Michigan Travel and Beer Update

White Flame Brewing, Hudsonville

This post is another update to my series of entries about Michigan beer. Basically, I'm listing places we visited on vacation this July and August (2025) along with prior visits to Michigan brewpubs. This is one instance where Google Timeline information is helpful. 

The vacation was fun, though imperfect. It was really hot in the south in late July -- we went to a movie in a shopping mall on a Sunday afternoon to beat the heat. We saw Eddington, which I will mention in my December movie entry -- but you can read about it now on my letterboxd page. Later during the trip, once we went upstate to Traverse City, the entire area got hit by wildfire smoke from Canada. It was disappointing and limited our outdoor activites somewhat.  

In any case, regarding the brewery listings, I'm not including stops where I didn't have at least one drink -- sometimes we decide a place is not for us, or I merely shop for beer. On the way home this summer I  bought some beer at Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. 

Given that Michigan has over 400 breweries, my personal list includes only about 6% of the total! I could move to Michigan and have a difficult time sampling all of them. 

2025 (1 new; 25 total) (new ones in bold)

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

White Flame Brewing, Hudsonville

Loco Boys Brewing, Traverse City

Jolly Pumpkin Brewing, Traverse City

Rare Bird Brewpub, Traverse City

Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids

We dined at all these spots and had the best meals in Traverse City establishments and at Founders. I doubt we would return to White Flame. 

Most of the other dining spots we hit were also beer friendly: Hops at 84 East in Holland, Hopcat Holland, 7 Monks TC, etc. 

2024 (5 new; 24 total) 

Latitude 42°, Kalamazoo (April trip)

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Brass Ring Brewing, Grand Rapids

Two Guys Brewing, Grand Rapids

Short's Brewing, Elk Rapids location

Filling Station Brewing, Traverse  City

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

Infinity Brewing, Traverse City (September)

Jolly Pumpkin Brewing, Traverse City (September)

Loco Boys Brewing, Traverse City (September)

We dined at all of these except Short's, where I mainly wanted to try the new Payne Pils. Latitude 42 and Brass Ring had the best food though we liked our meals at Big Lake and Workshop. The wait and service at Filling Station had us questioning our choice.

Incidentally, we've now also visited beer friendly HopCat locations in Grand Rapids (2 different locations), Ann Arbor, Detroit, Holland, Kalamazoo, and Louisville (sadly now closed permanently). 

October Update: The food was OK to good at both Infinity and Jolly Pumpkin, but Loco Boys was closer to very good/exceptional. They serve Mexican food! 

2023 (1 new; 19 total)

Griffin Claw, Rochester Hills near Detroit

Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids

Founders, Grand Rapids

Brewery Vivant may have the best brewpub food we've found in Michigan. 

2022 (4 new; 18 total)

Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven

Unruly Brewing, Muskegon

Rare Bird Brewing, Traverse City

Cherry Republic Brewing Company & Public House, Glen Arbor

Founders, Grand Rapids

We dined at all of those places, though at Odd Side we had to order takeout from a nearby restaurant. They don't have food. 

2021 (2 new; 14 total)

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Guardian Brewing, Saugatuck (closed/moved to Indiana)

Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids

We also dined at all of these.

2019 (2 new; 12 total)

New Holland Brewing, Holland

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Clam Lake Beer Company, Cadillac (2)

Filling Station, Traverse City

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

MiddleCoast Brewing, Traverse City (was called Monkey Fist at the time)

We did not dine at Big Lake or MiddleCoast, but both have food (I think).

2018 (2 new; 10 total)

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

Clam Lake Beer Company, Cadillac

Filling Station, Traverse City

We dined at these.

2017

I was on antibiotics that trip and did not visit any brewpubs and avoided alcohol. 

2016 (2 new; 8 total)

Saugatuck Brewing, Saugatuck

Filling Station, Traverse City

2015 (2 new ones, 6 total)

Short's Brewing, Bellaire

Rare Bird, Traverse City

We dined at these.

