Nothing like visiting doctors when you get to be a “certain age.” They always want to see you again.
I was able to work in the visits after the wedding. I was planning to pass by en route from Milwaukee to Buffalo but I ended up spending almost three weeks enjoying the hospitality of Kalamazoo Country Parks and the company of my friends.
But first, a stop at the Mars Cheese Castle on my way out of Wisconsin.
The first few days, I stayed at Cold Brook County Park in Kalamazoo County. It’s a pleasant, older park with lots of mature trees. The sites have electrical hook ups and there are water spigots within reach of each campsite. I had enough water on board to last me, so I didn’t bother to get out the hoses. At $22 per night, it is quite reasonable. The sites at Markin Glen are $26 per night, but include full hook ups. If you would like to book a spot at either park, contact Kalamazoo County Parks.
Health care was the main reason for my return. I had hand surgery done as well as some dental work.
I also needed some body work done on my truck. I smushed the bed on the passenger side into one of those posts they put up to keep you from running into buildings. They need to come up with a solution to the problem of people running into the posts!
After my time at Cold Brook Park, I moved back to Markin Glen and then dropped my truck off at the body shop. I got to drive a zippy little rental car around Kalamazoo for a week! That was fun.
I met up with friends and visited places I had missed while I was on the road. One thing that Kalamazoo has is a fantastic Farmers’ Market. It is almost like a carnival, with music, crafts people and food vendors in addition to the farm products for sale.
There were celebrations, like this going away party for Brittany. She is heading to China to teach English.
And a party to celebrate Susan and Cush’s wedding, which took place last winter. Imagine my surprise when I ran into a former student at the party!
She was so excited to introduce me to her daughter, telling her that I was the reason she loved to read. What better tribute can a teacher receive?
Speaking of “my kids”, met up with a brother/sister team that I had in the late ’80’s and early ’90’s. They were so disappointed that we didn’t get together when I was in town earlier in the summer that we made a point of it during this trip. Facebook is such a great tool for catching up with people from your past.
I was going by Deb and Mike’s house after I met up with Stephanie and Steven. On a whim, I stopped and rang the bell. They were home! They were on their way out of town, but we got to chat for a few moments and post for a selfie. Deb was the dance teacher when I taught at Woods Lake. It was good to see them, even if the visit was brief.
There are always fun things to see. For instance, one of these trees is not like the other…
It is a cell phone tower dressed up to look like a tree. I saw towers in Arizona disguised as palm trees.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Kalamazoo just loves festivals and celebrations. While I was in town, there was a festival in Bronson Park to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Kalamazoo Promise. For those of you who haven’t heard the word, the Kalamazoo Promise provides a college education for its students at any public university – and many private ones – in Michigan. If a student who lives in Kalamazoo attends and graduates from Kalamazoo Public Schools, they have get to go to college. This tremendous gift was made by anonymous donors. These people are heroes in my book!
They were looking for volunteers, so I sent in my name. I got assigned to the Craft area. My craft was applying stickers to mortar boards. Easy enough.
Of course, it was a fun day, running into old friends.
And new friends
The centerpiece of Bronson Park is The Fountain of the Pioneers, which was designed by Alfonso Iannelli. Oddly enough, when I was checking to see if I remembered the name of the fountain and the designer correctly, I found out that he was a “sometimes collaborator of Frank Lloyd Wright. It certainly resembles some of his designs. It was dedicated in 1940, and built with some WPA funds. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
More historic to me is that Abraham Lincoln came to Kalamazoo in 1856. Of course, the event almost seems an afterthought on the memorial. Once you get past the honor to the person who placed the tablet, her affiliations and an honor to the Civil War veterans. From what I remember reading, Lincoln took the train over from Chicago, made his speech and took the train back. The trains must have run more regularly back then.
After my shift at the Craft Area, I took a loop around the park and then I headed back to my car.
In 2002, Kalamazoo Public Library was awarded the prestigious National Library of the Year. The exterior is striking, as is the interior.
Another point of pride for Kalamazoo is that they were the first city in the United States to take a street and turn it into a pedestrian mall back in the ’50’s. It was an effort to increase urban vitality and defend against suburbanization. For a while, Kalamazoo was known as “Mall City”.
It was an interesting experiment, but ultimately one lane was reopened to vehicle traffic in the late 1990’s. The sidewalks are wider than normal streets, there is a parking lane and a vehicle lane. And, it is a lively place.
There is one of my favorite buildings. It had a concave facade covered with mirrors.
I just love walking past it and watching the images change.
After my stroll, I arrived at the garage and retrieved my car.
Eventually, I had all the appointments taken care of and saw most of the people I had hoped to see. I got my truck back and then hitched up and headed east.
Next stop: Buffalo, New York!