Mike & Kris - Enjoying The Ride

Thursday we entered Michigan, our 9th state of our trip, and the furthest East of our travels this time.  Before Michigan we drove through Illinois and a bit of Indiana.  We also encountered the most traffic so far because we were so close to Chicago.  We ended this travel day in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  After setting up, we went in search of water and found where the St. Joseph river emptied into Lake Michigan and it was a beautiful sight.  With its beaches and a lighthouse it even looks like an ocean.  We understand Michigan has the most lighthouses of any state and we are looking forward to future trips and more exploration of this area.  We dodged the thunder and lightening storm and enjoyed a small break from the heat.

Friday morning we got any early start and made our way to Hannah and John’s new house in Canton.  They are about 30 minutes from Ann Arbor in one direction and 30 minutes to Detroit in the other direction.  It has been some great family time with Matthew joining us here too.  We spent the first evening at a Summer Beer Festival enjoying some of Michigan’s local beers and the local people.  The next day we set out to discover Detroit.  We went to the Detroit Riverwalk where we could see Canada, the Detroit skyline, and learn a bit about Detroit’s role in the Underground Railroad.  We also went onto Belle Island which got us even a little closer to Canada and some great views.  After driving around a bit we ended at the Detroit Tigers Stadium which is right in the heart of the downtown.  Such a cool sight and right across from the historic Fox Theatre and the Fillmore.  We will definitely be back to take in a show and some baseball!  It was full day and we ended the evening at Vinsetta Garage which is a super cool restaurant in an old car garage on Woodward Avenue.  Woodward Avenue is famous for its annual Woodward Dream Cruise (the largest, single day, cruising automotive event in the world), and so after the meal, we joined other car enthusiasts watching the “Saturday Night Cruise” down the avenue.  Did I mention people in Michigan love their cars??

Next up is our trip to the Big House…stay tuned.