Motor City

The days leading up to the trip we were met with funny reactions and comments from people about going to Detroit - everything from excitement to horror and telling us to be careful. A few years back I was intrigued by a mini-documentary series with Johnny Knoxville for Palladium Boots. Since then I wanted to know more about Detroit, it has such a rich history, especially architecturally. From its auto industry boom, the birth of Motown, to the "White Flight," and generations of a city way too big for its population, Detroit has a lot to discover. So when Matt invited me to tag-along for the road trip, no negative comments were going to keep me from checking it out. 

The main focus of the trip was work, for Matt, Red Bull asked him to make tintypes of the athletes participating in the Hart Lines event, May 15-16, 2016. When it wasn't freezing rain, I tried to explore the city on foot and all other free time we drove around trying to see as much as we could! I knew I wanted to see the Heidelberg Project, the old Michigan Central Station seemed like a must, and otherwise there was SO much city. We winged it and saw what we could in the time we had.

We loved Detroit. So many positive things happening there and honestly didn't have a bad thing to say about our entire experience. Sure, the city is a little rough around the edges, we like that. There is a sense of realness and a spirit of you-can-do-anything-you-want in Detroit, something hard to find in other big cities. The art scene is alive and well in the D. 

We enjoyed our stay at the historic Westin Book Cadillac. They're dog-friendly and have a nice green area in front of the hotel, a serious commodity in our books! We had some really fun nights out but my favorite was at Garden Bowl, what can I say, I'm a softy for vintage bowling alleys.