Older trips: (at least 4 visited, from memory)

New Holland Brewing, Holland

Mackinaw Brewing, Traverse City

North Peak, Traverse City

Jolly Pumpkin, Traverse City

We did not dine at Jolly Pumpkin, but they have food -- and various other locations across the state.

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MIchigan Travel (and Beer) update

Note: This is an update/revision of an older post.

October 4, 2024, update: we returned to Michigan for fall break, so I'm editing this post from August. 

Thus summer, my wife and I enjoyed our "annual" vacation Michigan trip July 10th to 22nd. We had a brief visit to Kalamazoo in April so that info is also listed below. And we were in the Detroit area one night in late May before entering Canada. [Plus fall break September 27-October 1.]

This year during the vacation, we dined with old KU friends in Mt. Pleasant on the first day, spent a couple of days in the Grand Rapids, Holland, and South Haven area (visiting Meijer Gardens and various restaurants and brewpubs), went up to Traverse City for six nights, and then returned to stay in Holland for a couple more days. Also, we again stopped on the way home at Shapiro's in Indianapolis and bought some bagels for home. 

We have a lot of Michigan traditions and I'm not going to use this post to mention them all. And we certainly enjoyed some new experiences as well, such as visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes. We attended a movie at the "new" Traverse City Film Festival, which occurs now on Tuesdays. Michael Moore and the director zoomed in for an hour or so after the film. 

Beyond the vacation details, this post is mostly about Michigan beer. Basically, I'm using this post to summarize my recent and prior visits to Michigan brewpubs. This is one instance where Google Timeline information is helpful. I'm not listing breweries where I didn't have at least one drink. We entered a couple this year to look into buying singles -- or in one case decided not to stay for dinner since they were having a loud celebratory event.  

Given that Michigan has over 400 breweries, my personal list includes less than 5% of the total! I could move to Michigan and have a difficult time sampling all of them. 

2024 (5 new; 24 total) (new ones in bold)

Latitude 42°, Kalamazoo (April trip)

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Brass Ring Brewing, Grand Rapids

Two Guys Brewing, Grand Rapids

Short's Brewing, Elk Rapids location

Filling Station Brewing, Traverse  City

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

Infinity Brewing, Traverse City (September)

Jolly Pumpkin Brewing, Traverse City (September)

Loco Boys Brewing, Traverse City (September)

We dined at all of these except Short's, where I mainly wanted to try the new Payne Pils (pictured above). Latitude 42 and Brass Ring had the best food though we liked our meals at Big Lake and Workshop. The wait and service at Filling Station had us questioning our choice. Incidentally, we've now also visited beer friendly HopCat locations in Grand Rapids (2 different locations), Ann Arbor, Detroit, Holland, Kalamazoo, and Louisville (sadly now closed permanently). 

October Update: The food was OK to good at both Infinity and Jolly Pumpkin, but Loco Boys was closer to very good/exceptional. They serve Mexican food! 

2023 (1 new; 19 total)

Griffin Claw, Rochester Hills near Detroit

Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids

Founders, Grand Rapids

Brewery Vivant may have the best brewpub food we've found in Michigan. 

2022 (4 new; 18 total)

Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven

Unruly Brewing, Muskegon

Rare Bird Brewing, Traverse City

Cherry Republic Brewing Company & Public House, Glen Arbor

Founders, Grand Rapids

We dined at all of those places, though at Odd Side we had to order takeout from a nearby restaurant. They don't have food. 

2021 (2 new; 14 total)

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Guardian Brewing, Saugatuck

Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids

We also dined at all of these.

2019 (2 new; 12 total)

New Holland Brewing, Holland

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Clam Lake Beer Company, Cadillac (2)

Filling Station, Traverse City

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

MiddleCoast Brewing, Traverse City (was called Monkey Fist at the time)

We did not dine at Big Lake or MiddleCoast, but both have food (I think).

