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LonBon22 A Michigan native always traveling somewhere & Exploring! Every place has a story worth telling, I’m here to find that story!

Travel, Food, and Experiences are my passion! 🌲☀️

A little piece of Upper Peninsula History!Rosy’s Diner Located in Escanaba, Michigan in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.If yo...
10/09/2026

A little piece of Upper Peninsula History!

Rosy’s Diner Located in Escanaba, Michigan in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

If you’ve ever been to Escanaba, Michigan, chances are you’ve heard of Rosy’s Diner. A legendary local institution serving up homemade comfort food, small-town charm, and a slice of Hollywood history!

A history that goes back decades. Rosy’s Diner traces its roots back to 1932, making it a longtime fixture in the Escanaba community. The restaurant was originally known as Tommy’s Lunch, operated by Thomas Xavier beginning in 1939. After decades of serving the community, the diner entered a new chapter when Rosy Cox took over in 1999, giving the establishment the name locals know and love today.

Rosy became known for her welcoming personality, generous portions, homemade comfort food, and the kind of hospitality that makes a neighborhood diner feel like home. With its classic diner counter, nostalgic atmosphere, and old-school charm, Rosy’s became much more than a place to grab a bite, it became part of Escanaba’s identity.

In July 2022, longtime owner Rosy Cox sold the business to new co-owners Andy and Myra Fields, who continued the tradition of preserving the diner’s character, familiar menu, and friendly atmosphere.

Escanaba & Rosy’s Diner have Hollywood History!

Rosy’s Diner is associated with “Escanaba in da Moonlight” (2001), the cult-classic comedy written and directed by Michigan-born actor Jeff Daniels! One of my personal favorites of a very corny slap-comedy genre. (It is a bit exaggerated if you watch it!).

The film celebrates Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, its hunting traditions, and the colorful characters who call it home. Its connection to Escanaba helped shine a spotlight on the region’s unique culture, humor, and small-town personality.

Escanaba in da Moonlight follows the Soady family and their annual deer camp traditions, blending hunting culture, family rivalry, and distinctly Yooper humor. For fans of the movie, visiting places associated with the film offers a chance to experience the real communities and landscapes behind the story.

Rosy’s is more than just a diner. It represents something increasingly special: a traditional American diner where local history, familiar faces, hearty meals, and generations of memories come together. Places like this help preserve the character of small-town America, one cup of coffee, one plate of comfort food, and one conversation at a time.

Whether you’re a longtime Yooper, a traveler exploring Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a classic diner enthusiast, or a fan of Jeff Daniels and his movies, Rosy’s Diner is a name worth knowing!

I want to know! Have you ever ate at Rosy’s Diner?

Share your favorite memory, tell us what you ordered, or let us know if you’ve visited Escanaba to explore its movie history!

Support local history. Support small businesses! 😊

1313 Ludington Street
Escanaba, Michigan

10/07/2026

Go where you feel alive, travel far enough to be one with nature and wander long enough to find yourself. Collect moments instead of things, embrace every new road and every beautiful view, and never wait for happiness. Go out and find it, because life is too short not to live boldly and appreciate what life has to offer.
We were never meant to spend our lives sitting behind a screen, endlessly consuming media, absorbing other people’s opinions, stressing about things we can’t control, and overthinking every moment of our own lives.
The world is happening while you’re watching it through a screen. Go somewhere! Drive with no destination. Try food you’ve never tasted. Make new friends. Watch the sunrise. Stand somewhere that takes your breath away. Do something that scares you. Make memories that you treasure!
The world is an open door and waiting!

10/07/2026

Once a roadside motel serving travelers along one of Saginaw County’s busiest corridors, the Welcome Inn & Suites eventually became one of Buena Vista Township’s most recognizable abandoned properties.

Located at 3425 E. Holland Road near M-46 and I-75, the motel dates back to 1964. Property records show that it was sold for $501,000 in February 2009. For years, it operated as a budget motel serving travelers in the Saginaw area.

But the property’s story took a dramatic turn in the 2010s.

After years of efforts to bring the building up to code, Buena Vista Township ultimately forced the Welcome Inn to close in December 2016 under its dangerous-building ordinance. Township officials later said the property had been vacant and unmaintained since 2018.

By 2019, the property was listed for sale for $425,000, but the deteriorating motel proved difficult to bring back to life. Local officials began pursuing a solution for what had become a major blight problem, including plans to demolish the abandoned buildings. A county brownfield plan estimated the project at roughly $400,000, while a $200,000 loan request was approved to help fund demolition and other eligible work. That $200,000 was not a fine against the owner, as is sometimes claimed online.

