I told myself and my bank account that this will be the last trip for me for a while – but I’m not making any promises. It is so exciting to travel to different places and see things you always wanted to see. I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Detroit, Michigan last week. Although I did not enjoy the flight there on a smaller plane with some rough turbulence, we made it and had a really awesome time. My boyfriend, Mike, is a loyal fan to the Detroit Lions football team and this was our main reason for taking the trip. We had tickets to the football game on Thursday night vs. the Green Bay Packers as well as tickets to the Henry Ford Museum, a tour of the Ford F-150 factory and the Detroit Red Wings ice hockey game. It was an action packed weekend to say the least. But, we were also able to make time for all of the other sights we wanted to see.
Our stay for 3 nights was at the Doubletree by Hilton Detroit Downtown hotel. We were very pleased with our stay here and I would recommend it to anyone looking to travel to that area. The room was very spacious with a bedroom, closet, bathroom and full living area as well. It was off the main, busy roads but not too far off. We were able to walk to everything we wanted to do and see besides the Henry Ford Museum. The hotel offered Starbucks coffee, had a great, lively bar with delicious food and a restaurant across the hall.
Now, onto the football game! We arrived two and a half hours early to the game – partly because we had never been there before and wanted to walk around the stadium, but really my boyfriend was super excited and couldn’t sit around in the hotel room for another minute. Ford Field is a beautiful stadium both inside and out. It was clean and so beautifully decorated for Christmas. We were even able to take a picture with Santa Claus! Since we were so early to the game we got to see the players warming up and practicing from the front row. Our actual seats weren’t too far behind – we were in row 17. The final outcome of the game, unfortunately, was not what we were hoping for with the opposing team scoring with zero seconds on the clock to win, but the game as a whole was so exciting and totally worth the trip.
The restaurants and small places to eat were enough to make a foodie go crazy. Our first stop was for breakfast and I think it was the best meal we had the whole weekend. Mike ordered pancakes because he is a self-proclaimed pancake connoisseur and I ordered huevos rancheros by recommendation of the waitress. Mike’s pancakes were absolutely enormous. He could only finish one and my plate would have been licked clean if I was able to fit the whole plate full in my stomach. I think we would both recommend anyone traveling to Detroit check out The Hudson Cafe. One night we had time for a nice dinner, but didn’t think ahead to make reservations – we couldn’t get a table at two different restaurants. But, rest assured we will be making reservations and getting in at those bistros and steakhouses for the next time we go. Another one of our stops that we knew we wanted to make was for an authentic Coney Island hot dog. That was another place that did not disappoint. Other places that made the list included The Hard Rock Cafe, The Ham Shop and some appetizers from the restaurant in our hotel.
The Henry Ford Museum was full of history and artifacts that I never thought I would see. Two that stood out to me were the rocking chair that President Lincoln was shot in and the inaugural car that President Kennedy was assassinated in. Other things in the museum were old planes, trains and vehicles as well as old furniture and special exhibits. We were exhausted halfway through the museum, but kept going! We had no idea how large it would be and how packed with history as well. In the same day we did the tour of the Ford F150 factory. We were able to walk around the factory and see different sections of the trucks being put together. Unfortunately, I was unable to take photos in that factory, but don’t you worry I took enough in the museum to almost reach the storage capacity on my phone.
I have always been a fan of ice hockey as my brother played from the time he could get himself into a pair of skates. My team is the New York Rangers, but the sport is so exciting we got tickets for a Red Wings game. After purchasing tickets, we were informed that the area called the Joe Louis Arena is going to be torn down soon and that they are already in the process of building a new arena closer to the baseball and football stadiums. We were able to experience a win for a Detroit team and see a piece of history all in one shot. For anyone who has never been to an NHL ice hockey game, I do highly recommend it. The excitement is like no other.
Being skeptical about going to a city like Detroit was so silly of us, but we just didn’t know what to expect. We were truly shocked with how great it was. Full of holiday activities like shopping and ice skating, it was hard not to stop and do everything! I better start thinking about where to head to next. Feel free to share your traveling experiences or let me know if I missed out on something great while in Detroit.
The Brown Eyed Guide 