Born and raised in south Detroit
So I just returned from a little road trip. Herein lies a recap!
Day 1--Tuesday, August 7: Anticipated departure time was 9:00 a.m. After GPS/Sirius/DVD installation issues, actual departure time was 4:00 p.m. Drove to Knoxville. Arrived at 3:00 a.m. GPS system made it all worthwhile. Sirius too. Siriusly.
Day 2--Wednesday, August 8: Rise and shine at 8:00 a.m. Gotta make it to Detroit to pick up Andrew at the airport at 9:00 p.m. Detroit is a long way away. After checking into hotel in north Detroit to drop off luggage and make room for third passenger, finally made it to airport at 10:00 p.m.
Day 3--Thursday, August 9: Arrive for registration in the nick of time and head over to the invitation only GM Heritage Collection for a private tour. Totally blown away. Approximately 100 one of a kind cars, including Mako and Astro II. Scott Settlemire fires up a Camaro so loud that it cracked the walls when it was originally driven into the building. Ran into Jake Hinson and John Sinatra, two guys we sat with at dinner in Atlanta. They inform us about a special tour of the LS7 plant. Wander around town for two hours looking for a self-service car wash. Finally find one and wash all the gunk off the SS. Take the first of three trips to Detroit's best Lebanese restaurant, Grape Leaves. Yum.
Day 4--Friday, August 10: Another early day, as we arrive at the tour bus at 7:15 a.m. for a day trip to Flint. Now averaging 5 hours of sleep per night. Partially snooze on the hour long ride to Crossroads, a tiny 19th Century fake town with a railroad and old timey stores and such. Michael manages to sneak up on a pig and startle both the pig and himself. Much hilarity ensues. He also plays animal whisperer to the ponies and goats and lambs. Then make our way to the Flint Assembly Plant where they make heavy duty Chevy trucks and even bigger stuff. Wow. First visit to anything of the sort and I was amazed at the process. The tour was about 2 hours and I loved every minute of it. The plant? Built in the 40s. Filthy and grungy. Still awesome. Flint? A crapped out craphole. Yikes. Then on to lunch at some hospital rental hall. Actually good eats. Ran into David, the guy we hung out with in Bowling Green last year. Dinner was I think at Papa Vino's, an Italian chain up north.
Day 5--Saturday, August 11: The Big Event. First thing was breakfast with the Shaheens. Aunt Madeline showed up as well with Edmund and Eileen and Tracy and her 3 kids whose names I just cannot remember. Deliciousness was enjoyed at Sweet Lorraine's. Then on to the GM Tech Center, where I was immediately distracted by their retention pond, Canadian Geese and 4 beautiful swans. Let myself get distracted by the cars and off we went! A total of 235 1957 Chevy Bel Airs were on display. Bumblebee was there with Scott. Lots of other unique cars were there. Lots of Camaros of every generation and a couple of Firebirds. Bel Airs everywhere you could see. Huge Corvette display as well, including the new 2008 color, Jet Stream Blue. Wandered around for miles and hundreds of cars. Vision became blurry. Nearly passed out at the awards presentation. Depart at 4:00 p.m. for Toledo. Get to Toledo, have dinner with Brian and Bettie Jo and their three kids and go to the mall. Brooke finally arrives. Drive to Cleveland. Promptly pass out, while the kids stay up until 3:00 a.m. giggling and talking.
Day 6--Sunday, August 12: Kelly's Island. Drive an hour to Sandusky and take a ferry to a small island in Lake Erie. Rent a golf cart and find a lovely place for lunch. Drive over to the glacial grooves and hike all around the island. Find a butterfly garden and take photos of butterfly pr0n. Find a hidden lake and the boys wander around while the girls take photos. It was apparently not all that hidden because about 10 minutes after our arrival another tour group showed up. Make our way back to the ferry and drive back to Cleveland.