In October 2022, officials announced plans to finally tear down the former Welcome Inn. But before the demolition could take place, disaster struck.

On January 7, 2023, a fire tore through the abandoned motel. Fire officials suspected arson, although the cause was still under investigation at the time. Firefighters searched the building and found no one inside, and no firefighters were injured.

The fire left the already-abandoned property in even worse condition. By March 2024, demolition and cleanup work was finally getting underway, and the former motel was removed. Today, the property is no longer home to the Welcome Inn — the motel complex that once stood here has become another lost piece of Saginaw County history.

For decades, travelers came through these doors looking for an inexpensive place to spend the night. In the end, the Welcome Inn became something very different: a symbol of a forgotten era of roadside motels and a reminder of how quickly an active business can disappear from the landscape.

10/07/2026

Waverly Hills Sanatorium overnight stay Midnight to 6am.

Old Farm Agricultural Outbuilding in Bay City, Michigan. This structure was most likely a pump house, milk house, or equ...
10/06/2026

Old Farm Agricultural Outbuilding in Bay City, Michigan. This structure was most likely a pump house, milk house, or equipment/storage shed used by farmers.
Long before modern pole barns and metal-sided farm buildings became common across Michigan, farmers were building with a material that could be made right on their own property.
Across rural Michigan in the early 1900s, rusticated concrete blocks, often called rock-faced concrete blocks or ornamental concrete blocks, became a surprisingly popular building material. These distinctive blocks had a rough, stone-like exterior that gave small farm buildings the appearance of expensive cut stone, while being much more affordable and practical for rural families.
The technology behind them helped fuel the trend. In 1900, Harmon S. Palmer patented a machine that made it possible to produce concrete blocks relatively quickly and consistently. By the 1910s, hand-operated block machines were being advertised through mail-order catalogs, including Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery Ward. Farmers could purchase the machinery, gather sand and gravel locally, mix it with Portland cement, and manufacture their own blocks right on the farm.
Michigan was also part of the machinery’s manufacturing story. Companies such as the Zagelmeyer Cast Stone Block Machinery Company of Bay City produced specialized equipment and molds that helped make decorative concrete construction possible throughout the region.
For farmers, the appeal was obvious. Concrete was durable, resistant to rot, and far less vulnerable to fire than traditional wood construction. Rock-faced blocks could be used for barn foundations, basements, milk houses, pump houses, storage buildings, and small equipment sheds. They were especially useful for structures where durability, sanitation, and resistance to moisture mattered.
The rough, irregular face of the blocks was designed to imitate natural stone. A simple farm building constructed from these blocks could look substantial and permanent without the expense of masonry stonework. What began as an inexpensive and practical building method could also give a modest Michigan farmstead a surprisingly impressive appearance.
But the era didn’t last forever. By the 1930s and 1940s, improvements in industrial manufacturing made smooth concrete and cinder blocks faster and cheaper to produce. After World War II, agricultural construction increasingly shifted toward pole barns, metal siding, and other modern building methods.
Today, those old rock-faced concrete structures scattered across Michigan’s countryside are easy to overlook. But behind their weathered walls is a fascinating story of early 20th-century innovation—when farmers could order a machine from a catalog, gather materials from around the farm, and literally manufacture their own building blocks.
Some of these little buildings may look like nothing more than old sheds. They’re actually pieces of Michigan’s agricultural history.

The Pinconning Cheese Shop Located in Pinconning, Michigan. A community that earned its reputation as the “Cheese Capita...
10/06/2026

The Pinconning Cheese Shop Located in Pinconning, Michigan. A community that earned its reputation as the “Cheese Capital of Michigan” and turned a local dairy surplus into one of the state’s most recognizable regional foods.
Before Michigan’s highways were lined with modern travel stops, there was a small town where travelers knew they had to pull over for one thing: cheese.
The story of Pinconning cheese begins in 1915 with Daniel Horn, a German immigrant and cheesemaker who settled in the area. Local farms were producing more milk than nearby markets could handle, so Horn developed his own variation of Colby cheese using a distinctive cold-water-wash process. The method helped the cheese age successfully in an era when modern refrigeration was still far from commonplace.
What made Pinconning cheese special was its ability to change dramatically with age. Young wheels could have a mild, almost “squeaky” character, while carefully aged cheese could develop an exceptionally sharp and complex flavor over the course of several years.
As automobile travel exploded across Michigan, Pinconning became a familiar stop for families heading north toward Michigan’s lakes, cabins and vacation destinations. Cheese shops and roadside markets helped transform the town into a destination in its own right, with businesses such as Wilson’s Cheese Shoppe and the Pinconning Cheese Company carrying the tradition forward.
That roadside tradition continues today at The Cheesehouse Cheese Shop. Located near I-75 at Exit 181, the shop has become another stop for travelers looking to take a taste of Pinconning home with them.
Inside, visitors can find traditional wax-wrapped Pinconning cheese in different stages of aging, along with cheese curds, Michigan-made jerky, smoked freshwater fish, Amish spreads, regional wines and other local favorites.
For generations, people have been passing through Pinconning on their way “up north.” And for many of them, the trip simply wouldn’t be complete without stopping for a piece of the cheese that put this little Michigan town on the map.

