No recipe this week. Just food for thought on cautious, happy traveling.
NORMALLY WHEN WE VISIT DETROIT, our plans are filled with more events and places than we can possibly get to, more restaurant meals than we can possibly eat. This past Memorial Day weekend, our plan, singular, was simply to be with our daughter Claire, whom we hadn’t seen in person since December 2019.
Restaurant meals were had, plentiful and diverse, but in the form of drive-thrus, curbside pickup and delivery. Michigan (and Detroit in particular) is struggling more than most other places with its response the pandemic. So even though we’re all fully vaccinated, we avoided going in places.
Instead, we hung out at Claire’s, she and Marion gardening, and Claire’s boyfriend and me assembling a bookcase. We hung out at Claire’s boyfriend’s place, meeting—and being cautiously but curiously observed by—a stray kitten they’d rescued from under the hood of a parked car in the winter. We just spent time being.
On our own, Marion and I drove around the city, her hometown. Being reminded of what a great city it still is—the photo above is the glorious Detroit Institute of Arts—and how much we love it. And being reminded of the generous, tough spirit of people who call it home. We saw signs of optimism everywhere, often literal signs that served as rallying cries.
The Kahn this mural riffs on is Albert Kahn, the “foremost American industrial architect of his day,” according to Wikipedia; he is sometimes called the architect of Detroit. The skyscraper in the background is the Fisher Building, one of many office buildings he designed. Although Kahn died in 1942, the architecture firm he founded in 1896 is still very much in business, headquartered in the Fisher Building.
This was our first real road trip since things shut down, our first time sleeping somewhere that isn’t our house—three nights in a pleasant Airbnb near the mansion-filled Boston Edison neighborhood in the city. We are so happy that it was to see Claire, to see Detroit. And we’re ready for the next trip.
Sounds like a fun, special time! We have yet to actually eat out at a restaurant. It’ll be a bit of time before we’ll feel comfortable eating indoors, I think, but we really should start visiting our favorite places that offer outdoor seating. We’ve gotten so used to ordering takeout and delivery, though. Haven’t done a road trip either, although I think that’s on the horizon. Anyway, fun read — thanks.
I love these stories. I saw my daughter after 15 months and we had so many great eating adventure!
I grew up in Detroit, and will always have a special feeling for it. Loved the Kahn sign. He was an architectual giant, and you can see so many of his beautiful buildings in and around the city. Thanks for your posts; very nice nostalgia.