Detour Detroit
Posted by Heliocentrism on June 18, 2010
June 12, 2010
Bring Your Passport in Case We Go to Canada
It’s not everyday that you can just go to another country for breakfast and head back to your home country once the meal is finished… unless you live on the US/ Canadian border. Even more unique is to head south from the US and end up in Canada. But that is the miracle that is Detroit.
I don’t remember if the Canadian border guard even looked at our passports. They asked us our nationality and where we were heading. They were more concern about our bringing fruit into Canada than matching up IDs.
Re-entering the US took a long time though. There was a 10 minute question and answer session, a thorough check of our passports, and some friendly conversation before we were let back in. Ironically, from our little chat with the border guard, I found out he did not own a passport himself.
Canada looks bazaarly just like the US. Sorry Canadians. I know you work so hard to set yourselves apart. But after we put an American quarter into a parking meter and it gave us 15 minutes of parking time, I just didn’t feel like I was “abroad”.
Cheating a Canadian Parking meter by using a US quarter
Detroit Grown
After breakfast, Mark’s brother, Matt, gave us a tour of Detroit. Our first stop was at the Eastern Market to get some goodies for our camping trip.
The Eastern Market is a parade of fresh fruits, vegetables, plants, and flowers. Most of the produce are grown in Michigan; some even grown right in Detroit. In fact, there is a push to tear down some of the old burnt out abandoned buildings downtown and replace them with little farms.
Feels like I’m back in Thailand…
Swimming in Detroit
The next stop on Matt’s tour was Bella Isle. It’s a great place to watch or play a game of cricket, have a picnic or bar-B-Q, go swimming, or just go for a run. Mark and I wanted to swim, but we didn’t have swimsuits.
playing cricket
Street Art
Then we went to see some socially aware art in Detroit. The Heidelberg Project started as a veteran’s protest of the decline of his neighborhood. It is now a protest against the war, America’s oil dependence, drugs, and apathy towards the environment.
You can walk around most of the art. But there are some houses included in the project in which people live. You can view the outside of the homes, but you should stay off the property unless invited.
Art
The end of our time in Detroit was actually in Pontiac, another city in Michigan. JD’s Key Club is a favorite spot of Mark and his friends. JDKC is a place where two or three guys sing songs by paid request and urge the audience to join in.
For some extra bucks they will serenade your friend with a dirty version of a song that seems to fit the occasion. According to Matt, because the singers and the patrons are a little older, late 30’s early 40’s, they don’t do many recent pop songs. There were requests for Lady GaGa’s Poker Face that were completely ignored.
Dueling Pianos
After living in Korea where I paid good money to sing the latest pop songs with my friends, it seemed odd to pay to have someone else do the singing.
How to get there:
You can enter Canada by land, air, or sea. But you’ll probably fly in unless you live near the border.
Go to the US and head north. Well, sometimes you will need to head south.
As a US citizen you will need either:
- a passport
- Passport Card
- Enhanced Driver’s License
- Technically, you need one of these documents or just a passport to get into Canada, but in actuality the Canadian border control doesn’t always check them. You will need one to re-enter the US. The US border control does a thorough check on each and everyone coming into the country.
- Be prepared to wait in a long line to get back into the US.
- You are not allowed to carry fruit from one country into the other.
Phone:
- Use 911 for the police, fire department, or to get an ambulance
- Use 411 for information (This might cost money.)
Videos:
- Canada – A People’s History (Playlist)
- CGP Grey:
- Tom Brokaw Explains Canada To Americans
Books:
Notes:
- It’s a big country. You’re going to need a car.
How to get there:
Go to Detroit, Michigan and head south through the tunnel.
Cost:
- 4.00USD or 4.75CAN.
Hours:
- The tunnel is always open, through it does have heavier traffic at rush hours.
Notes:
- No motorbikes or scooters are allowed in the tunnel.
- Windsor is one of the many Greyhound stops in Canada.
How to get there:
You can enter my country by land, air, or sea. But I think flight would be your transportation method of choice.
I have no clue how to get a visa to the US or who needs one. Just assume that you need one if you are not American or Canadian and check with your local US embassy.
Phone:
- Use 911 for the police, fire department, or to get an ambulance
- Use 411 for information (This might cost money.)
Website:
Downloads:
Videos:
- Crash Course:
- CGP Grey:
- Mental Floss:
Books:
- American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
- Area 51
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- Dandelion Wine
- Girl in Translation
- The Hemingses of Monticello
- The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
- The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America
- Notes from a Big Country
- One Summer: America, 1927
- Rolling Nowhere: Riding the Rails with America’s Hoboes
- Stealing Buddha’s Dinner
- That’s Not In My American History Book
- A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
- The Water Is Wide
- Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland
Notes:
- It’s a big country. You’re going to need a car.
- 42°20’54.9″N 83°02’25.0″W
The Eastern Market is about 1.6km northeast of downtown Detroit, surrounded by Winder street, Riopelle street, Wilkins street, and Russell street.
You can get to it by going on I-75 and getting off at the Chrysler Freeway. Check the link above for more details.
Address:
2934 Russell Street
Detroit, MI 48207
Phone:
- 313-833-9300
- 313-833-9309 (fax)
e-mail: admin@detroiteasternmarket.com
- 42°20’35.2″N 82°58’26.8″W
- Take East Grand Blvd to the island.
Address:
Belle Isle Park
Detroit, MI 48243
Phone:
- 1-(313) 628-2081
Download:
Cost:
- Free
Hours:
- Access to the island is always available, but some of the facilities may close.
Map:
- 42°21’30.8″N 83°01’16.1″W
- Directions from the website
Address:
3600 Block of Heidelberg Street
Detroit, MI 48207
Phone:
- 1-313.974.6894
e-mail: information@heidelberg.org
Cost:
- Free, but donations are welcomed
Hours:
- Always available
Notes:
- People live in some of the houses. Be careful not to trespass on private property.
Take I-75 exit 77B.
By Train –
According to Wikitravel.org you can take the Amtrak from Chicago to Pontiac. The trip takes 5 to 6 hours and costs $25-$50 with the weekend special. You can buy a weekend special ticket only between Tuesdays and Fridays.
Notes:
- What’s there to do in Pontiac?
- Not sure, but how could you not want to visit a town named after a car? 🙂
JD’s Key Club
- 42°38’12.4″N 83°17’32.1″W
- Directions from the website
Address:
1 North Saginaw
Pontiac, MI 48342
Phone:
- 1-248-338-7337
Download:
Cost:
- 6USD
Hours:
- 8pm-2am – Wed
- 7pm-2am – Thu-Sat
Notes:
- The more you pay the more likely the song you request will be played.
- If they hate your song, they will not play it, unless you tip very, very well.
Map:
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