I have put this post off long enough. Frankly, we saw so much that the thought of writing about it is overwhelming, but enough lollygagging!
We had the opportunity to fly back to the vicinity of Steve's mission. He served in the Michigan Detroit Mission from 1995-1997. Ahhhh...what grand reminiscing. Mostly, he was reminded that, as his brother once stated, 'It is the million dollar experience you wouldn't pay 10 cents to repeat'. Still, he was a good missionary and kept his nose clean. Apparently this was a feat because when the temperature drops to negative 24 snot runs out of your nose and freezes. You can see what kind of stories I enjoyed.
To start from the beginning, M LOVES planes. The 5 hours we spent on the aircraft itself was glorious because she just stared out the window in awe.
Funny story: We were getting our complimentary drinks and M insisted on tomato juice. I kept trying to talk her out of it, but she would not budge. When the flight attendant took our orders she told us the tomato juice was actually a spicy bloody Mary mix so we ordered cranberry apple juice for M instead. As soon as the flight attendant left. M started tapping me.
We were eating ice cream and talking. M started singing I Like to Look for Rainbows in between licks. After awhile she stopped and said, "I'm just happy, Mom"
Croswell houses Michigan's famous swinging bridge. Built in 1905, it is famous because it is still in use today and offers profound words of wisdom. The bridge is at least 100 feet over the water and when Steve served in that area in the winter it was closed because huge chunks of ice were scrapping the bottom of the bridge as the river became frozen and then cracked under pressure creating mountains of ice. (No thank you)
The Detroit Michigan Temple was built in 1999 so this was the first time Steve was able to see it.
The Edsel and Eleanor Ford home was fascinating. Edsel was the son of Henry Ford and steered the Ford car company toward a more sporty and classy look. He was highly successful which was apparent in the home and grounds. Everything in the 30,000 sq foot home was original. So interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the Fords were kind people to work for. Another interesting fact...the house has a stone roof. It lasted 75 years and when it came time to replace it, specialized roofers had to be flown in from Ireland. The replacement lasted 4 years and cost 3 million. The good news is that it should last for 100 years.
The playhouse is built 2/3 the size of the original. Everything is in perfect working order from the plumbing to the electrical. A gift from the grandmother.
Steve wanted to show me the vacation mecca of Downtown Detroit. Ummmm...I'm not going to lie...Detroit is a little scary. We went to a drive-thru and the girl was behind bullet-proof glass with a contraption that accepted our money and gave us our food with no possibility of human contact. Huh. Steve wanted to walk by the Detroit river and like the good wife I am I said okay, but don't think I wasn't concerned. It turned out to be a lovely walkway with a splash pad where M quickly made friends. Fun fact: the land you see in the background is Canada. It was actually south of where we were.
M's day was complete when migrating geese landed at our hotel.
On Sunday we were invited to a family's house for dinner. We had a great time and they were so kind. I don't know how it came up, but Steve had a rare oddity in common with them.
We stopped in Cleveland, Ohio and we both fell in love with the area. It is gorgeous with tons of diversity, architecture, and culture, not to mention trees. Education is a focus in the community as well as sports (a big deal for Steve).
We were able to tour the William G Mather Cleveland Cliffs, the steam ship that built Cleveland. Apparently it was the cargo ship that handled imports and exports and provided livelihoods to those on land and lake.
We also went to the Great Lakes Science Center and enjoyed hands-on exhibits and a science experiment show.
Turns out if we are ever in space and Steve needs to land the shuttle, we are not going to survive. We learned this thanks to the space shuttle landing simulator.
Downtown Cleveland is neat. So many unique buildings. M must have seen them before however, because as we were driving and exploring M suddenly said, "Was that Sesame Street"?
On the way home we had a layover where we did not exit the plane. This meant 1 hour of trying to keep M occupied before takeoff. We had a great time playing with the air above our seats.
Steve talked to the flight attendant about seeing the cockpit. She asked the pilot and he invited Steve to take a seat next to him. How totally awesome is that?! He gave us an interesting peek into his life. So fun. M was impressed, but tried not to be. Steve and I, however, were having a blast asking questions and taking pictures.
Flying home we saw one of the most beautiful skies above the clouds.
By the time we ended the whirlwind tour of Steve's mission area, we had driven over 1000 miles and visited:
So glad to be home.
We had the opportunity to fly back to the vicinity of Steve's mission. He served in the Michigan Detroit Mission from 1995-1997. Ahhhh...what grand reminiscing. Mostly, he was reminded that, as his brother once stated, 'It is the million dollar experience you wouldn't pay 10 cents to repeat'. Still, he was a good missionary and kept his nose clean. Apparently this was a feat because when the temperature drops to negative 24 snot runs out of your nose and freezes. You can see what kind of stories I enjoyed.
To start from the beginning, M LOVES planes. The 5 hours we spent on the aircraft itself was glorious because she just stared out the window in awe.
Funny story: We were getting our complimentary drinks and M insisted on tomato juice. I kept trying to talk her out of it, but she would not budge. When the flight attendant took our orders she told us the tomato juice was actually a spicy bloody Mary mix so we ordered cranberry apple juice for M instead. As soon as the flight attendant left. M started tapping me.
