The calendar may say that summer is over and it is now mid
November but the wonderful, warm, sunny weather is still with us and we are
taking advantage of every bit of it!
Our flowerbeds are all covered up for the winter and the last of the
veggies are out of the garden. New tulip bulbs with their promise of bright
spring
colors have been buried deep in the dark earth. One last trip up the Maumee River in the
boat with our dear friends, Bud and Carol and last week a day trip up I 75 to
downtown Detroit and out onto the historic and beautiful Belle Isle Island in
the middle of the Detroit River.
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| Maumee River |
Belle Isle Park is a Detroit gem and has become Michigan’s
102nd state park. This 985
acre island is home to a variety of attractions including a nature zoo, the James
Scott Memorial Fountain, the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon, the Livingstone
Memorial Lighthouse, lots of playgrounds, walking trails, sports fields and 2
marinas!
Our first stop on the island was the oldest aquarium in the
United States built in 1907. This
ceramic tiled domed building houses more than 1,000 fish and an extensive
collection of Belle Isle memorabilia.
Next we toured the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory - the
oldest continually running conservatory.
This expansive collection included a formal garden, several seasonal
floral beds, a lily pond tucked behind an elaborate wrought iron fence, and an
awesome view of the tall towers that make up the Renaissance Center in downtown
Detroit. Inside the high glassed in
structure were rooms of tropical plants and vine drenched tall palm trees that
reached the ceiling above. One room was
filled with desert plants and blooming cactus of all sorts. Another held ferns and flowers.
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| Detroit skyline |
We tried our best to drive on every road as it wound around the perimeter of the fall colored island with stops on the Detroit side to view the skyline and the bridge that crosses to Windsor Ontario. On the other side of the island we caught the blues and greens in the reflections of the water across from the carillon. Our final stop on the island was at the Dossin Great Lakes
Museum. After viewing a movie
documenting Detroit’s maritime history, we browsed the halls to see all the
displays of boats and the history that came
with them. We even walked in the captain’s footsteps on
the bridge of a Great Lakes freighter in the William Clay Ford Pilot
House! Out of those windows you could
easily see the Canadian shoreline!
Outside were even more displays!
“Miss Pepsi” – the first hydroplane boat to top 100 mph had her own
glassed in display! There were cannons
and anchors also - including the original anchor from the Edmund Fitzgerald!
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| Windsor Ont. Ca. across the River |
All of this activity made us hungry so we crossed from
Detroit to Dearborn and went to Buddy’s Pizza for the BEST pizza we’ve ever
found! If you go – try the “ Henry
Ford”! Ground beef, SMOKED bacon, red
onion and Blue Cheese - all on a multi grain thin crust!!
Now we must find time to plan for Thanksgiving
and then pack for Florida! The weather
will surely be colder by then!