2018 (2 new; 10 total)

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

Clam Lake Beer Company, Cadillac

Filling Station, Traverse City

We dined at these.

2017

I was on antibiotics that trip and did not visit any brewpubs and avoided alcohol. 

2016 (2 new; 8 total)

Saugatuck Brewing, Saugatuck

Filling Station, Traverse City

2015 (2 new ones, 6 total)

Short's Brewing, Bellaire

Rare Bird, Traverse City

We dined at these.

Older trips: (at least 4 visited, from memory)

New Holland Brewing, Holland

Mackinaw Brewing, Traverse City

North Peak, Traverse City

Jolly Pumpkin, Traverse City

We did not dine at Jolly Pumpkin, but they have food -- and various other locations across the state.

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Portland

In July, my spouse and I traveled to Portland to link with our youngest daughter (and her boyfriend). While out there we also saw my spouse's father, her brother, and an old friend of mine from graduate school, Paul (a former blogger here (!) and best man at my wedding decades ago). 

We had a nice outing along the Columbia River Gorge, stopping at Cape Horn: 

 

In addition to visiting Powell's Books, I tried to drink some good beers in that terrific beer city. For example, I had the World Beer Cup winning Australian pale ale, Dragontail IPA, and the World Beer Cup winning Nonalcoholic Deschutes Black Butte Porter.  The latter was consumed at the brewpub in the Pearl District. 

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Canadian Film Festival

In late May my spouse and I drove to Canada and attended the Blue Mountain Film Festival at the ski resort just outside of Collingwood. From there we ventured over to Toronto for a few days, took in a Blue Jays game versus the Orioles, and then had a final stop in Rochester for a few days. 

At the film festival we saw three very good films. I think the best was probably Girls Will Be Girls, though I also really enjoyed The Missile and the Teacher Who Promised the Sea. These were all international films and each arguably offered some lessons about global politics.

The Orioles easily won the matchup against the Jays, but the home team was giving away Vlad Guerrero bobble head dolls and Vlad hit a HR that night. Loyal readers may recall that I saw Vlad on a Michigan vacation years ago (2017!) when he was playing for the Lansing Lugnuts. Bo Bichette was a teammate on both occasions.

In Toronto we enjoyed walking around downtown and in the Beaches neighborhood. We had some excellent ethnic food including Indian and Thai. Departing Canada, we crossed and visited Niagara Falls from the NY side.

In Rochester we ate some delicious local strawberries, some on a short cake served with ice cream and whipped cream, and drank a very tasty local beer, Unfettered Soul from Strangebird, that recently won a Bronze for its Hazy IPA at the World Beer Cup. 

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Michigan Beer 2023 update

I'm going to use this post to summarize my recent and prior visits to Michigan brewpubs. This is one instance when Google Timeline data is actually helpful, though this information only goes back to mid-year 2013 when I must have authorized the tracking software. I'm not listing breweries where I didn't drink. We went into Ludington's Jamesport once, but could not get a table for dinner in a timely fashion, and we quickly left Grand Armory in Grand Haven on the 2022 trip because it didn't offer outdoor seating. 

Given that Michigan has nearly 400 breweries, my personal list includes less than 5% of the total! I could move to Michigan and have a difficult time sampling all of them. 

2024 (1 new; 20 total)

Latitude 42°, Kalamazoo

We dined at Latitude 42° in April during a quick weekend trip north and quite enjoyed the food. I really liked an IPA on tap (Endless Summer), but it was not available in cans to take home. Another night we visited the Kalamazoo HopCat, which is not a brewery but is certainly beer-friendly. We've now visited HopCat locations in Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Holland, Kalamazoo, and Louisville (closed permanently). 

