coming to town need pointers

**7051** · September-20-09, 11:55 AM

gralr,

Send email to me with your phone#. I may have a safe place for you to stay either in the city or just outside[[1/2 mile).

detbest@yahoo.com

lilpup · September-20-09, 11:59 AM

I-75 is open now. Here's the MDOT drive map. If you stayed at Sterling you'd be south of the I-275 interchange so you can use that for west side access as well as the west end of I-696, otherwise I-75 goes right downtown and you can pick up I-94 or I-96 off of that, as well as the east end of I-696. After downtown I-75 northbound basically parallels Woodward for about 10 miles, making for a quicker trip to northern sites like Cranbrook and Meadowbrook. I realize Sterling is farther away distance-wise, but driving up from the south is waaay easier than trying to deal with traffic and the side roads encountered from the north [[imho).

**bibs** · September-20-09, 12:26 PM

Visit historic Fort Wayne in South West Detroit. A dinner at the four star Whittier restaurant would allow you to see some incredable wood work because it was contructed by a lumber barson in the late 1800's.

Architectural Tours: Preservation Wayne has walking tours. http://www.preservationwayne.org/tours.php I highly recommend Historic Trinitiy church tour https://www.historictrinityinc.org/dhcatour.html and Experience Detroit has driving tours http://www.experiencedetroit.com/his...ghborhoods.htm Enjoy your stay in the D.

**GRALR** · September-20-09, 12:29 PM

thanks I think we will need a month and an income !

Where are the auction houses?

**Pam** · September-20-09, 04:41 PM

Preservation Wayne has walking tours

Gralr said he will be here in Oct., so the PW tours will be done for the season by then.

**Kathleen** · September-20-09, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by bibs

Visit historic Fort Wayne in South West Detroit. A dinner at the four star Whittier restaurant would allow you to see some incredable wood work because it was contructed by a lumber barson in the late 1800's.

Architectural Tours: Preservation Wayne has walking tours. http://www.preservationwayne.org/tours.php I highly recommend Historic Trinitiy church tour https://www.historictrinityinc.org/dhcatour.html and Experience Detroit has driving tours http://www.experiencedetroit.com/his...ghborhoods.htm Enjoy your stay in the D.

I'm sure Bibs is referring to The Whitney restaurant on Woodward. It was once the home of David Whitney, the lumber baron.

Pam is right...the PW tour season ends this month.
Check with Detroit Tour Connections [[http:\\www.detroittourconnections.com for a custom tour.

And the Downtown Historic Church tour that are sponsored through Historic Trinity Lutheran are held every other year, I believe. I've not seen anything listed for 2009.

GRALR: If you want to bounce any ideas or need info on historic sites, etc., feel free to shoot me an email at dkosh<at>msn.com.

**msamslex** · September-20-09, 08:23 PM

Go back to Greenfield Village for the Halloween weekends. Also there will be a Lego Castle Adventure exhibit in the Henry Ford Museum starting Oct. 10- Jan 3, 2010.

The Henry Ford: America's Greatest History Attraction Home Page

Try any of the cider mills for cider and fresh doughnuts, u pic apples, pies, etc. Different mills have a variety of activities, hayrides, corn mazes, etc.

**vetalalumni** · September-21-09, 10:16 AM

The DYes community rocks!

**Sandhouse** · September-21-09, 12:41 PM

If you have an automobile and the time, I maintain it's hard to beat just driving around and looking. Your trip up the automotive heritage corridor will take you up Woodward Avenue, but I recommend doing the same thing up Gratiot as far north as downtown Mt. Clemens, and then coming back down Jefferson through the Pointes to Belle Isle. Then go downriver on Fort/Biddle/Jefferson as far south as Wyandotte or Grosse Isle. You'll see things you can't see in Scotland, I guarantee. Then there's 8 Mile, and Michigan Ave., and West Warren, and . . .

**GRALR** · September-21-09, 01:24 PM

we will do all of it! Why is Woodward Avenue called the automotive heritage corridor?

lilpup · September-21-09, 02:40 PM

http://www.woodwardavenue.org/Tour/W...istory-23.html

**Nicodeme** · September-21-09, 02:59 PM

I'd also recommend the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. They have several events going on a few days after your arrival. They're simply fantastic. You can't come to Detroit without seeing some of its theatres. The Fox Theatre is a must. The Music Hall also have many events coming up which you might enjoy.

Here are the schedules for the Music Hall and DSO:

http://www.musichall.org/events

http://www.detroitsymphony.com/Calen...0&year_no=2009

**GRALR** · September-21-09, 09:41 PM

looks like there is not a lot to do ! Maybe a couple of months will do !

**detroitbred** · September-22-09, 08:46 AM

Something a little unusal but interesting would be a drive through one of Detroit's historic and lovely old cemeteries, where the auto barrons and other famous Detroiters are spending eternity. A beautiful drive, especially with fall colors begining to make an appearance.

**Kathleen** · October-06-09, 11:32 AM

Hey GRALR!!

Need any more info? Do you have dates for your visit to Detroit?

