A TALE OF TWO TRAILS Really, it's kind of more like three,…read morebut there's no catchy header to be had from that, is there? And the variations between the different areas of Oakland County this epic trail cuts through aren't as night and day as the difference between Oakland and Lapeer counties here. The southern trailhead near Joslyn and Waldon is pretty inauspicious, easy to miss in fact. Good luck finding parking, too. We ended up parking in nearby condo or apartment complex. There are official Polly Ann Trail parking lots, just not anywhere near where the trail begins. Google maps took me to near one of these lots, but maybe a quarter mile away, on my first trip to the Polly Ann, rolling solo that day. I had to do a bit of detective work, finding a dirt road that intersected the main drag I was on. That was between Oxford and Leonard, which is really the trail's sweet spot. Very chill, shaded and bucolic. Horse friendly, too, as I had a couple horses with riders go clopping past me. (No galloping allowed!) I saw a turtle on that stretch, too. South of Oxford, the trail vacillates between being very suburban and non-scenic and the more natural setting you'll find past Oxford. There's even a very annoying gap in the trail in Oxford where you have to cycle a good long way through the city to find where it picks back up again. The day I went cycling with Jenna we got lost trying to reconvene with the trail proper, and had to get directions from a passer-by and double back to pick back up on the trail. Unless you're a completist itching for the day when they complete the connector that links the Polly Ann to the Paint Creek Trail I'd probably just start your journey in Oxford after that rude intermission or find that lot Google maps took a swing at and whiffed on. The stretch from Leonard to the county line is lovely, but once you cross into Lapeer that's where things get really wild and wooly. The trail is actually managed by two different entities, one for Oakland County and one for the Lapeer and you can really tell the difference. In Oakland the trail is either pavement, crushed limestone or fairly manageable dirt. In Lapeer there's a short stretch - 1800 feet I believe I read - in Imlay City that's paved but beyond that the trail is either bumpy dirt with big stones and tree branches jutting out, or just grass. It's been mowed to a reasonable length both times I've biked out there, but it's still slow going. No way would I try this part of the trail without a mountain bike. It's almost better just for walking out here, or horseback riding though I didn't see any horseback riders on the Lapeer stretch. I barely saw anyone else on the Lapeer leg of the Polly Ann either, apart from people on the more domesticated Imlay City span the day I hit the trail with Aaron. So if you want real solitude and pretty backcountry the Lapeer stretch really delivers but you really gotta work for it. In addition to the speed-sucking, sweat inducing grass there were a couple places where felled trees necessitated disembarking from the bike and sliding it under or lifting it over. There was also one area where I could hear someone's shooting practice in the distance go on at length. It's Trump country out here so use caution! But like I said, oh! the nature! Besides the aforementioned horses and turtle, I've seen plenty of rabbits, squirrels, butterflies, several deer, frogs and a blue Heron on this trail. You might come across some mosquitos, too, depending on the time of day and year, so I'd recommend packing bug spray. I've now made 4 trips to the Polly Ann trail, and still haven't covered much of the Lapeer end, missing a span between the Peg's Place bridge and Imlay City and anything north of Bowers Road where Aaron and I turned around. It's 34.2 miles and the Macomb Orchard Trail is about 10 miles shorter but I did that whole trail in 3 trips. So yeah, there's a reason most people don't continue into Lapeer as the pace slows down to that of maybe a brisk jog. There's plenty of adventure to be had here, the question is how much do you want? With other trails around southeast Michigan I might just wait til improvements are made up in Lapeer County to try and finish off this monster.

Golf here all the time, a member. Well kept and service is nice. 18 is a hole that gives a unique…read morechallenge, pool is nice too. Staff knows the regulars by name, so nice

Last night Fairway Catering covered our neighborhood Mexican Fiesta. We were thrilled with the…read morequality and quantity of offerings with both a taco bar, fajita bar and a great Mexican salad base for those who wanted a lighter option. Everything went extremely well with excellent set up, a two sided buffet, and frequent change outs to ensure everyone got fed. Everyone commented on how great the chicken fajita mix was. Gently spicy and the chicken was tender. High quality guacamole, salsa, and all the fixings made this buffet a real hit. The service staff is exceptional and we were delighted with her attention to details and making our event run smoothly. We would definitely use them again to feed our group of 80+ people!

