10. Modern Exploring - Apparently Midland is the 'City of Modern Explorers', a title not yet recognized by Wikipedia. I like to think that I'm a modern explorer. What's Michigan?9. Dow Rules - Midland is notorious for being the hometown of both Alden B. Dow (architect) and Herbert H. Dow (founder of Dow Chemical). Dow Chemical's HQ is here in Midland and in an effort to lure people to work in this small town, Dow has distributed a lot of money to revitalize the area. Building Dow Diamond, my new ballpark, in 2006 was one of those efforts. The influence here stretches far and wide, so much so that even one of the high school sports teams are called the Chemics.
8. The Left Turn Box - Probably the first thing anyone would notice would be the different traffic signage. Here they have left turn lights unlike anything I've ever seen. I'm not sure how they work either. I've seen people turn left on green, yellow and red (like the picture), which begs the question: why have them at all? So, if the car in front of me goes, I go too.7. Wildlife - It doesn't take long to see that people here in Midland love their butterflies. On an events calendar I was flipping through, I ran across a lot of butterfly-related activities planned for 2010. Get excited. Other animals I have seen include deer (Michigan state animal), raccoons (mostly as roadkill), squirrels (at my house) and seagulls. No loons though.
6. Language Barrier - To my pleasure, it didn't take long for me to hear my first little friendly mid-western colloquialism. I was eating at Pizza Hut when I heard the manager behind me use the 'you betcha' at another table. So nice. I'll need to watch Fargo before I leave here.
5. Tree House - Driving around I found this great tree house. You know this kid is the king of his street. Is that a chimney?4. Nice and Safe - Probably number one on my mom's list is the fact that Midland is a nice and safe place for me to live. Many people leave their blinds wide open and their doors unlocked. Midland is part of a tri-cities area and Saginaw is apparently the worst of the cities. It's funny to hear a Midlander talk about Saginaw, they're very careful about how to talk about it, as if it's not allowed. All they are trying to say is, 'Midland is nicer and safer.'
3. The Tracks - The city of Midland has converted an old railroad into a bike/running path called the 'Rail Trail'. Without any prior knowledge of its origin, one is alarmed by its straightness. I'll need to get my bike up here.2. Sports News - They cover high school hockey on the local news, pretty sweet.
1. They exist! - And finally, I had my first encounter with a Big Boy. I thought this was just something created for the Austin Powers movies, but as it turns out, it's a real restaurant. I'll let you know when I eat there. The Big Boy statue is much smaller than the Powers movies led me to believe.
2 comments:
This post doesn't exactly make me want to visit Midland, although the freakishly straight trail is a bit interesting.
Hi, Alex, We love your new blog and your new home. We think you'll be glad you missed winter in Midland, Michigan, but spring and summer should be great. If you follow a car that makes a left turn on a stale yellow or a red light, you might find that the Midland police will pull you both over. Be careful! And, one last bit of advice. When you go to Big Boy, be sure to try their strawberry pie. There aren't any Big Boys in Houston, but when we've traveled, we've stopped at a couple of them, and their strawberry pie is awesome. Take care, Alex, and Happy Easter.
Love, Aunt Janet and Uncle Ralph
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