Day 7--Monday, August 13: Cedar Point. Yeehaw! I was looking forward to this the least, but actually had an awesome time. We rode the Ultimate Roller Coaster first, the Millennium Force, with the world's largest drop or some such nonsense. You jet straight up and drop for like 300 feet right off the bat. Yikes I was scared and shaking at the end but I made it and it was fun! Then we proceeded to wander around the rest of the park until 10:00 p.m. Rides included the Mantis, Raptor, Corkscrew, MaXair, a wooden roller coaster called Mean Streak that I sat out on and the old fogey overhead ride thingy that took us back to the front of the park. Whoops. Really fun day.
Day 8--Tuesday, August 14: Lagoon Deer Park and Ron's Horse Ranch. Drove back to Sandusky and finally found a petting zoo way out in the country that was just fantastic. They had a bunch of different kind of deer and llamas and peacocks and chickens and elk and goats and lambs and donkeys and emus and a rhea and and and. We fed all the animals and took lots of photos. There were even koi in the front pond. Then headed back to Toledo, met up with Andrew's family again, met up with Ron, had a big lunch at Olive Garden, then on to Ron's ranch where we played with horses and dogs and kittens. Brooke left for Chicago and we returned to Detroit.
Day 9--Wednesday, August 15: Through a series of bizarre circumstances, which is almost always par for the course, we make our way to the LS7 assembly warehouse and get a personal tour from the Quality Manager and watch the team hand assemble Corvette engines. Wow. Then on to the airport to drop Andrew off and then dinner with the Shaheens again at Pita Cafe, where Madeline's daughter Diane and her husband Blaine joined us as well as Edmund and Eileen's son Edmund Paul and his two children and Tracy and her three kids also. Much good Lebanese food was enjoyed.
Day 10--Thursday, August 16: The Detroit Zoo. Wow, so many animals! So much coolness! The first stop was an indoor butterfly garden. Then we spotted our first black squirrel. And then more peacocks. And then a ton of other critters. It's a big zoo and we managed to see everything. I wimped out at the end and skipped the penguins but otherwise saw everything, including another outdoor butterfly garden. Had dinner with Rick and Maureen Trabulsy and Rick's mom Eveline and at the end their daughter Christen made it too. Ate at Al Ameer. Whoo spicy tomatoe kibbie!
Day 11--Friday, August 17: Meet up for a late lunch with Carlie after a car washing escapade at Edmund's. Have lunch at Sweet Lorraine's. Yum. Wander to downtown Detroit and the Renaissance Center. Barely get Carlie back home in time for High School Musical 2.
Day 12--Saturday, August 18: Pick up Carlie early and head back the the Ren Cen for a GM tour at 10:00 a.m. Go back to the top and see spectacular views, including all the way to the stadium in Pontiac 35 miles away. Ride the People Mover and have lunch at Pizza Popolis, her favorite place in Greektown. Continue on the People Mover back to the waterfront, where we take pictures with Joe Louis' arm, the Stargate and the DHD. Take Carlie home so she can go to work and head over to Woodward for the Dream Cruise! Meet up with Judy "JJ" Trabulsy at a friend's house who has a Woodward party each year and lives a block away at about 11 Mile. In a whirlwind series of events, the next thing we knew we were on said friend's bikes, riding down Woodward all the way to 15 Mile. There were so many cars! Wow! We made our way to the Chevy event, where they had one of the concept cars (I think silver, but I'm blurry). We also stopped by the GM tent, where they had all the GM cars from Transformers, including Bumblebee again! We finally wandered back to the host house, with a tiny lost detour on the way, in the rain and dark. For our last night, Michael honored my request to eat once more at Grape Leaves, where we stuffed ourselves silly.
Day 13--Sunday, August 19: Drive to Atlanta. Unbelievable number of GPS hijinks along the way.
Day 14--Monday, August 20: The Final Day. Make the 7 hour journey back to Orlando, where we stopped and checked in on my car before Michael dropped me off at home around 6:00 p.m. Whew.
Was back at work yesterday and now back into the regular swing of things.
