The Motor City

Tuesday, September 23

Beautiful blue skies, sunshine, warmth all helped make this a fantastic day to show off Detroit and just some of the things it has to offer.

After showing our friends the beautiful suburbs of Huntington Woods and Pleasant Ridge just a short distance from the northern border of Detroit we stopped for a bagel at the best shop in the world - New York Bagel in Ferndale before crossing over into the big D.  Since Judy is Polish she wanted to check out the Art Center in Hamtramck but alas it was closed when we arrived but they discovered even that town was not as bad as expected.  Oh what poor publicity is out there about Detroit.

Our next stop was in the New Center area just to see the inside of the Fisher Building.  Alas no tours are available of the theater but they could at least see the beauty of some of our buildings.  Judy said she felt like she was suddenly in Europe.

Our next stop was at the Historical Museum on Woodward

where they really enjoyed the old streets of Detroit,

the Glancy trains,

the simulated assembly line body drop (the Rouge is in changeover so that visit was out),

and the history of the first French fur traders coming into the area traveling the long Great Lakes pathway.

Ken and I even took a "ride" in an old car down the streets

From there we strolled over to the Main Library

so they could see the inside of that beautiful building and discover how many wonderful treasures a big city library can hold.  The ceiling in the entry is enough to enthrall.

The beautiful stain glass windows too

 By then are stomachs were rumbling and the thought of lunch in the cafe at the Art Institute

across the street sounded wonderful so we made a quick stop to admire "The Thinker" at the front entrance

and then enjoyed a great lunch before checking out some of the exhibits which much to Gary's surprise were varied and interesting. Like the full room of wall murals by Diego Rivera

The beautiful examples of furniture down through the ages

the armor in cases lining the entry hallway

the stained glass 

simulated rooms 

Egyptian mummies, Paul Revere silver, statues of all kinds, and of course paintings both small and huge

By then we were physically tired so we climbed back into the car and drove down past the Wayne State buildings, medical center area, and into downtown passed the Lions and Tigers stadiums that are next to each other, past the beautiful Fox Theater, Cobo Hall and Convention Center, the Hart Plaza and then along Jefferson Avenue that parallels the Detroit River peeking through at various points to views of it.  It was too late to actually park and wander the River Walk and spend time in that area.  We continued down to the bridge that took us across the Detroit River to Belle Isle - Detroit's premier park which is now a State Park and provides all kinds of special beauty like the Scott Fountain

the carillon

the boat club

Lots of grass, trees, flowers, and beautiful views of Detroit's skyline and Windsor, Canada's skyline as well as plenty of beach.

The day was rapidly coming to an end so we headed back to our "homes" at the Haas Lake Campground

relaxed, watched the sunset

and played a few games of Sequence together before calling it a night.

Our travels together have come to an end.  Tomorrow Gary and Judy will tour Greenfield Village on their own while we visit with friends here in the area.  Then they will head back to Pennsylvania.  We'll have a few days to visit with our daughter and her family as well as other friends and attend our home church before moving on.