Fun Travels Across the United States
MICHIGAN
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ANN ARBOR
Tsogyelgar Dharma Center Has The Largest Buddhist Mural in America
Tsogyelgar Dharma Center has undertaken the project of creating the largest cycle of Tantric Buddhist murals in America, a colorful depiction of Buddhas in Purelands painted over sixty feet of wall, twelve feet high. Not since the luminary Tibetan Lama Trungpa Rinpoche created the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Colorado, has there been a work of Buddhist Art on this scale in America. When Trungpa Rinpoche came to America in the 1970s, Tantric Buddhism from Tibet was just beginning to take root in the West. A generation later, it is in full bloom as evidenced by this ambitious work of American Buddhist art. The mural is housed in the Main Shrine Room at Tsogyelgar Dharma Center, which is hidden away in an unassuming mid-western barn, just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The use of art and symbolism plays a central role in Tantric Buddhism. While the mural is an impressive work of art in its own right, for Buddhist practitioners it also holds an even deeper significance. Buddhists consider the deities in the paintings to be actually present on the wall and displaying the qualities of Enlightened Awareness. The paintings also function as guides to meditation.
The artist, Mr. Rob Davis, an accomplished painter and graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, apprenticed for the past several years with master Tibetan painter, Pema Rinzin, at the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in New York City. Traktung Rinpoche, the center’s Director, Meditation Master, and scholar of Vajrayana Buddhism and Comparative Religion hired Mr. Davis to carry out his vision. Traktung Rinpoche conceived of the project, along with the Tsogyelgar’s meditation gardens and stupas to further the center’s aim of translating and transmitting the Buddha’s teachings in the West. With the help of twenty assistants, Mr. Davis plans to complete project on schedule.
Tsogyelgar Dharma Center is seven acres of gardens and shrines named for Yeshe Tsogyel, the great female Buddha from Tibet. The Center was founded in 1990 by students of the American born Spiritual Master, Traktung Rinpoche and hosts a variety of programs for people of all levels of interest. For detais, check web site www.tsogyelgar.org.
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GRAND RAPIDS
About Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
One of the world’s most significant botanic and sculpture experiences, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park serves more than a half-million visitors annually. Meijer Gardens was recently named one of the world’s 30 “Must-See Museums” by Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to See Before you Die. The 132-acre grounds feature Michigan’s largest tropical conservatory; one of the largest children’s gardens in the country; arid and Victorian gardens with bronze sculptures by Degas and Rodin; a carnivorous plant house; outdoor gardens; and a 1750-seat outdoor amphitheater, featuring an eclectic mix of world-renowned musicians every summer. The internationally acclaimed Sculpture Park features a permanent collection including works by Rodin, Oldenburg, Moore, Bourgeois, and Plensa among others. Indoor galleries host changing sculpture exhibitions with recent exhibitions by Picasso, Degas, di Suvero, Borofsky and Calder.
Admission Prices
Adults – $12
Seniors (65+) – $9
Students – $9
Children (5-13) – $6
Children (3-4) – $4
Children (2 and under) – Free
Hours
Monday, Wednesday – Saturday: 9 AM – 5 PM; Tuesday: 9 AM – 9 PM; Sunday: 9 AM – 5 PM. *Note – Extended Sunday hours are only for the duration of the exhibition.
For more additional information, please visit www.MeijerGardens.org
GREAT LAKES REGION
Michigan was actually shaped by the Great Lakes. Carved by glaciers more than 12,000 years ago, its two peninsulas are visible from the moon and instantly recognizable on any globe or atlas. What's equally amazing is that these two peninsulas are dotted with more than 11,000 inland lakes, laced with 36,000 miles of rivers and streams, and defined by a 3,200-mile Great Lakes coastline. Along this coastline are more than 100 public beaches, some of the highest freshwater sand dunes in the world, multi-colored sandstone cliffs, two National Lakeshores and the only national marine sanctuary in the Great Lakes -- the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron. In this area, you'll also find more than 100 lighthouses, numerous maritime museums, ten shipwreck-diving preserves, and historic military fortifications dating from the American Revolution and the Civil War.
