Grand Rapids, on a Grand River, and More
by Eleanor S. Morris
This Midwestern city offers a romantic hotel and parks perfect for a hand-in-hand stroll.

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Grand Rapids is named for the rapids on the Grand River, the largest river in the state of Michigan. The Ottawa Indians first camped on its banks, next came the fur traders, and today come the salmon--the Grand River Sculpture and Fish Ladder attracts both Coho salmon battling their way upstream to spawn, and spectators watching the sight.

Grand Rapids has several claims to fame. Perhaps the most impressive is the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. In the Oval Office you can eavesdrop on a typical day in the nerve center of American democracy; at a state dinner table you can be a guest at six gala White House functions (via video monitor). View the original tools used in the June 1972 Watergate break-in, along with a multi-screen history of America's most notorious political scandal. And go inside the White House, a holographic tour into rooms off limits to the general public.

Tour the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. The 30-acre park presents more than 25 sculptures by world-renowned sculptors. Outstanding is the American Horse by Nina Akamu, if for no other reason than size. The 24-foot bronze is created in homage to Leonardo da Vinci, who, 500 years ago, was commissioned by the Duke of Milan to create an equine state, but was never able to in his lifetime. The American artist studied works that Leonardo would have studied, and this is the result.

Both the Grand Rapids Art Museum, with exhibits of national caliber and regional distinctions, and the Grand Rapids Children's Museum, with hands-on exhibits, are worth a visit. The John Ball Zoological garden has more than 1,000 animals, an aquarium, an African area, and a new chimpanzee exhibit. And to learn all about the history of Grand Rapids, take in the Van Andel Museum Center of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids. There, you also can ride a carousel and eat in a cafe overlooking that grand river.

Also in the Van Andel Center is a planetarium, the Roger B. Chaffee, with educational sky shows and laser light shows set to popular music. In a historical vein, the Voight House Museum recreates life during the Victorian era in the city.

Nearby Coopersville (20 minutes from downtown) is the kind of place where strangers say hello; at intersections drivers stop for pedestrians with a smile. The town has a Farm Museum, the Coopersville Area Historical Society Museum, and the Coopersville & Marne Railway, offering train lovers a ride on an old-fashioned passenger train. Tasker Drug Store sells collectibles, and the Country Cafe serves homestyle food at yesteryear's prices.

Lovely Lake Michigan is barely an hour's drive from Grand Rapids' downtown, with Grand Haven State Park the most popular spot. The white silica sand on the shoreline is ideal for sand sculpturing, while kite flying seems to be just as popular. Relax and people-watch the folks licking ice cream cones while walking out on the park's concrete pier where Grand Rapids' Grand River channel empties out into the lake. There, two picturesque red lighthouses, built in 1839, are connected by a lighted catwalk.

Back in Grand Rapids, it would take a month to explore all the downtown nightspots on or near the Skywalk, the covered above-the-street walkway running from the Convention Center to Van Andel Museum. But you could give it a try while you stay in the historic Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, originally the Pantlind, built in 1913.

Built by the New York designers of Grand Central Station and the Biltmore Hotel, the Pantlind, by 1925, was listed as one of the Ten Finest Hotels in America. In the halcyon days of Grand Rapid's reign as a furniture capital (thanks to the dense pine forests of the area, which made the city ideally suited to the manufacture of fine furniture) the building was the nation's major exhibition center for the world's leading furniture manufacturers. The hotel was united with Grand Plaza Place; lining the halls of the Plaza's Third Level are 70 historic photographs of downtown Grand Rapid street scenes from the mid-1800s on.

Accommodations in the 20-story glass tower (with a fantastic view of the city) include high-speed internet. The Tower Club Rooms feature complimentary continental breakfast and hors d'oeuvres in the Tower Club Lounge. Choices, choices: You can dine in the Award-winning 1913 Room, in Cygnus atop the glass tower, in Benthams's Riverfront Restaurant, GP Sports or the Cornucopia Deli, or settle in cozily with 24-hour room service.

For a wedding or a honeymoon, or a wonderful romantic weekend, The Plaza Romance Package includes, with either a Junior Suite or a Tower Luxury Suite, valet parking, chilled sparkling wine, chocolate dipped strawberries, and a credit toward a late night snack or breakfast. And to top it all off, you also receive a Deluxe logo canvas bag.

For more information on the Amway Grand Plaza, see www.amwaygrand.com