September doings

A very fun new September event for GR is ArtPrize. "Sporting a huge cash prize, more than 1,200 works of art and 159 venues encompassing a large portion of Grand Rapids, the first ever Art Prize art ompetition has stirred up artists from across the world....running to Oct. 10, Art Prize is touted as one of the largest and most unique events of its kind in the world, offering nearly half a million dollars in prizes, including $250,000 to the winner, essentially turning Grand Rapids into a city-sized art gallery." (from CityPulse, Lansing)

Last week we traveled to New Jersey for a state-wide meeting of disaster agencies. It seems like a long way to go for a 3-hour meeting, but it is really important for us to stay connected with people we may need to work with in case of a disaster and to remind them of who CRWRC is and what we do.

After the meeting we spent a few days at Cape May, the southernmost point in NJ, and a world-famous birdwatching site.

Birdwatching at Cape May, New Jersey. Fun to share the Monday morning walk with Dave Jacobs.

Butterfly watching was also happening. The monarchs are staging for their migration to Mexico. This one has just been tagged.

One other event in town was the Irish Festival, supposedly the largest Irish festival on the east Coast. We enjoyed the Sunday afternoon parade (and the beer).

Last stop was DC, to celebrate Chris's birthday with him and Allyson. We had a great dinner at a French Bistro, moules frites all around, except Allyson had the escargots.