Steamboat Park Campground, Jenison Michigan

 Steamboat Park Campground in Jenison, Michigan

We stopped in Jenison to visit with our niece who lives in the Grand Rapids area.  We came here with no expectations or plans for the area other than visiting with family.  Since Brooke still works, we had to fill our daytime with something.  We found the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum.  They were having a travelling exhibition of replicas of the Sistine Chapel's famous artwork..

Replicas of some of the most famous works of the Sistine Chapel.  Obviously, it is not the same as seeing it in person, but it does make you want to go see it.  The beauty of the pictures probably do not do it justice.  

 

Gerald and Betty Ford's gravesites are on the grounds of the Museum property.  A caricature of Gerald Ford when he played football for Michigan as an all star center for the Wolverines is outside the museum as well as a bronze statue.  We did not actually expect to learn much about Ford when we arrived at the Museum. We weren't really sure what to expect of the museum and honestly had low expectations. I had always considered him to be a buffoon that was President by default.  All I really knew about him was he pardoned Richard Nixon.  I was completely wrong about him. He did pardon Nixon but he did it so the country could move forward. He felt it was in the best interest of the country to get some closure on the whole Nixon scandal and focus on other issues plaguing the nation. He did an amazing job with the economy and inflation during his presidency.  The number of people that talked positively about him and how he was the best possible choice for president at that time was both amazing and unexpected- from Tom Brokaw, to Ted Kennedy, to Jimmy Carter who followed him as president surprised us. Our visit to the presidential museum was exponentially more interesting than we expected. It was well worth the price of admission. We will seek out the other 14 presidential museums in our future travels as a result of this visit.  

An Apollo Capsule in Grand Rapids is at the public museum across from the presidential museum. We bought an annual pass that will allow access to science and history museums across the nation. This museum closed before we were able to tour all of it. Unfortunately, we did not have time to come back here another day to fully explore the museum. The downside of this museum is it is geared for children- loud, rowdy kids were running in mayhem everywhere. People tend to frown negatively if you tell them their little angels are unruly brats that need discipline. We did manage a few head shakes and eye rolls at a few of the worst of the little beasts. 

The knowledge that exists and that we currently ignore is criminal.  The Native Americans had some profound insight into man and the land. 

We took about a 6-7 mile hike at Lake Michigan at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park.  The state parks in Michigan are extremely nice but also expensive if you come in from out of state.  We unfortunately did not have the forethought to buy an annual pass when we first visited a state park in Michigan. We spent about 3 weeks in Michigan. At $10 a park for a day pass adds up quickly when you try to visit as many as you can during your stay. The parks are beautiful but good signage is lacking throughout the park system in many places. They could definitely improve signage which would make the visits much more enjoyable. 

This is located at the USS Silversides memorial.  USS Silversides was stationed in Pearl Harbor and is currently docked in Muskegon, Michigan. As an old Bubblehead, I could not resist visiting the boat and the submarine museum. There was also an early Coast Guard boat with relics and tribute to the coast guard in addition to all the submarine displays. We got to tour both boats and the museum. The Coast guard boat gave Mark the opportunity to share a few witty Coast Guard puns.  

The conning tower in the background is from the first USS Drum SS 228.  The USS Drum SS 228 is in Mobil, Alabama, docked astern of the USS Alabama.  The museum staff was unable to answer my questions about why the conning tower is here and not with the sub in Alabama or if this was the actual conning tower from the USS Drum. An actual torpedo tube is in the foreground. The submariner in me was full of questions.

Submariners are a different and unique breed. We do not die, we just go on Eternal patrol.  This plaque is in remembrance of the 3505 Submariners that are on Eternal Patrol from WWII.

The USS Silversides is tied at the pier.  We had a very enjoyable, self guided tour of the boat and museum.  Lisa wished she had served on a submarine after the tour (Lisa would have been in tears soon after being assigned to a sub). Not everyone is cut out to serve on a submarine. Ironically, we met a man at a state park while hiking that noticed Mark's hat and shirt (both submarine veteran). This fella was medically discharged from service after having a full meltdown aboard a sub. He still has PTSD from his time in the Navy.  His PTSD is not combat related, it is purely from being confined in an enclosed, noisy submersed submarine. Listening to the man speak of his ordeal made you wonder how many vets had suffered similar experiences and how prepared the staff was trained for a full psychotic break while at sea.  Hopefully they could sedate the sailor until they could surface and port. 

This contraption was the first attempt at a rescue apparatus for US submariners.  Later, the US Navy developed what was designated a DSRV, a Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle.  In the event a submarine sank, it would not have worked in 99% of the situations at sea. Very, very few submariners survive a sinking submarine. It is a grim reality.  We enjoyed this submarine museum. Ironically, they did not offer much of a veteran discount ($2) off the price of admission.