This little Michigan town has been making cheese for America for more than 80 years.Tucked away in Linwood, Michigan, al...
10/05/2026

This little Michigan town has been making cheese for America for more than 80 years.
Tucked away in Linwood, Michigan, along the shores of Saginaw Bay, is a family business whose story began in an old barn in 1945 and eventually grew into a cheesemaking operation shipping millions of pounds of cheese across the country.
This is the story of Williams Cheese Company.
It Started With a Barn. In 1945, Jim and Jenny Williams set out to build a cheese business of their own. Their beginnings were anything but grand. An old barn on their property became a warehouse where cheese could be stored and aged.
There were no massive production facilities. No nationwide distribution network. Just a family, hard work, and a commitment to making a quality product. But that humble operation would eventually become something much bigger.
From Linwood to America, Generation after generation, the Williams family continued building the business. Over the decades, the small operation grew into a 30,000-square-foot facility, employing dozens of people and producing more than five million pounds of cheese every year.
Much of that cheese doesn’t stay in Michigan.
Williams products have made their way onto shelves across the United States, with distribution reaching places as far away as Alaska and Hawaii. All from a business that started right here in Linwood, Michigan.
Today, visitors can stop by the Factory Outlet here in Linwood, Michigan and find an impressive selection of Williams cheeses.
Smoked Cheddar
Smoked Swiss
Green Onion Ranch
Roasted Garlic
Pinconning cheese
Cold pack spreads
And plenty of other varieties.
For serious cheese lovers, there’s even the chance to pick up bags of “cheese trim” pieces left over from the cutting and packaging process.
Visitors can also watch the cheesemaking operation through large viewing windows, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at a Michigan business that has been doing this for generations.
A Michigan Story Worth Remembering
What makes Williams Cheese special isn’t simply how much cheese it produces. It’s the story behind it.
A family started a business in 1945 using an old barn. More than eight decades later, that same family name is attached to cheese being enjoyed thousands of miles away.
It’s a reminder that some of Michigan’s most interesting stories aren’t found in the biggest cities or most famous landmarks. Sometimes, they’re found behind the doors of a family business in a small town. In this case, that story happens to smell like freshly made cheese.
Williams Cheese Company
Linwood, Michigan
Have you ever visited the Williams Cheese Factory Outlet? What kind of cheese did you pick up?

Linwood Waterfront Park Located in Linwood, Michigan.Tucked along the eastern end of Linwood Road on the shores of Sagin...
10/05/2026

Linwood Waterfront Park Located in Linwood, Michigan.
Tucked along the eastern end of Linwood Road on the shores of Saginaw Bay, Linwood Waterfront Park is more than a scenic place to enjoy the water. It represents decades of community vision, preservation, and determination.
The story began more than 50 years ago, when local leaders envisioned creating a public space at the end of Linwood Road where residents could enjoy unobstructed views of Saginaw Bay. More than 40 years ago, local residents and business leaders joined forces with Fraser Township, Kawkawlin Township, and Bay County to begin turning that vision into reality.
The road was widened and paved, an adjoining property was purchased, a summer cottage was removed, and a boat launch was created to provide public access to the bay.
For decades afterward, however, the site received little attention. The aging asphalt deteriorated, the boat launch became overgrown with invasive phragmites, and the shoreline accumulated broken concrete and brick debris. Even in its neglected condition, the location remained one of the few places where the public could freely experience the Saginaw Bay shoreline.
Then, in 2024, the long-awaited transformation began.
Through a crowdfunding campaign supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Public Spaces Community Places program, Fraser Township, Bay County, and community supporters came together once again to breathe new life into the property.
The former blighted access site was cleared and redesigned as a welcoming public waterfront park, featuring a new 400-foot steel seawall, expansive green space, paved walking paths, picnic areas, accessible amenities, and improved opportunities to enjoy the bay.
Today, Linwood Waterfront Park stands as a reminder of what can happen when a community refuses to let an important piece of its waterfront disappear.
What began as a dream generations ago has become a beautiful public gathering place where residents and visitors can experience the beauty of Saginaw Bay for generations to come.
Linwood Waterfront Park
Linwood, Michigan

