I am a motorcoach…

. . . in the Great Lakes region, the north, Grand Rapids, Michigan. The mission is delivery of school teachers to their annual teachers’ convention. It is an information collection trip – educators getting educated. My passengers are teachers, but my service is equally on behalf of their students. Most of my travels of late have been in service of professionals from all over the globe participating in some sort of work-related activities. Not long ago all of them were little ones in class rooms throughout the world, being prepared by teachers for the “future” they now engage. Likewise, a lot of little persons – future professionals – will benefit from the commitment of these teachers to excel in their craft.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

The location of the convention is DeVos Place Convention Center. One thing I can count on when my destination is a modern, state of the art convention center is motorcoach accommodations. Convention centers are planned with delivery of large groups of people in mind.

Some of my passengers stayed at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. The hotel is located in downtown Grand Rapids on the east bank of the Grand River. Construction of this stately hotel began in 1913 (the year former President Gerald R. Ford was born – more on him in a bit).

The original name of the Amway Grand was the Pantlind Hotel. In 1925 the Pantlind was recognized as one of “the top ten finest hotels in America.” Age and economic struggles having taken their toll, it was purchased in 1979 by the Amway Corporation. Restoration to its former magnificence (with equally impressive additions) was completed in 1983 and the hotel was reopened under its new name.

If anyone was hoping to enjoy the “fall colors” while traveling along the eastern side of Lake Michigan on our way to Grand Rapids, they were treated instead to lingering greens tinted with brown due to unusually clingy late summer temperatures. I did find a lone bit of colorful foliage in downtown Grand Rapids. Behind it was the Van Andel Institute, an independent biomedical scientific research and education organization. The Institute’s exterior architecture is suggestive of terracing rapids.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

GRAND NEWS: Running east to west for 252 miles, the Grand River is the longest river in Michigan. It is fed by ten lesser rivers and numerous even smaller tributaries along its route to Lake Michigan. Preserved burial grounds indicate the presence of Hopewell Indians along the Grand in the distant past. But in the 17th century it was the Ottawa that settled in along the Grand. The Ottawa maintained a strong presence in the area now known as Grand Rapids until the first part of the 19th century.

NEWS OF RAPID ELIMINATION AND RAPID GROWTH: Built along a one-mile section of rapids on the Grand River, Grand Rapids now sits on a smooth flowing waterway tamed by installation of dams. Located thirty miles east of Lake Michigan, in 1810 the western banks of the Grand in this area were home to five hundred Ottawa Indians under the leadership of Chief Noonday. On the eastern side was the first trading post in Western Michigan, directed by the fur trading expertise of the widowed Madeline La Framboise (of Ottawa-French descent). In 1833 the area was officially named Grand Rapids by the settler Louis Campau. The development of the downtown district was soon underway. By 1850, what began as a small trading post was a thriving village of more than 2,500 residents. Today, Grand Rapids is Michigan’s second largest city; the population of its metropolitan area exceeds one million residents.

Quirks IN THE PRESIDENTIAL NEWS: On the west bank of the Grand River stands the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Though raised in Grand Rapids, former President Ford was not born there. In fact, “Gerald R. Ford Jr.” was actually not “born” anywhere. At his birth in Omaha, Nebraska, he was a different Jr: Leslie Lynch King Jr. But his mother promptly ditched the abusive Sr. King and eventually settled in Grand Rapids to raise her son. By his third birthday the child had a new dad and a new name: Gerald Rudolf Ford Jr. (though it wasn’t until he was 22 that he made the name change official). A standout football player in high school and winner of two collegiate national championships as a Michigan Wolverine, the young Ford turned down professional football offers from the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers to pursue a law degree at Yale University. However, after graduating from Yale and beginning his practice of law, Ford’s career was put on hold as he served in the U.S. Navy for four years during World War II.

But quirky details and dramatic changes were not confined to Gerald R. Ford’s early years. After serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for a quarter of a century, Ford was eyeing retirement when the unexpected happened in 1973. Facing numerous fraud allegations, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned. Two days later President Nixon nominated Ford for the post; and on December 6, 1973, following congressional confirmation, Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the nation’s 40th Vice President. His swearing in took place in the shadows of the brewing Watergate scandal. Nine months later, following the resignation of President Nixon, Ford was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States. He is thus the only person to hold the offices of Vice President and President without the use of ballot.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

Downtown Grand Rapids: Forbes Magazine named the Grand Rapids downtown district “One of the 10 best downtowns in the USA.” The Bull’s Head (voted “best lunch spot” in a city filled with great eateries) exemplifies the uniqueness and attention to detail found throughout the downtown area.

Quote Of The Day samples

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”                                                                                                                         — BB King

“In the age-old contest between popularity and principles, only those willing to lose for their convictions are deserving of posterity’s approval.” ― Gerald R. Ford

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