2023 (1 new; 19 total)

Griffin Claw, Rochester Hills near Detroit

Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids

Founders, Grand Rapids

We dined at Griffin Claw and Brewery Vivant and the food was pretty good at both. We stopped at Founders to buy a crowler of one of my favorite beers generally unavailable in Kentucky (Red's Rye IPA) and I had a taster of Nitro Rubaeus. We had hoped to have a dessert, but they didn't offer it that night and so the smooth raspberry ale had to suffice. 

Incidentally, while we were in Ontario we visited Heritage Hops brewery in Stratford for a slice of chocolate cake (I paired it with a dark lager) before attending the play "Casey and Diana," and dined at Toboggan brewing in London on Father's Day. 

2022 (4 new; 18 total)

Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven

Unruly Brewing, Muskegon

Rare Bird Brewing, Traverse City

Cherry Republic Brewing Company and Public House, Glen Arbor

Founders, Grand Rapids

We dined at all of those places, though at Odd Side we had to order takeout from a nearby restaurant. They don't have food. 

2021 (2 new; 14 total)

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Guardian Brewing, Saugatuck

Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids

We also dined at all of these.

2019 (2 new; 12 total)

New Holland Brewing, Holland

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Clam Lake Beer Company, Cadillac (2)

Filling Station, Traverse City

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

MiddleCoast Brewing, Traverse City (was called Monkey Fist at the time)

We did not dine at Big Lake or MiddleCoast, but both have food (I think).

2018 (2 new; 10 total)

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

Clam Lake Beer Company, Cadillac

Filling Station, Traverse City

We dined at these.

2017

I was on antibiotics that trip and did not visit any brewpubs and avoided alcohol. It was kind of sad. 

2016 (2 new; 8 total)

Saugatuck Brewing, Saugatuck

Filling Station, Traverse City

2015 (2 new ones, 6 total)

Short's Brewing, Bellaire

Rare Bird, Traverse City

We dined at these.

Older trips: (at least 4 visited)

New Holland Brewing, Holland

Mackinaw Brewing, Traverse City

North Peak, Traverse City

Jolly Pumpkin, Traverse City

We did not dine at Jolly Pumpkin, but they have food -- and various other locations across the state.

* It is possible my memory has failed me in recalling other brewpubs visited before 2015 as we have been going to Michigan as a family since the 1990s when my children were quite young. Then again, we didn't really take the kids to brewpubs when they were young -- maybe restaurants that happened to brew some of their own beer. 

I've also tried a good deal of Michigan beer in restaurants and taprooms, but I'm not going to list all of those here. I would put in a good word for the 7 Monks in Traverse. 

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Pittsburgh

A few weeks ago we drove to Pittsburgh and took in a Pirates day game against the Colorado Rockies and then visited the Andy Warhol museum the next day. We also visited the Southern Tier brewpub in this same area.

I took a good number of photos at both locations. PNC Park is very nice and the outside area is particularly striking, with statues of Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell, and Honus Wagner encircling the facility. When we got back from our travels, I read the recent Clemente bio by David Maraniss, which I highly recommend.

They also have oversize baseball markers commemorating all the Hall of Famers who played in Pittsburgh, including a good number of Negro League players. Earlier this year I read Satchell Paige's  autobiography -- it was quite entertaining.







The Warhol Museum is near PNC Park and I really enjoyed seeing the exhibits. We were one day early and thus missed a special exhibit featuring Warhol and the Velvet Underground. Warhol is sometimes credited with discovering the VU and was said to be their manager, though promoter might have been a more accurate term.

Most of one floor was devoted to Warhol's portraits, which was an especially interesting commentary on the 1970s. As for his pop art, I've seen more famous of his works in other museums in the US, Europe, or Canada.  But these were some good exemplars:

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Michigan Beer

My wife and I enjoyed our regular "annual" summer Michigan trip June 18 to 26th. Annual is in quote marks in that first sentence because we didn't go in 2020 for obvious reasons. Last year, we got a good rate on a week-long Holland hotel rental and thus limited our range to nearby activities. Partly we did that because the Traverse City Film Festival was canceled last year as it was in 2020. The timing of the 2022 festival does not work for us, so we will not be attending again this summer. 

