And Finally, the Pere Marquette 1223

And what's a visit to Grand Haven without pictures of the 1223.

 It's still a shame that this engine isn't running.  I would love to see it in action.

 But I guess they used parts from this to get the 1225 running.  And speaking of the 1225, I might catch her next weekend.

 And a full out side shot.

One more shot from the front.

And the Grand Haven Lighthouse

And so I got pictures of the Grand Haven Lighthouse.

 It's a tossup between this and the St. Joseph Lighthouse for my favorite on Lake Michigan.  Both have their positives and both are pretty cool looking.  With the St. Joseph Light undergoing renovation, this one will get my attention for now.  Although, I'm hoping that I can get some ice shots of the St. Joseph Light.

 I think the deciding factor is the color of this light.  It really sets off well against the blue sky.

 And the light taper to the pier.

 A shot of the range light.  I don't often get shots from this angle.

 And it's almost impossible to get shots without people.

 Unless you take a picture of the tower.

And the sign warning that the surface may be slippery.  In the winter, it isn't kidding.

A Coast Guard Boat Returning to Grand Haven

After I realized that I missed the Sykes leaving, I headed over to the park to catch some pictures of the lighthouse.  As I was parking, I saw this guy coming in.

 Turns out that this is a 47 foot Motor Lifeboat.  It was designed to replace the 1963 to 1972 era 44 Motor Life Boat. 

 It is designed as a fast response rescue craft that can operate in 30 foot seas.    It is powered by two 435 hp Detroit Diesel Engines which gives it a top speed of 25 knots.  It is also a self righting craft, which means that if it tips over, it will come back right side up.

 The first craft was delivered in 1997 and there are 227 planned.

And one more shot.

Anyone who follows this blog knows that I have a great admiration for the men and women of our Coast Guard.

A Trip to the South Haven Lighthouse

So I made the trek down to South Haven next.  Again, it was a while since I've been there.

 I really like the lighthouses on Lake Michigan.  Most of them have a cat walk like this one and it makes them look unique.

 And of course, when you see the size of the waves over here, you can see why they'd have a catwalk.  I can't imagine trying to get over to the lighthouse to do repairs or whatever without one.

 A view from the front.

 I kind of like the shadows across the pier.

 I was trying for a shot with leading lines.  what do you think?

 Another shot looking down the pier.

 Back on the beach.

Normally, I don't like people in my shots of buildings but I don't mind in this one.  I think they add something to the shot.

The Holland Lighthouse

Like I said in my last post, I thought I had 5 hours to kill.  So I grabbed breakfast at a place called Stanz in Grand Haven.  It wasn't too bad but the staff seemed a bit hurried.  After breakfast, I decided to head down to Holland and South Haven.  It has been a while since I've caught either.

 There is a nice little park across the River from the lighthouse.  The only drawback was that I would be shooting into the sun for most of these pictures.  It kind of wreaked havoc with my light meter.

 Still, this is a very nice looking lighthouse and the river was fairly calm.  I really want to come back here when the waves are going strong though.  I'm not sure how much of an impact they would have on this lighthouse though.

 Her nickname is "Big Red" and you can see why.

 I'll have to say that they do a pretty good job of maintaining her.

 As I said, the lighting made it tough.

One more shot before heading to South Haven.

Waking Up to the Wilfred Sykes

I was looking at facebook on Saturday night and there is a group that is dedicated to Ships that Visit Western Michigan.  I saw a post on there that the Sykes would be paying a visit to Grand Haven at 10:00A.M. yesterday morning.  Since the Sykes is a pretty nice looking ship, I decided to get up and go over there to catch her.

 She was moving a little faster than expected, so she was already on the River by the time I got there.  I was really hoping to catch her at the lighthouse but I'm actually fine with this because I think I like these pictures better.

 The last time I caught her, she was swarmed with pleasure boats and I wasn't happy with my pictures because I tend to like my ship pictures undistracted.  So this was nice.

