As we were still waiting for our Michigan number plate – we decided to go to Detroit for the weekend in our hire car.  Armed with loads of ideas from Babs and Marty we headed off along the I94 and three hours later we were in the Motor City.

First stop was the Henry Ford museum.  It was vast and the lady on the desk would not allow us to go on the factory tour and visit the museum, and despite being rather irritated by this – we soon realised why as after four hours we had hardly made an impression on any of it!

The museum was very interesting – tracing his factory from the start in his backyard – to the creation of all the cars that we know of – Model T, Model A, V8, Mustang, etc. through to the F150 pick up truck which is what they now make in Dearborn at the Rouge plant.

The cars looked amazing – and a clever display as it explained what they cost not just in price terms but in relation to average earnings. It completely explained why cars became so popular as within a decade they were less than a years wages for most people.

There was also quite a funny bit we thought at the start where it was clear that early cars could possibly have been electric or gas, but petrol won. At that moment we looked at ourselves and thought perhaps Ford had become the villain of the piece – but it all got glossed over!

Ford collected all sorts of other things too, which are in the museum. For instance presidential limousines are there – the one that Kennedy was shot in, a Reagan one – going all the way back to a horse and carriage for Teddy Roosevelt.

Also inside the museum was the bus that Rosa Parks declined to give her seat up on.  The standard of exhibits in this museum and the Lincoln one we have also seen are so imaginatively done.  You could sit on the bus and hear her interviewed which was very moving.  There was then a segment about segregated waiting rooms and I instinctively sat in the non white one – as I was already feeling uncomfortable and keen to atone for the sins of my race!

We went downtown to our hotel which was in a very cool old building with a view directly into the Tigers baseball stadium.  Trendy dinner – more sharing plates and micro brewery beers – Ray would be in her element… All good.  One slight mishap is that the roads are in very poor condition in Detroit. The city is bankrupt and they also have the most extreme weather – baking in summer and freezing in winter – so Matt sadly fell over into a pot hole on the way to a bar – but at least he has got out of running this week. (We also made it to the bar!!)

Compared to Chicago two weeks before –  Detroit was  such a contrast.  It was noticeably poorer and harder.  So many people in poverty it is hard to believe that you are in the richest country on the planet.  On Saturday morning we were a bit more up for it and urbanised again (after all we are from Elephant and Castle!!) so we headed off to Eastern Market which is like Borough. Great food. colourful stalls,  a few buskers and a great vibe – all ages and colours, happily together.

We went back to Ford in the afternoon to complete the amazing tour of the plant – The Rouge.  It was mind blowing and everyone must do it if they come to Detroit. We thought so much of Matt’s uncle John and our pal Martin, both Ford lifers… It was so amazing to see the ingenuity of man -the robots putting in the windscreens and the moving line that the people stand on and move with the cars.  Everyone working to make 1200 cars a day.

The scale is vast. The only down side is that you are not allowed to take pictures in case you sell them to Honda or General Motors.  Anyway it was the highlight of my trip… so thank you to the lady on Friday telling us not to rush it all!

On our way back into town on Saturday we did a brief drive by of some dilapidated neighbourhoods.  There is a thing called the Heidelberg Project which is an art installation in a block that will shortly be demolished.  It was a bit voyeuristic to see the run down bits of Detroit – but it is the history of the Twentieth Century -boom and bust before your eyes  All very pertinent because of the election.  A million miles away from the other side of Michigan – clapperboard houses, green lawns, big cars and modest affluence.  Also a million miles away from the buzz  and riches of Chicago.  There is not much buzz in Detroit – it is gritty – but we are going to go back next year as the Motown museum was sold out.

Sunday we had a trip to the Institute of Art – great collection including some Native American artefacts. Terrible that the local tribes from Michigan were relocated much further south and west… but I expect we will learn more about this as we go on.

Never mind all this culture vulture stuff – we need to get that 30ft truck ready for the road…!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, in the end we spent two weeks in St Joe with Barbara, Marty, their daughter Bea and the beagle Sully.  Matt and I are so grateful for the help and base that we have had in St Joe as B&M pointed us in the right direction for everything, from a place for breakfast to where to buy Reggie and all the stuff we have had to get for our trip.  We repaid this kindness by drinking their red wine, talking nonsense about their election and getting Sully so excited that he chewed up more things than usual!  Typical Bradbury guests from hell routine – that we do so well!

We arrived after our initial long weekend in Chicago and checked into the Silver Beach Hotel as we always knew that it would be way too much to camp with the Craigs whilst they are busy with work and school.  It would have been hell of an intrusion, so after a couple of nights we left the hotel and went into a flat which Barbara had kindly arranged to us.  St Joseph is a very pretty town on Lake Michigan and attracts people with second homes who want to have a summer break there.  The flat we rented for ten days was a case in point as it belongs to someone who works in Chicago – but it enabled Matt and I to get planning what we would need to get on the road properly.  Thank you, Lisa, and Barbara for this crucial help.

St Joseph was also a lovey introduction to US life.  We had good meals with the Craigs, great runs around the lake as the scenery is lovely – the trees are stunning and curiously the squirrels are black.  We had our hire car – so we could start shopping and organising insurance, etc. for Reggie.

First weekend we were with B&M we took a trip out to Indiana and saw some Amish villages.   Absolutely weird to see Amish people in horse and carts running along the side of the road whilst everyone comes past them – but we ate in a restaurant which is renowned for its comforting fayre and it was hearty, puritan food!

We then went to downtown Niles which is in the process of being regenerated and met a friend of Barbara’s who has just opened a bar there.  The old commercial areas of St Joe and Benton Harbor are also being developed and overhauled – which is very interesting to see as unlike home if something has gone bust it just collapses there and then – there is so much space that no one needs to refurbish it, they just get a new plot and start again.  

All the things we have heard about the election are true – you can see how technology and globalisation is affecting people here.  Whirlpool are the largest employer in the St Joe area but the stats of how many fewer people employed now compared with 20/30 years are understandable, but high none the less.  They have just relocated some of their staff to a new campus much closer to town, away from the massive headquarters they had previously just up the interstate, as again they recognise the vibe that people want to live and work in closer communities.

We left town on Monday this week, but called back for one last meal and farewell with B&M on Wednesday after having a couple of practice nights in sites about an hour from St Joseph.

It was sad to say goodbye as they had been such a huge part of our story so far.  We have their address now – so all the parking tickets and speeding fines are going there!!  For all our college friends, I can report that Babs, Marty ad Bea all look very well, their home is lovely and they send their love to you all. Thank you Angela for the photos from the frame of shame – they gave us a very good giggle one night.