A Detroit-Chicago Road Christmas Vacation

Christmas morning I had breakfast by myself while Scott and Meadow slept in. Scott missed out on the french toast.

My dad later told me that is was REALLY good.

Meadow got in her Christmas outfit and we packed up and left. 

Scott wanted to check out more of the city.

I think Brooke wanted to just as much as me. BTW if you want a free tree in Detroit head to the Eastern Market on a Christmas morning.

The eastern market area looks like it would be a lot of fun when it's open. 

I'm amazed at all the graffiti in this city. 

With it being Christmas morning no one was outside which made the city seem creepier.

I second that. Also slate roofs are the way to go.

The homes here are so beautiful. A part of me wants to move here because when the city bounces back we will regret not buying a home for $10,000.

We already live in the hood. It can't be that much worse. In reality after seeing the worst parts of Detroit, I'm much more upbeat about the northside of Minnepaolis.

 This gold one story fire escape really bewilders me.

Fisher Place is one of the only skyscarpers outside the core in the New Center area just north of Midtown. GM used to have it's headquarters across the street.

This area had quite a few really strong blocks, but many homes were still boarded on the periphery.

Just two or three blocks was a street out of a postcard.

We then went back downtown.

I love all the 1920s office buildings.

I joked that they would probably hang up on you if you called 311 for graffiti.

Just east of downtown is the Lafayette Park neighborhood that is full of Mies Van Der Rohe homes.

Everywhere throughout the metro area were Coney Island diners each with a different name.

We decided to take Michigan Avenue out of the city and start heading home. I want to come back when it's warmer outside.

We then drove through Dearborn to catch a glimpse of Henry Ford's estate. And like the Edsel Ford Mansion the gates were closed. 

The Ford Museum was also shuttered for the day.

We need to come back when it's not a holiday.

Onwards we went along US Highway 12. Avoiding the interstate is always a good idea for adventure seekers.

Meadow was being super cranky so we stopped to let her out for a little while. 

It turns out she had leaked through her diaper. She doesn't complain when she's wet, but she will complain when she leaks. 

On the way I saw a sign for the "Mystery Hill". I had to check it out.

This area was full of awesome tourists traps.

Hmm not sure what the mystery was. We need to come back here sometime in the summer.

My guess is that even though the building is built on an angle you don't fall over or something.

It turns out that this was right down the road from the Michigan International Speedway. Now all the tourist traps make sense.

We were hungry for lunch and the only place that was open was Subway. Barf.

How can they make such horrible subs?

Instead of avoiding the city we drove through Chicago this time in hopes of getting dinner. 

Sadly our favorite restaurant was closed. We tried an Asian restaurant that was packed full of Jewish people.

At least that was our guess since we were in Skokie.  Still, it was nice to drive through Chicago. Oh how I want to live there someday.

We had hopes we would find something else on the way home. 

Nothing was open, not even grocery stores. Scott's parents had no food. So for Christmas dinner we had summer sausage and cheese.

At least it was Usinger's. 

By far the strangest Christmas I've ever had. 

Meadow didn't seem to notice. 

We also had cheesecake and watched Orange Is The New Black. 

I hope your Christmas day was as strange as ours.