Going Urban

As much as I love my backroads adventures, it is very important to me that I don't  become a One Trick Pony.

So this week I am stretching myself and my photography and going Urban.

This week I planned a trip to downtown Grand Rapids. The biggest city we have on the west side of Michigan. Going Urban means parking in a parking garage and covering the desired landscape on foot.

I parked at the parking garage by the Public Museum, mainly because I know how to get there and how to get out of there, and also because it is right by the Blue Bridge.

The Blue Bridge is strictly a pedestrian bridge crossing the Grand River into downtown Grand Rapids.

I was so ready for my weekly Chai Tea Latte, but didn't immediately see a Starbucks, but a Panera Bread popped into view, and I like their Chai's just as much.

This week's mystery location for the cup was the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

There is this lovely water feature tucked back in a corner.

Also some great texture in the steps.

Downtown Buildings

There is some great architectural detail on the downtown shops.

This spiral staircase to nowhere was my favorite.

The Civic Theatre

The Civic Theatre founded in 1925 and has grown into one of the largest community theatres in the United States. It is located in downtown Grand Rapids in an 80,000 square foot facility consisting of four historic buildings: The Majestic Theatre (1903), the Hull Building (1890), the Botsford Building (1892), and the Wenham Building (1878).

I am continuing to work on adding people into my weekly adventures. I captured this dad taking some little ones on a a field trip to the Children's Museum. I love to see dads going on field trips.

The Museum opened in July of 1997 and every year draws thousands of young visitors to the center of the city.

First (Park) Congregational Church

Next stop was the First (Park) Congregational Church which is directly across from the Children's Museum. This building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

From the Historical Marker:

This handsome yellow-brick Gothic style structure is the second oldest existing church in Grand Rapids. Erected between 1867 and 1869. Among the church's notable features are its Tiffany stained-glass windows and its stately corner tower.

Grand Rapids Public Museum

The Grand Rapids Public Library was founded in 1871 and was located within the Grand Rapids City Hall. In 1904, the library moved to the Ryerson building which served as a permanent home for the library. The building was a gift from arts and education benefactor, and native son, Martin A. Ryerson.
The library also has a very sizable historical collection, including photographic material. I will go back when I can spend a day just exploring that material.

A Little Grunge
It wouldn't be the city without a little grunge and back alleys.

Lunch
I stopped for lunch at my favorite place downtown. Anything I have ever had here has been delicious.

The Grand River
I captured some shots of fishermen as I walked back on the other Pedestrian Bridge to get back to my car.

One last shot of the Blue Bridge.

This is an adventure that I will do again to continue to stretch my street photography skills. There was so much more to see and photograph. I am planning a macro shooting adventure for Glen and I in the Spring, so many wonderful details to capture.

A fun date day adventure lies ahead :)

Linking up with Helen for Weekend Walks

Taking the Backroads - What Makes My Heart Sing

Even as a kid when traveling on vacation in the car, I would sit glued to the window watching for exciting things to come into view. Whenever I spotted something old, worn, falling down or filled with detail there was this feeling inside me that I couldn't really identify, but filled me with a happiness and joy. That feeling has only grown stronger over the years, I have tried to pin point where it starts and I have come to determine it is in my heart. These are the sights that make my heart sing.

M-179

My starting point was M-179. M-179 starts off of U.S. 131 (which runs from top to bottom through Michigan). M-179 is about half way between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

The closer I got to my starting point the more snow I started seeing on the ground and by the time I turned on to M-179 there was probably 2 inches of snow on the ground, but the sun was shining and it was melting rapidly.

I spotted this barn shortly after getting on M-179.

This photo is a good reminder to take my sunglasses off before I shoot. I really thought the fence posts were in focus.

I usually take a photo with my Starbucks cup every week at the beginning of my adventure. Soon I will be able to tell you where every Starbucks location is in Michigan :) My cousin Marty had part of the answer right when I posted this photo on my Facebook page, asking where my Starbucks cup was this week. He said "local soft serve ice cream place".

It was a soft serve ice cream shack, just not "my" local one. The sign on top of the building was calling to me to photography the place.

I took a quick little detour off of  M-179 to Yankee Springs.

I found a classic State Park Picnic Shelter.

And you could have your pick of camping spots.

Cute little dock in the campground area.

Once back to M-179 I saw a sign for Historic Bowens Mills, well of course I had to check that out.

A 19 acre historical park that includes a 1864 grist mill and cider mill. It is a working museum that still grinds and sells fresh corn meal through the use of water-powered mill stones. There are multiple historical buildings and they offer tours year round. Sounds like a day adventure in and of itself.

Continuing on, M-179 had such a treasure trove of old buildings to photograph.

Not sure what this building was, but it being on stilts made it very interesting to me. The faded sign on the door of the metal building attached to this building said Taxidermy service.

I spotted this shack through a thicket of trees. This definitely make my heart sing.

The book shelf with ABC on it and the green door that were tucked into the shed were a beautiful bonus.

I did check for any No Trespassing signs before I walked onto the property to get a closer shot, all I saw was a faded No Hunting sign.

Lovely two track further down the road.

One last stop before M-179 ends in Hastings.

I redeemed myself a bit here from my earlier fence post failure.

Hastings

Hastings is filled with beautiful historical buildings, a trip for another day. The building I visited was the local Wendy's for some tummy warming chili and a coke for some much needed caffeine.

I was one of the youngest customers in the restaurant. I am working to incorporate some people shots into my adventures, so here is my attempt for this week.

After lunch, I continued on through Hastings to M-79.

M-79

Another road with a lot of great potential.

McKeown Bridge County Park

From the Historical Marker: This steel Pratt through truss bridge was erected for Hastings Township in 1903. The township contracted with the Massillon Bridge Company of Massillon, Ohio for $2,090 to fabricate and erect the steel bridge.

From the bridge I spotted a beautiful barn that I had to get a closer look at, thankfully there was a little roadside park that was adjacent to the property and I was able to get some nice shots of it.

Farther along M-79.

Historic Charlton Park

I saw the road sign for this place and anything that says historic has me right away. Before I got to the entrance of the park I spotted another beautiful barn.

Turning into the driveway for Charlton Park, I was met with a bounty of historic buildings. The bad news…there was a school class trip there with many little elementary age munchkins running around making it very hard to shoot a building without one of them in the photo. Not the way I wanted to add people to my adventure, plus I didn't want to set any parents off thinking I was a creeper taking photos of their kids. So I stuck to the one building where the kids weren't, no surprise it was the church.

While I was taking this shot, a group of little boys came up behind me, and the leader of the pack said to his group "Stop, she is taking a picture" bless that little boy, there needs to be more of him.

Charlton Center Church - Originally located in Charlton Center, this 1885 Gothic Revival structure served as a Methodist Episcopal Church until 1972 when it was moved to Charlton Park. The original steeple was struck by lightning in 1933. The present steeple is similar to the original, but 25 feet shorter.

This will be another place to come back to explore for a longer period of time.

One last barn for the day. The sun was starting to get high in the sky, so it was time to stop shooting and head towards home.

I did see a great octagonal barn on this road as well, not too many of those exist anymore, but that's a shot for another day as well.

On my way home I took this road.

Many treasures along this road as well...

Linking with Helen at Weekend Walks.

**I downloaded some new Vintage Lightroom presets this weekend. It was kind of fun to play around and change the countryside look back to an earlier day.