This year during the vacation, we dined with old KU friends in Grand Rapids on the first day, spent a couple of days checking out Grand Haven and Muskegon (their beaches and brew pubs), went up to Traverse City for two days (where we celebrated 31 years of marriage), stayed with a generous friend from Louisville in her family's recently acquired Leland cottage, drove down to Grand Rapids for my first trip to Founders Brewery (!), and then went to a high scoring minor league baseball game in South Bend on the way home that Sunday. Oh, we obviously stopped to dine at Shapiro's in Indianapolis, as we typically do. And bought some bagels and rye bread for home. 

We have a lot of Michigan traditions and I'm not going to use this post to mention them all. Some we could not do because of timing. For instance, the Filling Station brewpub and pizza place was closed on Tuesday-Wednesday, the days we were in Traverse City. 

Beyond the vacation update, this post is about Michigan beer. I drink Michigan beer exclusively when I'm there and I typically buy several multipacks of fresh canned beer to bring home to enjoy in the ensuing weeks. Sometimes I buy single cans or bottles, but those are harder to find these days. 

For the second year in a row, I picked up a copy of the Michigan Brewery Guide (see above) in a southwest brew pub -- and this year I got a second copy for my neighbor who also enjoys a good craft beer. 

Looking through the magazine this weekend got me thinking about my history of trips to Michigan breweries -- both this year and in the recent past. 

Thus, I'm going to use this post to summarize my recent and prior visits to Michigan brewpubs. This is one instance where Google Timeline information is actually helpful, though this information only goes back to mid-year 2013 when I must have authorized the tracking software. I'm not listing breweries where I didn't drink. We went into Ludington's Jamesport once, but could not get a table for dinner in a timely fashion, and we quickly left Grand Armory in Grand Haven on this trip because it didn't offer outdoor seating. 

Given that Michigan has nearly 400 breweries as of 2022, my personal list includes less than 5% of the total! I could move to Michigan and have a difficult time sampling all of them. 

2022 (4 new; 18 total)

Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven

Unruly Brewing, Muskegon

Rare Bird Brewing, Traverse City

Cherry Republic Brewing Company and Public House, Glen Arbor

Founders, Grand Rapids

We dined at all of those places, though at Odd Side we had to order takeout from a nearby restaurant. They don't have food. 

2021 (2 new; 14 total)

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Guardian Brewing, Saugatuck

Brewery Vivant, Grand Rapids

We also dined at all of these.

2019 (2 new; 12 total)

New Holland Brewing, Holland

Big Lake Brewing, Holland

Clam Lake Beer Company, Cadillac (2)

Filling Station, Traverse City

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

MiddleCoast Brewing, Traverse City (was called Monkey Fist at the time)

We did not dine at Big Lake or MiddleCoast, but both have food (I think).

2018 (2 new; 10 total)

Workshop Brewing, Traverse City

Clam Lake Beer Company, Cadillac

Filling Station, Traverse City

We dined at these.

2017

I was on antibiotics that trip and did not visit any brewpubs and avoided alcohol. 

2016 (2 new; 8 total)

Saugatuck Brewing, Saugatuck

Filling Station, Traverse City

2015 (2 new ones, 6 total)

Short's Brewing, Bellaire

Rare Bird, Traverse City

We dined at these.

Older trips: (at least 4 visited)

New Holland Brewing, Holland

Mackinaw Brewing, Traverse City

North Peak, Traverse City

Jolly Pumpkin, Traverse City

We did not dine at Jolly Pumpkin, but they have food -- and various other locations across the state.

* It is possible my memory has failed me in recalling other brewpubs visited before 2015 as we have been going to Michigan as a family since the 1990s when my children were quite young. Then again, we didn't really take the kids to brewpubs when they were young -- maybe restaurants that happened to brew some of their own beer. 

