My daughter Mia is enjoying her life in Michigan and last month we took a road trip and spent a few days with her. I thought you may enjoy hearing about the things we did on the trip.
Can I Eat Sushi in Michigan?
Who would suspect that you can actually get really great sushi in the Midwest? Yes, you can and yes, we did!
Plans for our trip began with only Ken and I making the long drive out together to spend time with Mia and introduce Ken to Michigan. He had not been able to go with me on the trip in October 2021 because his Dad’s health was failing and he had to stay in Virginia to help his parents.
The trip we were planning this Spring kept getting pushed further and further out. Finally when it was all settled our entire family was able to go on the trip to meet up with Mia and it just so happened that we would all be gathered for his favorite food of all time on what would have been John’s 89th birthday. Thanks for bringing us all together Ojiichan!
Pure Michigan
There is a lot to love about life in Michigan but there are more than a few things not to love.
The roads in Michigan are horrendous and not only that they are treacherous. You must have both hands on the wheel at all times in preparation for potholes and uneven pavement and as an out of town driver you need to be especially alert. Everyday at every hour of the day your average Michigan driver is whizzing past you at top speed. Everyone drives at least 10 miles over the posted speed limit.
Maybe they are all on their way to a dispensary.
No dispensary visits for me this time. I mean you really don’t even need to go to the dispensary to get a buzz, just take a walk around the block and stop for a little rest next to the house where the fumes are strongest. It was just a coincidence that I did do a lot of walking while I was there…
I will tell you that walking in Michigan can be treacherous too. On our last day of the trip we enjoyed a nice brunch at the Hudson Cafe in downtown Detroit. Afterwards we headed out on foot to the Riverwalk Park area to enjoy the beautiful day and see Canada across the river.
There was a music festival right in the area where we were headed so there were tents and temporary walls and weirdly dressed people all around.
Lots of things to look at along the winding path on our way to the Detroit River. We were all together but I’m at the back of the group looking off to the side straining to see the festival when suddenly I hit a brick wall. It really wasn’t a brick wall but it felt like it. I could not move at first but I did not know what the problem because I could see perfectly in front of me.
I looked down to find that I had rammed into an enormous fire hydrant right in the middle of the side walk!
Then I was afraid to move for fear that I had cracked my kneecap or broke my toe and the day would be ruined by trip to the ER. I really slammed into the monstrous thing with my left knee and my right toe.
I soon realized that I was able to continue walking and my plan was to tough it out. Good thing Ken’s plan was to walk to the nearest bench and sit and put pressure on the injuries to keep the swelling down. On the way to the bench I nearly passed out and that would have really ruined our day.
Now I hate Michigan fire hydrants and Ken and I have a pact to point out potential hazards to each other no matter how obvious they may be.
We did more typically touristy things like visit Frankenmuth the famous Bavarian Village; however, that day happened to be the Dog Bowl Festival and so crowded we could barely make our way around town. We did find a spot to eat Schnitzel and Bratwurst!
In case you are wondering the Dog Bowl is like “the Olympics for Dogs” according to event organizers.
Our visit with Mia was really good fun and I hope we will all be able to return for more adventures in the future. Michigan in May is absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend a visit during this month as well as October. We had great times in early Fall as well. I cannot vouch for the other 10 months of the year though.
And Michiganders may drive super fast but they are super friendly and that just might make up for the extra caution needed on the roads. Just be sure to watch out for the hydrants while you are there. They sneak up you.
Send me a comment below if you enjoy reading posts like this and if you have driven in Michigan without damaging your car I want to hear about it.
OK – it took me a really long time to read this…not the actual reading, just getting to it! And I got a little chuckle reading about the giant attack fire hydrants. How is your knee? Totally recovered I hope.