I was planning on going on a road trip the weekend 7/10-7/12 because on 7/11 the convenience store chain 7-11 has given customers free slurpees; and I miss slurpees. There is no 7-11 near us. I know there are some in KY and I have seen a bunch in NC but I don't know of any in TN. So I searched for 7-11 in Michigan and found one in Canton. I now had two stops for the trip, and that is how road trips are born.
I made more painted rocks two were stop specific and two were in general Michigan.
Before we could get to Michigan we had to drive through our old friend Ohio and stopped for lunch in Findlay, Ohio (AKA Flag City.) The town nickname started in the 1960s when one resident, John Cooke, decided that on Flag Day 1968 every house and business would display an American Flag. With the help of the Sons of The American Revolution 14,000 flags were purchased and proudly flown at each house. Again in 1974 the Woman's Division of the Chamber of Commerce worked to ensure that the city would show its patriotism and filed papers with the Ohio Legislature to officially designate the town as Flag City. The town was really interesting and there were a number of buildings that grabbed my attention. At first I was going to walk around to look at the buildings but decided that we will return next year during Lent to visit the Catholic Church in town and explore further. For today though we stopped at Findlay Brewing. At first we built two flights but we were enjoying their beers so much we made a third to get a full sampling. Also the food was delicious. We had the pretzel appetizer and I ordered FBC Burger and Meg ordered the Glazed Donut BLT. She had seen similar choices in other places but never actually tried them.
I was super excited for our first stop, The Uni-royal tire. It's a giant tire on the side of the highway but it has a past. It was a ferris wheel built by the US Rubber Company for the 1964 World's Fair in NY. It was relocated to Allen Park, Michigan in 1966. The 'tire' is actually made of concrete, steel, and a fire proof resin. Estimates say the 12 ton structure had over 2 million passengers during the course of the fair.
As we were driving we kept hearing mention of "The Palace at Auburn Hills" which was being demolished on 7/11/2020. It was a multi purpose arena that housed several sports teams including the Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Shock. From 1988-2017 the arena housed multiple sporting events from basketball, hockey, soccer, as well as concerts. I looked up a picture of the building and it looked beautiful. So we figured we would drive over and see it before it was demolished. Well what I didn't realize was that they had been deconstructing the arena before the demolishing. So while I expected this...
We saw this...
We then got back on the road to drive to Fort Gratiot, Michigan, and the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse situated on Lake Huron. This is the oldest lighthouse in Michigan as it guides vessels from the Lake to the St. Clair River. The light house was built in 1829 and the light was automated in 1933. I love seeing the Great Lakes with their ocean-like waves and currents.
Next door to the Lighthouse is a Coast Guard Property and there was some information about the Coast Guard. I didn't know that the creation of the Coast Guard was actually the joining of two other organizations: The United States Life Saving Services USLSS and the Revenue Cutter Service.
Originally we were going to stay in a hotel near the lighthouse but most of the hotels that allowed dogs were full. There was one that did allow dogs but the hotel looked a little off and we opted not to stay there. I haven't been pre-booking hotel rooms for these trips because I don't really know exactly where we are going to stop. As you can tell we add stops at a whim so it makes it hard to judge. No problem we decided to drive towards our next location to find a hotel on the way. We ended up at a Comfort Inn and Suites in Ann Arbor. The staff there was so friendly and welcoming and the room was very comfortable and clean. It was late, we were exhausted and really needed the rest. The suite also allowed Gypsy to sleep in one room with Meg and myself while Domino and my Mom took the other room which was good because the two of them, like the fuzzy toddlers most dogs are, like to get on each other's nerves.
The next morning we slept in again and didn't leave the hotel until nine am. Meg found a spot to get coffee and breakfast- Zingerman's Coffee- which is just one in a series of businesses started by the very successful trio of Paul Saginow, Ari Weinzweig, and Ronald Maurer. I got a regular cup of their Columbian blend coffee and Meg had their mocha. For breakfast they didn't have donuts as we have had on the last few trips but they did have... I don't know if I should call it craft or artisanal but it was the best toast I have ever had.
Next door was their bakery where my Mom went and got a cook book, challah bread, and really delicious graham crackers. Across the street they had a building where they hold business management/training courses. I will assume that each business had their books as well. We purchased the Lapsed Anarchist's Guide to Being A Better Leader and I look forward to reading it. Clearly they have been very successful. Later we went by their deli but did not stop because the line and wait was too long.
Now the theme of the 1964 World's Fair was World Peace so it seemed fitting to visit our next stop on the same trip. In Ann Arbor at the absolutely beautiful campus of the University of Michigan John F. Kennedy first introduced the idea of a Peace Corp. It was during a campaign visit on October 14, 1960, when Kennedy stood in front of the Student Union and proposed the idea to cheering students. The idea carried through in his inaugural address when he stated: "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country."
