I Hope You All Know I Had the Time of My Life

I don't have much time to write this week.  It's the last week of summer and I'm running around like a chicken before school starts, at which point I will have all the time in the world to blog about all the things that I learned and did over the summer.  I just would like to say thank you to all the people I met along the way in my travels this summer.  I may not know your names like I do Scott who drove us all around the dunes in Saugatuck, Michigan, but I do remember you all and am grateful that for whatever reason, we met.

I would like to thank the owners of the A-1 Star Inn in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada for being the nicest people I ever rented a room from.  The place wasn't a five star accommodation, but we were still very happy there, and it was all because you were so nice to us.

I would love to mention the lovely couple that we had dinner with at the food court right before the fire works in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.  I loved meeting you and hearing about how after being widowed you both decided to take the plunge and try again.  I loved the stories about being a trucker in Saskatchewan and I love the fact that you didn't bring your passports, even though we were all looking at the U.S.  After all your travels, it told me something eye opening.  Good luck on your marriage and may you have many years of happiness.

While we're at it, I would like to thank the gentleman at the cigar shop who told us all about import rules, so that we knew how much we could spend on Cuban cigars for a souvenir for my husband.  I learned a lot in your shop.  I would like to shout out to the comic book guy for teaching me about Captian Kanook and having a great store.  I would like to thank the people at Niagara Falls Go Karts for giving my kid that special pass to come back and ride some more for less money.  Thank you to the wonderful girl at the Rock and Roll Wax Museum for being so funny and friendly and telling us all about how the place came about.  Thank you girls at the Hornblower Tours for helping me figure out how passengers got to the bottom of the gorge to get on the boats.  That was really bothering me.  Thank you street performers for providing a lot of great music and magic for us to enjoy on our journey.  We had a great time.

And, thank you great crowd of Canadians that we met in the line to go to America at Rainbow Bridge for telling us that it normally wasn't that bad.  I think that we found out later that it really is that bad, because Blue Water Bridge was no better.  But, thank you for trying to make us feel better.  And thank you border guards for doing your job and protecting us, but to the guy at Blue Water Bridge, I really do live here.

Thank you to the folks of Frankenmuth, Michigan.  Thank you to the staff of America's Best Inns for being so friendly and getting our room ready for us in a hurry even though you were having a terrible staffing crisis.  We felt special and that was great.  Thank you ladies at the Bavarian Inn for telling us the history of Little Bavaria and giving us the background on an amazing place.  And Wally Bronner, may you rest in peace, your store is truly amazing.  We loved meeting the people who keep the legend alive and we got some great deals too.

Thank you Dearborn, Michigan, and thank you everyone who helped give us directions to the Henry Ford.  It's not easy to find.  Thank you to the tour guide at the Rouge Factory that answered my million questions.  Thank you to the staff at the old diner in the museum who told us all about it's history and made a great burger.  Thank you to the ladies who helped us get some annoying people out of the way so that we could take our pictures in the car.  And thank you to the gentleman who not only let us play around in the car, but told us all about how many times they take it apart as part of the experience in the museum.  Thank you also in the Ann Arbor Motel 6 for helping us figure out the WiFi, fixing our fridge and helping us order our Domino's Pizza in it's hometown.

Thank you John Cologne for being you.  Hell is one of those amazing places that you wish you could spend more time in, and it's all because of your vision, your sense of humor, and the drive you have glowing from within.  It was a wonderful experience that we will never forget.

Thank you all that we met in Holland, Saugatuck, and Douglas, Michigan.  Thank you kids that we met at the pool from Chicago and your grandparents.  We enjoyed our evening with you and had a lot of fun.  Thank you to the breakfast lady at the Comfort Inn for still making us breakfast even though we were late.  Thank you to all the people at the Dune Schooners including our veteran tour guide, Scott.  Thank you to Zoe, Nate and your family for having a fun afternoon with us at Oval Beach.  I loved hearing the story of how Zoe was a miracle baby.  It does the soul good to hear such tales.

And thank you Cleveland.  Wow, what a town.  We will be back.  Thank you to the lovely couple at the hotel who helped us get around and made us feel like family.  Thank you Indians for putting on a great game and thank you to whomever came up with Rock and Blast, because that was the best fire works show I ever saw.  Thank you to the security guy, the bartender, and all the locals that we met along the way for making us understand why people like Anthony Bourdain and Drew Carey are so fond of your amazing city.  Your town is a true original and truly beautiful as well.

So, for all of you like me who think that it doesn't matter if you show up today, or it doesn't matter what you say or do, I assure you that it does.  I met so many wonderful people on the road this summer, and without you, it never would have happened.  Please keep being who you are and doing what you do so that when people like me show up, we can appreciate it.  I learned a lot and had a lot of fun along the way.  Thank you and I hope that you all know I had the time of my life.

I'll be back next week with some new stuff for travelers, but in the mean time, go to Cleveland.  What a town.

