North Carolina Grandson Visits Grandma in Petoskey

My sister’s eldest grandson, Adam, was in Petoskey for the last 3 weeks. I had never met Adam, who lives in Hickory, NC.

What a pleasure this young lad of 11 years is. He kept blowing my mind with his food choices and impeccable manners.

First, dad (Adam’s great-grandfather) and I took him to the City Park Grill thinking he would have a hamburger, but he opted for the chicken noodle soup! Next we were at Julienne Tomatoes for lunch and instead of a sandwich, Adam opted for a Ceasar salad. Then we were at J. W. Filmores for lunch and again, no burger but the fettuccine Alfredo! Not what I expected at all from an 11-year old.

While in Petoskey, Adam got to kayak for the first time – both on a river and on Little Traverse Bay.

He also chipped in and helped me spread bark and screed topsoil for the back lawn. I asked him what his time was worth and he responded with $2. I didn’t ask him if that was for the entire 2 hours that first day, but told him I wouldn’t pay any less that $5/hour for that kind of work. He seemed okay with that.

Adam shot about a gazillion pictures with a camera I loaned him, including some of the 4th of July parade.

John

Kalamazoo Avenue Revue Band @ Staffords Perry Hotel

I can’t believe that I forgot to take my video camera with me on Saturday night to the Perry Hotel! The Kalamazoo Avenue Rock, Rhythm and Blues Revue was playing that night and they were great. Thank goodness for smart phones – though the video and sound quality are not the best, at least I got a little piece of the action.

If you get a chance to see and dance to the Kalamazoo Avenue Band, don’t pass up the opportunity.

John

Northern Express, Palette Bistro & Downtown Petoskey

Yesterday, I made some new connections in Petoskey. First, I walked into the offices of Downtown Petoskey and introduced myself to Becky Goodnamn. Mary Keedy came up to me in Roast & Toast on Monday and told me Becky was wondering who was writing this blog. I spent about half an hour with Becky talking blogging, social media and Petoskey. Becky didn’t want to get in front of my video camera as she was still 2 cups of coffee away from her camera ready self.

Yesterday evening I met up with Peg Muzzal, sales rep for Northern Express (Facebook Page). Peg & I talked for a couple of hours and covered a lot of territory – from aging parents to world travels to solving world issues. We are in agreement that not enough people take time to express their appreciation for good customer service. We compared notes on times we had gone up the chain of command to let a supervisor, manager or business owner know what great service we received from an employee.

Speaking of great service – I mentioned to John Norman, executive chef at Palette Bistro, that my father is a vegan and it would be great to see some vegetarian choices on the menu (without the cheese). John went to the trouble of whipping up a warm “Mediterranean Salad” on the fly as a way of saying – we can usually accommodate most special needs from the ingredients we have on hand. John said to just let them know in advance when making reservations and they will do all they can to make sure everyone has a great meal at Palette Bistro.

Man, that salad was awesome! Thank you John Norman

If you haven’t tried it already – check out Palette Bistro, read or advertise in Northern Express and be sure to stop in and introduce yourself to Becky and get a free parking token for your effort!

John

JUSDUIT Entertains at the Noggin Room

Before Christmas, I shot some video of Bob Greenway & Jeff Pagel (JUSDUIT) at the Noggin Room.

There was a crowd to the left of the  stage helping Shirley celebrate her birthday – they even managed to get her onto the dance floor for Mustang Sally.

Jusduit has a thick book of cover songs, great harmony and a knack for engaging the audience – now that’s a formula for entertaining a crowd – even a Noggin Room crowd! The Noggin Room has a great selection of beers and ales and the pizza, burgers and comfort food to help you ease the prospect of the cold winter nights in Northern Michigan.

Bob is owner of the Homestead Furniture Collection at 311 East Mitchell in Petoskey. Jeff Pagel is the owner of The Clothes Post at 326 East Mitchell. Do you think these two work close enough to have lunch together?

Here’s a sampling of JUSDUIT at the Noggin Room.

John

Run Across Ethiopia to Help Build Schools

Last Wednesday, despite the snow, I ventured down to Traverse City to attend a fundraiser to help raise money to build 3 schools in Ethiopia.

My friend, Kima Kraimer, a rolfer from TC, invited me to the fundraiser which was an effort to help raise $15,000 for Mary Moore. Mary is one of 10 runners who will run across Ethiopia (about 240 miles) in an effort to raise the funds needed to build the schools.

Claudia Schmidt performed and donated her time to the cause as part of the effort to help support Mary. Higher Grounds Coffee donated great coffee – Chris the owner, is the driving force behind the run and other similar efforts to help make a positive difference in the lives of others. I had my first sup of Higher Grounds Coffee that very morning at the Twisted Olive a new cafe on Bay Street in Petoskey. On the Ground Global is the organizational entity created to support these efforts.

