The Explore All 50 States Project
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Michigan is such a dynamic state with a strong and resilient spirit. It's no secret that times have been tough here. Michigan is the home of the American Auto Industry and Detroit is at it's center. Detroit was built around the success of the American automobile and it's even reflected in it's nickname, The Motor City, also known as Motown. Driving around we saw the iconic GM building, a gleaming edifice … [Read more...]
You don't want to miss The Ford Rouge Factory Tour so be sure to get here early as it's is quite popular. We got there nice and early so we could be on the first tour, and boy was it ever worth it. We took a shuttle bus to the original factory that Henry Ford built on the Rouge River. There is an incredible short film about the factory’s history and the story of Henry Ford that you shouldn't miss. It tells the … [Read more...]
The Henry Ford Museum is an enormous museum which covers the history of transportation and car culture. Inside we traced the evolution of the automobile and saw some of Henry Ford’s earliest attempts at the motorcar. It was crazy to look at these amazing contraptions and realize these were the visionary inventions that led to the cars we drive today. Looking at the "Quadricycle" the kids and I discussed what … [Read more...]
My kids and I had discovered BD's Mongolian Grill on Trip #10 in Milwaukee and could not wait to try it again. We were thrilled to discover a location in Dearborn right near our hotel and could not wait to see what our travel buddies Yvonne, Abigail and Jacob thought about it. When we arrived it was absolutely packed with a 35-45 minute wait for dinner. This place is incredibly popular and for good reason so … [Read more...]
The Detroit Historical Museum was the perfect museum to give everyone a nice introduction to Motor City. It's not too big and gives a broad history of the various things Detroit is famous for. The kids and I enjoyed the interesting displays, but they did look a little dated. Detroit is a city that has faced some really difficult times so it wasn't a surprise to find the museum in the condition that it was in. … [Read more...]
The Motown Museum, the home of Hitsville USA is a treasure trove of musical history. Hopefully you’ve added some Motown hits on your soundtrack that you’ve been listening to on the road—some Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye , Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5—the list could to one and on. There were so many fabulous artists that emerged under the guidance of Berry Gordy and his visionary Motown label. … [Read more...]
Pewabic Pottery is a neat little stop if your group enjoys arts and crafts. Part art gallery, part store, part studio and part museum, this is a great place to learn about the art of pottery making and how the city of Detroit inspired some of Pewabic's historical work. This studio has been working continuously since 1903 and is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Walking around the gallery, we really … [Read more...]
The Michigan Historical Center is an outstanding museum, but what we liked about it most is that it shows you that Michigan is more than just cars—and yes, there are plenty of those here too (which is nice because Michigan was home to more than just Ford…how about Cadillac, GM, Oldsmobile, to name just a few). Some of the more interesting things we discovered were how the brands of cars got their names. … [Read more...]
The Michigan State Capitol Building was by far one of everyone’s favorites. Walking into the stately domed building we were immediately struck by the wonderful use of color from the faux marble finishes to the checkerboard floors to the displays of the flags in the glass cases. As we were walking around and commenting, one of the artisans who oversaw much of the renovations overheard our conversation and … [Read more...]
On the road, sometimes things just don't go the way you planned. In our grand loop we had planned to head up to Pt. Huron because for some reason I was obsessed about seeing Lake Huron, and because we wanted to see the Thomas Edison Depot Museum which tells the story of one history's greatest inventors of all time, Thomas Edison grew up in Pt. Huron working at this very railroad depot in his early years while he … [Read more...]
