Dream Cruise (no boat required)
Hey, all:
Just an impromptu blurb about what I've been doing since my last entry.
The biggest item is when I went to the Woodward Dream Cruise last Saturday. For those not from here, it's an annual event where Detroit's main drag--Woodward Ave.--is inundated with classic cars, trucks, motorcycles and any other motorized ve-hicle you can think of. Although, officially, it's on Saturday, people start cruising as early as Monday. It extends for quite a few miles and can be a lot of fun...if your really into cars. You probably have a similar event in your neck of the woods.
I was there with my friends Chris and Bonnie as well as Chris's friend, Ed. We start the day off by going to Birmingham (which Woodward passes through) for breakfast. Afterwards, we strolled through a section of blocked off streets where people can display their rides. There were also some bands, commercial displays and of course, lots of vendors. After a couple hours we drove to where shuttle buses were taking people to the heart of the Dream Cruise, Woodward and 13 Mile. Once there we walked North on Woodward to Normandy, about a half-mile away. Once there we cross the street and head back to 13 Mile. Along the way there's plenty of vendors and people showing off their wheels. And swag, can't forget about the swag. Lots and lots of swag. More swag than you could ever use. I pass it all up. Just junk that'll gather dust. When we reached our point of origin we had lunch at a nearby White Castle...Mmmmmmm, though I'm bummed Churches ain't there any more. After lunch we walked over to the Northwood Shopping Center parking lot. They usually have some of the more interesting displays. The stand-out item here was a giant Big Wheel with a Hemi engine. After bopping around there for awhile we went into a Mickey-D's to get something to drink. While there we ran into a friend of Bonnie's. I was gonna get a large shake, but they wanted almost $3.50...DAAAAAMN! I can get a large Frosty for half that. So we sat around a chatted for awhile. When we left, Ed decided to walk down to 11 Mile to meet a friend of his. The rest of us were pooped so we caught the shuttle back to the lot where we were parked and drove back to Chris's place. Bonnie had to head home so Chris and I hung out at his place to recover.
After vegging out for a few hours, we decided to head back up to the Cruise for dinner. Chris was in the mood for some kielbasa; Sounded good to me. Since it was late in the day, we were able to find a parking space close to Woodward and 13. One nice thing about the cruise is there's no shortage of eateries. Everything from regular restaurants to mom-&-pop tents selling all kinds of goodies. Finding one that had kielbasa wasn't difficult. By now, the sun had set and the cars were turning on their lights, which was cool as most of the muscle cars had some form of decorative lighting, usually the kind that shines from underneath. So we found a spot along the curb and watched the traffic go by while munching our meals. When 9:00 rolled around, the cops moved in to shut down the cruise. I've never seen so many cruisers and cycle cops in one place. The avenue was ablaze in red and blue flashing lights, with a dash of road flares here and there, forcing traffic to exit Woodward. It was quite impressive, actually. The whole process takes about a half-hour. Afterwards, you've got this eight-lane, divided avenue that's so empty you can walk down the middle of it, At this point, we decided to head home (I was spending the weekend). We were so wiped we just crashed for he night.
Just an impromptu blurb about what I've been doing since my last entry.
The biggest item is when I went to the Woodward Dream Cruise last Saturday. For those not from here, it's an annual event where Detroit's main drag--Woodward Ave.--is inundated with classic cars, trucks, motorcycles and any other motorized ve-hicle you can think of. Although, officially, it's on Saturday, people start cruising as early as Monday. It extends for quite a few miles and can be a lot of fun...if your really into cars. You probably have a similar event in your neck of the woods.
I was there with my friends Chris and Bonnie as well as Chris's friend, Ed. We start the day off by going to Birmingham (which Woodward passes through) for breakfast. Afterwards, we strolled through a section of blocked off streets where people can display their rides. There were also some bands, commercial displays and of course, lots of vendors. After a couple hours we drove to where shuttle buses were taking people to the heart of the Dream Cruise, Woodward and 13 Mile. Once there we walked North on Woodward to Normandy, about a half-mile away. Once there we cross the street and head back to 13 Mile. Along the way there's plenty of vendors and people showing off their wheels. And swag, can't forget about the swag. Lots and lots of swag. More swag than you could ever use. I pass it all up. Just junk that'll gather dust. When we reached our point of origin we had lunch at a nearby White Castle...Mmmmmmm, though I'm bummed Churches ain't there any more. After lunch we walked over to the Northwood Shopping Center parking lot. They usually have some of the more interesting displays. The stand-out item here was a giant Big Wheel with a Hemi engine. After bopping around there for awhile we went into a Mickey-D's to get something to drink. While there we ran into a friend of Bonnie's. I was gonna get a large shake, but they wanted almost $3.50...DAAAAAMN! I can get a large Frosty for half that. So we sat around a chatted for awhile. When we left, Ed decided to walk down to 11 Mile to meet a friend of his. The rest of us were pooped so we caught the shuttle back to the lot where we were parked and drove back to Chris's place. Bonnie had to head home so Chris and I hung out at his place to recover.
After vegging out for a few hours, we decided to head back up to the Cruise for dinner. Chris was in the mood for some kielbasa; Sounded good to me. Since it was late in the day, we were able to find a parking space close to Woodward and 13. One nice thing about the cruise is there's no shortage of eateries. Everything from regular restaurants to mom-&-pop tents selling all kinds of goodies. Finding one that had kielbasa wasn't difficult. By now, the sun had set and the cars were turning on their lights, which was cool as most of the muscle cars had some form of decorative lighting, usually the kind that shines from underneath. So we found a spot along the curb and watched the traffic go by while munching our meals. When 9:00 rolled around, the cops moved in to shut down the cruise. I've never seen so many cruisers and cycle cops in one place. The avenue was ablaze in red and blue flashing lights, with a dash of road flares here and there, forcing traffic to exit Woodward. It was quite impressive, actually. The whole process takes about a half-hour. Afterwards, you've got this eight-lane, divided avenue that's so empty you can walk down the middle of it, At this point, we decided to head home (I was spending the weekend). We were so wiped we just crashed for he night.