sand dunes meeting the flat waters of Lake Michigan. A visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes…
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On the Lake
Last week I wrote about Detroit’s riverfront in Southeast Michigan. Today I’m going north—far north—to the Keeweenaw Peninsula on Lake Superior, specifically the town of Copper Harbor at its very northern end. Copper Harbor is among “The 16 Best Lake Towns in the U.S.,” according to Trips to Discover, though that wasn’t the reason I…
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Weekly Wanderings: May 13, 2023
Yesterday marked 15 years since a deadly earthquake hit Sichuan Province, causing the deaths of at least 85,000 people and revealing widespread corruption in the local government and construction industries. I wrote about the Wenchuan Earthquake on its tenth anniversary in this post (which I revisited yesterday, checking all the links and updating them as…
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Weekly Wanderings: May 6, 2023
The ongoing decimation of Twitter coincides with my own desire to get back into a daily writing practice, so I’m reviving this blog. I’m making a minimal commitment here: a photo and short gloss on Mondays, and a “Weekly Wanderings” round-up of five stories/thoughts/recommendations each Saturday morning. If and as I can, I’ll post occasional…
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Good Coffee, Good Vibes
If I were asked to single out my favorite coffee shop in the world, my response would be easy: Café Rica in Battle Creek, Michigan. I found Café Rica in summer 2021 during a quick stop in Battle Creek, and additional visits since then have convinced me it’s the embodiment of the perfect coffee shop.…
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Getting to Know the Gusset
Michigan is referred to lovingly as “The Mitten” for the way its shape resembles one of those cold-weather accessories the state’s residents normally wear from October through April (at least). In the four years since I moved here, I’ve traveled almost the width of the mitten’s cuff, from Detroit in the east to Kalamazoo in…
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 