Detroit - (Continued)
The Wonder
It was possible to earn up to four medals by participating in three running events that weekend. You would get one medal for each event plus one for completing all three events. Traci loves chasing bling so she registered for the Wonder package. This consisted of a 1-miler and a 5K on Saturday morning and then the International Half-Marathon which took place on Sunday morning. I was happy that we did not have to get up ridiculously early for the Saturday races. The 1-miler began at 9 AM followed by the 5K at 9:30 AM. Both events took place in William G. Milliken State Park which was a short walk from our hotel. I did my normal routine of photographing Traci running her races. I ran into some of our friends we met at other races around the country and around the world. I am not a runner but I admire runners for their determination, their camaraderie, and their desire to travel.
Traci and I took some time after the races to walk around the small runner festival in the park. There were a few vendor and sponsor booths. The highlight for us was when we stopped by the booth of a local Hip Hop/R&B radio station. We had a nice chat with the young lady there who, like Traci and me, attended Hampton University. She then gave us the station's last giveaway of the day. What an impressive giveaway it was! It was a thick paperback book call The Rap Year Book. It details the most influential rap artists from 1979 to 2014. The book appears to be a marvelous reference that documents the evolution of a true American art form. I look forward to reading it.
What in the world?
Now that the morning running events were finished, it was time to do some sightseeing. During my research of things to do in Detroit, I came across an attraction whose photos looked rather peculiar to me. I had to check it out. We called an Uber to take us to Dabl's Mbad African Bead Museum. Our Uber driver told us she was born and raised in Detroit but had never heard of the place. Nonetheless, she found it and let us off at its extravagant entrance. The building, sidewalk, windows, and doors are all painted in wild patterns. Inside, there are multitudes of African beads on display and for sale. The nice lady working at the counter told us about some of the beads. They were made from materials such as glass, wood, bone, and tusk. You can purchase a complete necklace or you can purchase beads for your own creations. The lady showed us some African necklaces in a display case dating back to the 1700’s. There was even one that was around 2,000 years old.
Traci and I had a look around the shop but did not purchase anything. We headed outside to see one of the most abstract art displays I have ever seen in my life. There is an entire city block of art sculptures made from rocks, tin cans, old furniture, and even a car. Everything is painted in bright, busy patterns. Traci and I wandered the grounds for about a half hour taking pictures and trying to make sense of it all. There is no charge to visit the exhibition. I am not a great appreciator of art – especially not abstract art but this display at the African Bead Museum had impressed me just by the amount of work that Mr. Dabl Mbad put into this creation.
My Girl
From the African Bead Museum, we needed to make our way to our next sightseeing destination – Hitsville USA. Hitsville is where Berry Gordy started Motown Records. It is now a museum. According to Google Maps, Hitsville is located approximately a mile and a half from the African Bead Museum and is pretty much a straight shot. Since it was such a nice day, Traci and I decided to walk instead of call an Uber. We walked past a lot of boarded up houses and buildings. A co-worker of mine who was born and raised in Detroit later told me that the neighborhood we walked through did not have a reputation as being safe. Fortunately, Traci and I did not encounter any trouble that day.
The Motown Museum is not a big building or sprawling complex. What makes this attraction so authentic is that it consists of two houses. Berry Gordy lived upstairs in one of them while he ran his Hitsville studio on the bottom floor.
It was so exciting to arrive at this iconic location. Like other tourists, Traci and I waited in line to take photos in front of the Hitsville sign and the Motown emblem. There was Motown music constantly playing through the speakers inside and outside the property. We could not help but to sing or hum along.
Traci’s running group had reserved a 4 PM tour well in advance. Reservations are highly recommended. I saw a few tourists show up without one and they were turned away. This hour-long tour was led by an entertaining guide who was full of anecdotes and Motown trivia. He had a nice singing voice but what I found most entertaining was that he could carry on a conversation using lyrics from Motown songs.
Our tour began with a short film about Berry Gordy and how he founded Motown. We were then led through various rooms that contained photos. Part of the upstairs was where Berry Gordy’s living space from the early 1960’s was preserved. Downstairs, we were shown the reception area where artists would come to record or audition. We saw a page from an old appointment calendar book in which an audition was scheduled for some group called the Jackson 5. Hmm. I wonder how that turned out:)?
Finally, we were led to Studio A where many of the early Motown hits were recorded. Up until now, no photos or videography was allowed on the tour. However, we were allowed to take photos in Studio A. After more anecdotes, our guide informed us that we would be singing as a group the Temptations song, “My Girl”. We even did some of the dance steps. It was a fun way to end the tour. And then, it was off to the gift shop where Traci and I bought a refrigerator magnet for our collection. We also bought one for my mother who had requested we bring her back something from Motown.
A Night Out
Traci and I took an Uber back to our hotel. With all the visitors for the Detroit Marathon and other events happening that weekend, the hotel was buzzing with activity. Traci had smartly made a 6:45 dinner reservation at the Italian restaurant Andiamo which was located on the ground floor of our hotel. We had eaten a light lunch there earlier that day and were already looking forward to the entrees we had scoped on their dinner menu. Well, imagine our disappointment when we were handed a dinner menu that was different from what we had checked out earlier that day. Our waitress told us that they had reduced their dinner menu offerings to help them crank out the meals faster on such a busy evening. The alternative entrees Traci and I ended up choosing were good but the service at the restaurant that evening was poor.
