The Traverse City Mini Reunion

Held in
The Best Small Town of 2016
May 3-6, 2018

 Hosted by Howard and Mary Bridges

Northern Michigan beckoned . . . and we came . . . in record numbers!!!

The delights of Northern Michigan drew 19 classmates plus 16 significant others to the Traverse City Mini Reunion ... for a record total of 35 attendees!!! The group included:

Put your cursor over the face of a person; his/her/their name(s) should "fly out".
(This was the best image of the group received, but somehow Vicki Crist is missing. She WAS there, and on the ship.)

Our Headquarters Hotel was the West Bay Beach Resort

While the image is a stock photo from the hotel's web site (not taken during the Mini), there were in fact still some piles of snow at the edges of the parking lot when we arrived, having been scraped aside after the final storm of the season. But all in all, the weather was quite pleasant and did not significantly interfere with any events.

Thursday, 3 May 2018

Welcome Gathering

Starting around 3 PM, as folks arrived in Traverse City, several stopped by our "hospitality suite" (with a great view of the bay) at our host hotel for some socializing. Here a few random candid pix of people you might recognize ... plus a guest with Bill Borkenstein.

Dinner at Sleder's Family Tavern

At 7 PM, the Mini kicked into high gear with dinner at the classic Sleder's Family Tavern. Since 1882, people have been coming to Sleder's Family Tavern to enjoy great food, drink, and conversation in an intimate and nostalgic family atmosphere. One of Michigan's oldest, continuously-operated taverns, Sleder's is an important piece of the unique tapestry of Traverse City and a treasured part of the area that locals proudly share with visitors.

A panoramic shot from one side of the table
Far side of the table (L to R): Neil & Vicki Crist, Dee (Gleason) Stinson, Dep & Debbie Ewing, John Sullivan, Brad Laycock, Phil & Carol Wright, Margarida & Penn Williamson, Dan Baker (end of table)

A panoramic shot from the other side of the table
Far side of the table (L to R): Dan Baker (end of table), Betsy Davis, Karen & Craig Kennedy, Rick Carpenter, Nancy Elias & Doug Neumann, Peggy Harrington & Tom Norris, Helene Navarro (mostly hidden behind Dee's menu) & Bill Borkenstein

Friday, 4 May 2018

Bright and early (well ... 9 AM was early for some), we departed our host hotel in a minor drizzle for a mostly-indoors walking tour of the

One of the "largest historic preservation and adaptive reuse redevelopments in the country".
The former Traverse City State Hospital is immersed in over 100 years of history. The evolution from a state-run asylum to a thriving and bustling community is the foundation of what makes The Village what it is today.

Our tour and guide were so entrancing that not many pictures were taken. But here are a few.

One of the spookier aspects of this former mental institution was the tunnel network that was built between buildings (to avoid nasty winter weather, among other issues).
Which is spookier? Seeing just Penn and Margarida Williamson, alone together in one of the tunnels, or . . .

After the Commons, we caravaned over to the Dennos Museum Center, where Mary Bridges is a docent. The museum has one of the largest collections of Inuit art in the USA.

And it also has many other very unique pieces of art.

Dan Baker was absolutely fascinated by this work of art. It's called "Burial Ground".
The materials used in fabrication? Welded steel, plaster, epoxy, and peat moss!
For more background on the work and William Allen (the artist), click here or here.

In addition to the permanent collections, at the time of our Mini, there was a special exhibit of artifacts from King Tutankhamun: Wonderful Things from the Pharaoh's Tomb

Following the museum visit, we were on our own for lunch, with instructions to be back at our host hotel not later than 1 PM to board our chartered bus for a tour of Northern Michigan Wine Country.

Old Mission Wine Tour

The three wineries that we visited.

