DETROIT, MICHIGAN 2019 - Day Trip (Part 2)

Rather than an email view, go here for a better view of this blog entry:
www.TrippingWithMikeAndDeb.blogspot.com

After Belle Isle we checked into the Crown Plaza Hotel in downtown Detroit. This was the spectacular view as we walked through the door, overlooking the waterfront and Detroit River. That's Windsor, Canada across the river. Spent most of my waking hours in the room in that chair looking out onto the horizon.

Here's looking at our hotel from the riverside. Our room was on the 17th floor of the center "column." The triangle-shaped jutting windows gave a fabulous 180-degree view.

We could see all the way from the Ren-Cen (discussed on previous blog entry) on the left to Hart Plaza to the old Veteran's Memorial Building (white), now owned by the United Auto Works Union.

Continuing round, was what we knew as Cobo Hall for 59 years. It is known as the TCF (financial) Center as of early 2019.  It is a 723,000 square foot facility that recently received a huge renovation. Originally it housed an arena for concerts and Detroit Piston basketball games. In the old days, I saw Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley here. Today it is a convention center and exhibit space for trade shows.

The original name honored former Detroit Mayor Albert Cobo. Looking back, some of the mayor's policies were racist. With the reboot and renewal of Detroit Motor City, it was appropriate to make a name change here.

After dropping off our bags we went for a stroll along the riverside walkway. On the way we saw "The Fist," a monument to boxer Joe Lewis. It was commissioned by Sports Illustrated Magazine in 1986 and is suspended on a 24-foot pyramidal support. It represents the power of the punch, inside and outside the ring, and Lewis' fight for racial justice.

We walked through Hart Plaza, named for late Senator Phil Hart. It is a gathering place and location of summer food and cultural festivals and has a capacity of 40,000. The silver ring is a fountain which flows colorful waters in warmer weather.

On the waterfront side of the plaza is a sculpture honoring the Underground Railroad, which made its way from the South to Detroit and on through to Canada.

Along the river we saw a freighter and an old style riverboat (replica). Also, a few speed boats zipping along the clear waters.

After strolling a mile or so, we headed into the city a few blocks from the river. We stopped at Sweetwater Tavern to wet our whistles. This building dates back to the mid-1800s and the tavern has received awards for their chicken wings. We didn't try them, but enjoyed a couple of cocktails while we chatted with the diverse customers.

We saw reproductions of aqua-green vintage buses. As a kid Mike took busses just like this from his home in the suburban city of Wayne to downtown Detroit. It was 35 cents for the 23-mile ride along Michigan Avenue. He and friends would come into the city to see the latest films in fabulously decorated theaters like the Fox, and fantasize about going to the burlesque shows.

And then there is the Detroit People Mover, which began operating in 1987. This is an almost 3-mile elevated monorail ride circling downtown Detroit with 13 stops at prominent locations. It is only 75 cents to board, but we were in walking mode. Read about the history and routes here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_People_Mover.

Among other landmarks, we saw the Old Wayne County Building. Completed in 1902 for $1.6 million, it operated as the county courthouse. The architectural style is Beaux Arts Classicism. Its base is comprised of pink granite and the ornamental tower is 247-feet high. It recently experienced a $7 million renovation (lighting, window restoration, exterior masonry) and the owners are looking for tenants.
This is the distinctive Ally (financial) Detroit Center building. It was completed in 1993 in a postmodern architectural design, with Flemish influence in its four "towers" walls. There are offices, restaurants, and retail, as well as a gym and one of our favorite food purveyors, Plum Market.

In the financial district, we walked through the landmark Guardian Building skyscraper. The 36-story structure was completed in 1929 and is capped with two spires (one four additional stories tall). It recently went through an award-winning restoration. The mosaic tile decor is an unusual combination of Southwest Native American and art deco. Currently it houses the main offices for Wayne County. Honestly, it is just drop-dead gorgeous. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian_Building

 

We headed to our hotel as sunset closed in. The Ambassador Bridge to Canada is in the background.

After a non-memorable dinner at the hotel, we spent much of the evening looking out over the city and river. Ever changing lights of vehicle traffic. Fascinating. Hypnotizing. Like watching a bonfire. Here's the Ren-Cen. Bright light area is the border entrance to the tunnel that travels under the river to Canada.

Hart Plaza to the right, then UAW-Ford National Programs Center (white building that was originally the Veterans Memorial Building), riverboat (two red stacks), and People Mover. Windsor, Canada lies across the Detroit River.