What an awesomely fantastic journey it was!
Day 1--Tuesday, August 7: Anticipated departure time was 9:00 a.m. After GPS/Sirius/DVD installation issues, actual departure time was 4:00 p.m. Drove to Knoxville. Arrived at 3:00 a.m. GPS system made it all worthwhile. Sirius too. Siriusly.
Day 2--Wednesday, August 8: Rise and shine at 8:00 a.m. Gotta make it to Detroit to pick up Andrew at the airport at 9:00 p.m. Detroit is a long way away. After checking into hotel in north Detroit to drop off luggage and make room for third passenger, finally made it to airport at 10:00 p.m.
Day 3--Thursday, August 9: Arrive for registration in the nick of time and head over to the invitation only GM Heritage Collection for a private tour. Totally blown away. Approximately 100 one of a kind cars, including Mako and Astro II. Scott Settlemire fires up a Camaro so loud that it cracked the walls when it was originally driven into the building. Ran into Jake Hinson and John Sinatra, two guys we sat with at dinner in Atlanta. They inform us about a special tour of the LS7 plant. Wander around town for two hours looking for a self-service car wash. Finally find one and wash all the gunk off the SS. Take the first of three trips to Detroit's best Lebanese restaurant, Grape Leaves. Yum.
Day 4--Friday, August 10: Another early day, as we arrive at the tour bus at 7:15 a.m. for a day trip to Flint. Now averaging 5 hours of sleep per night. Partially snooze on the hour long ride to Crossroads, a tiny 19th Century fake town with a railroad and old timey stores and such. Michael manages to sneak up on a pig and startle both the pig and himself. Much hilarity ensues. He also plays animal whisperer to the ponies and goats and lambs. Then make our way to the Flint Assembly Plant where they make heavy duty Chevy trucks and even bigger stuff. Wow. First visit to anything of the sort and I was amazed at the process. The tour was about 2 hours and I loved every minute of it. The plant? Built in the 40s. Filthy and grungy. Still awesome. Flint? A crapped out craphole. Yikes. Then on to lunch at some hospital rental hall. Actually good eats. Ran into David, the guy we hung out with in Bowling Green last year. Dinner was I think at Papa Vino's, an Italian chain up north.
Day 5--Saturday, August 11: The Big Event. First thing was breakfast with the Shaheens. Aunt Madeline showed up as well with Edmund and Eileen and Tracy and her 3 kids whose names I just cannot remember. Deliciousness was enjoyed at Sweet Lorraine's. Then on to the GM Tech Center, where I was immediately distracted by their retention pond, Canadian Geese and 4 beautiful swans. Let myself get distracted by the cars and off we went! A total of 235 1957 Chevy Bel Airs were on display. Bumblebee was there with Scott. Lots of other unique cars were there. Lots of Camaros of every generation and a couple of Firebirds. Bel Airs everywhere you could see. Huge Corvette display as well, including the new 2008 color, Jet Stream Blue. Wandered around for miles and hundreds of cars. Vision became blurry. Nearly passed out at the awards presentation. Depart at 4:00 p.m. for Toledo. Get to Toledo, have dinner with Brian and Bettie Jo and their three kids and go to the mall. Brooke finally arrives. Drive to Cleveland. Promptly pass out, while the kids stay up until 3:00 a.m. giggling and talking.
Day 6--Sunday, August 12: Kelly's Island. Drive an hour to Sandusky and take a ferry to a small island in Lake Erie. Rent a golf cart and find a lovely place for lunch. Drive over to the glacial grooves and hike all around the island. Find a butterfly garden and take photos of butterfly pr0n. Find a hidden lake and the boys wander around while the girls take photos. It was apparently not all that hidden because about 10 minutes after our arrival another tour group showed up. Make our way back to the ferry and drive back to Cleveland.
