We undertook a short trip to Michigan recently. With my craft beer supply on empty, it was time to stock up on Michigan beer. Canadians are allowed to bring back 48 bottles of beer after a 48 hour stay, and I did! Of course that wasn't the only reason we went on the trip. I also had to return the empties!!
We left early Sunday morning, enjoying the extra hour of sleep from the autumn time change back to Standard Time. We crossed at the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel and headed for the Detroit Institute of Arts. While certainly one of the finest museums in the world, it's been awhile since there has been an exhibit to tempt us to visit. This time there were three: the annual Offrenda invitational, which this year included 18 entries; an exhibit based around the Detroit Monet painting; and an exhibit based on Frederic Church's archaeological paintings of the Middle East.
The Offrendas (Day of the Dead tributes) were hit and miss, but several were very good. The Monet exhibit was quite different, focusing on the painter's garden in Giverny, a suburb of Paris. The Detroit painting (see below) is one of my favourite Monet paintings. I am not a big fan of his, but when he gets things right, the results can be outstanding. The entire exhibit is small, perhaps a dozen paintings, but there are also good displays about paint and brushes from that time, and how things were changing, especially in the types of coloured paints available to artists. It all leads up to a climactic display of the Detroit picture (below), shown without frame, but unfortunately in a glass box. Very poor idea. No other paintings are so displayed, only this one, and it cheapens the end result.
The splendid painting of Monet's garden by the artist, in the DIA's collection.
This superb portrait of Monet by Renoir is also in the exhibit.
However, it was the Church painting exhibit that really got us excited. This is a much larger exhibit, and contains several masterpieces by the American artist. Detroit has two of his finest landscape paintings, and this exhibit was based around his "Syria by the Sea." Church's large scale paintings are nearly infinite in their detail, and his use of colour and composition is unparallelled in scope and beauty. Having known the Detroit painting for many years, it was wonderful to see it in context with other works from the period. Sometimes Church painted things exactly as they were; other times he would take the ruins and transplant them to a new locale. He was not an archaeologist, but an artist, after all. It is a wonderful exhibit, and will travel elsewhere after showing in Detroit until January.
The finest painting in the exhibit was this gigantic one of the Parthenon, from the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. It had its own guard. What a thrill to stand in front of this masterpiece!!
Another very large masterpiece, this one of Jerusalem, was loaned by the Kansas City Nelson/Atkins Museum of Art. It also had its own guard.
Detroit's wall-sized "Syria by the Sea."
A fine example of Church's placing of ruins in a different setting.
From the artist's expedition to Petra.
Afterwards, we went to nearby Seva Restaurant for lunch. It is shocking how few vegetarian and vegan restaurants the city of Detroit has (only 3 at this writing--the suburbs have several more). Seva is in Midtown (and in Ann Arbor), and has very good food. Sundays they serve brunch all afternoon, so we brunched. Afterwards it was time to head west. It was a Sunday, so traffic would be lighter than a truck-heavy weekday. However, it was pouring rain, and there was thunder and lightning, and visibility on the freeway was hampered. We still made pretty good time. We were first heading for Chelsea, a small town that we have blasted through on our Amtrak journeys to Chicago. The train does not stop, but there is an historic station and an appealing downtown. So we stopped in for coffee on our way to Marshall. We liked the town so much that we hope to return over the Christmas break. In addition to gift shops, there is also an historic court house, and a wine bar, and a brewery.
Zou Zou's Cafe, downtown Chelsea, MI.
Downtown Chelsea is home to Jiffy Muffin mixes! These are found in every grocery store in the country.
There used to be a stove company here. The clock tower was built as a water storage facility to aid in fighting fires back in the day.
The beautiful Chelsea clock tower will soon be home
to a craft brewery. Guess who will be visiting??
The historic Chelsea depot, which sees passenger trains whizz past six times each day.
After Chelsea, it was on to Jackson. Home to infamous Jackson Prison, the downtown boasts some cool old skyscrapers, and a very good craft beer pub. Amtrak does stop in Jackson and I see the pub from the train window every time we travel this way. Finally I got to visit!