Great time playing golf and riding the go karts with our grandsons…read more My only recommendation is to make the course a little more senior friendly. Need some railings where there are uneven concrete steps.

Lake Nepessing Golfland Review: Under New Ownership…read more -------------- I can't recommend Lake Nepessing Golfland for club repairs. I brought in my Adams 3-wood for a repair. (Reattach the club head). It had a brand-new grip that matched the rest of my set. When I picked it up, the grip had been replaced with a "torn up used" TaylorMade grip, and the club had been fitted with a TaylorMade shaft. If those were the only available parts, I would have appreciated a phone call before the work was done. Instead, I got back a club that no longer matches my set or feels like the club I dropped off. I'm disappointed with the lack of communication and wouldn't trust them with my clubs again. Update: I went back to speak with the owner and asked for my original Adams shaft back so I could have another shop restore my club correctly. He was able to retrieve it, but insisted they couldn't have reused my original grip. I explained that my issue was never about using a different part if it was absolutely necessary. (It was not necessary) My issue was that no one bothered to call me before replacing major components. I brought my club in to have the club head reattached. I did not authorize my Adams 3-wood to be rebuilt with a TaylorMade flex shaft and a used TaylorMade grip. Instead of taking responsibility, the owner repeatedly told me he was "just doing what he was told" and that another employee told him to "get it as close as possible." As the owner, I expected accountability, not excuses. The conversation then became outright disrespectful. He looked at me and said, "I don't know what you're saying, lady," before dismissing my concerns by saying my clubs were "a cheap box set." That was incredibly insulting. Being a woman doesn't mean I don't understand my equipment. I know exactly how my clubs are supposed to feel. I know the weight, balance, shaft characteristics, and swing tempo of my matching set because they're the clubs I've played with. Whether they cost $300 or $3,000 is irrelevant. They were my clubs, and no one has the right to decide that "close enough" is acceptable without asking me first. To make matters worse, when I first picked the club up I was quoted about $120. After I questioned the price and said I'd think about it, I was suddenly told it would be $60 if I took it that day. That inconsistency only reinforced my lack of confidence in how this business operates. I left feeling dismissed, talked down to, and with a club that was no longer the one I entrusted them to repair. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Lake Nepessing Golfland

Pretty disappointed. The games there are great but we did the room blackout and someone came into…read moreour room 4 times to fix stuff while playing. I don't understand why they don't just close the room if it's broken. The girl even told us it was broken and they were waiting for parts for it. We never solved the room, nor understood the plot bc they came in so many times to fix puzzles for us or explain to us " you did it right, this was supposed to happen". They felt so bad for us that they gave us the keychain. To be honest I just wish I was refunded or given a different room at that point because I was looking forward to playing so much. I felt like we would have solved the room if we didn't have to use our clues on broken stuff and if things worked like they were supposed to work. Would love to comeback and give it another chance, but I hope they fix stuff first.

Love escape rooms, and great effort put into the rooms. Sadly, some of their equipment is faulty,…read moreand we had to use our clues to figure out how to fix those items. Our directional lock broke, and we ended up not making it through. We decided to try to give it another try. We wanted to use a Groupon, and, unfortunately, the voucher code did not come in time. We called to try to see what to do, and the man on the phone told us to just call back whenever we got the voucher code. We showed up hoping the code came in time, and we're informed when we got there that we had to book an hour ahead no matter what. We offered to purchase on the spot and we're turned away. Understandable, but we are very sad about this experience. Just wish we could have known more ahead of time. Hope this helps someone else.

Danielle is such a great trainer. Attentive. Stables are clean. Everyone I met was nice. I could…read morenot afford to board, but I will take lessons again.

If you're looking into extra curricular activities for your kiddos during these cold winter days go…read morecheck out Mini Dragon Soccer, Sports Den OX! Our son absolutely loves Coach Ahren and Coach Alex along with his Mini Dragon friends! Coach Ahren knows how to keep up with all these little feet and still change it up to their needs and wants! He's always making things fun but always putting soccer in it! From team work to passing to toe touches to agility to pull backs and more... This is an absolutely incredible program and great gross motor skills and problem solving! Plus who doesn't love to walk into something new/fun every week and be able to let some energy out and play some SOCCER with friends!?! We can't wait for the seasons ahead!!

