Detroit: The Motor City

So as I was driving down to Detroit, I realized about 20 miles from the city limits that I had forgotten my digital camera. Doh! As a last-minute fix, I decided to purchase a classic Kodak camera with a mind-boggling capacity of 27 pictures. I was going to have to be selective this trip!

While purchasing my disposable camera, I also decided to buy breakfast, namely, a pint of Graeter's Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip ice cream. I can't recommend this ice cream enough. It comes with the biggest chips I've ever seen! It's so good that I've decided I need to try Graeter's other chocolate chip flavors.

Graeter's Blackberry and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

After my pleasant surprise with Graeter's ice cream, I was even more pleasantly surprised when I accidently met up with Lindsey at the Ford Rouge car factory tour! Lindsey is a fellow UT ChE student, and she and her room mate just happened to take the same tour at the same time. Small world!

Lindsey (middle), Christine (right), and I (guess) at the Ford Rouge Factory Tour

Since we weren't allowed to take pictures of the assembly line, here are some pictures I found on the internet. This was pretty much exactly what we saw. I thought the F-150s looked pretty silly without their truck beds.

F-150 Assembly Line

I was surprised how much of the process is manually done. I guessed that in this modern age everything was automated, but at this factory the assembly of the different components was surprisingly hands-on.

Partial F-150

After we finished the factory tour, I said my goodbyes to Lindsey and her room mate. After we parted ways it was time for me to make my way to the Detroit Zoo to see the Arctic Ring of Life. I more or less rushed through the zoo, only taking a couple shots of the outdoor zoo sections.

Anteaters at the Detroit Zoo

But before long, I made it to the Arctic Ring of Life, an underwater glass tunnel where I was supposed to see polar bears swimming.

Arctic Ring of Life

When I arrived and started talking to the guide, she told me that the polar bears usually only come out around 11:00, which is when they were fed. Still, the engineering marvel of the cool, underwater tunnel was a sight to behold.

My first time in an underwater tunnel

And after just a bit of waiting, we got to see a seal bob swimming around the glass tunnel. At least it wasn't totally empty!

Seal

After leaving the zoo it was about 4:00 and I had worked up quite an appetite. It was time to experience some authentic Buddy's Pizza. Buddy's Pizza served Detroit-style pizza, which according to wikipedia is a "square shaped pizza... that has a thick deep dish crisp crust... which  is the result of being baked, not in a pizza pan, but an industrial parts tray."

Buddy's Detroit-Style Pizza

To conclude my Detroit day trip, I decided to walk around the Heidelberg project, which is an outdoor art display lead by Tyree Guyton. Guyton began the project as a political protest, but he also used it to turn one of Detroit's more dangerous neighborhoods into an area that welcomed visitors.

The Heidelberg Project

By the time I had arrived, there were less than ten pictures left on my Kodac, so I was fairly conservative with my pictures. The broken-down house below shocked me because of all the "GOD"s was written on it.

A Decrepit Heidelberg House

Here's a creepy tree that was covered in sun-bleached stuffed animals that were hanging or nailed to its trunk.

Creepy Doll Tree

One of the livelier houses was this spotted house. What surprised me most was that people actually lived in the house, it wasn't just for show.

Spotted House

The same was true for this number house.

Number House

Not everything was just houses and dolls though. There was also the equivalent of a post-apocalyptic yard sale going on, complete with antiques and broken down appliances.

Assortment of objects, including a Mario Mushroom

At the very end of the street was a house that had a twist: for one dollar you could take a maker to the house and write your name. It was too good to pass up.

Standing next to my signature. 

At the end of my long day I came back and developed my photos at a Walgreens. Thank goodness they digitize pictures or else I wouldn't know what to do! My adventure in Michigan is finally coming to a close. A week from now, not only will I be back in Austin, but it will be my 21st birthday. See you soon Texas!