Grand River Brewery, Jackson, MI. It is also a distillery and a wine bar.
I tried Ryes N' Shine coffee Rye IPA, Pumpkin Grind Porter, Black Penny Porter,
and Temptation Cinnamon Ginger Cider. All were very good! I got a tee-shirt!
Rear of County Building, downtown Jackson, MI.
It was dark when we arrived in Marshall, which is about halfway across the southern part of Michigan. We checked in to our historic hotel (more in a moment), then headed out for dinner. We walked to Schuler's, a very old coaching inn restaurant and pub. We sat in the pub where I drank a pint of New Holland's Dragon Milk Imperial Stout, dark and delicious, finishing up with a very good veggie burger, my first of three for the trip. Deb had a salad. This is one of the better pubs I have been to, nice and dark and atmospheric, and their commitment to craft ale taps makes me like them even more. It was a short walk back to our hotel, where we snuggled in for the night. I was in the process of having a major sinus meltdown. I was swallowing meds as fast as I could, and sneezing about 85 times per hour. Deb applied some hot compresses to my nose and eyes back in our room (we actually had a suite of two rooms), and things eventually simmered down.
Next morning, afternoon, and evening was our Marshall adventure. Original plans had called for a side trip to Kalamazoo, but we decided to stay local all day. Marshall is an historic home and building paradise, and though we have seen much of it on previous visits, it was fun to see some of it again. This town has more historic signs and buildings then I have ever seen in a small town. We shopped downtown all morning, had lunch at The Stagecoach (veggie burger and some Detroit craft porter from Atwater Brewery), rested for awhile back at the Inn, then headed out for coffee.
Stagecoach Inn, where we had lunch. Internet photo.
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Dark Horse Brewery is one of the best, and they have recently added a roastery, cafe, and bakery to their beer empire. This makes Marshall nearly perfect (sadly, the train does not stop here). We enjoyed pour overs, then headed out onto their river trail system for a long (and cold) autumn walk. Yesterday had been mild with storms, but today was clear and cold. After our walk, we headed to the Dark Horse pub for beverages (Deb had some delicious ice water; I sampled 5 ales). We shared a hummus and veggie platter, then later ordered a pizza (no cheese). The pub is a great one in which to sit around and do pub things, such as talk and drink beer. I succeeded at both! Upon leaving we stopped in at the bakery again for some cookies and coffee beans, as well as a few packs of beer.
View from our hotel room towards downtown Marshall, just beyond the fountain and traffic circle. They were beginning to set up Christmas decorations this morning.
Our historic inn, Marshall, MI. We had three windows--two can be seen above the sign.
Now the back entrance to the National House Inn. Our third window is upstairs, but hidden behind the tree on the right. This place is really really cool! Staying here is an expensive treat, but rates moderate on Sundays and Mondays. We stayed two nights. You can walk anywhere in town from here. We stayed here with a group of teacher friends when I retired back in 2010.
Downtown Marshall is home to the American Museum of Magic. It was closed today, but we have visited on a previous visit, and loved it!
It was Deb's turn to get excited, as we visited a new coffee roaster and cafe in Marshall.
Cute barrel seats at Dark Horse Commons Cafe and Bakery (with brewery and pub next door).
Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.
Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.
Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.
Deb on the boardwalk.
Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.
Dark Horse empire in Marshall, MI includes a brewery, tap room with restaurant, coffee roaster, and cafe/bakery.
They got a lot of our money on Monday.
Inside the cozy Dark Horse Pub, Marshall, MI. I am sampling their
Scotty Karate, Plead the 5th, Scary Jesus, Toonilla, and 20th Anniversary Ale.
Local regulars can get their own mug, which hangs on walls or ceiling when
not in use.
I had to work Tuesday afternoon at 4 pm (I teach music lessons). We checked out Tuesday morning, reluctantly passed by Ann Arbor, and headed for Dearborn's fantastic Merchant's Fine Wines (also with liquor and tons of craft beer) for my 48 bottles of craft beer, then to our mailbox, and on home. It was a really fun trip! No more overnight adventures planned until at least March Break. See you all then!
Mapman Mike
