duminică, 26 decembrie 2010

Dans le détroit du Lac Érié (In the strait of Lake Erie) - part 3

Motor Rock City and the green Michigan

When you say Detroit you say automotive, as the city is home of the Big Three companies: Chrysler, General Motors and Ford and it hosts the famous North American International Auto Show, where concept cars are introduced to the public. Also, in the suburbs of Detroit there is the Henry Ford Museum, the largest indooroutdoor history museum, a National Historic Landmark.


Detroit also means rock and roll – who doesn’t know Bill Halley’s Rock Around The Clock song? But here’s something you probably don’t know: The Twist, Chubby Checker’s famous song was actually composed by Detroit native Hank Ballard. And let’s not forget Alice Cooper and The Eagles’ founding member Glenn Frey.

I had the chance to visit the Henry Ford Museum, a National Historical Landmark, stretching over 49.000 m2. It is primarily a collection of antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles, locomotives, aircraft, and other items. It took me hours just to visit its indoor area, which is like a voyage back in time, starting with items from back when America was Cowboy Central and ending with the Amazing 90s. Needless to say it is Heaven for automotive fans like myself.

If you go north from Detroit, you will see a different world. Where the concrete ends, the green of Michigan starts. Endless forests and green plains, heaven for wildlife (deer, rabbits, wild geese), the scent of freshly cut grass … a true sanctuary of silence from dusk till dawn. I didn’t have enough time to visit all the nice places in Michigan, so I had to be picky. Looking at the map of the State, something drew my attention, a name that sounded very familiar – Huron. Within seconds the name of a book I had read in childhood popped into my mind: The last of the Mohicans. I had to go there!



Port Huron is the city that lies at the foot of the Blue Water Bridge on the American side of the St. Clair River. On the other side, a Canadian city with a fairytale-ish name: Sarnia. Between them flows the St. Clair River, with waters so blue that it makes you feel like Alice in Wonderland.

I spent what felt like hours imagining how Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac must have felt when he first saw the beauty of these places or that Hawkeye, the American hero from J.F. Cooper’s book, would appear from behind the trees throwing a tomahawk.
To be continued...

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