Day 7--Monday, August 13: Cedar Point. Yeehaw! I was looking forward to this the least, but actually had an awesome time. We rode the Ultimate Roller Coaster first, the Millennium Force, with the world's largest drop or some such nonsense. You jet straight up and drop for like 300 feet right off the bat. Yikes I was scared and shaking at the end but I made it and it was fun! Then we proceeded to wander around the rest of the park until 10:00 p.m. Rides included the Mantis, Raptor, Corkscrew, MaXair, a wooden roller coaster called Mean Streak that I sat out on and the old fogey overhead ride thingy that took us back to the front of the park. Whoops. Really fun day.
Day 8--Tuesday, August 14: Lagoon Deer Park and Ron's Horse Ranch. Drove back to Sandusky and finally found a petting zoo way out in the country that was just fantastic. They had a bunch of different kind of deer and llamas and peacocks and chickens and elk and goats and lambs and donkeys and emus and a rhea and and and. We fed all the animals and took lots of photos. There were even koi in the front pond. Then headed back to Toledo, met up with Andrew's family again, met up with Ron, had a big lunch at Olive Garden, then on to Ron's ranch where we played with horses and dogs and kittens. Brooke left for Chicago and we returned to Detroit.
Day 9--Wednesday, August 15: Through a series of bizarre circumstances, which is almost always par for the course, we make our way to the LS7 assembly warehouse and get a personal tour from the Quality Manager and watch the team hand assemble Corvette engines. Wow. Then on to the airport to drop Andrew off and then dinner with the Shaheens again at Pita Cafe, where Madeline's daughter Diane and her husband Blaine joined us as well as Edmund and Eileen's son Edmund Paul and his two children and Tracy and her three kids also. Much good Lebanese food was enjoyed.
Day 10--Thursday, August 16: The Detroit Zoo. Wow, so many animals! So much coolness! The first stop was an indoor butterfly garden. Then we spotted our first black squirrel. And then more peacocks. And then a ton of other critters. It's a big zoo and we managed to see everything. I wimped out at the end and skipped the penguins but otherwise saw everything, including another outdoor butterfly garden. Had dinner with Rick and Maureen Trabulsy and Rick's mom Eveline and at the end their daughter Christen made it too. Ate at Al Ameer. Whoo spicy tomatoe kibbie!
Day 11--Friday, August 17: Meet up for a late lunch with Carlie after a car washing escapade at Edmund's. Have lunch at Sweet Lorraine's. Yum. Wander to downtown Detroit and the Renaissance Center. Barely get Carlie back home in time for High School Musical 2.
Day 12--Saturday, August 18: Pick up Carlie early and head back the the Ren Cen for a GM tour at 10:00 a.m. Go back to the top and see spectacular views, including all the way to the stadium in Pontiac 35 miles away. Ride the People Mover and have lunch at Pizza Popolis, her favorite place in Greektown. Continue on the People Mover back to the waterfront, where we take pictures with Joe Louis' arm, the Stargate and the DHD. Take Carlie home so she can go to work and head over to Woodward for the Dream Cruise! Meet up with Judy "JJ" Trabulsy at a friend's house who has a Woodward party each year and lives a block away at about 11 Mile. In a whirlwind series of events, the next thing we knew we were on said friend's bikes, riding down Woodward all the way to 15 Mile. There were so many cars! Wow! We made our way to the Chevy event, where they had one of the concept cars (I think silver, but I'm blurry). We also stopped by the GM tent, where they had all the GM cars from Transformers, including Bumblebee again! We finally wandered back to the host house, with a tiny lost detour on the way, in the rain and dark. For our last night, Michael honored my request to eat once more at Grape Leaves, where we stuffed ourselves silly.
Day 13--Sunday, August 19: Drive to Atlanta. Unbelievable number of GPS hijinks along the way.
Day 14--Monday, August 20: The Final Day. Make the 7 hour journey back to Orlando, where we stopped and checked in on my car before Michael dropped me off at home around 6:00 p.m. Whew.
Was back at work yesterday and now back into the regular swing of things.
What an awesomely fantastic journey it was!