The Great State of Michigan

For the past few weeks we have been thoroughly enjoying Michigan.  For a week we went our separate ways.  Eric spent time with his family in the greater Grand Rapids area.  Molly went up to the cottage with the family.  After a great week we rejoined forces and headed north for the grand tour of this great state.

We started out in Ludington where we spent a few hours with Ryan Spencer Reed.  He gave us a tour of the downtown building they are refurbishing to an art gallery, studio space, and two apartments – one for him and Erica and another for future artists in residence.  The space is filled with history that the renovation will highlight while making necessary upgrades for functionality.  Ludington is lucky to have someone like Ryan committing to revitalizing and enhancing the community through a lot of hard work.  After the tour we stopped in at The Mitten Bar – a small bar next door selling solely Michigan beer and wine.  Over delicious Michigan beers, we enjoyed good conversation with Ryan.  The time was short but certainly better than none. 

Our next stop was Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area.  This place is just plain good for the soul.  Not sure if it’s the water, clean sand beach, woods covered dunes, storms coming in over the lake, or refreshing morning swims but even being there for only one night brought on contented happiness.    

Continuing north, we drove along the coast and up into the Leelanau Peninsula, made our way to Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Mackinac City, and finally into the Upper Peninsula.  Along the way we stopped at Pond Hill Farm for a quick walk around and a snack and ended up chatting with the intern who was pouring wine at their newly opened tasting room.  Tony, originally from Ohio, had lived 5 years in Denver so of course we had an easy conversation starter. Turns out that Tony is an aspiring farmer who plans to go back to his home town in Ohio and do the good work of growing food for his community after his season internship at Pond Hill.  Best of luck Tony! 

For those of you who think that Michigan is just another state in the Midwest, think again!  The Upper Peninsula is a place of amazing beauty that is just far enough away from everything to keep it relatively untouched.  The coast of Lake Superior is a combination of long rocky sand beaches, 200+ foot cliffs, fern filled forests, and beautiful waterfalls.  We hiked and kayaked for a couple of days to take it all in.  They call it Pictured Rocks for a reason!

As we started our drive toward Wisconsin, we made two final stops – Au Train for pasties and Lakenenland.  The pasty stop was recommended to us by the friendly folks who rented us kayaks – delicious beef, potato, onion, carrot, and rutabaga filled dough pocket!  The wonderfully strange Lakenenland we first drove by but decided that we must make a u-turn and check out.  As we drove in there were very clear NO TRESPASSING signs intended only for all planning and zoning board members – all others are very welcome to tour the free sculpture park.  So glad we made the u-turn and explored this quirky little sculpture park. 

We reached Escanaba, MI and were back on Lake Michigan heading to Wisconsin – oh yeah, we have now dipped our toes in all five great lakes!  How cool is that?!?! 

Check out Michigan pictures HERE.  

10 Hours in Cleveland

We stopped in Cleveland for the afternoon on our way from Pittsburgh to the great state of Michigan.

2:00 PM - We arrived in Cleveland and promptly made our way to the West Side Market - Cleveland's oldest market.  We strolled through the stands admiring fresh meat, cheese, baked goodies, and more.  Stopped for the best falafel ever for lunch.  Made our way over to the fruits and veggies and enjoyed sweet sweet fruit for desert - could probably live on watermelon alone for a period of time each summer.

3:00 PM - We headed over to Great Lakes Brewery for patio beers.  Delicious as Jacob promised!  Downstairs pub wasn't open - likely because it was just so darn nice outside - but could see spending a nice evening down there if the weather was disagreeable.

4:00 PM - On bikes - yeah!  Quick stop at the stadium to pick up tickets to the Indians' game against the Blue Jays.

4:15 PM - On to see Cleveland!  Hopped back on the bikes to explore a bit.  Quick run through downtown for some buildings and statues, down the hill to an RTA stop and riverfront amphitheater, Lakeside Trail to the beach and dip in Lake Erie, stumble upon a great urban farm and ate sweet sweet peas. the 6 acre urban farm included 4 efforts - a for profit vegetable farm selling to restaurants and markets,  a section working with refugees, a section working with the mentally disabled, and a plot for Great Lakes Brewing.  A very impressive effort!

7:05 PM - Indians v. Blue Jays.  Been in several cities and tried to catch some baseball without success.  Finally made it happen in Cleveland.  Though the Indians couldn't pull this one through, the crowd was with 'em to the end.  Post game fireworks set to top 50 billboard topped off the night.

11:35pm - Hopped in the car for one last stop and a quick game of pool before heading on.