Touring a winery: Stephanie & (partly hidden) Bill Fohey, Craig (mostly hidden) & Karen Kennedy, Howie Bridges, Betsy Davis, Tom Norris, Peggy Harrington, Carol Wright

Howie Bridges, Tom Norris, John & Betsy Davis, Carol Wright, Dep Ewing, Penn & Margarida Williamson, Mona & Jay Owen

Dinner at Top of Park Place Hotel

After a short rest and recovery time, we headed to the private dining room at the top of the Park Place Hotel for drinks and dinner . . . and a fabulous sunset.

Doug Neumann imparting a previously unknown fact about Andy Malcolm to an astounded John & Betsy Davis

Saturday, 5 May 2018

Drive to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, but …

The plan was to drive to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. However, bad weather a week before our arrival in Traverse City closed the road from the Visitor's Center to the dunes. So we drove as far as the Visitor's Center, where we toured the exhibits, watched a movie on the history of the area (and the legend which gave it its name), and perused the gift shop. Then, at the suggestion of John Sullivan, we drove to nearby Pyramid Point Trailhead and hiked up the trail to Pyramid Point Overlook.

Pyramid Point Overlook

Regardless, all of the septuagenarians knew what they were getting themselves into, and made it up to the Overlook . . .

After coming down from the overlook: Bill Borkenstein had the need to … ahem … "look for a tree" ... and found one!

Lunch at Apache Trout Grill

Apparently, the food was too delicious for anyone to bother to take pictures during the lunch. Absolutely NO pictures of the gathering were received. Nevertheless . . .

A Sidebar: Why is the restaurant called "Apache Trout"?
The Apache Trout, an Arizonan fish, was on its way to extinction just 40 years ago. Found only in the lakes and streams of the White Mountains on the Apache Indian reservation, this beautiful trout was saved by the efforts of those who believe in the value of conserving our nation's great resources. Today, the Apache Trout has been removed from the endangered species list and has become a model for conservation.

Inspired by this success story, the owner created Apache Trout Grill with a desire to preserve the qualities of restaurants past: great food and a well-trained, friendly staff set in a casual, neighborhood atmosphere.

Sailing on the Tall Ship Manitou

As great as all the events at the Mini were, the sail on the Tall Ship Manitou has to be the pinnacle. The weather was a little brisk, but we were all warned to bring/wear a number of layers of clothing to deal with whatever Mother Nature threw at us for that day.

The Group Photo of the attendees getting ready to board is included near the top of this webpage. In addition, here are images from the sail itself.

Dinner at Harrington's by the Bay

Although all the attendees came to the dinner, as at lunch, they spent more time socializing and eating than they did taking pictures at our farewell dinner.

However, time was taken to especially recognize Mary Bridges for all she did to make this Mini so special.

Specific examples of how Mary went above and beyond include how she creatively trimmed local area tourist maps into placemats for our meal, and ...

Specific examples of how Mary went above and beyond include how she creatively trimmed local area tourist maps into placemats for our meal, and ...

No pictures, but the capper to the evening was a variety of flavors of schnaps (with special glasses!) that Bill Borkenstein smuggl . . . er ... imported . . . especially for the Mini. Not all was partaken of that evening. The leftovers were taken back to John Sullivan's house ... where they did not last long.

Sunday, 6 May 2018

Those who did not have early travel commitments descended on The Omelette Shoppe for a farewell breakfast. Regrettably, no one took any pictures. But by all reports, a great meal was had by all who attended.

Acknowledgments

Tremendous kudos to Mary and Howie Bridges for making this record-breaking Mini Reunion happen.

Also, thanks to Betsy Davis and the Bridges for feedback on my first draft of this webpage.

And last but not least, thanks to all those classmates (and their ladies) who contributed a total of over 500 images for your webmaster to choose from to create this web page:

It was definitely a challenge to pick the best of the best for this web page.

My apologies to those who feel they were under (or over) represented in the images included, but even within the huge number of images to chose from, some people were under (or over) represented.

Direct all comments on and corrections to the web page to your webmaster.