Football team's tour of Michigan update
Based on some twitter accounts that I follow here is what I can piece together for the team's recent activities as they tour our great state. If anyone has additional details I'd like to hear them:
Monday - team arrived in shifts at Sleeping Bear Dunes and then spent time in Traverse City
Tuesday - nothing posted but it was rumored that they were going to spend the day at a local farm. Some players were also spotted on boats and jet ski's on Lake Charlevoix. (Coach Harbaugh has a place in northern Michigan. Anyone know if it is on Lake Charlevoix?)
Tuesday night the players stopped by Camp Michigania. I've never been to Camp Michigania but have heard great things about it. Maybe some day.
Wednesday - Mackinaw Island. Team had lunch on the famous porch of the Grand Hotel and have been seen swimming in the hotel's pool, so I assume that they are staying there. I've been to Mackinaw Island, but have never sat, or had lunch, on the porch of the Grand Hotel. Again, maybe some day.
I heard rumors a while back that they would visit Tahquamenon Falls but nothing recent. Guess we'll find out soon.
Recap of the trip so far:
Flint - visited local jail, helped prepare and hand out meals to inmates, had an indoor "carnival" with local Boy's and Girl's club (Coach Harbaugh was one of the people that sat in the dunk tank and, or course, got dunked).
Lansing - Visited and toured the State Capitol. Team took a picture in front of the Capitol with the Big Ten Trophy.
Grand Rapids - Toured the Gerald R. Ford Museum. Player lead practice and weight lifting at East Grand Rapids High School
Muskegon - Day on the beach and dinner on "The Deck" which is right on the beach. Instead of going to the beach some players visited the USS Silversides, a world war II era submarine museum in Muskegon and others went on a charter fishing trip on Lake Michigan.
Silver Lake San Dunes - Dune buggy rides.
Idlewild - Visited the historic black resort town of Idlewild and help restore one of the buildings.
Arcadia - Dinner and sunset at Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club which overlooks Lake Michigan
Sleeping Bear Dunes
Traverse City
Northern Michigan Farm/Lake Charlevoix? (Not certain on these activities)
Camp Michigania (short visit)
Mackinaw Island and the Grand Hotel
Lots of great spots in Michigan , and the places the team is visiting brings back some great memories. So glad that the players are getting to experience some of these great places.
Lake Charlevoix is stunning.
I have an aunt and uncle that has a farm across the street from the lake and love visiting them. They're pushed far enough away from the busy spots for it to be relaxing, but close enough that any activities are no more than 10 minutes away. Very jealous of their set up.
It really is. We try to go camping every year at Young State Park. My favorite camp ground so far.
Same here. We manage to go every year but it’s quite tough to get into. Absolutely love it there.
I grew up camping there but havent been back since I was a youngster. Would love to take the family next summer. How far in advance do you book?
Fun Harbaugh story that he told while the team was touring the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum - When Jack Harbaugh was on Bo’s staff in the early 70’s, little Jimmy would hang out at practices. When 12 year old Jim Harbaugh found out that Bo and President Ford were going to be playing in a Pro-Am golf outing together, Jim convinced Bo to let him be his caddie for the day!
Jim said he didn’t know anything about being a caddie, or much about golf etiquette as he said he walked in their line a few times, but he got to spend the day with Bo and the current President on the golf course.
Very cool.
My parents took my older brother and me to that museum the day it opened. I was apparently decided to run/jump on the couch cushions after being told to stop. My parents claim I was the first person to be spanked in that museum, so I have that going for me, which is nice.
When I was growing up, I was always told that my grandfather went to high school with Jerry Ford. A few years ago, I contacted the curator of the museum who sent me some yearbook photographs confirming they were in high school together (though they were apparently not in any photos together).
I met President Ford in Durand on a whistle-stop campaign tour. He was riding in a train from one small town to another, giving a quick speech and moving on. And by met, I mean I was 8 years old, standing in the front along the rope when he came through and shook hands and mine was one that he touched. So I touched the hand of a University of Michigan legend who also happened to be the Leader of the free world.
Once in a lifetime trip
Europe or The Mitten?
While this trip isn't as glamorous as the ones that took the players abroad, my guess is that this will be more meaningful and create even stronger bonds among the players.
By the way it’s Mackinac not mackinaw
The multiple spellings is always strange. Why won't one change names to the other? What's the history?
Mackinac Island - Seems more French spelling? Brits shortened it though from Michilimackinac so I read on wikipedia.
Mackinaw City - Seems more Native American phonetic spelling? Odawa settlement.
My late wife loved Mackinac Island. We had some great times on the island.
But did she like mackinaw island?
Cool Story Bro Alert: My grandpa was working on the Grand doing a renovation job in the '50's. He moved the whole family up there and my dad was in a local cub scout group and he got to ride in a convertible with a beauty queen as one of the first cars to cross Mackinac Bridge. He was 8 years old. We went to the UP every summer and every summer we got to hear the same story.
To this day, love northern Michigan and the UP! Awesome that Coach is taking the kids up there.
Go Blue!
Going to spend a weekend at the grand hotel for the first time in a couple weeks. They have a nice 25% teacher discount through August. Still crazy expensive though but figured my family should do it once.
The Grand Hotel is fantastic - IMO, it “goes back in time”. Make sure you bring a sport coat for dinner in the main dining room. It used to be a requirement for all men - which included my son, who was about seven years old at the time. Have a great trip.
Christopher reeves and Jane Seymour say hi....
