Saturday, June 14, 2008

Traverse City, Michigan (ACE Conference trip)


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller

I went to an Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) Conference during the week of June 8 through 13, in Traverse City, Michigan. This was a week of sessions, meetings, a tour and entertainment.

ACE is a professional organization of people who work in universities, government agencies and research organizations in the public sector, as well as companies in the private sector. Many work in Cooperative Extension. ACE members are writers, editors, photographers, graphic designers, videographers, electronic media producers, marketing and public relations practioners, researchers, Web developers, database programmers, distance education specialists, educators and managers.

I took lots of photos (just a few shared here). A display of boats rest behind Hagerty Center on the bay. The weather was overcast, nice and cool (cold-front chilly on Wednesday evening) and good storm later Wednesday night. It rained two or three times or more while I was there.


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller

This is the back side of Hagerty Center. Many of the conference sessions and meetings were held inside Hagerty Center.


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller

Nice boat!


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller

I liked the look of this building called River Front Plaza in the downtown section so took a picture of it.


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller

Early Wednesday evening ACE members had a social on the patio of the Holiday Inn (where I stayed). I joined a group of folks from North Dakota and Iowa. This brave mallard duck (I think it's a mallard anyway) kept walking around on the patio (probably looking for food).


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller

Thursday afternoon I went on a tour bus that took a beautiful scenic drive up to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan. In the distance is South Manitou Island. Between Sleeping Bear Dunes and South Manitou Island is Manitou Passage. The tour guide said there still are unretrieved shipwrecks in the Manitou Passage. Literature I received mention the ruins of a wrecked freighter Francisco Morazan that can be spotted off South Manitou's south shore. I'm only going to show one picture here (because I have way too many photos).


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller

After the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes part of the tour, our tour guide lead us back to the bus to go up to the Sleeping Bear Point Coast Guard Station Maritime Museum. So I got lots of photos from there, too (only three pics shown here).


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller


© 2008 Photo by Sue Miller
After touring the dunes and maritime museum, we came back to the hotel only to get back on the bus 45 minutes later to go to the City Opera House for dinner and entertainment. I got great shots of the painted dome on the ceiling and decoration just above the stage inside the well-preserved opera house.

Window Display (Gift Shop inside Dallas/Fort Worth Airport)


© 2008 Photos by Sue Miller

Stained Glass - Wyndham Hotel (El Paso, TX)


© 2008 Photos by Sue Miller

Stained Glass - Wyndham Hotel (El Paso, TX)


© 2008 Photos by Sue Miller