Attractions and other places we visit.
We visited Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan.
The visitor center:
Map and info:
Covered bridge on a scenic drive:
Picnic lunch:
View of dunes from an overlook:
Lake:
Scenic drive:
“Avoid getting stuck at the bottom! … Rescues cost $3000”:
Steep dune and Lake Michigan:
Blacksmith in a historic village:
Inn:
Canning building:
Dune climb:
We had breakfast at The Omelette Shoppe in Traverse City, Michigan.
Cinnamon roll:
Eggs Benedict and hash browns:
German omelette:
Also pancakes:
Tasty stuff.
We visited the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Detroit, Michigan.
But first, Lamy’s Diner within the museum for lunch:
Menu:
Classic diner food:
McDonald’s sign:
Presidential cars:
Trains:
Classic cars:
Sports cars:
Planes:
Hallmark collectable ornaments:
Bikes:
Machinery:
Cobbler:
Sewing machines etc:
Model T car:
Exploded Model T:
Glasswork:
Dymaxion House:
Wienermobile:
An interesting collection.
We attended a game of the Detroit Tigers vs Boston Red Sox, playing at the Tigers ballpark, Comerica Park.
The Tigers completed a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox on a pleasant evening in Detroit. Nice stadium with a couple of fun things (carousel with tigers instead of horses and a baseball-themed Ferris wheel). Tarik Skubal pitched very well and efficiently—11 strikeouts and only one walk. Amazing homerun robbery with assist (scoring: F9-8) by the Red Sox to steal a run from Kerry Carpenter that will be in the highlight reels for years. Exciting steal and advance on a throwing error for some 9th inning heroics by the Tigers and a walk-off single to end it—a fun game.
An interactive map of the ballpark:
Entrance, with lots of tigers:
Big tiger:
More tigers:
Team store:
Carousel:
Kielbasa and pierogis:
Fried Classics:
Elephant ear:
Baseball bat drink of Tiger Fuel:
Selfie from our seats:
View from our seats in Section 126, Row 27, Seats 1 & 2:
Play ball:
The mascot, Paws:
Run scores:
We liked how the sculptures captured the motion:
Ferris wheel:
Exploring the ballpark:
Nice stats display:
New pitcher:
Tigers win:
We ate at Big Boy in Port Huron, Michigan. Notable as we had previously visited the original location in Burbank, California. This franchise wasn’t quite as iconic.
Menus:
I had a cookies & cream shake:
My burger and waffle fries, and Jenn’s Philly cheesesteak and fries:
Fairly tasty, but nothing too exciting.
We took a drive to see the St Clair River and Lake Huron.
It’s kinda crazy how far one needs to drive to see the lake; there were some paid parking areas near St Clair, and a few minor roads, but pretty much all of the coastline was populated with houses. We drove 37 minutes north to a roadside park to be able to properly see the lake.
An interactive map of our route:
St Clair River and the Blue Water Bridge to Canada:
Very blue water:
Quite swiftly moving river:
Under the Blue Water Bridge:
Nearby, Fort Gratiot Lighthouse (closed on the day we drove by):
37 minutes north, Lake Huron Roadside Park:
Steps down to the lake:
But the bottom is blocked off:
A navigation buoy? washed up on the shore:
Endless lake:
We rode the Scenic Railroad train in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, doing the Vamos Vino Grape Escape wine tasting journey.
Akron Northside train station:
Train engine:
Each train car had different activities, including murder mystery, cigars (in an open car), cocktails, bingo, trivia, etc:
The Silver Lariat dome train car, which we were in:
The dome car table and seats:
Wine tasting menu:
Winemakers talking about their wines:
First tasting (in a souvenir glass):
Selfie:
Food tray… described as a “tasty charcuterie box, filled with artisan cheeses, cured meats, and other treats”… with some corn chips and no meats:
Wine tasting:
The “scenic” tour was not particularly scenic (and hard to see out the dirty dome windows anyway):
Looking out of the dome over the roof of the train:
Train conductor:
Downstairs in the train car:
Last tasting:
Train car:
Somewhat disappointing, but it was a thing we did.
We did a short hike (well, a walk along a boardwalk) around Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio.
An interactive map:
Picnic dinner:
Boardwalk:
The waterfall:
Top of the falls:
We attended a double-A baseball game between the Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland Guardians affiliate) vs Somerset Patriots (New York Yankees affiliate) at Canal Park in Akron, Ohio.
An interactive map of the ballpark:
Entrance of Canal Park:
Team store:
The Dog Pound:
Food:
The ballpark:
Our seats, right behind home plate: section 12, row A, seats 9 & 10. It had been raining, so an usher kindly wiped our seats for us:
Selfie:
Our front-row view:
Play ball:
Home run:
Mascots:
Exploring the ballpark:
Popcorn and hot chocolate:
Jenn admired this pitcher’s long hair:
A baseball on the field:
Dancing grounds crew:
We visited the two Cuyahoga Valley National Park visitor centers that are currently open (a third, Hunt House, is seasonally closed).
A canal lock outside the visitor center:
Mule power:
Ohio & Erie Canalway:
We also visited the Boston Mill Visitor Center, though I didn’t take any pictures inside:
