Detroit - Day #1 and mixed emotions

Detroit – Rolling up I-75 on my way to D-town and I am getting butterflies not knowing what to expect. Of course it would have been nice had there not been a detour to Michigan highway 24 because I-75 was closed up for a portion of it. But it all worked out, and I arrived in Southfield, Michigan at the lovely plush Candlewood Inn and Suites. Okay, the place was awful and slightly depressing and Justin said the same thing before I even mentioned it. He laughed, slapped me a five and a hug, and said, “This place blows doesn’t it?” And it was bad, but hilarious at the same time given that this is a suburb of Detroit. Nothing like office parks, flat landscape, empty parking lots, and the good ol’ Candlewood Suites. We instantly dropped the stuff off and explored Greektown Detroit. We drove down Woodward Ave., tried to find some areas of where boarded up mansions were located just south of 8 mile (and came up short), and witnessed some of the depressing aspects of Detroit along its most popular road that heads toward downtown. There were stretches of it that just had nothing in it, people squandering around with no intended purpose, boarded up houses, grassy lots with no buildings – just depressing. It was something really that I had never seen before. Pictures on a computer is one thing, but seeing it - even in a car - was kind of unreal.

It was not the worst place I've ever seen considering I've traveled to 2nd and 3rd world countries before. But in America, it seems that this kind of economic depression would not exist. But it does in Detroit. But safety wise Justin and I were okay given that this is one of Detroit's main drags. Once you hit Wayne State and the Detroit Institue of Art, things start to brighten up somewhat. Then there is the Theatre District with the Fox Theatre, Comerica Park - home of the Tigers - Ford Field where the Lions play, and eventually the financial district. Justin and I parked the car over in Greektown and got some grub over at Pegasus Taverna, but because we parked over at a Casino parking lot we had to test whether we had a gambling problem or not when we passed through to get to the outside. We passed the test with flying colors though and enjoyed our quick jaunt through the smoke-filled casino at Caesers (I believe). We both enjoyed a solid Canadian brew called Labatt. It is very tasty, smooth, quite riveting actually. The food was solid - not great, not bad - but the funniest part of the dinner was the waiter's reaction to the fact that I did not order any meat dishes. He asked, "You vegetarian?," with almost a look of contempt on his face. I said, "No, just don't feel like any meat." "Okay...," he said. I kind of shrugged my shoulders after he gave a vegetarian recommendation and left our table - apparently you are on the "that guy" list for not ordering a meat dish. Of course coming into the casino prior to our arrival was another moment of hilarity given that they ID you and here are two men in there 20s rolling through together to go to dinner with California ID's - rather San Francisco ID's. I can only imagine what went through the head of that dude as he looked at the both of us after swiping through our identification.

The two bars we hit up on Woodward after dinner were Hockeytown and the Magic Stick. Prior to this though we took a little external tour of Comerica Park, home of the Tigers. This park from the outside was beautiful and looking into it through the gates it looked like more of the same inside. Both Justin and I made note that we both wanted to go to the game Tuesday against the Red Sox because seeing a game at this ballyard looked like a great experience. There is a huge Tigers statue out front to greet you and well-sculpted Tiger heads around the gates of the park. You can truly tell that the city of Detroit, the park designers and construction team put in a lot of time and effort to get this thing right. We'll see if I feel the same after Tuesday's game, but I must say that with all the depressed landscape I saw this was a lovely bright spot.

My airport buddy in Akron recommended seeing Hockeytown, so Justin and I hit it up and drank in the Detroit sports bar experience. Given that it was Red Wings-Penguins, game 1 of the Stanley Cup you knew it was a busy night. This bar, let me tell you - nothing like this in San Francisco and I am kind of glad in a sense. There were about 4-5 floors, about 3-4 rooms on each floor to watch the game - one or two large bar areas, private party-esque area with TV's and a projector screen, restaurant-type area with multiple TV's - a movie theater area to watch the game on the ground floor, a roof-top bar to watch on a projector, and a grassy knoll area outside to watch as well. All with volume from the television and loud as hell, which is great because if you're watching a big game you need volume. No music people playing while you're watching a big game, I need to hear the announcers in order to get fully engrained. But this place was over-the-top. Red Wings jerseys everywhere, life seemingly in the balance with every turning point - the dudes in front of us on the ground floor bar exasperated when the Wings got hit with a penalty leading to a Penguins power play. I had seen these jerseys everywhere prior to and during the contest (and thereafter as well for the next 48 hours). Men, women, children, everybody with jerseys. I told Justin, "I don't know about you, but I am rooting for the Pens - this is ridiculous." Justin's comment: "Fuck the Red Wings, go Avalanche." Loved it.

After Justin and I explored this place and the crevices of it - interrupting private parties, walking in front of televisions, checking out the roof-top bar - we headed to the Magic Stick. Got to love a bar with a bowling alley that takes you back circa 1976 with the DJ playing some funky tunes. Stayed for two rounds, kicked it, drank in the scene, called it an evening and headed back to the car.

Along the walks we took in downtown and toward Mid-town and Magic Stick we were asked for change about four times and one woman asked us for a cigarette. Given I don't smoke and Justin does, Justin kindly provided the lady a cigarette. She was visually seeming to have a rough night, perhaps a rough life. If I had to put money on it, I think she was a hooker who had a drug problem given a few things - it was a relatively warm night and she was freezing with layers on, she was on the corner alone, and she asked us what we wanted for the cigarette in a way that didn't seem to be money-driven. Prior to our arrival to Hockeytown, a young kid asked us for bus money so that he would not get in trouble with his parole officer since he was on probation. I was not about to take my wallet out, but Justin kindly put a little change in his hand and reached out and quickly dropped the money in his hand. He asked for some kind of directions or location of a bus stop, and we played dumb. Later after our Magic Stick excursion, a guy pulled over and asked us if we knew where a particular location was. We both said we didn't know, and I looked at Justin and said, "Do you think he asked that to see if we knew where we were and what the hell we were doing out here?" Justin: "I don't know, but I kind of got that feeling too." We were fine though, made it to the car in one piece. It is probably just me, but when you are walking through a new place that is unfamiliar, even on a main drag, in a rough city with a rough reputation and being white kids in a very poor and predominately black city, you just don't know what to expect. With all the racial tension and race-related matters that have occured in Detroit - 1967 race riots, white flight, Coleman Young's controversial tenure regarding white/black race relations and the increasing white flight during his administration, police brutality being the #1 issue seen amongst Detroit residents pre-1967, whites being paid more than blacks for the same work in the automotive industry, the razing of black neighborhood(s) to build Interstate 75 in the 1960s, the drastic economic effects on the uneducated and unskilled black population in and around Detroit due to de-industrialization - the issue is very prevalent in this city in particular. But seemingly like anywhere, if you know where you are going and mind your own business, you are generally going to be okay and we were. Day #2 starts with the Arab-American Museum in Dearborn and the Detroit Historical Museum in Mid-town next to Wayne State.