We had a wonderful time in Detroit, this past weekend, with good friend’s Veronica and Rex Holt. Even though Michigan is super cold this time of year we were lucky enough to miss an ice storm by two days, and enjoy our weekend with minimal snow and no travel issues. The first night we took Rex & Veronica to our favorite pizza place Buddy’s Pizza, for a taste of Detroit style pizza–our absolute favorite! The next day we visited Grosse Pointe MI, one of our favorite areas near downtown Detroit, and looked at all the mansions along Lake St. Clair, took a self-guided tour of the Ford House (where Edsel, only child of Henry Ford, his wife Elenor, and their four children lived) and property (*for more pictures of the Ford House, check out my Oct 2015 blog post), and ate lunch at an amazing restaurant called Alma’s Kitchen. We then drove to the Riverwalk in downtown Detroit and took pictures of the GM(RENCEN) building, Ambassador Bridge, and Windsor, Ontario Canada (it was a little too cold to walk along the river), and then sat in premier 12th-row seats at a Redwing’s Hockey game (against the Tampa Bay Lightning). On the way home we enjoyed the best wings ever at Wingers in Sydney, Ohio. It was such a great weekend, and fun to show Rex and Veronica around our other neck-of-the-woods.
Buddy’s Pizza, the best Detroit-style pizza!Alma’s Kitchen, started by our friend Gordy’s neighbor I ordered the Loco Moco, gross name and a little gross looking, but really good!Brad and Rex ordered some kind of steak burger and Veronica a taco soupThe desserts were the best of all, Brad and I ordered carrot cake with a cheesecake centerOur cake was super good, but Rex & Veronica’s dessert was the bomb…hot churro donuts with ice cream, whip cream, and caramel drizzle!On our drive home we had the best wings ever at Wingers in Sydney, Ohio. We inhaled them so quickly I was only able to get a picture of the aftermath!Staybridge Hotel is where Brad and I usually stay while in MI, and it served us well once again for our weekend visit. We also felt blessed that this was the extent of snowfall over the weekend. Waking to the Ford House (since they close shuttle services in the Winter)It was a little chilly, but it could have been so much worse!Even though the trees are bare in Winter, the grounds were still as beautiful as I rememberThe Ford House is located in beautiful Grosse Pointe Shores, MI, right on Lake St. Clair (which is much smaller than the Great Lakes but still big enough that you can’t see to the other side).I like taking pictures of Veronica taking pictures…she’s as focused as me (and maybe a little bit more)Albert Kahn designed the Ford’s Tudor Revival home that includes four stories, 60 rooms, and covers 30,000 square feet.The home was made to look like a cottage from Gloucestershire, England, and has a sandstone exterior and slate roof.Although not as grand as the Biltmore, the Ford House has its own character and beauty, and contains furniture and art pieces from England (16the century oak paneling & stained-glass medallions) and all over the world. Sitting on the table behind us is one of the oldest objects in the house: a wine jar from the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), the home also contained artwork by Cezanne, Rivera, Van Gogh, Matisse, and others.The 17th-century oak stairway came from a house in England and the two portraits are of Eleanor and her mother Eliza.The portrait between Rex and I is a replica of Diego Rivera’s portrait of Edsel, painted in 1932.In the kitchen and pantry the counters and sinks are made from German silver, and early form of stainless steel.Eleanor’s (Detroit Free Press identified her as one of the city’s best dressed) dressing room is a woman’s dream walk-in closet. Conversely, the boys rooms were designed by Walter Dorwin Teaguein an Art Deco, Modern style. The boy’s bathroom is very similar to one you would find in our homes today.The Ford House sits on 87 acres and much of the landscape design was created by Jens Jensen.Rex the goose-whisperer, maybe it has something to do with him being from Canada?On a picturesque part of the property is the pool and lagoon, unfortunately,they are covered during the Winter. Views of Bird Island and Ford CoveBehind Bird Island is Lake St. Clair, where the family spent time swimming and boating.The Ford Grounds included many gardens, a large meadow, Josephine’s playhouse, a recreation building next to the pool for the older kid’s entertainment, a power house which provided electricity and hot/cold water for all the structures on the property, and the Gate Lodge which include an entrance arch, extensive garage, and residences where some of the Ford’s staff lived.Josephine, Edsel & Eleanor’s only daughter, received this playhouse on her seventh birthday, as a gift from her grandmother Clara Ford.I know I would have lived here full-time if it was my playhouse! Everything was miniature and it was a fully functional house with living room, playroom, bathroom, and fully equipped kitchenwith running water and icebox. Brad head touching the ceiling in the playroom.Tiny full-functioning bathroomWe ended our tour of the Ford Property with a tour of the new visitor center, which now homes some of the original Ford automobiles.The visitor center and administration buildings didn’t even exist when we came in 2015 (the cars were kept in the garage of the Gate Lodge, which is currently under construction). So much has changed in terms of amenities, and even in the Winter, there is still plenty to see, do, and experience! Beautiful Lake St. ClairJust one of the many mansion in Grosse Pointe, along the shores of Lake St. ClairRiverwalk, downtown Detroit, with views of Windsor, Canada, and Ambassador BridgeRiverwalk with views of GM(RENCEN) buildingLittle Caesars Arena, home of the Detroit RedwingsThe Redwing’s Drumline, which sounded awesome!The organ player in his red sparkly jacketThe Zamboni, cleaning the ice
