Doug has worked for a company that is headquartered in Troy, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit) for many years, during which time he has made countless trips to the area. He also made some great friends out here, Darrell and Jan, who I’ve wanted to meet in person for years. Yet in spite of a few plans made here and there, it’s never come to pass that I’ve found myself in Michigan.
We finally made it in the van (new state!), and though we spent a fair amount of time in the state, we actually did very little in terms of seeing things on our list. Doug was busy with work, and it was the wrong time of year for many of the things on our list.
However, the most important thing did happen: I finally got to meet Darrell and Jan, and I loved them just as much as I thought I would (we’ve been Facebook friends for a long time, so I practically knew them already).
Darrell and Jan made us eat and drink a lot, and graciously hosted us in their home for several days. Did I say that they also made us eat and drink a lot?
Darrell (in the green hat) and Jan (behind him) took us to a Beer Festival, where we learned that between the two of them they know 90% of the people who live in the Greater Detroit Area. Also, I don’t know who took this photo, I think it was a random stranger.
Rosa Parks and Aretha Franklin
Rosa Parks is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit. A 1905 chapel was renamed the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel when she was interred in 2005.
We wanted to pay our respects to the “Mother of the modern day civil rights movement.” We also went to the crypt for Aretha Franklin, simply marked “The Queen of Soul.” We’ve seen some really amazing cemetery monuments during our travels, and these two were very understated for such monumental persons.
“Moulin Rouge” at the Detroit Opera House
I’ve been wanting to see the musical Moulin Rouge for years. I’m not sure why, since I’m not a big fan of musicals, but Doug likes musicals and scantily clad women, so he was game to go. I’d never seen the movie, so didn’t know what to expect at all, but I somehow still didn’t expect what we got.
There’s not much plot — as is common with musicals, in my humble opinion, I might add — and at some point you’ve seen the ladies doing the same “this move is very sexy, no?” grind over and over (and over). The costumes were lovely, the singing was in tune, the set was clever and alluring. Overall, though, I thought the show was just “okay.” But everyone else loved it, so don’t take my review as a reason to skip it. I’m just no fun.
Detroit Eight Mile Wall
You must brace yourself if you don’t know about this already. Back in 1941, a developer was looking for financing for a subdivision he wanted to build right on the Detroit city limits, but he ran into trouble due to the proximity of a black neighborhood (it should go without saying here that the new neighborhood would be Whites Only). The solution was to build a wall.
Yes, a literal wall to separate people on the basis of race. It’s just a half mile long, one foot thick, and only five feet tall (with an additional foot buried in the ground). When I saw it, I couldn’t believe how insubstantial it was. No able-bodied person would struggle to get over it. It is such a slap in the face to the black residents. Imagine being a child growing up in the shadow of that?
A portion of the wall runs through Alfonso Wells Memorial Playground, where it is now decorated with images invoking the Civil Rights movement. It’s known as the Birwood Wall or Eight Mile Wall due to the roads in proximity. It’s also known as the “Detroit Wailing Wall.”
Good Eats in Detroit
Detroit-style pizza is a thing. It’s a rectangular pan pizza with a very thick, chewy crust. It is topped to the edges with cheese, which caramelizes against the pan. Back in the day it was baked in steel automotive drip pans! We got ours from Buddy’s, and while it was definitely tasty, I felt the bread overwhelmed all else and it wasn’t especially satisfying as a meal.
Darrell and Jan (did I mention that they made us eat and drink a lot?), took us to Yates Cider Mill, the oldest in Michigan, dating all the way back to 1863. The water mill is still in operation when they press the cider, which was delicious. But those donuts were divine. Like, I had a moment of panic that maybe we didn’t buy enough while we had the chance.
OK, this is not a Detroit thing, but we did it while we were there, so here we are.
We went to Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, where the drinks are delivered by a robot and the dinner choices amble by on a conveyor belt.
You tug on a dish you want and the lid pops open. You pay by the dish, so it’s easy to try lots of different things.
If there’s something you want that hasn’t come your way, you order it with a touch screen, and it gets delivered by another conveyor belt.
It was a lot of fun!
Faygo Soda was founded in Detroit in 1907. I thought it was gross, but Doug liked it more. Darrell and Jan, who made us eat and drink a lot (as I think I told you), took us to Sander’s, and if you believe that one bag pictured is all we purchased, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you. Sanders opened their first candy store (in Detroit, of course) back in 1875, so they’ve had plenty of practice. The items we purchased were excellent. Kar’s Nuts started in 1933 by selling roasted nuts outside Detroit’s Tiger Stadium. The “trail mix” I purchased was heavy on the chocolate, so therefore got a thumbs up from me.
It may be called a Boston Cooler, but it’s a Detroit institution. It’s a drink made by blending Vernor’s ginger ale, first served by Detroit pharmacist Dr. Vernor back in 1866, and vanilla ice cream. I couldn’t find anywhere to buy it pre-made, so I mixed together my own concoction. First I just poured the soda over the ice cream, and that was just “eh”, but after I mixed them together it got marginally better. In truth, I didn’t much care for the Vernor’s ginger ale. Jan had mentioned that Kroger’s ice cream is award winning, and I will say, their vanilla is delicious!
Books, Movies and Music
These are some books we read/listened to and movies we watched related to our time in Detroit. All are affiliate links.
Nothing says “Detroit” like Jimmy Hoffa. We listened to the audiobook In Hoffa’s Shadow, written by the stepson of Hoffa’s protege, Chuckie O’Brien. It was a wild ride, but we’re still searching for Hoffa’s body.
Detroit’s Birwood Wall is about the above-referenced 8-Mile Wall. It was a tough read, both in subject matter and writing style. I felt like it covered a lot of material I’ve read recently, and the writing was like what I’d expect a doctoral thesis to read like.
8-Mile stars Eminem and Kim Basinger, and is the semi-autobiographical story of Eminem’s life in Detroit and his efforts to break into the music scene. His hit song Lose Yourself won an Academy Award for this film. I thought the film was terrible (though the song is great!).
Moulin Rouge! was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, so it is yet another over-the-top spectacle. I had thought the movie was based on the play we saw, but no, the play was adapted from the film. The costumes were great but I thought the plot was ludicrous.
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