I've also tried a good deal of Michigan beer in restaurants and taprooms, but I'm not going to list all of those here. I would put in a good word for the 7 Monks in Traverse. 

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East Coast Vacation 2017

University of Louisville classes started last week and I already taught two sessions of my senior capstone seminar on "Politics of Climate Change."

Before summer slips away altogether, I'm posting a few pictures of our early August vacation trip -- to Baltimore first for a couple of days, then to the Delaware shore for about a week with extended family.

In Baltimore, an old friend snagged four tickets to the August 2 Orioles game against the Kansas City Royals. The O's won 6-0, unfortunately. We were seated very close to first base, so I snapped this photo of Eric Hosmer. The game was briefly delayed by rain in the early innings, but I still had a great time in terrific seats. Plus, the storm presaged the arrival of moderate August temperatures throughout our visit.

The following day, my spouse and I went to the Baltimore Museum of Art. It turns out they have a cast of Rodin's "The Thinker." The same statue has a prominent position in front of Grawemeyer Hall at UofL. In fact, the one at UofL used to be in Baltimore, but was sold when Baltimore acquired this one.

The BMA also has a number of Andy Warhol pieces, including a version of the "Last Supper." The city's artistic side is also revealed in its tribute to local native John Waters (pink flamingo, pictured below).

As beach preparation, I also bought six packs of local beers Duckpin Pale Ale (brewed by Union) and Penguin Pils (brewed by Brewer's Art). I loved the Duckpin, but found the Penguin Pils overly influenced by Belgian style. I prefer German or Czech pilsners.

During beach week, we visited the Dogfish brewpub in Rehobeth, toured the Seacrets Distillery in Ocean City, and ate our share of fresh crab -- including some caught by family members. The younger generation cousins used chicken necks and nets to catch a family-record number this year! The first one we caught is pictured below.

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Lansing Lugnuts

While on vacation last week, my spouse and I managed to take in a baseball game in Lansing. We've been vacationing in Michigan for many years, but we have not attended a baseball game since 2004. We previously took our children to White Caps games in Grand Rapids -- and the kids received free caps!

There was not much of a crowd Monday, June 26, despite it being "Dog Days of Summer" night (dogs entered for free with their owners). It was a bit cool for late June baseball -- 66 degrees for the first pitch. In any case, we got to see two of Toronto's top hitting prospects. Both are sons of former major league players.

Bo Bichette (son of Dante) is a shortstop hitting about .400. In the picture below, he drove in the first run of the game in his first plate appearance. I'm glad I snapped quickly as he swung on the first pitch, which he also did in his next PA. Later in the game, he struck out and then was also called for interference -- a runner attempting to steal second base on his swing was also called out. Bichette has a quick bat, but did not seem to be a patient or controlled hitter.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. (son of Vlad) is listed as a third baseman (and played the hot corner in this game), but looks to be destined for the opposite corner given his build. He is also having a very good offensive season and some analysts believe he will be in the majors before he is 21. My spouse and I saw Guerrero's father play in Montreal in June 2001 when we were in that great city celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary during their annual jazz festival. Vlad Jr. would have been 2 at the time. Both he and Bichette are younger than our daughters who did not travel with us to either Montreal or Lansing.

A couple of other top Jays prospects were also in the game. Outfielders J.B. Woodman (2016 round 2 draft pick) and Joshua Palacios (2016 round 4 pick) were a combined 1-for-8 in the game with 3 strikeouts. Palacios led off with a hit in the first inning and scored the game's first run.

The game ended 4-3 for the home team as Guerrero led off the bottom of the 9th with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. A pinch runner moved to third on an infield out. Then, the Bowling Green Hot Rods elected to walk the next two batters intentionally. After a strikeout, a relatively new member of the Lugnuts, catcher Javier Hernandez ended the game with a walk-off single. He was mobbed by his teammates.