**KyleM785** · October-06-09, 11:57 AM

If you're still here after the 17th you should check out an opera! The Detroit Opera House is a beautiful and historic building...and if you've never seen an opera before, you'll be surprised how enjoyable they can be! Verdi's Nabucco is playing between October 17th and 24th.

http://www.motopera.org/0910/nabucco.html

**DetroitPlanner** · October-06-09, 12:48 PM

Forgert the Pointers, you're going to need a Doberman or a Rotwieler. For added effect walk the dog on a big link chain and stay about three steps behind so it looks like the dog is trying to run!

**GRALR** · October-13-09, 11:21 AM

Thanks all for the tips we will be there this weekend and for at least a week. Look forwards to meeting some of you.

**stonechipped** · October-20-09, 06:43 AM

Closest RV park that I know of is Harbortown south of Detroit about 20 miles off of I-75..super nice place

**stonechipped** · October-20-09, 06:48 AM

Sterling Park south of Detroit is a very nice place, but not as nice as Harbortown RV Resort...Plus I think they both might be closing the end of October.

**GRALR** · October-21-09, 12:13 PM

thanks for the info, we will be in town today and going to the forum meet up tonight.

**GRALR** · October-21-09, 02:42 PM

We are looking forwards to the gathering tonight!

**Kathleen** · October-21-09, 03:10 PM

We are on for tonight....

7pm at the Detroit Beer Company

C'mon out and meet Rich and Lorma and welcome them to the D!!!

**sumas** · October-23-09, 11:17 PM

I was hoping Gralr would keep us updated and where they are going and what they have seen so far. It's nice to see our region through fresh eyes. Perhaps I am forgetful but did anyone suggest our Zoo?

Just being nosy but what part of our country are you from? Happy to see you arrived safe and sound. Keep us updated on your adventures!

**GRALR** · October-25-09, 10:18 AM

Sumas, I was just going to update you all! My wife is from Scotland and I was born in Los Angeles.

We have been super busy and have loved every minute of it. One of the DY members here had a driveway for our RV which has made it great to see all in town. And another DY member has taken a great amount of time to show us some great sites we would have otherwise not been able to see.

We arrived on Wed to the forum gathering and met several wonderful people. We were so delighted to find like minded people. We shared a love of Detroit, history, architecture, theaters, cars and so many other things. The food, drink and atmosphere at the Detroit Brewing Co started off our visit so well! Thanks Kathleen for organizing it!

Thursday was a day of driving seeing and experiencing. Jeff from the group showed us Fort Wayne, the CRC, MCD, Eastern Market, Boston Edison, Woodward Avenue, Corktown, and of course all the old factories.

The CRC was a highlight. Everything in the collection was right up our alley. The cars, phonographs, furniture, were all beyond our expectation. The only problem was time, we just skimmed the surface.

Fort Wayne is a real jewel. Each building or set of buildings is so unique, the setting, and the expansion of each operation from the fort to the officers quarters just added to the setting.

We ate at Mexican Village. Being from California I was impressed with the tacos and very unique chili relleno. The taco shell was very unique with it's texture light, crispy and tasty. The
relleno was served with ground beef and really was a treat.

Many of Detroits neighborhoods are so wonderful. BE, IV, Palmer, Sherwood, university district are all so representative of Detroit Wealth in another era.

For diner Jeff recommended Buddys Pizza on 6 mile. OMG wow! Great pizza, and Saunders hot fudge.........WOW mmmmmmmm Hows that for sentence structure? We enjoyed the meat pizza, the crust was so delicious, crispy, sweet yet not, slightly blackened, yet so perfect. The toppings were plentiful and each was so delicious, all blended together to create perfection. When we asked about desert we were ecstatic to learn they had Saunders Hot fudge. We ordered a sundae, waited and then it came. We looked at it, each grabbed a spoon lifted what became pure delight! The taste and texture is so unique. It is almost like chocolate caramel we loved it!

Thanks Jeff!

On Friday we drove up Woodward avenue to Cranbrook. As we were driving my food radar kicked in and eyed Al's Deli. I instructed my wife to roll down her window and stick her arm out as we needed to get over fast. We were in the middle of Woodward, Al's was on the right. Some nice driver let us over and out I went eager to try something good.

I walked into Al's and was greeted by a wonderful lady behind the counter, [[she was a foodee too) I asked her to direct me to the best of the best, and without hesitation she said corned beef with coleslaw, thousand island dressing, on grilled rye. OMG again! It was spectacular. I sat in the rv and was in ecstasy as this blend, filled my mouth with flavor, texture and goodness. It is a must have! My wife was on the phone so she was not to interested in my experience at the moment. Once she ended the call she shared the same experience.

Next we headed to Cranbrook House. This is another landmark of a bygone era. It is a true testament to good taste, no taxes, and true capitalism. It shows what man can create if given opportunity. We were so impressed with the home and grounds. My Scottish wife was very impressed, despite it's English design.

For Dinner it was back to the city for Oktoberfest at the Dakota Inn. This is another truly Detroit landmark with charm from another era. The restaurant has its 1930's 40's charm. We loved stepping back into time. The waitress' were dressed in traditional costume and certainly fit the German look. They were all beautiful, pleasant and helped to create a memorable atmosphere. We tried four different Oktoberfest beers, had pork loin, and schnitzel, all of which were delicious.

Hurrying along Saturday was the Meadowbrook, and the Chrysler museum. Dinner was another OMG at Luigis in MT Clemens, best pizza and food ever ! Thanks Dave!

More on that later as we have to get on with the day!