Mike & Kris - Enjoying The Ride

It is raining here tonight in Empire, Michigan, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to catch up.  We rolled into Canton, Michigan on the afternoon of the 4th of July.  John and Hannah were waiting for us with a wonderful BBQ dinner.  Everything was delicious, we were able to unload a lot of shower gifts, china, etc. , and we even got to watch free fireworks out of the family room.  I guess a lot of people in Michigan blow a significant portion of their paycheck to celebrate the big day.  The next day John took Mike golfing and Hannah and I paid a much needed visit to a hair salon.  After strolling around a bit we all headed to downtown Detroit because the Giants were in town and it was my birthday!  It’s another beautiful stadium and they even have a Shake Shack nearby.  Of course, I had never heard of it before, but they make a terrific shake if you’re interested. The Giants were out on the field with batting practice when we got there and this never happens–We were front and center as they signed autographs for a lot of fans, especially young ones.

Best of all–they won–what a night.

In whirlwind fashion, we spent the next day at Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum.  This is the largest indoor-outdoor museum complex in the United States. More than 100 historical houses and buildings were moved from their original places to this amazing outdoor museum.

Its intent is to show what life was like since the founding of the country.   Okay, this place is huge and we did not even try to see it all.  We will have to come back here for sure.  Ruth Lemmon, if you read this, you must go and see this place. It is full of people in period costumes living life as if it were back in the 1800’s.  When we arrived at the farm part of the village they were using a horse team to harvest the wheat.

We went inside the nearby farmhouse and the women folk were cooking for the crew.  It was almost unbearably hot inside because they were using all the original cooking methods. I believe apple pies were on the menu as they were chopping and peeling a lot!  There is more than I can remember, but the house Henry Ford grew up in is there as well as his original workshop.  Also on the property was the house the Wright Brothers grew up in and worked on.  They were excellent wood craftsmen (a skill they learned from their college-educated mother).  There was also a Thomas Edison Menlo Park Laboratory Complex that we didn’t get to go through-it was just getting too hot outside.

 

We moved into Henry Ford Museum to get some relief from the heat.  Again, way more than can be taken-in in one day.  We started by looking at US Presidents’ cars–even the one John F. Kennedy was assassinated in.

From there we saw famous race cars, significant historic cars,  and much, much more.

There were trains, steam engines used in Henry Ford’s factories, and just about anything else you can think of.  We had to stop because we were just too tired to keep going.  We told ourselves we were saving some for the next trip.  A huge shoutout to Hannah and John for hosting us and showing us such a good time–Marley too of course!

Next stop..Traverse City for the National Cherry Festival