A Day in D-Town

In the two years that we have lived in Michgan, I have only been to Detroit three times.  One of those times I never got out of the car.  One time was for Barrington's swearing in, a week after we moved here.    And the other was a visit to the Science Center.  The facts that Detroit is one of the top five most dangerous cities in the country and I am unfamiliar with it may have something to do with the infrequency of my visits.  This week, however, I doubled my visits to the Motor City by heading into town three times.  

Barrington had to run to his office on Saturday to submit something.  We decided to tag along and due to some glitches, it ended up being a much longer outing than we expected.  That was great, however, because we got to explore a little bit.  

Jackson and Luke climbing on a sculpture outside of Daddy's building.  The artist actually used the logo of a local bank for his inspiration.

There is a fabulous, yet intimate, little area just a little walk from the courthouse.  It was full of music and ice skating and holiday celebration.  You can see the ice skaters behind Barrington and Grant.  I cannot wait until my kids are old enough to ice skate!

 

 

Here are the boys checking out the atmosphere. 

 


I love these warming stations.  They were just beginning to light them as we were leaving.   It really hasn't been too cold here.  The boys are bundled up because we were going to attempt walking along the river and I thought it might be more chilly there.  That plan didn't come to fruition, though.

There is just something so exciting about being in a city during the holidays.  I love the lighted streets and just the feeling of being around others who are joyful and enjoying the world.  

The most remarkable thing that I've noticed in the short amount of time that I have spent downtown is how empty the streets are.  This picture was taken on a Saturday evening, downtown in a major city. It just seems so deserted.  There is a peace about it, no traffic and it's quiet.  But there is something sad about it, too.

 We had dinner at one of the very few choices that was open, Hard Rock Cafe.  This was a big risk as we won't even venture to Noodles & Co. or even McDonald's for a sit down meal with Grant.  He is very much into throwing food, climbing on the table and all things that a mischievous toddler can concoct.  We were pleasantly surprised when we had a fabulous meal without any major incidents.  There is an adjoining office building with a most wonderful lobby which gave us a chance to have somewhere to explore and the interactive screen of collectibles in the restaurant was a big hit with Jackson and Luke.

I have a friend, Corrine, who is an explorer.  She really lives and seems to want to see everything.  I admire that about her.  I too have that desire, but I'm just not very good at figuring out what there is to do and then having the energy to do it with my little ones.  I want to do better.  This visit (and the other two this week, more to come on those) helped me to see that there is much to enjoy about Detroit.  We will spend more time there in the future.