Moving out of Michigan -- What I Will Miss

What I will miss about Novi 

A number of years ago, I attended the farewell dinner for a pastor who was leaving the area.  I had asked him, “What will you miss about your city?  And you can’t say ‘the people.’’  That’s too easy and too obvious.  It is for me, too.

So, what will I miss about living in Novi and in Michigan in general?

I will miss Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford.  We had a membership there for years, including the all-you-can-ride package.  So, in addition, I will miss the Model-T rides we took as often as we could.

I will miss going to Frankenmuth, walking through Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, and having a large German meal at the Bavarian Inn.  Sauerbraten was my meal of choice, along with a mandatory side order of Bavarian red cabbage.  Those meals did not happen often, but they were always glorious!

Honorable mention on the German meal was Metzger’s in Ann Arbor.  Also very good.

I will miss going into downtown Detroit to enjoy some world-class architecture.  The Guardian Building and the Fisher Building are amazing.  I will miss the Detroit Institute of Arts.  I wish I could have gotten downtown more often to enjoy more of it.  We never did get to the restored train station or to the Book Tower.  We got to the Riverwalk a few times.  There were also many restaurants and pubs that would have been nice to get to, but time and money stood in the way.

I will miss attending concerts by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and productions at the Fisher and Fox Theaters. 

I will miss Mexican meals at Border Cantina (although, they closed a few months before we left).  I will miss Saturday morning breakfast at the Early Bird restaurant in Northville, only recently discovered by us.  I will miss Tim Hortons and Guernsey’s ice cream.

I will miss Meijer being only two miles down the road.  I will miss the dedication of the people at Firestone on Haggerty Road in Northville.  (When they know you by name when you walk in, is that bad or good?  At least they did not have my phone number memorized.)

I will miss the Michigan state parks.  I will miss Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and the Mackinac Bridge.  I will miss Laura’s and my recent end-of-summer trips to Port Huron where we watched Great Lakes freighters float under the Blue Water Bridge.

Although I will miss many things about Michigan, I am looking forward to discovering many things to love about Lake City and Minnesota.  Of course, it will be the people that I will learn to love the most.  And that is easy and obvious to say.

Local Tourist: Jim Henson Exhibit at Henry Ford Museum

Yesterday the Local Tourist went to the Henry Ford Museum to see the Jim Henson Exhibit.  While the exhibit detailed the length of Henson's career, it should not surprise anyone that the most popular parts of the exhibit featured Sesame Street characters and the Muppets.

I am always fascinated by the creative process that results in what we end up seeing.  There were a few descriptions of the Muppets as they were being created, as we as story boards and scripts for segments of Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.  Those things are really cool, and increase your appreciation for the final result.  Among these sketches were descriptions for generic Muppets, that is, Muppets that could become several characters from a blank model--an orange Muppet, a fat blue Muppet, a tall yellow Muppet, a short green Muppet, etc.....

Below are a handful of the characters on display.  In addition, Peter got to construct his own Muppet (see below), and we both got to practice making a Muppet come to life on the screen.  Sad to say, that will only live as a memory; we got no footage--but we were really good.

Sketches of Bert as he was being created.

If you have never seen how they filmed Sesame Street with all the Muppets, here is an image. 

I wonder how long they could go before they lost all feeling in their arms.

These Muppets are designed to look like Jim Henson (left), Frank Oz (center), and (Jerry Nelson) right.

Local Tourist -- Christmas at The Henry Ford

While we have never done Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village, we have enjoyed the trees at The Henry Ford Museum.  We also checked out the Lionel Train sets and the Lego display, including models of the Fisher Building and the Guardian Building.  Masks were removed briefly for the sake of a few photos.

Local Tourist -- Marvel Universe

The Local Tourist went to a traveling exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.  The exhibit from the Marvel Universe is on display there until January 31, 2021.  Labor Day allowed us to get there since Laura and Peter did not have to worry about school.  After a ticket fiasco got straightened out (they had given us tickets for next Monday when we had asked for Sept. 7), we went through the exhibit.  

If you are a fan of the comic books, this exhibit is for you.  I am more familiar with the movies, and they had lots of props from those.  It was really neat.  I think Peter got the biggest charge out of it.

Here are some photos.  Enjoy.

Local Tourist -- The Science Behind Pixar (Henry Ford Museum)

A trip to the Henry Ford Museum demanded that we see The Science Behind Pixar exhibit (on display into March).  Plan on taking a couple of hours if you want to view all of the videos, displays, and interactive exhibits.

Some photos.

Local Tourist -- Historic Fort Wayne, Magical History Tour, etc.

Updated with a more accurate Post Title

This summer has been packed pretty well juggling five different schedules with only three cars, so the Local Tourist has had precious little time to be the tourist in the Detroit area he wants to be.  Nonetheless, we got out a few times this summer.  Here is a smattering of photos, with some commentary, from the various outings this past June and July.  Enjoy!

Dr. Seuss exhibit at Dow Center for the Arts in Midland, Michigan.
(I know this streches the "Local" in Local Tourist, but it was still in Michigan.)

The Tridge in Midland, Michigan.  Yes, it meets in the middle with three entry points.  Cool!

The Magical History Tour, an exhibit of Beatles memoriabilia, making its US debut at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.  Only $5 a person with our membership.  It will be on display here through Labor Day weekend.  A must for any Beatles fan!

A model of the Cavern Club where the Beatles honed their skills in Hamburg, Germany. 

One of several photos taken by a photographer who had asked to document the Beatles' coming to America in 1963.  The photographer, whose name I can't recall, worked without pay for the opportunity to get these photos.

Tour to Historic Fort Wayne in July, 2016.  This fort is south Detroit right on the Detroit River.  It is only open on weekends, and admission is only $5 per carload (secured parking).  Though guided tours are available, we did the self-guided tour.  It could and should be a featured tourist destination in Detroit, but is in a state of neglect and gets very little financial support to address many needed repairs, especially to the enlisted men's barracks (see below).  Despite the delapodated condition of many of the buildings, a great deal of this fort and its surrounding buildings still remain standing.  All support for Historic Fort Wayne is voluntary.  A generous grant or a large check from a benefactor could make this fort fantastic.

Entry to the star-shaped fort.  Beware of startled birds suddenly leaving their nests, resulting in startled visitors.

Some of the turrets still present (cannons aimed at Canada removed), as well as the barracks in the background.
The barracks building is still on good condition and is still used for various camps and re-enactments.

Peter enjoyed his visit to Historic Fort Wayne.  This, if I recall, was one of the officer's residences.  It was not open.

The fort jail is one of the few buildings still accessible for entry.

As you can see, many of the barracks have not been kept up and have suffered from years of neglect in the elements.  Please do not conufse this with the average neighborhood in Detroit (though many neighborhoods have similar looking issues.)