Curves and angles

This has been our longest travel day of the trip both in time and in distance.  Dearborn -- Hyatt Regency just off Michigan Avenue -- to Chicago -- Embassy Suites Downtown, mostly on I-94, almost 300 miles and nearly seven hours, including a one hour time change.  I did some writing aboard the coach in my last row nest, along with some pretty serious napping. 

Looking across the
Hyatt's atrium at the
open corridors

I am surprised by the fatigue I am experiencing.  One would think that not having to drive or to plot the route would leave me rested.  But, that is not the case.  At the moment, however, despite the length of the day, it seems as though I walked out of a curvy hotel one minute and into an angular one the next.

Detail (in black and white) of the circular six-story light fixture
in atrium of the Hyatt Regency, Dearborn MI

The Embassy Suite's open --
and straight-sided -- atrium

See what I mean?  Spacious, more airy and open than Dearborn.  Not as soft or as enveloping. I find it intriguing that, when I walk into either one (or a charming B&B or a nice Hampton Inn for that matter), I respond very positively.  Which do I like better?  I would be hard-pressed to say.  For tonight, squared-off is good.



The ceiling/roof of the Embassy Suites Downtown, looking up and toward the elevator lobbies.  The pattern is distinct, making locating the building with Google Earth a snap.

Our in transit hours, though, were not without highlights -- beyond the napping and writing. 

• Our lunch was at an Olive Garden in the vicinity of Kalamazoo.  Our experience, Tal's and mine, with that chain is that service is slow.  But, not today.  A staff of five was standing by when the coach pulled into the parking lot.  We were seated in a reserved dining room, ate sumptuously (salad and their signature bread sticks for me) and were back on the interstate in slightly over an hour.
• Despite still sitting on the left side of the bus, I spied two intriguing signs -- also while we were near Kalamazoo.  The town of Portage MI declares itself "a place for opportunities to grow."  I'd like to know more about that.  And, I also spotted a sign for the Air Zoo.  That I have since looked up -- an aviation museum and amusement park (located where? why Portage, of course).  It boasts an impressive array of aircraft, including a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.  I could be convinced to go exploring ...
• Since we were, on the original itinerary (on Plans A and B, in fact, the bus adventure being Plan C) supposed to spend a day at Mackinac Island, near the intersection of Lakes Michigan and Huron, we watched an hour+ long DVD, "Ice Bridge," about the three-mile span of ice that some winters allows islanders to pass to the mainland.  This link will take you to a minute and a half preview of the DVD if you'd like to take a look.  We didn't get to spend the day and the DVD didn't really help with the attendant loss, but the show was truly lovely. 
• I wrote in my journal "3:35 ...  Lake Michigan."  I don't know what our precise location was for that first view and I don't know what time zone it was.  From that sight, however, its vastness was evident.



As I watched from the corridor outside our room, a couple
of teenagers coming from the pool stopped by the table
where an adult they knew was sitting, leaving their wet foot-
prints on the stone/tile/slate floor. 

 So, we're in Chicago.  I'll sign off with two final images, other views that captured my attention after our arrival.

The view from our room is north.  Through a canyon of tall buildings and over several parking garages one can see the tower (with flags flying) of the Montgomery Ward Memorial Building at Northwestern University.

A day at the Henry Ford

Sunrise over the Maumee River



A distinct advantage to being in a hotel -- on the 8th floor with an easterly view -- and to being up early for the re-packing, check-out routine is the opportunity to see a sunrise.  We were rewarded brilliantly this morning with this glowing scene of the sun through low clouds and the cable array of the Veterans' Glass City Skyway. 

After breakfast I had a few minutes to explore the Promenade Park which runs along the Maumee River and all but surrounds the hotel.  It seemed a shame to miss it, just out the door of the hotel as it was, no matter how short our stay.

Our hotel reflected in the side of the Fifth Third Center at One SeaGate

Propylaea by Dimitri Hadzi

This granite sculpture/fountain stands in Maritime Plaza's reflecting pool between our hotel the Fifth Third Center.  Its name, Prophylea, is the Greek word for "gateway."  In its position it marks the entrance to SeaGate and Toledo, the city having been the gateway to exploration, invention, transportation and industry which helped forge the nation.  It was good to recapture a hint of our trip's theme just under our window! 

View downstream from the hotel with the Promenade Park waterfront and
the Anthony Wayne Bridge (aka the "High-Level Bridge") in the background



View upstream from the hotel
The bridges in order are:
Cherry Street Bridge, Craig Memorial Bridge (both Bascule deck drawbridges),
the new cable-stayed Veterans' Glass City Skyway.

It was a short ride from Toledo to The Henry Ford Museum (referred to as The Henry Ford these days) and Greenfield Village -- about 50 miles.  We arrived very early and were free to explore for the day.  Here again, I was transported back to childhood and wonderful family activities, having visited this Dearborn attraction with my immediate family and with aunts, uncles and cousins in the 1960s.

Even though we would have enjoyed wandering the village, it turned out to be the warmest day of our trip -- very hot even to us southerners.  That coupled with the fact that it was Memorial Day and the place was over run, the Civil War was being reenacted, complete with scruffy, wool-clad soldiers -- Rebel and Union -- in the mix between battles.  And, believe it or not, campfires burned cheerfully at every encampment.  It looked hot in addition to being hot.  We made for the shade of the museum -- spacious, cool, interesting and not nearly as popular as the village.



Tail light detail of Regan's
1982 Lincoln

Transportation, of course, is pretty much the name of the game at The Henry Ford.  The exhibit of presidential limousines was front and center.  The 1982 Lincoln is the last of the national cars that will be preserved.  Later cars have been and will be destroyed at the end of their service to keep their construction and component information secure.  The line of cars was a great spot for photographing specific characteristics of each vehicle.

Hood ornament , 1950 Lincoln, the Eisenhower "Bubbletop"

Door handle detail, "Bubbletop"
Looks like an intense pair of eyes to me ...

Having been introduced to DeWitt Clinton's strategy for getting the Erie Canal built, it was fun to see the reproduction of the 1831 train bearing his name.  Essentially, it's a stagecoach on rails.

The 1939 Douglas DC-3 

Our accommodation for the night is at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn, a huge hotel overlooking Ford's world headquarters, the distant Detroit skyline visible from our room.  Dinner at the hotel, with no food service except in the bar, was a long and tedious affair.  Seems the manager had closed all the restaurants for Memorial Day even though there was a fair number of guests and our group had been issued dinner vouchers.

The situation reminded me of a sign someone put up on the Grande Mariner's bulletin board after the announcement was made that we'd not finish the waterways excursion on the ship.   It's true, I know, but I do sigh anyway.