For something completely different a few blocks away in Ann Arbor proper we found an amusing wall mural. It is Gene Kelly in his famous dance number of 'Singing in the Rain.' But to add extra fun a light pole placed a few feet in front of it can be lined up perfectly to become a part of the mural.
And then the moment the day was named for: 7-11 Slurpee Day. Now it has been a recurring promotion that on 7/11 they give out free small slurpees. I planned on getting my free slurpee and probably buying a big slurpee for the road cause I love slurpees so much. Just one problem. The promotion changed. I guess I should have seen it coming. On one website we saw that instead of anyone able to get a free slurpee you had to have the app and were sent a coupon. However when we got there the clerk said there were no free slurpees. Apparently to keep crowds down there wasn't free slurpees. But even better any size slurpee was a dollar. So I got the largest one I could for a dollar which is still a win in my book.
Now at this point we were supposed to drive home.
That was it.
The road trip was over.
But it was still early and my Mom kept noticing the beautiful bridge on the Michigan license plate. Now the bridge was the Mackinac Bridge in the very north of Michigan... way too far to drive to at this point. But the name sounded familiar and we tried to think of if it was in a song. The song we were thinking of was America by Simon and Garfunkel which does not mention the bridge but it does mention Saginaw. We looked up Saginaw and it was only around two hours away. So we changed course for Saginaw.
On the way there we saw a large pick up truck completely covered in a tarp. It must be the new line from one of the big auto manufacturers but which one?
As we approached Saginaw we began searching for breweries to get something to eat. We did find a brewery, Loggers Brewing Company, in fact I am drinking the growler we brought home right now. As the name sounds the inside looked and felt very rustic. Out back they had a small seating area where we were able to sit with the dogs. Unfortunately they didn't serve food and the local places were busy because delivery would be almost an hour. So we enjoyed one flight and then left to see two sites in Saginaw before heading home for real this time.
Our first stop was the home of Theodore Roethke (1908-1963). He was born and grew up on the family farm in Saginaw. As we were driving to the brewery we had passed the home which had a large sign about the friends of Theodore Roethke and "Save the stone house." So we pulled in to the drive to check out the info. The white house where Theodore grew up has been preserved. However next door is his brother's home which is not preserved. So the sign to save the stone house was urging people to help donate and support preservation.
I looked up several of Roethke's poems but one that really stood out to me was My Papa's Waltz. Theodore lost his Father young and you feel his sense of loss in his poem. I lost my Dad when I was in my twenties so not nearly as young as he was but there are major life moments I can't help but think about how different they will be without him here. The biggest one for me is obviously when ever I finally find a guy, settle down, and get married. One barring some miracle from my past the guy I marry will have never meet my Dad, but two the thought of who will walk me down the aisle comes to my mind every so often. Anyway here is the poem and I highly recommend taking a look at his other writings as well:
My Papa's Waltz
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death;
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My Mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.
We also saw signs for the Castle Museum so we drove over to take a look. We didn't have much planned since I hadn't looked up anything in Saginaw and we had the dogs so going inside places is impossible. The castle is a museum with multiple exhibits, some permanent and others rotating, that give insight into the history and people of Saginaw. The building itself was built in 1898 as a post office. William Martin Atkin was the chief architect and he used a chateau finish to tip his hat to the original French settlers and trappers who moved to Michigan. The building was earmarked to be destroyed in the 30s but several petitions saved it and in 1935 it was remodeled to make it larger and more capable of handling the mail for the growing city/area.
We started home but ended up stopping in Delphos, Ohio for the night. We got up early to try and see the comet C/2020 F3. It was supposed to be visible right before sun rise at the time. Meg set her camera up to try and capture it and while she got a few gorgeous sunrise photos we did not see the comet.
After packing up the car we took a ride to Dayton to get coffee at Ghostlight Coffee. Their food menu was severely limited because of either less business or trouble with shipping due to Covid. Either way I had a regular coffee with oat milk and an old world bagel with butter.
There was another coffee place called Boston Stoker Coffee which Meg found listed as best coffee in Dayton for 43 years. It was closed so we will have to return to Dayton to try that sometime because best coffee for 43 years means something for sure!
Now as I sit here finishing this blog up and drinking my Loggers Brewing beer Meg is watching Jelle's Marble Runs on youtube sponsored by Last Week Tonight Week With John Oliver and the winning team just had a donation made to a south east food bank in Michigan and I said: "hey we were just there." so if you haven't discovered the beauty of marble racing check out this video.
Our next trip will get us state number 15! The first big trip will be in less than a month and I am super nervous for it. Wish us luck, please.
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