M: Hey Mom, is the girl getting spicy tomato juice?
Me: Yes
M: No! Not spicy! (completely distressed)
Me: Would you like cranberry apple juice?
M: Yes. (completely relieved)
Me: Yes
M: No! Not spicy! (completely distressed)
Me: Would you like cranberry apple juice?
M: Yes. (completely relieved)
We visited Lake Erie and Steve wondered what vermin were.
And for those of you out there who share our sense of humor...We spent a half hour in Hell. There's a lovely souvenir shop and even an ice cream stand! Eat it fast!
We were eating ice cream and talking. M started singing I Like to Look for Rainbows in between licks. After awhile she stopped and said, "I'm just happy, Mom"
Lake Huron was as smooth as glass.
Croswell houses Michigan's famous swinging bridge. Built in 1905, it is famous because it is still in use today and offers profound words of wisdom. The bridge is at least 100 feet over the water and when Steve served in that area in the winter it was closed because huge chunks of ice were scrapping the bottom of the bridge as the river became frozen and then cracked under pressure creating mountains of ice. (No thank you)
The Detroit Michigan Temple was built in 1999 so this was the first time Steve was able to see it.
The Edsel and Eleanor Ford home was fascinating. Edsel was the son of Henry Ford and steered the Ford car company toward a more sporty and classy look. He was highly successful which was apparent in the home and grounds. Everything in the 30,000 sq foot home was original. So interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the Fords were kind people to work for. Another interesting fact...the house has a stone roof. It lasted 75 years and when it came time to replace it, specialized roofers had to be flown in from Ireland. The replacement lasted 4 years and cost 3 million. The good news is that it should last for 100 years.
The playhouse is built 2/3 the size of the original. Everything is in perfect working order from the plumbing to the electrical. A gift from the grandmother.
Steve wanted to show me the vacation mecca of Downtown Detroit. Ummmm...I'm not going to lie...Detroit is a little scary. We went to a drive-thru and the girl was behind bullet-proof glass with a contraption that accepted our money and gave us our food with no possibility of human contact. Huh. Steve wanted to walk by the Detroit river and like the good wife I am I said okay, but don't think I wasn't concerned. It turned out to be a lovely walkway with a splash pad where M quickly made friends. Fun fact: the land you see in the background is Canada. It was actually south of where we were.
M's day was complete when migrating geese landed at our hotel.
On Sunday we were invited to a family's house for dinner. We had a great time and they were so kind. I don't know how it came up, but Steve had a rare oddity in common with them.
From the top they look completely normal...
but their toes tell another story.
We stopped in Cleveland, Ohio and we both fell in love with the area. It is gorgeous with tons of diversity, architecture, and culture, not to mention trees. Education is a focus in the community as well as sports (a big deal for Steve).
Cleveland Browns Stadium
Large random stamp statue
We were able to tour the William G Mather Cleveland Cliffs, the steam ship that built Cleveland. Apparently it was the cargo ship that handled imports and exports and provided livelihoods to those on land and lake.
M was super excited to steer the ship.
Less excited to hear the ship's bell.
We also went to the Great Lakes Science Center and enjoyed hands-on exhibits and a science experiment show.
Turns out if we are ever in space and Steve needs to land the shuttle, we are not going to survive. We learned this thanks to the space shuttle landing simulator.
An actual hub that landed on the moon. It's super tiny and claustrophobia inducing.
The result of mixing nitrogen and boiling water.
Downtown Cleveland is neat. So many unique buildings. M must have seen them before however, because as we were driving and exploring M suddenly said, "Was that Sesame Street"?
On the way home we had a layover where we did not exit the plane. This meant 1 hour of trying to keep M occupied before takeoff. We had a great time playing with the air above our seats.
Steve talked to the flight attendant about seeing the cockpit. She asked the pilot and he invited Steve to take a seat next to him. How totally awesome is that?! He gave us an interesting peek into his life. So fun. M was impressed, but tried not to be. Steve and I, however, were having a blast asking questions and taking pictures.
Flying home we saw one of the most beautiful skies above the clouds.
By the time we ended the whirlwind tour of Steve's mission area, we had driven over 1000 miles and visited:
Ann Arbor
Bloomfield Hills
Brighton
Canton
Chelsea
Cleveland
Croswell
Dearborn
Detroit
Dexter
Grosse Pointe
Farmington
Farmington Hills
Hell
Lavonia
Lexington
Novi
Pinckney
River View
Trenton
Troy
Bloomfield Hills
Brighton
Canton
Chelsea
Cleveland
Croswell
Dearborn
Detroit
Dexter
Grosse Pointe
Farmington
Farmington Hills
Hell
Lavonia
Lexington
Novi
Pinckney
River View
Trenton
Troy
So glad to be home.
Oh my heck! I should comment on all your other awesome sites from the trip, but I'm completely stunned by the toes pic! I was unaware of Steve's rare oddity, but even more so amazed that you found out your dinner hosts shared the same feature! That is classic.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have been all sorts of fun places lately. . . sigh, I love to travel.
ReplyDelete