Muskegon Heritage Museum and Irish Music Festival

On Saturday we traveled north to Muskegon. We knew to book months in advance so we had a hotel room for the night about 5 or 6 blocks from the fest. We started out by checking out the neighborhood.

Nice park full of Civil War memorials and statues.

Fake store fronts.

Another nice park.

We didn't know about the museum until we came across the sign. I'm sure glad we did. It is an amazing museum. It is all about the various industries that were in Muskegon for decades and decades. Were is the important word - they are gone now. Muskegon is one of those Midwestern industrial towns that lost all the good paying manufacturing jobs that went overseas. The volunteer that walked us around the museum worked at the paper mill for over thirty years.

Muskegon had several breweries and even brewed Guinness at one time.

The knitting mill is now condos.

My dad was the guy who held the stick.

Bowling anyone?

There is lots more but you get the idea. I guess they close for the winter but they are open until October 19th, Friday and Saturday 11 - 4. http://muskegonheritage.org/

Then it was off to...

Can't miss the College Football games.

We had a great time!

Agricultural Expo 2013

On Saturday we walked over to check out the Agricultural Expo at the Historical Museum.

Jack loves tractors.

Wool on the hoof.

That's all. It was fun.

Coopersville

On Wednesday we played tourists in Coopersville. We started out at the Coopersville Farm Museum and Event Center where the 12th Annual Exhibit of Quilts and Their Stories is being held. Over 140 quilts are on display and the exhibit runs through September 28th. Each quilt comes with its own story. The quilts are awesome.

Quilts and trains - the theme for our day.

This picture is a bit blurry but I have to share it because of the picture after it.

The quilting was done by outlining the animals and detail in gold - by hand. This is the back. Absolutely gorgeous.

Jack hanging out with the tractors.

A woman did this one for her scientist daughter. When they talk science her daughter explains with six sided molecular drawings. Mom admits she really doesn't understand it all. But she sure did a pretty cool quilt representation.

I loved paper dolls when I was a kid.

I'd love to have one of these - well maybe a small table-top model.

Car stuff.

For some reason, Jack thought Adam would be interested in barbed wire.

Then it was off for a ride on the Coopersville and Marne Railway. It is about 1 1/2 hour excursion with antique passenger cars and a 1950's era diesel locomotive.

The return trip is on the same line. So, when you get to Marne they uncouple the locomotive bring it around and recouple. The back of the train becomes the front.

It was a very nice relaxing outing. We stopped for a bite to eat before going home where we spotted this.