1) The Kaleva Bottle House
In the tiny town of Kaleva, we discovered that in 1941, the owner of the local bottling plant decided to build his family home out of used bottles.
As we looked closer, we saw that the bottoms of 60,000 bottles face to the outside of the house, with concrete holding them in place.
To add some design interest, occasionally different colors and sizes of bottles were used.
Only Mark would notice that one bottle was put in incorrectly, with the "Kaleva" name upside down.
2) Paddle Auction
We were in church on Sunday morning, when an announcement was made about the upcoming fund-raiser--a paddle auction. We had never heard of such thing, so we had to get schooled. You first must purchase a paddle, so for $5 we purchased lucky number 99. Then they announce the next item for sale, and how much it costs to get into the raffle for that item--between 25 cents and a dollar depending on the value of the item. You pay that amount, then hold up your paddle to indicate you have paid. Then they randomly draw numbers until they call one of the numbers that has bought into that item. So you might win that delicious pan of cinnamon rolls for just 50 cents, or that hand-embroidered pillow for just a quarter.
Or, if you're number 99, you won't ever hear your number called--even if you're not in the drawing. We're pretty sure we got a defective paddle and our number wasn't even in the hopper. But it was an experience, and we donated to a good cause.
3) Sunset with a Piper at Arcadia Dunes
We read that every evening there is a special ritual at Arcadia Dunes Lodge, so we drove there and pretended that we could afford to stay and/or eat at this fancy establishment.
We took a seat in the long line of white adirondack chairs facing the west and took turns taking pictures with other guests that had gathered here.
The 18th hole of the Arcadia Dunes Golf course finished up right in front of our chairs. We watched several foursomes hurrying to finish as the sun was getting low over Lake Michigan.
That is the signal for the guest of honor to arrive. Stephen MacNeil is a professional piper, who was inspired by his grandfather and great-grandfather to begin playing the bagpipes over 35 years ago. This is his 17th year playing at Arcadia Bluffs.
He played a wide selection of Irish folk tunes across the dunes. You can see his silhouette on the left, while the duffers finished their rounds of golf on the right.
Then as the sun hit the water of Lake Michigan, the piper finished the evening with "Amazing Grace." We have stumbled onto another of God's wonders!
4) U-picking Fruits
Properly outfitted with a bucket that straps over her shoulder, Denisa is ready for a big harvest here at a self-serve blueberry patch that we stumbled onto.
This is getting close to the end of the season, and some of the bushes were already picked bare. But this later variety at the end of the acreage was still full. We will be full as well after we eat all these berries she's picking.
We visited another berry farm, with blackberries the size of plums.
Another day we drove by an apple and peach orchard, and Mark made one of his famous u-turns so Denisa could u-pick. We came home with honey crisp and empire apples and peaches, and got to visit with the husband and wife that have lived on this land for forty years.
We barely covered the bottom of the basket with our harvest of fresh peaches and apples.
And of course we also found our very favorite u-pick crops--wild apple trees in the state or national parks where visitors are allowed to pick for free.
5) Gravity Hill
A local had told us about this phenomenon, and gave us directions on how to drive to this isolated road. We were more than a little surprised to see that google maps also knew the location of "Gravity Hill." Our instructions were to drive to the bottom of the hill, stop the car, put it in neutral, and then be amazed when the car rolled back up the hill on its own. We did all that, and Denisa was amazed! Mark pointed out that the angle of the fields around us, and what looked like a hill really wasn't, and yada yada. . . It's hard to take a picture of Gravity Hill, but Denisa thought it was pretty cool and she's a believer!
That wraps up our smorgasbord of random roadside treats. We didn't plan to go to any of them, they just popped up and we took advantage of the opportunity to see and do something new. We love having our fill of random treats off this smorgasbord we are living.
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