 The water was calm enough that I was getting some fairly nice reflections.  And since this is a spot where I can get a headshot, I will have to remember it next time.

 I will have to say that the Sykes is one of the nicer looking boats out there.  It certainly looks like she is well taken care of.  I don't see too many dock rashes on her.  But then again, she pretty much stays on Lake Michigan and doesn't go through the Soo Locks much.

 I really like her paint scheme, I will have to say it is probably the nicest on the Lakes.

 A shot of her pilothouse.  For some reason, it kind of reminds me of the Herbert Jackson.

 And her deckhouse.

 The crew starting to prepare the hatches for unloading.

 Another shot of her deckhouse.

 She is one of the last steamers on the Lakes.  I have a feeling that she may end up being the last one.

 Old Glory flying in the breeze.

 Another shot of her rear.

 She continues down the river.

And one more shot of her.  First I tried to catch her going into the dock where I caught her last time, but it turned out she went into a different dock.  Then someone said it would take roughly 5 hours to unload, so I putzed around elsewhere and I missed her leaving Grand Haven.  Oh, things to learn for next time.

The Day in Lansing

I ended up meeting some family up in Lansing yesterday.  Since I was there, I decided to get some pictures.

 It's kind of hard to visit Lansing and not get pictures of the capitol building.  I think it looks really nice with the Christmas tree in front.

 I'm not sure what building this is but I thought it looked pretty cool.

 This is now the Comerica Bank Building but it used to be the bank of Lansing.

 It was built in 1931 and is 15 stories tall.

 I really like some of the decorations on the building.  For some reason this reminds me of someone stealing government.  Kind of funny seeing this on a bank.

 This may be the guy that chopped the top of the capitol building off.

 An elephant.  If there is one thing I like about old buildings, it's that it seems like they took the time to make them look right.  Lots of attention to detail.

 Looking down one of the streets.  It seemed pretty abandoned for a major city.

 This was in a tobacco shop.

 I kind of liked this street scene.

 another look at this street.

 This used to be known as the Strand Theater and was built in 1920.  It so many features that were common in so many movie palaces from the 1920's.  It was renamed the Michigan in the 1940's and closed in the 1970's (probably replaced by a multiplex somewhere).   In 1984, it was transformed into office space.  Not sure what is going on there now.

 This used to be the Cooley Law School.

 Some other angles of the Capitol Building.

 The Boji Tower.  Originally built in 1930 as the Olds Tower and was named after the founder of Oldsmobile.  In 1954, it became the National Bank Tower.  In 2005, it acquired its current name.  It is the tallest building in Lansing.

 Reflected in the marble of another building.

 I kind of liked the reflection of the Capitol Building.

 One of the statues on the Capitol grounds.

 another angle of the building.

 Looking up at the tower.

 This is a statue of Austin Blair.  He was Michigan's governor during the Civil War.  He was a strong supporter of abolition.  He was also a strong supporter of the Civil War.  Prior to the war, he was a leading proponent of the movement to ban capital punishment in Michigan.  After the war, he served as a US Congressman.

 I really love the looks of our Capitol Building.  I still wish its occupants could live up to it.

 This was an abandoned railroad tower.  Apparently, it used to be elsewhere and it was moved to its current location.  There is a Model Railroad Group that is trying to save it and move it somewhere else.

 When I took a picture of this line, I thought it was abandoned.  It certainly looked abandoned but I found out that it is owned by the Adrian and Blissfield Railroad and used at least once a week.

 Then I thought this engine was abandoned.  I'm still not sure who owns it but apparently it is sitting here while people decide what to do with it.  It used to be use to run a dinner ride.

 This is one of several fish ladders on the Grand River.  It was built in 1981 with funds from the Department of Natural Resources and the City of Lansing.

 This is part of what is known as Old Town Lansing.  I think it is Lansing's attempt at something like Depot Town and it looks like they are on their way to succeeding.

 Then I got a shot of the Capitol Building as the sun set.

And one more shot with the trees lit up.