We had a week of fun, reunions, and bus frustration in Michigan as we got some electrical issues resolved and met up with old friends. As much as we love the U.P., we love some people and places in Troll-land, too. And did we mention that Michigan is The Great Beer State? Well, it is. 🙂
Our first stop was Detroit. While our bus was in the shop we took the opportunity to visit the Henry Ford Museum. A museum that celebrates transportation and invention, it features fantastic collections of cars, trains, flying machines and other innovations of the industrial revolution. We loved the Driving America exhibit: celebrating road trips since 1865! We saw the Kennedy limousine, the Lincoln chair, and the bus in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. We helped to assemble a real Model-T Ford, toured the Dymaxion house, and saw the traveling Lego Architecture exhibit that included models of Fallingwater, the Empire State Building, and the Sears Tower. We had to drag Bridger away – I think he’s having withdrawals. No Legos on the bus!
We met with old friends in Canton, then turned toward Battle Creek and Coldwater to see one of my childhood homes and more old friends. From there, off to Berrien Springs to visit MORE friends!
Friends visited on the way:
Sarah and Lindsay – friends from our first time in Germany, we hadn’t seen each other in 17 years!
Claralyn – her beautiful farm, her great lasagna, and lots of laughs. Carson told us later, “I love how Claralyn is always laughing!”
Brad – my first friend, now a law enforcement dog handler and instructor in Battle Creek
Deb and Corey and the kids – 13 horses, a giant dog, and a warm, welcoming kitchen with homemade donuts. What’s not to love? We had such a great time.
Jeff (Wayman) and Twyla – with 14 guitars and three Xboxes this was a fun house! We met Pepper and Dash and reminisced about the old days (all the way back to high school!)
We spent two great days with Jeff and Twyla. Ayrril and I have known Jeff since high school and he and I were suite mates our first year of college at Andrews. They introduced us to pupusas, gave us a tour of the university radio station where Jeff is program director, and invited us to the local volunteer firefighter pancake breakfast. It was a great time and we loved having a chance for our boys to get to know them.
All of our wonderful friends make us love Michigan all the more. We were sad to leave but we’re looking forward to coming back!
-
- Yes, Detroit in January! Just as cold as you imagine!
-
- The boys in The Henry Ford.
-
- Icons of the Chicago skyline – all Lego!
-
- Bridger getting his Lego fix.
-
- Enjoying the American road trip experience!
-
- Bridger – with the works!
-
- They rebuild this Model T, start to finish, every day! Bridger and Carson got to help with some of the bodywork.
-
- At the end of the day we got to climb into the finished Model T. Here’s Carson whistling us along on a Sunday drive.
-
- Bridger with Dash (on his lap) and Pepper.
-
- Jeff is a guitar wizard! (Actually he’s sort of an all-around wizard.) He showed Carson some new techniques and some of the guitars he’s built.
-
- Jeff showed us what goes on behind the curtain in a radio station.
-
- We’ve loved Jeff since the 80’s! So much fun to see them again.
-
- On Sunday morning we went to the community pancake breakfast. All proceeds support the volunteer fire department. Ah, America.
All Over The Map 
Its nice to see you on the road again, with more impressions from the states coming along. Impressions a normal tourist or business traveler like myself never will get. The sad thing with that is that you are no longer living next door and our Friday night chats are gone with you. Anyway, I trust you got at least the heating ok in the bus 😉
Hi Holger!
It was the heating that was giving us trouble! In January! In Detroit! Fixed now, thank goodness. 🙂 We are definitely missing our home and our friends in Germany. Christmas was hard for us. It was nice to be with family, but we missed the magic of the German Weihnachtszeit. And we missed our friends! Love to Alex and Patrick. -Ayrril