I didn’t stay for the whole event as the snow was really coming down and I thought it prudent to make the drive home early than later. As it turned out, the state patrol diverted traffic off Hwy 31 at Acme onto back country roads – probably an accident blocking the highway. I found it interesting that they were diverting traffic onto back roads that had not been plowed without so much as a warning to the motorists. 15 miles of creeping along finally returned me to Hwy 31 – thank the Lord for GPS!

It took about 2 hours for the trip home to Petoskey.

If you have an extra dollar or two, consider donating to the cause

John

Too Much Coffee @ Roast & Toast in Petoskey May Drive You Batty

Sitting at Roast & Toast having coffee and blueberry pancakes the other day, I picked up the latest issue of The Graphic with the feature article on bats.

The article mentioned five types of bats found in Northern Michigan: Big Brown Bat, Little Brown Bat, Red Bat, Hoarry Bat and the Tri-Colored Bat – enough bats to drive you batty.

Did you know that Roast & Toast is home to a bat or two – no, I’m not referring to some of the help that is definitely batty at times (nor the clientele). Outside in the alcove, a bat or two or three can often be found.

Many people may think these dark blotches are just mud daubs or something else, but if you look close, you will see a furry little bat catching a few Zs after a hard night of foraging.

This is the perfect time of year to go batty at Roast & Toast – come and join myself, the local bats and the staff at Roast & Toast for a caffeine jolt.

A word to the curious from The Graphic article – “No bat is going to come after you… The only time he’s going to bite you is if you touch it.”

John

Sushi, Zinfandel & Mary Ellen Geist at Chandler’s in Petoskey

I took my sister to Chandler’s on the corner of Lake & Howard on Friday for wine and dinner. As you can imagine, Chandler’s was packed with only one bar stool available. Fortunately, a gent was leaving and the lovely lady in between the two empty stools moved down a space.

I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mary Ellen Geist, author of Measure of the Heart – a personal account of taking care of a parent with Alzheimer’s disease. Mary Ellen Geist is a very fascinating person – she’s raced cars, been in broadcast radio for years, she sings and now reports on news and events in Michigan as an independent journalist. You can also catch Mary Ellen Geist on IPR – Interlochen Public Radio.

Mary Ellen was sipping Zinfandel, so I bought her a glass in appreciation for making room for us at the bar.

As far as I know, now that the Japanese restaurant has closed, Chandler’s is the only place in Petoskey where we can get sushi in a Petoskey restaurant.

I’m afraid I wasn’t the best of brothers for my sister that night as I gave more attention to Mary Ellen Geist than sis – so shoot me! I have an interest in Mary Ellen’s story as my 85-year old father and I are currently sharing a house. Dad’s having some memory challenges, but it seems to be in the normal range for a person his age. I’ll read Mary Ellen’s book for some insight on care giving for an elderly parent. I hope dad can have many more fruitful years without the challenges of Alzheimers.

On a side note – one book I think everyone should read is My Stoke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. This book is absolutely a must read as it gives great insight on the experience of stroke from the perspective of a neuroscientist’s personal experience.

A tip of the hat and glass to Chandler’s, good wine, sushi, Mary Ellen Geist – and of course Petoskey, MI where life is always good!

John

Petoskey Michigan Bears are a Playful Bunch of Characters

My sister sent me the following in an email:

A family that lives on the outskirts of Petoskey , Michigan  decided to build a sturdy, colorful playground for their 3 and 4 year old sons. They lined the bottom with smooth-stone gravel all around to avoid knee scrapes and other injuries. They finished building it one Friday evening and were very pleased with the end product.

The following morning, the mom was about to wake up the boys and have them go out to play in their new play center. This is what she saw from the upstairs window…

John

Breaking News Blog Article on Petoskey MI Snow

The Washington Post’s Breaking News Blog had a story on December 31, 2009 titled – D.C. region gets what it pays for when it comes to snow removal (free registration required to read full article).

One December day in a small town very far from Washington, a heck of a lot of snow began to fall. After three days, it was four feet deep. After five days, it was six feet deep. And after one week, the snow was as deep as Shaquille O’Neal is tall.

Then the snow stopped, sidewalks were shoveled, streets were plowed and all in Petoskey, Mich., went about their business. Four days later, when winter vacation ended, the schools reopened on schedule.

The article goes on to talk about snow removal in Petoskey, the cost involved and compares Petoskey’s snow removal situation with D.C.’s which was a disaster during the big snow storm that hit that area in December.

Hurray for Petoskey’s snow and the crews that keep our streets cleared and town open for business!

John