Go

We’re officially on the road.  We managed to leave at 8:20 this morning.  Unlike most other trips we didn’t think of something we left behind before even reaching the first stop sign so we didn’t have to turn around and then leave again. I’m sure something will turn up missing at some point.

True to forecast, it was raining when we left.  The skies were sullen and the steady downpour lasted until we got to Lansing.  Still cloudy, but the sun broke through occasionally and it was dry for the rest of the day.  I think the system is following us, however.  It’s supposed to start raining here in Windsor at 9pm tonight.  Hopefully it won’t follow us all the way across New York.

The only thing on the agenda today was Belle Isle State Park in Detroit.  We did make a short stop at the Tanger Outlets in Howell but they don’t have any food stores there.  No cookies, no Pepper Palace BBQ sauce, nothin.  Just clothing.

We’ve been through Detroit before and have never had enough time to stop at Belle Isle State Park, so now we did.  From the amount of parking available and the size of the park, I would guess it’s quite popular, and for good reason.  There’s a lot to do here, from walking or biking the grounds, to paddling the waters to visiting the conservatory or gardens or aquarium and a bunch of other things.  

We parked the RV and did some walking ourselves, however, the aquarium is only open on weekends and the conservatory and gardens were closed for renovation.  The memorial fountain was down due to a mechanical failure. So many of the attractions of the park were not available.  Kinda reminded me of the general state of the entire city of Detroit: grand in its heyday, but showing its age and tiredness.

We did walk through the Ouldolf Garden where we chatted with a volunteer for just a bit.  Standing over the garden is the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon Tower, which was built in 1939.  Due to cost overruns, the carillon never had any bells installed, instead, it used an organ and an amplifier to simulate bells.  It, too, has a very tired look to it, with some of the architectural features crumbling off and large weeds growing through the pavers encircling the tower.  A carillon with no bells... there has to be a statement in there somewhere.

We did walk the trail to the lighthouse and then launched the kayaks in Lake Muskoday, where we paddled across the lake and into the canal that connected the lake to some of the other lakes on the island.  Here, too, were signs of neglect and disrepair.  Two of the five bridges we paddled under were completely unusable, with some of the timbers floating in the brackish water.  The first bridge was rather interesting and rather unlike any other bridge I have come across.  We had to duck quite far to get under it.

The mosquitoes finally turned us around in the canal.  The water was completely covered by thick green algae-looking stuff which slowed the kayaks considerably.  It was like paddling through pea soup.  I’m sure this environment was ideal for mosquitoes.

We left Belle Isle at about 4pm, hoping to get into Canada in a reasonable amount of time.  Crossing the border at the tunnel was a breeze and we stopped in Jackson Park in the middle of town to make some dinner.  This park is home to some really cool English-style gardens, immaculately manicured.  We walked around here for a bit after eating.

Our stop for the night is the side of someone’s garage in an older neighborhood of Windsor, Ontario.  The homes are small, the streets are straight and laid out in a grid pattern.  We found this on Boondockers Welcome and it was just about the ideal drive time for today, so here we are.

Miles driven today: 197