I’ve somehow managed to find myself booked on a business trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan next week. I haven’t been there before and I’m sure my work won’t require more than a few days, so I’m looking for fun and interesting things to do. My online searches haven’t produced useful results. Help me out, Michigan dopers! What should I do?
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!
::gasp::
BAHahahahaha!
I’ll tell you what’s great fun. Go into a bar, any bar, and announce in a loud voice that you are pro-choice. The ensuing debate will last the rest of your natual life and I’m betting someone will arrange to follow you into the afterlife to make sure you get to hell straightaway. Other than that, plan on finally having the time to develop the alcoholism you’ve always wanted.
There’s always the Gerald R. Ford museum.
What’s your age group? Do you like to go to bars? Have you ever seen Lake Michigan? (I have a few ideas.)
Gots to go to work.
If you dig looking at a really neat body of water, I recommend going to Grand Haven. It’s a very pleasant drive (30-45 minutes), a nice town and the view from the pier is pretty nice and somewhat romantic at sunset. There are a lot of nice restaurants there and some cool bars.
It’s been a little while, but go out to eat at Charley’s Crab House, or Gibson’s (prime rib) then maybe browse around at some of the downtown bars, there are some nice ones near the Monroe Center (work crowd) or Flanagan’s (drunk since noon work crowd).
Go for the college crowd at the Pickwick or Mulligan’s. When it’s all over the next morning, go for a nice breakfast at Gaia – try the veggie hash.
It’s really not so bad. There are some interesting places if you look.
Do you like art? Go to the [url=http://www.meijergardens.org/]Frederick Meijer Gardens* and see Leonardo DaVinci’s horse (a very large bronze horse that DaVinci designed but never got to build). There are a lot of other neat sculptures, too.
My MIL dragged me to that city just to see that horse a few years ago. The horse is pretty impressive. It would be a nice place to take long walks. Bring Water!
We also went to the museum there (not the Gerald R. Ford museum, but it was near there). It’s got a carousel, a planetarium, and some dinosaurs (my daughter got kind of bored with all the art.)
I’m not sure how you’ll spend a week, though. A lot of the stuff there tended to close early, even on a summer weekend. Sounds like you’d better like bars…or the hotel pool :).
Do not go to the emergency room if you can at all help it. Trust me on this.
Oops.
Nothing fun to do in Grand Rapids??? Why son, it’s the home ofAmway!
That and I think my ex-wife lives there…have fun!
I see you’ve been there before.
Fricking Dutch Reformed all over the freaking place.
Um, as for things to do in Grand Rapids…ugh. Well, there’s strip malls. And, uh, that’s about it…the best part of GR, I’ve found, is leaving.
You HAVE TO check out Rosie’s Diner in Rockford. It’s the actual railroad car diner used in the Bounty commercials (“It’s the quicker picker-upper!”). There’s a whole complex there now – art gallery, restaurant (pretty good food), mini golf, and probably some other stuff. They’ve added a few more diner cars cince we were there last.
Make sure that you order a Bloody Mary at the bar just to see the strange things they put in them.
Wonderful fishing at any of the dozens of lakes in western Michigan. Good biking along the Lake Michigan shore. Great warbird collection at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo:
http://www.airzoo.org/
Yes, we try to run people out of here, with our ‘freaking Dutch Reformed’ ways. Sheesh, people!
(Sue You can go ahead and try telling people you are pro-choice but I am willing to bet my house you wouldn’t get a reaction at all, except for people to wonder why the crazy person is yelling about abortion in a bar.)
The VanAndel museum currently has the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. It is the only museum in the US to get to show this exhibit.
There are lots of bars and restaurants downtown and you can walk to any of them from a downtown hotel (Are you staying downtown?)
I recomment San Chez - it’s a tapas bistro that has great food and is reasonably priced. Bistro Bella Vita (right by the VanAndel Arena) has good martinis and food, too. You might be able to catch a show or concert, or a game at the arena, too.
If you want to see the lake go ahead to Grand Haven - it’s not warm enough to swim yet but there’s lots of walks around by the pier.
I second going to the Meijer Gardens to see the Da Vinci Horse, too.
It looks like you might be a little early for the Saugatuck Film Festival (the weekend of the 14th) but Saugatuck is another lake town that’s fun to go to.
If you just want to shop or go to a mall there is a huge one a few miles down the road in Grandville.
If you just want to catch a movie Studio 28 and the Grandville mall both have over 20 screen cinaplexes - you can see just about anything that’s showing at any time.
Don’t be afraid - I know GR has a ‘rep’ but it is growing and changing recently and I don’t think it’s much different than any other medium sized city. Downtown is primarily a younger and more liberal crowd. There are art school exhibits and community theatres too if you are interested. I am not sure why the vitriol in this thread - I love living here (and yes, I have traveled to many other cities). It’s not as exciting as NY or Detroit, but hey, we’re not a tourist town. The lakeshore has more tourist-friendly stuff.
Mr. B’s suggestion of Flanagan’s is good, too. Smaller pub-type place, if you prefer that over a martini bar.
Don’t forget to stop by Holland, MI and see, umm, the tulips and windmills. And you gotta buy yourself a pair of clogs.
Hey Velma, what’s become of the Grand River Saloon?
The Grand River Saloon changed owners a few times and was called something else for a while (I forget - everyone still called it the Grand River Saloon) and last time I checked it was closed. Too bad, that was a nice place, and friends of mine often played there (local band, they play Irish music).
I miss their nachos.
UncleBeer, don’t forget Dutch Village!
Those nachos were the best! You’re right. So how’s the new sports arena doing? (That’s how long I’ve been gone…)
Another place for evilhanz to see: Cascade? <big grin>
The VanAndel Arena has really helped GR expand. It is attracting some big names but is small enought to get a really good concert there. I’ve seen Aerosmith and Live there and Aerosmith said in an interview it was one of their favorite places to play (they came back again recently.) Prince and Shania Twain played there recently too. Lots of people are regulars for the local sports teams there, esp. hockey.
VanAndel also built a new science and medical research facility downtown so that’s bringing new interest to the area as well - it’s really starting to expand. Amway, VanAndel, and DeVos are really putting a lot of money into the city and it’s nice (although it’s getting confusing to tell visitors, go to VanAndel and they say, which one? Lots of buildings named after those 3!)
How long has it been since you’ve left? Did you grow up here?
I left in late 1996. Loaded up all my stuff and never looked back; now I find myself a little maudlin at times. I moved there right after college and lived on the hill for almost 4 years.
You ever tried the veggie hash at Gaia? (I’m newly vegetarian – I’d give my eye teeth to get the recipe.)
Here’s more about the VanAndel Arena.