July 11, Vacation Day 13, Blue Lake

This was the last day of our vacation. We drove to Blue Lake, took a walk where I photographed these bladder campions, went to CB's concert at Blue Lake Fine arts Camp (CB is choir boy, our son, also known as PB for Piano Boy and GB for guitar boy). The concert was amazing! Fantastic. Back home again in Detroit, poor BB had to work on the car.

CB is the thin kid just to the left of the conductor. His hands are down at his side because he has memorized all the music. Smart kid. He made chamber choir, as well as the regular choir. (The photo is of chamber choir, which is smaller.)

Vacation Day 8, July 6

This was maybe the highlight of the entire trip, hiking along the escarpment at Lake of the Clouds. It was incredibly beautiful. The air was so clean and it was incredibly peaceful.

And for Detroit, more cars from the car show at The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House.

I am having some fairly serious health issues. And since no one seems to come here any more, I may give up blogging entirely.

Vacation Day 6: Mouth of the Presque Isle River

On July 4th, the 6th day of our trip, we drove up to the tippy top of Michigan's Upper Peninsula to the Porcupine Wilderness Area and in to the Presque Isle River Campground. We hiked along Lake Superior and the lower portions of the Presque River.



We watched the sunset over Lake Superior. This was a campground community event.



And since this is a Detroit photoblog, here's another Detroit picture from the car show at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, a 1955 Corvette.

See five more pictures from July 4 and read the day's unedited journal. By unedited, I mean BB has yet to add his 2-cents worth.

Skywatch Friday: Vacation, Day 4, Lake Michigan

On day 4 of our vacation, we drove across the Mackinac Bridge to the UP and then along Lake Michigan. We camped at a Lake Michigan campground and walked along the beach in the evening to watch the sunset. See 5 more pix from this vacation day here.



Back in Detroit, the Skywatch Friday picture was a reflection taken in the fender of a Packard at the Car show at The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House.

Day 3 Vacation, Sleeping Bear Dunes

On the third day of our vacation, we explored sleeping bear Dunes. These are just a few of the pictures we took. It was lovely there and we really enjoyed our hikes and our driving tour through the scenic drive.



Back in Detroit, since this is a Detroit photoblog, I've included a hood ornament from an old Packard from the car show at The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House.

We returned early from our vacation because health issues, and those health issues are eating into my time. Sorry.

More Dream Cruise

After the GM 100+ car parade ended at the Triangle in Birmingham, we
got out and walked around and looked at the cars. And trucks. And
talked and talked to their owners about them.

The Woodward Dream Cruise, Part I

AH! The joy of classic cars and trucks!

As Detroit bloggers, we were invited by Adam Dennison at GM to be part of the Woodward Dream Tour Parade of 100+ GM cars representing 100 years of GM history. Adam met us when we arrived at 6:45 AM and introduced us to the drivers we would be riding with. I rode with Stu
(sp?) in his Corvair and BB rode with John and Joyce in their 1965 Impala convertible.

I started a little website on which I hope to post our pictures from the Dream Cruise. You can see them here, if you are interested.

We had a great day. We both love classic cars and BB had his head under the hood of uncountable numbers of cars. Thanks to GM and Adam for this opportunity! When BB becomes available (he got plumb tuckered), I will get more info.

Tonight and Tomorrow

1)Go to a concert tonight and listen to Piano Boy sing!

2) Get up at 5:15 AM tomorrow morning and go to the Renaissance Center to be in the Woodward Dream cruise. Be there by 6:45 AM. Check out some of the cool classic cars that will be in the cruise! YAY! We will be guests of GM and riding in the 100+ GM car parade.

For the first time, the Woodward Dream Cruise, the world’s largest one-day automotive event, will feature an event logo conceptualized and created by a revered automotive designer. The 2008 logo—a tribute to the role of the Hot Rod in the history of cruisin’—comes from Dick Ruzzin, whose career spanned nearly 40 years, including serving as Director of Design for GM Europe and Director of Design for the Chevrolet Car Division, North America, respectively.

Ruzzin, who retired in 1998, is also known for the concept and creation of Eyes on Design, an annual automotive design exhibition, and the Design Forum at the North American International Auto Show. His signed, commissioned artwork will appear on all Official 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise merchandise.

“Many credit Edsel Ford with creating the very first hot rod back in 1916, which was a stripped-down Model T,” said Ruzzin. “As I created the new logo, I felt compelled to go back to cruisin’s very roots and draw a vehicle that wasn’t a specific make or model but, rather, was a vehicle image that would communicate the fun, excitement and classic lines of a number of the early hot rods.”

Said Don Tanner, Executive Director of the Woodward Dream Cruise: “As our event continues to evolve, we wanted a new logo that was an extension of that evolution. Dick’s work is a nod to both classic tradition and contemporary style. It is, as he intended, a work of automotive art.”

Here is a finished sketch in the sketchbook from the gull composit a couple days ago.

Buoy Boat, Classic Car

From Belle Isle, which is part of Detroit, Michigan, you can see Windsor, Canada and watch the Canadian Buoy Boats servicing the buoys in the Detroit River. Also the party boats (and gulls--see yesterday).

Life goes on every day, and we're having fun--AND getting psyched for the Woodward Dream Cruise Classic Car parade and activities coming up Saturday, the day after tomorrow. We had to give up a chance to stay at the Radsisson Hotel (a nice hotel!) because Piano Boy has his Summer Select Choir concert tomorrow night, but we're looking forward to riding in the parade. Wahoo! Looks like a great, sunny and warm.

Motor City artists, musicians and producers with links to the early days of Motown and Detroit rock n’ roll, have collaborated to create a new, original song—Drive On!—for the Woodward Dream Cruise, as the group continues to work on completion of an entire CD of official cruisin’ music.

Auto Show, Greenfield Village

Here's another of my 1000 shots from the auto show at the Greenfield
Village Historical site.

At the Car show in Greenfield Village on Father's Day

I am so sorry I have been absent, but we have been so busy I haven't had time to get on-line. PB had his first solo recital and I baked batches and batches of cookies and made phone calls, and special shopping trips etc, and then the event itself. On father's day, we went to Greenfield Village for the day--I took about a 1000 pictures. Here's ONE! This guy is really driving this car, which was fairly loud for being so small.

I am going to back post this to Father's Day.

More Ford Museum: Cars

There were no shortage of unusual and vintage cars at the Ford Museum. A real plethora of vehicles of every kind. The last one is the electric car.

SUVs

No view of Detroit would be complete without motor vehicles, since Detroit is the center and hub of automobile manufacturing. People here are rabid about cars, the bigger the better. Most parking lots are full of gigantic SUVs. Most (many) people here have NO CONCERN about the environment, pollution or the rampant use of rapidly depleting resources, I'm sorry to say. This is one of the things that makes me sad about living here. This picture was taken at one of the many car dealerships that line Mack in Detroit. (Now I'll probably have a burning cross in front of my house for dissing big Detroit -made cars. I appreciate the car industry, I do--Biker Buddy works at GM. I just wish they'd make a larger percentage of smaller, more energy efficient cars and that Detroit people and everyone else would drive smaller cars.)[In Europe, when I was there, almost 99% of the cars were small and tiny.]

PS: don't forget I'll be away and incommunicado all next week.