Our night was not finished after dinner. Traci was finally able to connect with our friend Denise who lives in Detroit. We first met Denise during our trip to China. She was in our tour group. Since then we have hung out all around the world. We met up with her and some of our other friends from that China trip when Traci and I traveled to Chicago for the Chicago Marathon. However, our most incredible hang out with Denise was when Traci and I had no idea Denise was vacationing in Sydney, Australia at the same time as us. She ran into us on the busy streets of Sydney. Now we were in her home city and she could not wait to show us around.
Denise picked us up at our hotel and drove us around downtown pointing out famous landmarks such as Woodward Street, Campus Martius, and the Coney Island restaurant where you can buy a Coney dog (hot dog). She then parked so that we could travel on foot to some of her favorite hangout/chill out spots. One of the more memorable stops was the Candy Bar. It is a bar that had interesting juxtapositions. It was very elegantly furnished including a fancy chandelier over the bar area. However, not far from the chandelier was a humongous disco ball. To add to the surreal scene was that the patrons and employees were dressed in costumes that evening – everything from witches to superheroes.
My most memorable hangout spot was the Monarch rooftop lounge. Its outdoor terrace is located on the top of a skyscraper. There was music playing and people sitting around fire pits while the waiters served food and drinks. We were allowed up there to admire the nighttime view of Detroit all lit up. The mild weather was the icing on the cake of this experience.
Speaking of cake, Traci was craving an after-dinner treat by this time. She loves cupcakes. Denise was kind enough to take us on a tour of sweet shops and bakeries so that Traci could get her sugar fix. We ended up getting cake and macaroons from a shop called For the Love of Sugar.
The Monarch Rooftop Lounge
view from the Monarch Rooftop Lounge
view from the Monarch Rooftop Lounge
Traci satisfied her sweet tooth at For the Love of Sugar
Denise dropped us back at our hotel. She had given us a fantastic tour of the city. She even said she would wake up early the next morning to come cheer Traci on as she runs the half marathon. Denise is such a kind person.
Going International
Sunday morning was race day. Unlike previous runcations, I did not have to get up at the same time as Traci. She needed to meet her running club at 6:15 AM for a group photo. They would then walk to the start line for the 7:30 AM start.
Traci would be running the Detroit International Half Marathon (13.1 miles). This was an interesting course because the runners begin in Detroit, cross the bridge into Canada, and return via the tunnel under the Detroit River to the U.S.A.. The runners were required to carry their passport in case the border control agents ask to see it. However, I did not hear of any case in which a runner needed to show his/her passport.
Denise had run this event in the past; therefore, she recommended a good spot from which to photograph Traci. She recommended I photograph Traci as she emerges from the tunnel to the USA around mile 8. In fact, Denise joined me there as I waited for Traci to run through. We were a little thrown off by the tracking app that allowed us to track Traci’s progress. We found out it was not accurate. At one point it showed Traci was still in Canada then it refreshed and showed she had already returned to the US and passed us. When it refreshed again, it showed she was in the tunnel. I’m glad I relied on knowing Traci’s pace instead of the app. I was able to photograph her as she emerged from the tunnel. I got another picture of her around mile 13 as she approached the finish line. With that, Michigan became state #20 in Traci’s goal of running a half marathon in all 50 states.
Traci (in red) at Mile 8 returning to the USA
Price Changes
Our flight home was not scheduled to depart until 7:45 PM. Traci and I were among the fortunate ones for whom the hotel had granted a late check-out time of 2 PM. My guess is that being members of the Marriott loyalty program permitted us this luxury. Others in Traci’s running club were not granted this late check-out. Traci and I chilled out in the room until 2 PM and then dropped our bags off with the concierge. With so many people checking out that day, the hotel designated one of their ballrooms as the luggage hold area.
Traci and I enjoyed a delicious lunch at Granite City located on the ground floor of the Renaissance Center and then began the process of making our way to the airport. I learned that the Uber rates vary depending on the time. There was a Detroit Lions football game happening that Sunday. When Traci first tried to get an Uber or Lyft to the airport, she was shocked to see the price was around $60. It only cost us $33 when we arrived on Friday. A taxi was about $52. Traci smartly waited 20 minutes and checked Uber again. At that time, the price had dropped to $39. We booked it and off we went to the airport.
TMI
As has been the case with the runcations we have done within the last year, our evening flight home was delayed. This time we were delayed from boarding by an hour. While I appreciate being updated on the status of when boarding will begin, I could have done without the details. We were told they were having trouble getting power to the plane. Yikes! When we finally boarded, the flight attendant made an announcement apologizing for the heat. She said the plane was only running one engine and that the temperature would come down when they got the second engine running. Huh? TMI (Too much information)! Just get us home safely!
Fortunately, we did not encounter any problems on our 1-hour and 5-minute flight back to Washington Dulles. I was really impressed with our weekend in Detroit. I loved the hotel. I enjoyed the attractions and I loved the enthusiasm of the Detroitians about their city. This was one of my favorite U.S. runcations so far. Main Page...
Magnet Purchased on this Trip: (click to enlarge)
Entire fridge magnet collection...