Tampa Rays infield prospect (playing 3B Monday) Adrian Rondon was 0-for-4 in the game with two strikeouts. Outfielder speedster and 2015 Rays #1 draft pick Garrett Whitley was 0-for-2 with a walk. The Rays #1 draft pick from 2016, infielder Josh Lowe, hit a 3-run homer in the 8th inning to tie a game that had been 3-0.

Game Notes: When Hot Rod SS Lucius Fox batted, I tried making Batman references, but no one within ear shot seemed to know what I was talking about....I also tried pig Latin references when Mitch Nay batted, but....A local Michigan SABR member sat just behind us. He mentioned writing bios for the SABR bio project and traveling to various minor league parks (including Slugger Field). Unfortunately, we didn't talk long and I don't get his name....We had great seats right behind home plate, but probably could have sat about anywhere for less than the $12 per seat that we paid. The stadium was really empty....For a couple of innings, we sat in the leftfield restaurant Good Hops. The food was good and the tap list looked impressive, but I was not drinking beer thanks to meds I was taking for a summer illness....The ballpark is called Cooley Law School Stadium, which seemed strange. Any other parks named for units within a local University? We drove by the Cooley Law School downtown as we headed to our hotel.

Update July 9: Baseball America has released its midseason top 100 prospects and Rays outfielder Jesus Sanchez is #100. He was 2-for-4 in the game, both singles. He batted 6th in the Hot Rod order and played LF.

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ISA 2017

Harbor view from Hyatt Regency

I attended the 2017 ISA conference in Baltimore this past week. It's enormous and I have ambivalent feelings about it. There are 75 to 80 panels at a time, with at least 5 people usually on each panel (4 or 5 papers is typical on "regular" panels, plus a chair/discussant). Lots of people complain about under-attended panels, but many show up for roundtables featuring prominent scholars in the discipline.

I managed to see a few old friends from academia and from the "real" world. I visited a brewpub and a craft beer bar, walked around Camden Yards, and took the commuter train to DC in order to do some work tied to my job as department chair. Soon, I'll try to upload a few pictures with this post.

Pictured below left: the Babe Ruth statue outside Camden Yards and the beer menu from The Brewer's Art last Wednesday night.

Saturday morning, I presented a paper on "Trump and American Foreign Policy; A Threat to Peace and Prosperity?" I've uploaded it to my Academia.edu page and my Research Gate page. I'm grateful to Fabrizio Coticchia for his helpful comments. I'm not sure what to do with the paper, but Fabrizio had helpful insights about Silvio Berlusconi that seem directly applicable to Trump and about the literature on political "outsiders" who assume executive power.

If anyone reads the paper and has comments, please send them along. Also, I'm genuinely looking for ideas about what to do with it. At minimum, it has prepared me for teaching about Trump in class.

Note: "The Voice" TV program was conducting auditions just around the corner from my hotel and near the conference. I've included a photo of the line:

The Voice auditions

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Tulsa Time

My family members traveled to Tulsa for Memorial Day weekend. I'm pleased to report a couple of interesting new places to visit.

First, with my sister and her spouse, I tried the new Prairie brewpub downtown. We didn't eat, but I tried several beers (one was merely a sample -- the Pilsner). I liked the low abv Pale Ale, but the Daddy Stack IPA was the standout. I've previously tried the darker BOMB!

On Sunday afternoon, my spouse and daughters visited the Woody Guthrie Center with my brother-in-law (who wanted to see the Grammy Museum's traveling Stevie Ray Vaughn exhibit).

 The lyrics to "This Land is Your Land" are under glass in the very center of the Center.

I didn't get to take in a baseball game, unfortunately, but my brother-in-law and I walked down to the new ONEOK ballpark when we dined nearby in the Blue Dome district. 

It was a fun weekend.


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