It's no wonder that people plan vacations here, particularly sunbathers and swimmers -- for there are dozens and dozens of miles of blond-sand beaches, numerous state parks, a National Lakeshore, lakeside villages, artists' colonies, golf courses, and world-class resorts. Almost anything you love doing, you can do here - from the lakes, campgrounds, wildlife refuges, rivers for canoeing, kayaking, fishing and miles of hiking, biking, riding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling trails.
For more information and a variety of vacation planning tips, contact Circle Michigan, Inc., Grand Rapids Office, 3665 28th Street SE, Suite B, Grand Rapids, MI 49512; 1-800-513-6424, or check wet site www.circlemichigan.com.
HICKORY CORNERS
Gilmore Car Museum
The Gilmore Car Museum, located in Hickory Corners, Mich., always has something exciting on tap and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 6 p.m. on the weekends.
To learn more about the Gilmore Car Museum visit www.GilmoreCarMuseum.org or call the museum at 269-671-5089.
MACKINAC ISLAND
Mission Point Resort
Situated on 18 acres where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet at the Straits between Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, Mission Point Resort offers everything from a Kids' Club to fully automated Meeting Planner Suites, plus the only 500 seat theatre on the entire island. Relax, play golf, croquet, tennis, swim in the outdoor heated pool, pamper yourself with a massage at the 7th Heaven Spa, rent a bike, or dine at several restaurants right on the premises. Arrive here via direct ferry service from the mainland (available from St. Ignace and Mackinaw City) and vacation on these lovely 18 acres. Or, plan your next meeting here. A total of 33 meeting rooms offer over 35,000 square feet of group meeting and function space, and 7,500 square feet of sound stage can be used for exhibits, large banquets and Theme parties. The Conference Center features an Executive Board room, various size meeting rooms and a full service Business Center.
There's more, too. . . Lake cove swimming, outdoor hot tubs, volleyball, and an executive 18 hole putting course. Not enough? Try the fitness center. It includes a stream room, dry sauna, tanning, massage therapy, and hair salon. Nearby attractions if you feel like exploring, include Fort Mackinac, Arch Rock, Marquette Park, Indian Dormitory, St. Anne Catholic Church, Mission Church, Mission House, downtown shopping, restaurants, Historic Market Street, and more.
Children 12 and under eat free from a special menu, when accompanied by an adult in the Round Island Bar & Grill (Casual, fun, flip flop earing crowd), Lakeside Marketplace (Grab a picni basket filled with gourmet sandwiches and chilled wine), and The Epicurean (Five star fine dining at its best). At the Bistro on the Greens, adults can enjoy the fresh catch of the day every day, with outdoor dining and live music.
Nearby attractions include Fort Mackinac, Arch Rok, Marquette Park, Indian Dormitory, St. Anne Catholic church, Mission Church, Mission House, Downtwon shopping, restaurants, Historic Maret Street and much more.
For more information and reservations, contact mission Point Resort, One Lakeshore Drive, P.O. Box 430, Mackinae Island, MI 49757; 906-847-3312, or check web site www.missionpoint.com.
ROCHESTER
Meadow Brook Hall and Gardens
Meadow Brook Hall & Gardens is the fourth largest historic house museum in the United States, and is especially renowned for its superb craftsmanship, architectural detailing and grand scale. Built in the 1920s as the residence of OAKLAND UNIVERSITY founders, Matilda Dodge Wilson (widow of auto pioneer John Dodge) and her second husband lumber broker Alfred G. Wilson, the 110- room, 88,000 square - foot, Tudor – revival style mansion is complete with vast collections of original art and furnishings.
Listed on both the national and state registers of historic places, MEADOW BROOK HALL strives to preserve and interpret its architecture, landscape and fine decorative art so that visitors may be entertained, educated and inspired by history.
For additional information about Meadow Brook Hall and Gardens Mother’s Day Dinner, call (248) 364-6263 or visit www.meadowbrookhall.org.