We had breakfast at The Omelette Shoppe in Traverse City, Michigan.
Cinnamon roll:
Eggs Benedict and hash browns:
German omelette:
Also pancakes:
Tasty stuff.
food
A sampling of interesting restaurants.
Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
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.
Baseball: Detroit Tigers vs Boston Red Sox
We attended a game of the Detroit Tigers vs Boston Red Sox, playing at the Tigers ballpark, Comerica Park.
Jenn’s game summary:
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:
Big Boy
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.
Travel from Ravenna, Ohio to St Clair, Michigan
We drove our coach 249 miles, about five hours of driving, from Ravenna, Ohio to St Clair, Michigan.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading west then north:
An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:
“Is your TV Antennae Down?” — okay, pedantically that should be either “are” or “antenna”:
Leaving West Branch State Park:
High arching bridge over rail line:
Ohio Turnpike I-80 West:
“Trucks and slower traffic use left lane”; unusual:
Large service plaza truck parking:
Service plaza food court:
BK and Starbucks coffee for lunch:
Paladin in his dash bed with some roadworks:
Ohio turnpike I-80/90 West:
Another service plaza, with RV elctrical hookups!:
Toll plaza:
I-280 North:
Oregon?!
Bridge over Maumee River in Toledo:
I-75 North:
“Welcome to Pure Michigan”:
Not the best road surface:
TA fuel stop:
I-75 North:
“Speed limit 70, truck speed 65, minimum speed 55”:
“Welcome to Thousand Trails St Clair”:
Gate:
Our site:
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Scenic Railroad: Vamos Vino Grape Escape
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.
Baseball: Akron RubberDucks vs Somerset Patriots
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:
Amish farmers market
On our tour of covered bridges, we also stopped off at the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania.
Our purchases; our first shoofly pie, very much like a date pie (and quite tasty), iced cinnamon raisin bread, fudge, and interesting honey flavors:
Soda Jerk Diner & Dairy Bar
We went to Soda Jerk Diner & Dairy Bar in Hummelstown/Hershey, Pennsylvania for dinner. A classic 50’s themed diner.
Ice cream soda and egg cream beverages:
Breakfast for dinner:
Pretty tasty stuff.
Independence National Historical Park
We visited the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
An interactive map of our walking route:
View of Independence Hall:
But first, Campo’s cheesesteaks for lunch:
Old post office:
Passage to Franklin Court:
Ghost structures representing Benjamin Franklin’s house in Franklin Court:
Benjamin Franklin sign:
Bicentennial Bell in Benjamin Rush garden:
Second Bank of the United States:
Jenn getting her passport stamps; this roll of paper is an excellent idea we haven’t seen elsewhere:
Cranking for smashed pennies:
Snack at the cafe in the visitor center:
Flag reflected in a circular window:
Court room:
Our tour guide:
Assembly Room, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were both signed:
We did the expanded guided tour (40 minutes vs 20) that got to go upstairs:
Historical.