A sneak peak into the Thunder dome

The calm before the storm. This room looks quiet here, but it - and all of Thunder Ice Arena - will be bumping this weekend. In fact, all of Angola will be, especially the Venue. More on that gem in a different post. 

Angola will be rocking Saturday because the Trine Thunder host their first-ever NCAA D-III playoff hockey game against Oswego State. Dave's got his ticket, but it won't get him backstage into the Thunder's luxury digs. It's a pretty snazzy locker room, and a great spot to launch a playoff run that might get those basketball-loving people in Indiana reason to finally check in on another sport every now and then. (Feel free to post your game score predictions in the comments. We say 5-2 ⛈)

The unusual bridges of Hillsdale County

Today it's called McCourtie Park, but back in the 1930s they called it Aiden Lair. And it sounds like it was a pretty sweet spot to stop and party if you happened to be a gangster traveling between Detroit and Chicago.

Cement tycoon W.H.L. McCourtie owned the property, a 42-acre chunk of land on US-12 in Hillsdale County. On the property was an unground bar - or rathskeller - that Dave probably would have like, except that McCourtie hosted famous Great Gatsby-esque bashes attended by the likes of Al Capone.

To decorate the landscape, McCourtie hired two Mexican artisans who specialized in sculpting concrete to look like wood - a skill called El Trabajo Rustico. Over a 10-year stretch they created 17 bridges that cross the creek on Aiden Lair, as well as other works that include two enormous tree trunks that served as chimneys for the underground bar's kitchen. The bridges are still there, and so are the tree trunks. The underground bar is left to your imagination.

The Ford House - (lots of) room with a view

At 38,000 square feet, the Albert Kahn-designed Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores is big enough to hold two Olympic size hockey rinks. Or about 117 of Dave's garage. Or a family of six, which is what it did through most of the last century.

Edsel - the only son of Henry Ford - and Eleanor Ford (that's a statue of them standing on the other side of the pond) lived in the mansion on Lake St. Clair beginning in the late 1920s. Pretty nice digs for their four children - Henry II, Benson, Josephine and William Clay. You might remember the latter as the longtime owner of the Detroit Lions.

 

When she passed away in the 1970s, Eleanor left the home for public use. Nowadays, it's a National Historic Landmark. Visitors can tour the home and the 87-acre property, catch a concert on the lawn in the summer, or grab a meal at the Continental, a restaurant that overlooks the lake.

In search of an apostrophe at Elizabeth Park

The walkway lining the river looks great. The new playscapes and pavilions are popular real estate for kids and families. And the snazzy new signage is an instant reminder that this ain't the same Elizabeth Park that Dave grew up with. 

But on the east side of the park, near a new playground that looks out at Grosse Ile, one sign in particular caught our attention. Not sure how much Wayne County spent on these new signs, but it's too bad they didn't splurge and buy an extra apostrophe. 

(Sittin' On) Donegal Bay

On the northwest corner of Beaver Island - which sits about a two-hour ferry ride off the northwest corner of Michigan's Lower Peninsula - you'll find Donegal Bay. Half a world away, on the northwest corner of Ireland, you'll also find Donegal Bay. We'll assume there's a connection.

Anyway, the Donegal Bay that's closer to home for folks in Michigan is a hidden gem, with a sandy beach that stretches out and looks out across Lake Michigan at High Island. The water seems a different shade of blue than what you find elsewhere around the state, and the sea floor is shallow and sandy. 

To find it, drive to Charlevoix and hop on the Beaver Island Boat Company ferry. Watching the island gradually appear over the horizon is a highlight. And as you swing into Saint James Harbor, you'll feel like you visited a different part of the world. But not Ireland. As for that other Donegal Bay, we didn't go to that one. Dave hasn't been to either.