Here's the nighttime view of the TCF Center.

"Jumbotron" mounted on the parking lot of the TCF Center. Huge. Impressive. Compare the size of the cars with the display.

We sure enjoyed our quick trip and found inspiration to return and check out some more areas of this fair city being reimagined into a second vibrant life.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN 2019 - Day Trip (Part 1)

Because of show dates, we were not able to get out of town for Mike's birthday. So Thursday, we did an overnighter in Detroit. Left about 10am and arrived at our first stop at Eastern Market, the farmers' market near downtown Detroit.

It was pretty much closed, but we drove around and saw all the great murals. I was the driver, so no pix except this:

There are many more murals on the walls of buildings in this area. Google "Eastern Market murals" and then "Images" to see other works of mural art.

We had lunch there at Sala Thai, located in an old fire station. We have been to Thailand three times and love that cuisine. Haven't had a good version in Michigan though and this was not an exception. They had all the traditional dishes, but the ones we tried were just a little off. Take me back to Thailand for a good Pad Thai, where they use Thai peppers instead of cayenne to spice things up. Would not recommend this one, if you know Thai.

Next was a cruise around Belle Isle. Mike and I did not know each other as kids, but our respective families visited and played here. As a couple, we visited here on occasion, but not for the last 35 years.

Here's the bridge from the Detroit mainland across the Detroit River onto the island. The northern U.S.-Canadian border is in the middle of the river, but aligned so that Belle Isle is completely in the U.S. There is no bridge from Canada to the island.

While we lived in California, the 982-acre island was forsaken by the City. It was left to nature until the State of Michigan took it over and converted it from a city to a state park. Now it is slowly being revived and improved.

One addition was 1989 to 2001, 2007, 2008, and each year since 2012, the Detroit Grand Prix has been held here on a temporary circuit set-up at race time. Indy cars run here the weekend after the Indy 500 in Indianapolis.

The rest of the year it is a public park with regular park stuff--ball fields, soccer fields, nature trails, nice sand beaches for swimming, picnic shelters, playgrounds, and fishing piers reaching out into the Detroit River. There is a light house and a yet-to-be renovated children's zoo. (I don't remember visiting it with our family, but Mike does.)

Once on the island, this is the fabulous view of downtown Detroit. The tallest building complex to the left is the Renaissance Center, built by Ford Motor Company, but now owned by General Motors (five connected towers, tallest building in Michigan since completed in 1973, tallest tower has 73 stories). Second tallest is One Detroit Center (completed in 1993). Next to it with spire is the Penobscot Building (1928, art deco).

You can see Windsor, Ontario, Canada (on the left), the Ambassador Bridge over the Detroit River, and downtown Detroit on the right. Per Wikipedia, 10,000 trucks per day cross the bridge one way or another, carrying more than 25% of all trade goods between the U.S. and Canada.

On the island we reminisced over various spots seen in our youth. This is the Scott Memorial Fountain. This pix is pretty, but lit and "fountaining" at night is spectacular. To read about scoundrel James Scott, go here:  https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/james-scott-memorial-fountain

We walked along the beach, where we used to swim as kids. At one time the water was quite polluted, but governments and the zebra mussels have cleaned up the river.

We wondered what this cool structure was. Read up on the sign below. Interesting.

We drove past the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, a collection of exotic and rare plants from around the world. It is the oldest, continuously-operated conservatory in the U.S. There are five distinct areas--palm, cacti, tropical, fernery, and show houses, plus 13-acres of outside formal gardens and lily pond.

And the Aquarium, designed by famed Detroit architect Albert Kahn, was first opened in 1904. It is the oldest aquarium in the U.S. (although it was closed 2005-2012 due to lack of city funds). We both remember the huge (or so it seemed at the time) electric eel housed here. I was afraid to touch the glass.

There is also the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, founded in 1928. It is dedicated to national and regional maritime history. We recalled visiting here as kids and checking the submarine periscope that reached through the roof of the building for a view of the Canadian and U.S. river shores. Here you can also see the Miss Pepsi, which participated in Detroit River hydroplane boat races in the 1950s. These races still go on each year in August:
http://detroitboatraces.com/tickets.php

ASIDES:

1) Belle Isle is the largest island park in the country. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the same man who designed Central Park in New York City. When we lived in the Detroit area, our house was on Olmstead Street. Always wondered if it was named for Frederick!