Click for pics of the 10 hours

The 'Burgh

A little road weary from the New England whirlwind, we came into Pittsburgh having done no research on the city itself, but eager to experience one of its suburbs, Braddock.  Braddock , once a thriving industrial borough of the powerful steel town, crashed very hard in the past few decades, but there are nice little glimmers of green, of warmth, of a resilient community.  Feel free to read more here, but this was our experience:

After a tasty breakfast with our host Eleanor at a cafe in the hip, thriving Regent Square neighborhood, the three of us grabbed a bus to travel the 3 miles down to Braddock, noticing structures and people becoming sparser and sparser as we moved away from the city.  We had heard about a large urban farming effort as well as renovations of the old library and an abandoned church which now houses a community center, but had no arrangements with anyone there for a tour or meeting of any sort.

We found the farm and after poking around a little, secured 20 minutes with the head honcho Marshall, and drilled him about the farm, about funding, about the community.  We learned that some of what they grow goes to higher end restaurants in town, and some goes to the farm stand.  Most of what is moved at the stand is sold at a loss, but this gets healthy local food into the diet of many in Braddock who otherwise would not have access to more than corner store options.  A close connection with Grow Pittsburgh enables the farm to thrive, sharply in contrast to its surroundings.  Marshall seemed a little disappointed that more community members weren't more on board with what is happening at the farm, but while we were there, about a dozen teenagers (we learned they were there for paid summer employment through BYP) were working hard on this urban farmland, demonstrating its intention of being an integral part of the reemergence of Braddock as a thriving community.

As we strolled back toward the Community center and library we saw Mayor Fetterman  who we quickly followed to get a handshake and give a compliment.  He shared a few words and encouraged us to check out the community center which we did with the help of Phyllis, a long time Bradddock resident who seemed very excited about the new changes to the town and during our walk-through she optimistically shared their vision for the building which will have many resources for the kids.  "You gotta start with the kids," she explained.  We concurred.  After finishing our Popsicles that the Mayor gave us (we crossed paths with him again during our impromptu tour), we were led across the street to the first Carnegie Library.

Phyllis hooked us up with Vicki who stopped what she was doing in her office in the library to give us a behind-the-scenes tour of the library which included the gym, theater, ceramics studio, print shop, and an old pool.  Not your average library.  Vicki explained that Andrew Carnegie envisioned a library being a place for nourishment of the whole body and mind.  Vicki also brought up the challenging dilemma of so many abandoned buildings in the area (she is very involved in more that just librarian work).

Busy but friendly Farmer Marshall, gruff but kind Mayor Fetterman, excited and committed Resident Phyllis,  and librarian and much much more Vicki revealed to us such an unexpectedly personal view of Braddock.  Although no clear path is laid out before them (there was a slightly unsure tone in all the voices we heard), the people we encountered, who are just a few of the many, are very committed to Braddock and its exciting future.

Thankfully our hosts served as a good alternative to our own research (Thanks Eleanor and Jacob!), and really helped us to have a well-rounded Pittsburgh experience, including city views (up the Monongahela incline), local eats and drinks (Primanti Bros and D's), secret vistas (men's restroom on the 37th floor of the Cathedral of Learning), the Phipps Conservatory (so pleasantly green on a gray morning).  Great time in Steel Town!

 

 Click for more Photos

Lancaster

We spent a lovely few days over the 4th of July weekend with Suz and Ari and little Lewis in Lancaster, PA.  It was great to be connected to a fun family unit for the weekend, which included a pool-party, BBQ, fireworks, backyard board games, good food and drink, bike rides, neighborhood strolls, creek swims, and a tour of Suz's dad Dale's farm.

We were lucky enough be in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania while Horse Progress Days was in the area.  Mostly attended by Amish or Mennonites who already farm with horses instead of tractors, there is a rising number of the English (non-Amish) who attend because they are interested in switching from tractor to horse.

We attended several seminars - one, facilitated by Amish author David Kline, compared tractors to horses, mostly through technical stories that were too deep for our comprehension. A woman from Ontario dumbed things down a bit for us when she explained the smile on her husband's face when coming in from a day in the field with his horses - a smile that was never there as he dismounted their tractor in previous years.  As joyful as working with these animals can be, we also heard examples of it being financially viable.  Suz's dad (who organizes much of Horse Progress Days and whose passion for horses is very visible) shared with us more pros of using horses, saying that tractors just take, take, take, while horses are a much more responsible part of a farm, putting nutrients back into the soil as they graze or by using their manure for fertilizer.

Another seminar was led by Jeff Moyer - director of farm operations at Rodale Institute which was founded in 1947 with the mission to improve the health and well being of people and the planet through organic leadership. He addressed transitioning farms from conventional to organic methods.  True to the Rodale mission, he stressed the facts about organic farms being better for people and the planet while also highlighting the fact that organic farming can be more profitable as well. 

The seminars were good, but it was awesome to see the horses in action, up to 4 abreast, tedding, raking hay into windrows, baling... all with real horse power (sometimes implements are still powered by a generator).