Enjoy!

http://www.hotels.com/
http://www.niagara-usa.com/
http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/
http://gokartsniagara.com/
http://www.rocklegendswaxmuseum.com/
http://www.niagaracruises.com/tour-options
http://www.ezbordercrossing.com/list-of-border-crossings/new-york/rainbow-bridge/traffic/#.Vdygw5caG70
http://www.ezbordercrossing.com/list-of-border-crossings/michigan/blue-water-bridge/traffic/
http://www.frankenmuth.org/
http://www.bavarianinn.com/
http://bronners.net/
http://www.corporateoffice.com/Dominos-Pizza.html
http://www.thehenryford.org/
http://saugatuckduneride.com/_index.php
http://www.cityofholland.com/windmillislandgardens
http://www.saugatuck.com/beaches.asp
http://www.thisiscleveland.com/
http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=cle
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/139686732/cleveland-indians-announce-theme-for-2015-rock-n-blast
http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings
http://terri-dixon.artistwebsites.com/
https://www.facebook.com/adventuresforanyone?fref=ts
https://www.fictionpress.com/u/530752/Nina-Kindred

Welcome to Hell...Michigan!

Where is Hell?  Interesting question.  For years I thought it was at work.  Recently, I up and went to one of those places that I know I've mentioned in this blog, just to see what it was really all about.  I was fascinated.  Hell was not what I imagined, but I do agree that they have great ice cream.

Hell is a real town established in 1841 on Patterson Lake Road in south central Michigan.  It's not much of a town, but it is one of the more interesting places I've ever been to.  It's not incorporated any more, so it's part of Putnam Township in Livingston County and unofficially is home to about 200 people.  The whole place got started around a sawmill in town that is on Hell Creek.  How the name Hell came to everything is unclear, but the world seems to know all about Hell, Michigan now.

Hell Michigan has become a tourist attraction in the middle of nowhere in south central Michigan, but it has some festivals that are legendary.  For one thing, they run through Hell.  It's a running race that is held every year around the middle of summer, and thousands of people come for the festivities, and to say that they ran through Hell.  I mean, who wouldn't go for that?  They also have a festival in September that brings out all the ghoulies.  The Hearse Festival has been going on for 14 years now and is in part sponsored by Hell's Hearse Club.  They have a parade every year that landed them in the Guiness Book of World Records.  They hold the record for the world's longest hearse parade right there in Hell, Michigan.  That's one I've never heard of, but there it is.  They also race coffins and a lot of other stuff during that festival, and  I hear it's a lot of fun.  My parents loved it.

So, what's with Hell?  After the sawmill went away, and people moved to more populated areas, it kind of went downhill.  It became a little sore spot in the road that drew a lot of undesirables.  It's the sad part of the story.  It was really sad for those who had grown up there, lived there, or did business there.  What's the solution to a thing like that?

Well, in the case of Hell, the solution was John Cologne.  He owns most of Hell now.  He grew up there, left to fight in Vietnam and run a Chrysler Dealership, but returned when he retired.  He said that there were only so many plants that he could plant in his garden, so he got bored and bought most of the town.  He decided to drive out the undesirables and turn the place into an attraction and put Hell on the map.  He declared himself mayor, got some grant money, cleaned up the town, and put on his funny bone to turn Hell into a whole lot of fun.  The fun culminated on 6/6/2006 when the day of 6/6/6 presented a joke that could not be resisted.  A local reporter asked John what they were doing for the special day of the beast and he said that they weren't doing anything, but they would like to invite the whole world to go to Hell.  They did.  12,000 people descended on Hell that day, thinking that it was the perfect way to celebrate a day that they would only see once in their lifetime.  They came from Japan, Germany, and two people even hitch hiked in from Spokane, Washington.  They came from everywhere. There was no official press, it just passed from publication to publication all around the world.  It was quite a day in Hell.  They ran out of water, food, and places to put people, but word was out that Hell, Michigan is here to stay.

But, seriously there is nothing too serious in Hell.  You can mail stuff from there, you can play mini golf, you can go kayaking in the creek, you can eat and get ice cream (the ice cream is really good), you can shop at the Halloween store, and you can get some great photo ops.  You can go to the Dam Site Inn, or come for a festival.  It's a really cute place to go and get your grins on.  You can even be the mayor for the day if you like.

Of course, you can get married.  What?  That's right, Hell is home to the world's smallest wedding chapel.  It seats 8 guests plus the minister, bride and groom.  It may sound silly to go all the way to Hell just to get married, but 70 couples came there last year just to say that they got married in Hell.  They came from all over.  There are a lot of people with a great sense of humor.  John said that he thinks there will be even more this year.  They even recently added an attraction for those in love, and it's called Locks of Love.  John inherited an old bridge that used to run along the top of the old dam in town.  It's not used anymore since they got a nice new dam, so he turned it into Locks of Love.  Here you can bring a lock, put you and your love's names on it, lock it to the old bridge and your love will last forever.  You can lock your love in Hell.

So, it all starts at the gates of Hell, and ends in the gift shop.  It's not your normal town, but it sure makes an impression on you.  Because it's so out of the way, I was surprised to see how many people were there on a Wednesday.  It's quite an accomplishment for John Cologne and his whole town of people who supported the venture.  I've never seen anything like it, and I probably will never find anything quite like Hell.  So, what's the adventure for anyone?  I think it's just the town.  It's something unique and fun.

Would I go there again?  You bet I would.  I'm thinking that maybe my husband and I should renew our vows.  Hell seems like the perfect spot.

Enjoy!

http://gotohellmi.com/
http://www.michigan.org/city/hell/
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2456
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/things-hell-michigan-55641.html
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http://www.zazzle.com/imagings
https://www.fictionpress.com/u/530752/Nina-Kindred
https://www.facebook.com/adventuresforanyone?fref=ts