My Rochester Pedal Ride experience was last summer, and I intended to review it shortly thereafter,…read morebut I put it off because this is a bit of a challenge to present. I was motivated to complete it when I learned of a recent accident with a similar pedal ride in Atlanta that injured 15 people, some critically, so I wanted to inform others. 13 of us gathered for a couple of birthdays. Before the ride began, everyone was obligated to sign a liability waiver form. It certainly had not occurred to me to bring a helmet, since I had figured we would have a leisurely, low-speed ride on gentle downtown streets, and I had never seen a photo of any participant on this kind of ride wearing a helmet. I was surprised that the form specifically emphasized that it's my decision to neglect to wear this safety gear. Most of us sat on small seats with low backrests, although I believe some had no backrests. No seat belts or other restraints. We drank beer and other beverages, and somebody selected what type of music we would hear. The set-up would have been nice for a slow tour of the downtown. After we pedaled around the center of the downtown for 5-10 minutes, waving at pedestrians and outdoor diners, moving maybe 5 mph (hard work at times!), our driver, an employee, steered us through a traffic light and suddenly we found ourselves accelerating and sailing down a hill. It was startling how much speed we picked up. By the time we approached the bottom of the hill, I estimate we were traveling 20-25 mph, all while sitting sideways on small seats without seat belts and gripping the edge of the bar for support. At a high speed, the road curved, pulling some people away from the bar while pushing those on the opposite side towards the bar. It felt dangerous on this flimsy-appearing vehicle with a high center of gravity. I didn't count, but in total I'd say we descended substantial hills about 8 times (some more intimidating than others), repeating a few. One descent was especially harrowing, actually the second trip down the initial hill, which was quite long and curved to the right near the bottom. As we rapidly accelerated with gravity, a car unexpectedly pulled out in front of us, from a driveway or side street, turning right and heading down the same hill. I suspect the driver was accustomed to seeing the pedal vehicle traveling slowly in the central downtown and did not expect it to approach so rapidly. Thank goodness no car was coming from the opposite direction, because our driver had to veer the pedal vehicle into the oncoming lane to avoid crashing into the back of the car, and we partially passed the car. However, by this time, the car driver became alarmed and gunned the engine and got back in front of us, as our driver worked to slow us down with the brake, and we were able to get back behind the car. Kudos to our driver for his actions in helping to avoid what could have been a catastrophic accident. It is my opinion, particularly after surviving and processing this near-miss, that Rochester is poorly suited for this kind of pedal ride. The central downtown is small, and multiple significant declines come off of it in different directions. The pedal ride vehicle, with its high center of gravity and poorly protected customers, should not be zooming down these hills at such high speeds. If the hills were off-limits, that would be acceptable for safety, although it would make for a monotonous ride in such a small area. The ideal location for a pedal ride like this is a larger city with flat or nearly flat streets. Aside from the risk involved, I felt the ride entailed more exertion than I would have preferred, on a hot day, partly due to the aforementioned hills, since we also had to ascend at times. I had expected a more comfortable ride. My legs were sore for the next couple of days, yet that was a minor issue, and some even might have appreciated the workout. I awarded two stars despite the above concerns because I did get to see much of the downtown, which was nice, plus I enjoyed the camaraderie with my friends and family. The driver was polite but mostly quiet.

My friends and I had so much fun on our ride! Everyone was so nice and our experience was very…read morepleasant. The hill was so fun and I felt very safe the whole time, we asked him to do it again! Overall, a great experience.

CLOSED & REMOVED…read more Was a fun spectacle, a very creative and generous addition to the community for bikers and fans. Now closed. Entirely removed. Area reseeded with grass.

My first time here, but what fun We had ! All kinds of different races. The bikes are all awsome…read more Some thousands of dollars just for the frames. All riders ar dressed to "The Nines". Everyone co ordinated In their favorite colors. Bikers race to live Rock n roll music which adds to the excitement of the event. There was a great announcer who was really into the placement of racers. Lots of fans here to cheer on their favoriate bikers. I'm comming again next week for sure.