It could be a sin to just have a vanilla here. I am talking about Jones Ice Cream on Main Street in Baldwin. Jones is a long established family business serving up some of Michigan’s finest ice cream. The walls inside make the trip worthwhile in itself. They display many years worth of fascinating memorabilia of Lake County and Baldwin’s history.

Please do not interpret this post as a commercial for Jones Ice Cream Store, it is not a commercial, nor did the staff at MichiganLakes.com receive any financial incentive for this post.  But, as one who enjoys both ice cream and nostalgia, I find this place worthy of recommending to my friends.

Someone once said to me, “God allows a man to have only one exceptional dog in his lifetime.” I do not know if that is true, experience tells me it may be.

Meet Rusty. Rusty lives along Pine Street, just outside of downtown Holland. He is unique, made out of scrap metal from the Padnos Iron and Metal Company. He is part of an interesting and whimsical collection of outdoor sculptures all created a self taught artist. His work is displayed all thru out Western Michigan including the Meijer’s Gardens in northeast Grand Rapids, as well as the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum in downtown Grand Rapids.

Next time you are on your way to Lake Macatawa, slow down you discover a little bit of everything from Rusty’s Dog House to a pair of boxing crankshafts, Eskimo sled dogs and many other fun and imaginative things.

One very warm Saturday afternoon we were making our way from Ludington to Pentwater when we came upon this hotdog stand. We had not eaten since breakfast, so I was ready for a little something to eat and I knew I had to stop.

In my road travels I have learned that so often these simple, unpretentious, out of the way places are places of culinary delight, and this place was no exception. I had the “Cold Blooded Coney, Loaded” for a mere $3.00, and found it was just what I needed to satisfy my hunger and keep me going until dinner.

The bun was soft and fresh and the add-ons were fresh and tasty. Now normally on a warm day, a Coney would not be my first choice of foods. But with all the fresh ingredients on this one, I almost felt as if I was eating a salad on a bun and it was tasty and refreshing. The Coke I ordered was cold and refreshing. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with a cold Coke on a warm afternoon!

I was glad we took the time to stop at Farquhar’s. Not only was the food great, but the gentleman that served us was pleasant and friendly.

Have you ever seen a sign and thought “What’s up with that”? Of course you have. I have driven by this particular sign in western Ionia County along Grand River Drive for the last twenty years. This time I decided to stop and investigate.

The Michigan historic sign states: “Here on old US 16 in Boston Township, Ionia County, the first picnic table along a highway right-of-way was placed in 1929 through the initiative of Allan Williams, county engineer. The table was built of salvage planks formerly used for guardrails.

The idea immediately caught on and was adopted by the State Highway Department. The Ionia County Road Commission made the state’s tables until the work became too great. The roadside table became an emblem of Michigan’s hospitality, one which has widely emulated by states the nation over”

It’s interesting; when I visited, there was no roadside table there.