2) Zebra mussels are good and bad. Because of their ability to filter water and their high body-fat content, they build up more than ten times the amount of PCBs and other toxic contaminants over native mussels...good! BUT birds and fish absorb these contaminants when they feed on the zebra mussels...not good!

3) Electric eels can generate up to 600 volts of electricity and use it for feeding, protection, and communication with other eels. They live up to 22 years in captivity, so not likely the same eel seen by us years ago.

4) Other details about Belle Isle at:
https://detroithistorical.org/about-us/detroit-historical-society

KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN 2019 - Distracted by an Odd Couple

So I have been out of the loop for a while and ready to jump back into the continuing saga of our Russian cruise shortly. First, a couple of things. 

Part of my diversion was I stage managed a play, Odd Couple-The Female Version. Instead of Felix and Oscar, think Florence and Olive.   Instead of poker, think Trivial Pursuit (with funny sexual innuendos). Instead of two sisters from England, think two brothers from Spain (with heavy Castilian accents). All too hilarious!

It was produced by Renae Felpausch's group SKITS & GIGGLES LLC here in Kalamazoo. We had five weeks of rehearsal and five performances. That kept me pretty busy as I not only stage managed, but created the program, rounded up ushers and crew (including my fabulous neighbor Alanta on props), did training of new crew, and collected many of the props.

Here are a few photos from our last performance. Not the best, but ...

I hadn't stage managed since Smokey Joe's Cafe at the Kalamazoo Civic in 2011 and this experience was a throwback blast. The Neil Simon play had lots of laughs. Director Katherine Mumma was a dream to work with. (She was the Olive and I was the Felix of our production.) The players were perfectly cast. The crew were super supporters in the process.

The timing and circumstances pulled me out of stage-managing retirement and it was fun while it lasted, but I don't plan to do it again soon.

Find out more about SKITS & GIGGLES on Facebook at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/222119922065298/?ref=bookmarks

KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN - Western Michigan's CommUniverCity

RESPITE FROM RUSSIA

CommUniverCity Day is an annual event hosted by Western Michigan University. Various businesses around town host a tent for their friends and patrons.

It takes place on Western's baseball field, which is right next to Waldo Stadium, home of the Bronco footballers. The baseball field was packed with 40 or so tents representing Realtors, financial advisers, restaurants, car dealers, Stryker, and other businesses.

This year we were invited by our fabulous financial adviser Eric Tiller of Raymond-James Financial Group. At their tent we enjoyed a tasty taco dinner catered by local Mexican restaurant Taco Bob's. I'm not a beer drinker, but Mike grabbed a Bell's Two-Hearted from the selection (his fave). We made some doozy tacos,

The weather could not have been any better. I brought a jacket because I'm usually on the cold side, but really did not need it. Here we are enjoying the day.

Western played the Georgia State Panthers (Mid-American Conference) and complimentary tickets were included in the activities. So after eating and visiting with folks, we headed over to the stadium. Here's a shot from the end zone.

Our seats were on the 20-yard line up on row 45, a nice view of the field. See the red circle next to the goal post? That is where we sat.

Eric and wife (center) sat nearby...such a cute, fun couple.

The Broncos were lined up here, waiting for their turn to make a practice play. Their bold gold and brown uniforms were snazzy.

After that there was a pre-game show. The percussion band marched out first.

Then the cheering squad, baton twirlers, and flag gals.

And last the rest of the band. They made some precision moves, including converting from a square to a big dub-ya (W).

The flag was raised as we sang the national anthem.

At the same time, a "ribbon" flag was formed on the field.

Then the team came rushing out in a cloud of smoke led by our bronco mascot.

At that point the baseball field was shutting down and the stands were filling up.

The Bronco band includes many tubas. They sat along the top row on the other side of the stadium. It was fun to watch them as they performed a few antics during the game--swaying during lulls, popping up and down like a whack-a-mole game, etc.

The game was finally ready to start and it started with a bang...a long run touchdown by the Broncs within the first few plays.

View of the scoreboard with a lovely sunset behind.

After each touchdown, the cheer team did push-ups to match the score.

The WMU Army ROTC crew did a cannon blast, as well.

At the end of the first quarter, this was the score.

At that point we had to leave as we were squeezing in an evening event. Here is the view when we left. The final score was Broncs 57 - Panthers 10. Go Broncos!

It was a wonderful afternoon. Big thanks to Ray-Jay and Eric!