Tobico Marsh Nature Area Located in Bay City, Michigan.Towering above the wetlands, the iconic 40-foot wooden observatio...
10/05/2026

Tobico Marsh Nature Area Located in Bay City, Michigan.
Towering above the wetlands, the iconic 40-foot wooden observation towers at Tobico Marsh offer sweeping views of one of Michigan’s most remarkable natural landscapes.
Spanning more than 1,600 acres, Tobico Marsh is one of the largest remaining freshwater coastal wetlands along the Great Lakes. Its diverse ecosystem includes expansive marshes, wet prairies, oak barrens, and aquatic habitats that provide important refuge for wildlife and migrating birds.
Long before the area became part of a state park, the region was home to Native American communities that relied on the marsh’s abundant fish and wildlife. During Michigan’s lumber boom, the surrounding area was later transformed by logging, sawmills, and shipyards.
In 1907, the Tobico Hunting and Fishing Club established the marsh as an exclusive private hunting and fishing preserve. Membership was limited to just eight individuals, and the property included cottages with fireplaces, private boathouses, duck blinds throughout the wetlands, and a year-round caretaker.
Because the property remained privately managed for decades, Tobico Marsh avoided much of the drainage, agricultural development, and industrialization that altered many of the surrounding wetlands of the Saginaw Bay region.
By the 1950s, the private club had declined considerably. Frank N. Andersen, one of the final surviving members, acquired the property and donated the marsh to the State of Michigan in 1957.
The land became the Tobico State Wildlife Refuge, creating a protected sanctuary for waterfowl, migratory birds, and other wildlife.
In 1976, the U.S. Department of the Interior designated Tobico Marsh a National Natural Landmark in recognition of its exceptional ecological significance.
In 1994, the refuge was incorporated into the adjacent Bay City State Park, dramatically expanding the park’s footprint.
Today, Tobico Marsh remains an important destination for birdwatchers, hikers, photographers, and anyone looking to experience Michigan’s Great Lakes coastline. The Frank N. Andersen Nature Trail and two four-story observation towers allow visitors to explore the preserved wetlands and experience the landscape from above.
Tobico Marsh is a remarkable example of how conservation can preserve both Michigan’s natural heritage and its history for generations to come.

Live Oak Coffeehouse Located in Freeland, Michigan.There’s something special about starting the day with a warm cup of c...
10/05/2026

Live Oak Coffeehouse Located in Freeland, Michigan.
There’s something special about starting the day with a warm cup of coffee and a freshly baked quiche. At Live Oak Coffeehouse in Freeland, Michigan, visitors can enjoy both in a welcoming, community-focused atmosphere. 🌿☕️
Opened in late 2024, the Freeland location became the fourth Mid-Michigan community café for Live Oak Coffeehouse. Built around the motto “Like Coffee, Love People,” the café offers a comfortable place to grab breakfast, catch up with friends, study, work remotely, or simply slow down and enjoy a cup of coffee.
🥧 House-Made Quiches
One of Live Oak’s specialties is its freshly prepared quiche, with popular varieties including Spinach & Feta and Bacon, Broccoli & Cheddar. Guests can choose between a traditional fluted pastry crust or a crustless option.
☕️ Locally Roasted Coffee
Live Oak roasts its own coffee locally, including the Freeland Blend, a medium roast featuring notes of fudge, cinnamon bread, honey, and apricot. Seasonal lattes and specialty drinks made with house-made syrups round out the coffee menu.
🥯 More Breakfast Favorites
The kitchen also offers breakfast sandwiches, wraps, muffins, grab-and-go items, and even “quagels” — a creative combination of a bagel and crustless quiche.
📍 Live Oak Coffeehouse – Freeland
7736 Midland Rd, Suite 1
Freeland, MI 48623
Whether you’re stopping in for a quick breakfast, grabbing coffee on the way through town, or looking for a comfortable place to spend a few hours, Live Oak Coffeehouse offers a warm taste of the Freeland community. ❤️

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Saginaw, MI

Telephone

+19892523865

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