More Lancaster Photos

Howling Wolf

When most of us think of New Jersey it's dirty busy cities, or silly reality television shows, but drive an hour or so north or west, and you'll find yourself in lush hilly green farmland.  A little more than an hour west of the Big Apple is Howling Wolf Farm, a refreshing contrast to the bustling eastern seaboard.

Howling Wolf is well on its way to becoming a Full Food Farm - one that provides 100% of a person's nutritional needs year round, including veggies, meat, milk, beans, and grain.  From the first few minutes of conversation with our new host Matt, it was clear that there were very good things happening here.  Matt explained in detail their method of caring for their animals in a way that mimics an animal's natural way of living.  He stressed equally their focus on an animal's quality of life and the quality of milk or meat, understanding how directly they are related.  Rotational grazing maintains healthy land for pasture or planting - the cows, goats, pigs and chickens are systematically moved around as are the veggies (year to year), ensuring that nutrient levels are naturally maintained.

Cows can get stressed out and stress makes bad milk and meat - Matt explained how they keep things stress-free - they keep calves with their mothers much longer than most farms do, and quickly slaughter in the field rather than leading a single steer away from the rest of the herd which would certainly create anxiety and the sour chemicals that go along with that.  He said he's heard a mother's cries after her calf is taken away... not a good sound.  Equally as powerful was his story of the beef herd responding to a slaughter with mournful moos, only heard when one of the herd is killed.  This awareness of and respect for the cattle's tendencies and moods and behaviors results in high quality, grass fed beef that more and more people are seeking out.

We were able to get a good picture of the many different operations on the farm, including soil block preparation, seedling transferring, weeding, harvesting, fence repair and relocating, chicken feeding and butchering, milking... all in less than a week.  Matt was likely not as productive as he normally is, always graciously interrupting the work to answer our many questions at length.

Adam, the apprentice on the farm (who lives in a caboose at the back of the property - awesome!) shared some meals and conversation with us throughout the week, introducing us to some of Rudolf Steiner's ideas, and many of his own.  He seemed to feel much more at home out here under the stars, than under the city lights (he grew up on the shore), and shared an inspiring hope for a farm to be a place that people come to be together - eating, chatting, learning, sharing, playing music (he recently bought a fiddle that he really wanted to put to good use).

Howling Wolf is supported through a partnership system, many "share-holders" or partners come by on Friday or Saturday to pick up their food for the week.  They are free to take what they want out of baskets and freezers, encouraged to simply use their judgement to determine appropriate quantity.  Some of them even volunteer occasionally, truly being a partner and not just a customer.

Howling Wolf Pics HERE

Princeton, New York, DC...

Heather and Harpreet kindly opened their home to us for a long weekend in Princeton, NJ.  It was a busy full house with Heidi and Jason also in town from Grand Rapids.  Anyone who has spent time with the Camps knows that this means fun!  I (Molly) spent the weekend with the fam in Princeton enjoying games, walks, talks, food, and bars with Heather and Harpreet's wonderful community.  Heather, Heidi, and I made our way into New York City for an afternoon stroll along the High Line a fun night out in Brooklyn enjoying the amazing view, beers, laughs, and backgammon.

Eric's 56-hour adventure:  Left the fun with the Camps after a quick Princeton tour, trained into the city to meet good old dear friend Jenn who had a master plan - craft show at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, Hilarious free Reggie Watts outdoor show down in Red Hook, then fun fingerpicking jams by Steve James at Jalopy before catching the finale of the Undead Jazz Festival - an hour of improvised collaboration, duets round robin style... voice/cello, cello/fiddle, fiddle/electronics, elctronics/drums, drums/tenor sax, tenor sax/ trumpet, trumpet/ bass, sometimes loose, then tight, fast building, slow deep, wow wow, then on to dinner at 1:30 am at Blue Ribbon before subwaying back into Manhattan for early morning stroll past homeless and intoxicated to Penn station - Long Island Railroad to Babylon for a few hours of sleep, then a brief beautiful beach moment before rushing back to train into the city once again (Thanks, Jenn!), off the train on to a 4.5 hour bus to D.C. to see cousin Jessy, off the bus met Jessy in the middle of K street, strolled to Abe, the mall,  the town, Trinidad and Tobago Roti and beer up on U Street, Italian dessert and vino over in Dupont Circle, strolled home to rest til morning, tasty light french pastry breakfast, bikeshared over to Arlington, the Pentagon, along the Potomac, beautiful activity all around, rich Georgetown University brunch joint, then grab the bag, such a good 2 half days of great conversation and catch-up with Jessy (Thanks, Jessamyn Joy!), back on the bike across town to bus to Philly to train to Trenton to train to Princeton, back with Molly and one more night of fun with Heather and Harpreet and Heidi and Jay.