Motor City

Sunday, August 10, 2008

We’re back in our time zone, but now we’re in a different country. Alex wanted a turn at deciding the route: Ann Arbor, Michigan to Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario.

We spent this morning at the Henry Ford Museum, which is an eclectic collection of items that directly and/or vaguely are tied to Ford and the motor car. For instance, you would expect to see exhibits on the assembly line and the Model T, but just a few feet next to that you have the chair that Lincoln was sitting in when he got shot, the convertible that Kennedy was sitting in when he got shot, and the bus that Rosa Parks was sitting in when she was arrested. And yet, it is not a museum about sitting…


The Presidential Row - on the right you have FDRs car, then Eisenhower's, then JFK (and used by Johnson and Ford), and then in front - Reagan's car

Letter to Henry Ford from Clyde of Bonnie and Clyde Fame - he wrote to tell Ford how great his cars were - his getaway cars!

The chair Lincoln was in when he was shot

The Dymaxion house designed by Bucky Fuller 

We followed the history of the motorcar from horse and buggy, trains, automobiles, diners, hotels, motels, planes, and even the Weiner Dog mobile. Oh yes, the Weiner Dog mobile, circa 1952. For $2, you can see orange plastic get molded into a Weiner Dog mobile. We did.

Alex is sitting where Rosa Parks sat

Now Eleni is sitting where Rosa Parks sat

Henry Ford was truly held up as a hero at his own museum, but there were major pieces missing from his story. I don’t know why I found it surprising that the museum neglected to address the more complicated aspects of his personality.

Our glimpse of Detroit filled up around five minutes of our time and consisted mainly of following signs for the bridge to Canada. We filled our gas tank at the duty free station ($3.65). Just as we crossed the border (and felt badly for the mile traffic jam waiting to cross into the US), it began to rain. Our dreams of camping dashed again.

No worries, though. We followed 401 East, played tag with rainstorms, and ate dinner at a Thai restaurant on Main Street in Woodstock, Ontario. Does a Canadian downtown look more American or English? The debate roared on…

The Detroit we saw outside the museum

Big highlight of Woodstock, Ontario 

Ontario

We veered southeast onto 403 and headed towards Niagara Falls. This was never a goal on this trip, in fact, we had even decided this morning that we were NOT going to the falls. Neil, Alex (at 5 months), and I had all visited here before (this is my 4th time!), and it seemed a bit excessive, but I guess there is a magnetic quality to Niagara Falls. Here we were again.

Gorgeous clouds

And what a time it was (and is!) – our hotel is a block from the falls and we had a great time wandering around this evening. It was drizzling, but we were all wowed by the falls (Alex somewhat reluctantly), and Neil and Alex sneaked out to see the 10 PM fireworks!