My best ski buddy in Colorado used to be Christopher Reeves brother-in-law. He was married to Dana Reeves sister.
My friend's wedding reception was at the Grand Hotel. I read the sign that all men were required to wear a coat and said, "Phil Collins will never dine here." My girlfriend didn't get it.
I think this is a great and creative trip. Good for whoever thought up/planned this trip. Hope it pays dividends for the guys representing the state this fall for the maize n blue.
I would upvote this a thousand times if I could. After reading this thread, I finally had the epiphany that this trip will help the team better understand, and thus better represent, the University and our great state.
Second-hand information from Traverse City: I heard that the team did some sort of workout at Traverse City Central High School on Monday. (Didn't get it directly from the source, who apparently saw the workout in person ...)
That's Ryan Hayes alma mater isn't it?
I looked. TC West, actually:
Hayes went to West. Current Wolverine Christian Boivin(sp) went to Central where they worked out both Monday and Tuesday morning.
Past FB and team Captain Joey Kerridge went to TC St Francis and former UofM lineman Rocko Khoury went to TC West.
Just missed on West OT/TE Jake Fisher who flipped from Michigan to Oregon when Hoke took over for Rich Rod.
- Mackinaw Island
While there is (confusingly) a Mackinaw City, the island and bridge are both spelled Mackinac.
They might not make it to the UP? For shame!
Still love the idea of this trip though and I’m so happy for the players to enjoy the great state of Michigan. Especially Sleeping Bear Dunes - that’s one of my favorite places on the planet
They are currently in the U.P.
Damn, someone really hit it out of the park planning this trip. Kudos to them on the depth and scope of the itinerary. The team might end up making between 27 and 42 stops on this trip.
Yeah, they basically bee-line it to Lake Michigan. As much as we all love to love the state as a whole, this is a pretty good example of that shoreline being the real crown jewel of the place. I’m currently on vacation on the Wisconsin side of the lake where my in-laws live and constantly have to bite my tongue comparing these ‘meh’ beaches to the ones back home.
Among their stops in Traverse City, they worked out at TC Central High School Monday and Tuesday AM and part of the team took a ride on the NautiCat in West GT Bay. Photos courtesy of TCAPS facebook. (Also, that's a hell of a good looking weight room for a public high school!)
Is there a stereotype that private schools have better athletics facility or something that I missed? Public schools have enormous athletics programs and I'd be shocked if but a few private schools maintain similar facilities.
Well, I don't know if it's a "stereotype" per se, but since private schools require people to pay tuition on top of their taxes that also pay for public schools, they generally have wealthier students and stand to be able to raise funds easier. Plus, they can recruit and are disproportionately good at athletics.
Add in the fact that it's probably more difficult politically for a public school to fund super nice athletic facilities and yeah, private schools are probably more likely to have better athletic facilities.
TC is a relatively wealthy area with a large student body and strong support from the community for athletics though, so it's not surprising they have nice facilities.
There are some privates that can hang with the big publics, but not many.
At one time Traverse City (now Central HS since the split) was the largest high school in Michigan by quite a lot, their athletic facilities are holdovers from the days they needed to be huge.
Not quite. That weight room is new within the last 3 years and the schools split in '99. TC Central has brand new baseball and softball facilities this year too. The only real holdover facilities are the basketball gym and football stadium, which is used by all 3 schools.
On-sub-topic: I've heard from younger relatives that there's a very popular S&C course at TC Central that makes use of that gym.
In Stevensville, one wealthy benefactor who has a heart for youth sports has completely redone the Lakeshore athletic facilities, going so far as to build a rocket football field with lights and artificial turf. He's also extended that largesse to one of the private Lutheran schools in the area, installing a turf soccer field and redoing the gym interior for the middle school and redoing all the fields for the high school, as well as providing top-notch professional equipment to maintain the fields. They're also in the process of building an auxiliary practice gym that will have a weight room to rival the one in the picture.
Scottie, I think you need to get out more. I'm guessing you live in a zip code where "affluenza" sometimes happens.
I know of small private schools that are all about education and not much about athletics, but I think the odds of private schools having better facilities (overall, not just athletic) than public schools are pretty high.
Kind of a weird assertion and attempted callout. If you live someplace with well funded private schools, then by definition you live in a quite affluent area yourself.
Ah get to go on a puff boat
I was at the dunes Monday with the family. While we only saw them from a distance, we were on trails away from the main dunes, it seemed like a lot of the guys were having fun racing up the steep inclines. Was a beautiful day to be at there, sunny and not too hot.
Visiting a local farm...XM????
This seems like such a great trip.
At Michigania right now and what a cool thing to have the team come through!
They briefly toured the campground and then joined us at the volleyball courts for a couple games.
About 20 players came by. Got a few photos including NHG with my youngest; NHG didn’t play volleyball, I’m assuming under directions, but did spend lots of time with the kids. Whenever asked for an autograph by a kid he said “only if you sign my shorts first!”, which of course they were thrilled to do.
Spoke to a few guys and they seemed to really be enjoying the trip, many of which were surprised at how much the state has to offer, among other things. I could go on but I’ll just say they came across as a great group of young men who represented the team and university well.
We used to be week 3 regulars. How fun to have players stop by! Hope they beat the staff in volleyball and don't eat too many smores.
Pictures of the team of this trip are on twitter on @UMichFootball.
There’s a new camp director this year and when I asked how he would follow this up next year, he merely remarked that there previous director tried for years to get the football team up. So yeah, very fun to have them here!
Thanks for the Twitter reference. A couple of my kids are in a couple shots!