Nonna Lisa's in Mackinaw City - Ristorante Italiano?

Dinner evening 1. Nonna Lisa's was well advertised on the web and around the hotel. And it was within comfortable walking distance on what turned out to be a slightly cool evening.

Upon entering the restaurant, it's lack of Italianess struck me. There were loads of dead animals hanging on the walls, and on the ground all over the place. But, in fairness, it is Up North, so you get to expect that kind thing.

Hold on. That looks like an African lion. In Michigan?

Really nice furniture too - tables and chairs that appear to be cut straight from the tree.

And a jukebox.


In it's description, the words 'authentic' and 'traditional' were used. If that's authentic, traditional Italian, then they were a wee bit out. American-Italian, sure. Not a gripe - just an observation.

Starters was, for all, calamari. Unlike the Kona, this was delicious. Really really nice.

Main for me was pizza, with anchovies, tomato, and basil on it. It was great - on first impressions it looked small, but by half way through it, I was disappointed that I was filling up- I wanted to continue! I did eat more...


Wife had shrimp pasta with a creamy sauce. It looked nice - and she said it was - and what I tasted was. In fact she said it was delicious. Wife happy -> me happy.

Boy kid has fettuchine alfredo, which he ate the whole lot without complaining - nor barely allowing any to touch the sides. Girl kid had meatballs with linguine. Turned out to be meatball. Only on, but it was bigger than a golf ball. She ate all the meat, and some of the pasta, and only got a little sauce on herself.

As we were 'on vacation' we splashed out and got a bottle of wine. Da Vinci Chianti. Pretty reasonable at about $23 a bottle - if memory serves me right. Nice wine - had it before and liked it then too. Boy Kid took the photo below.... just to prove the wine existed.

Desert was something I passed on - I generally do. the others had Tiramisu. there seemed to be few complaints. Or talking, so I believe it was enjoyed.

Service. Our server was a young lad who done his best to keep us happy. Well, us and a lot of other people too - he seemed overworked. In fairness, he done OK. No complaints.

Mackinaw / Mackinac City/Island for the Weekend!

Which is it??? Is the city Mackinaw or Mackinac?? Who cares? It's fun!

Either way, last weekend, we decided, pretty much on the spur of the moment to take a short break up north. So, fast booking of a hotel commenced (using a pretty darn good (at least IMO) website), and mid-afternoon Friday, we hit the road. All was good til we hit the Zilawakee Bridge, which was closed, so that added a bunch of minutes onto our trip, but hey, no big deal.

We hit Mackinaw City about 6:30, checked into the Ramada, and paid an extra $10 per night for a lake front room. And relaxed. For 10 minutes until we needed to head out and eat. Which meant to the kids, head out and run on the beach. Which was one of the reasons we went there....

There were notices to not feed the gulls. I guess it's because they get a bit aggressive.




Anyway, Mackinaw City for us was a place to stay, shop, eat and be based as it was too expensive to stay on the Island. More posts will follow..

Mackinaw crossings outdoor mall

And a great big propeller

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Ford Field in the Summer

Detroit from the river - Diamond Jack's Tour Boat

I chaperoned on a school tour in Detroit - a bit different from the norm - we took Diamond Jack's River Boat Tour along the Detroit River. I gotta say - the city looks a lot different from the water.

After being welcomed on the boat by a really friendly crew, we set sail - and had a running commentary of what we were looking at...

The Ren Cen from the other side

The Manoogian Mansion. Partytime!! Hold on, there was no party!

Chene Park Auditorium

Canada. Or, I told the kids, Canadia. (Well, I asked them. You're American. From America. Why can't Canadians be from Canadia?)

Water pumping thingy

A Canadian casino

A distillery.

A native Canadian Elephant. Eh.

The mail boat. J.W. Westcott II - Apparently the only boat to have its own zip code - 48222

The Ambassador Bridge

1943 - A Guide to Hiring Women Folk

I recently got sent this.... it made me laugh and reminded me of another 'women's guide' which I'm looking for now.

This was written when there was a 'shortage' of men.

So, all ye modern ladies - read!
The wording is:

Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees: There's no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage.

Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject from Western Properties:

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they're less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it, they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.
2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.
3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.
4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.
5. Stress at the outset the importance of time the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.
6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they'll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.
7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.
8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.
9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.
10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she'll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.
11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

nobrand.awardspace.com

... is what exactly??? If anyone out there is reading this and knows what it is, please leave a comment.... I got a hit from there today.

Update - from another site - the nobrand thing seems to be a way of directing you to their site so you can sign up for web hosting or buy space or something.

Ah the joys of the Weber Charcoal Kettle (Happy Father's Day!)

Why would ya ever want a gas grill? I think these guys might agree with me....

Here are a couple of chicken grills I done recently. Delicious!!