I haven't been on a road trip since 2009. So I decided not to delay one more day. I don't want to watch back to school commercials, I'd rather enjoy the summer before it's over, so there I went, grabbing my camping gear, packing my car, then out the door. It happened literally that spontaneously. I'm long overdue for a vacation. I didn't have the time to try and organize people to come with. I would've preferred company, but hopefully I will make some acquaintances or even friends along the way.
I made it all the way to Detroit. Tonight I'm staying at a Red Roof Inn just north of Detroit. I was planning on stopping in Kalamazoo since I left pretty late from Chicago, but I ended up driving all the way here. I can't wait to see this decaying, recently bankrupt city and what all the hype is about. Hopefully I see some abandoned houses, a lot of domestic cars, and maybe a shrine to Kiss or Alice Cooper. I did see a Ted Nugent Camp for Kids on the GPS, not sure what that is.
On my way, I stopped at Fort Custer National Cemetery. I did this not on purpose--I was looking for the Fort Custer State Park to pitch a tent and stay for the night. It was about 12:30 am when I did this. The GPS led me to the cemetary. The cemetary has a dramatic entrance---US flags line the path into the cemetary: http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftcuster.asp. There was also a military camp/armory/etc across the street. It was cool to see a US military base. I'm not even sure I've seen one before. There was also an airport.
It turns out the state park doesn't offer much camping, just some cabins. Oh well, it would've been tricky and too much work to set up a tent after dark. And who knows, there could be bears in Michigan. What was I thinking trying to set up camp after midnight anyway?
I drove past Ann Arbor which I'm guessing is where University of Michigan is located based on some signage I saw(I should probably know this growing up in the midwest and attending a big ten university myself). I think I went there when I was younger on a family vacation--I think there are some museums there.
I turned on the radio as I was nearing Detroit and some Browns fan was touting the team this year, saying they are gonna be AFC North contenders and they will beat Baltimore in week 2. It's fun listening to local sports shows. This man was obviously deranged--the Browns are horrible.
I think I picked a good part of the country to begin my Kiko-tour of America. There are so many large cities--Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and others. I just have to figure out whether to go north of Lake Erie or head south through Cleveland after seeing/doing a bit more in Detroit.
It's tempting to go to Toronto if I go north, then to Buffalo before heading west back towards Chicago.
Of course at some point I'm going to have to decide whether I want to go all the way east to New York or Boston. That would be incredible. I probably wouldn't make it back until the middle-to-end of the week if I did that.
I'm going to try to save money by either camping at state parks some nights, or using airbnb or possibly couchsurfing.com. I would prefer not to camp actually. We'll see where this trip takes me. I think my car should hold up, it's driving perfectly so far.
Going to catch some z's. Look for my next post tomorrow. Any suggestions on what to do around Detroit or nearby, I will probably do it considering I have no plan, so here's your chance to send me to all your favorite places!
G'night,
-George
I made it all the way to Detroit. Tonight I'm staying at a Red Roof Inn just north of Detroit. I was planning on stopping in Kalamazoo since I left pretty late from Chicago, but I ended up driving all the way here. I can't wait to see this decaying, recently bankrupt city and what all the hype is about. Hopefully I see some abandoned houses, a lot of domestic cars, and maybe a shrine to Kiss or Alice Cooper. I did see a Ted Nugent Camp for Kids on the GPS, not sure what that is.
On my way, I stopped at Fort Custer National Cemetery. I did this not on purpose--I was looking for the Fort Custer State Park to pitch a tent and stay for the night. It was about 12:30 am when I did this. The GPS led me to the cemetary. The cemetary has a dramatic entrance---US flags line the path into the cemetary: http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftcuster.asp. There was also a military camp/armory/etc across the street. It was cool to see a US military base. I'm not even sure I've seen one before. There was also an airport.
It turns out the state park doesn't offer much camping, just some cabins. Oh well, it would've been tricky and too much work to set up a tent after dark. And who knows, there could be bears in Michigan. What was I thinking trying to set up camp after midnight anyway?
I drove past Ann Arbor which I'm guessing is where University of Michigan is located based on some signage I saw(I should probably know this growing up in the midwest and attending a big ten university myself). I think I went there when I was younger on a family vacation--I think there are some museums there.
I turned on the radio as I was nearing Detroit and some Browns fan was touting the team this year, saying they are gonna be AFC North contenders and they will beat Baltimore in week 2. It's fun listening to local sports shows. This man was obviously deranged--the Browns are horrible.
I think I picked a good part of the country to begin my Kiko-tour of America. There are so many large cities--Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and others. I just have to figure out whether to go north of Lake Erie or head south through Cleveland after seeing/doing a bit more in Detroit.
It's tempting to go to Toronto if I go north, then to Buffalo before heading west back towards Chicago.
Of course at some point I'm going to have to decide whether I want to go all the way east to New York or Boston. That would be incredible. I probably wouldn't make it back until the middle-to-end of the week if I did that.
I'm going to try to save money by either camping at state parks some nights, or using airbnb or possibly couchsurfing.com. I would prefer not to camp actually. We'll see where this trip takes me. I think my car should hold up, it's driving perfectly so far.
Going to catch some z's. Look for my next post tomorrow. Any suggestions on what to do around Detroit or nearby, I will probably do it considering I have no plan, so here's your chance to send me to all your favorite places!
G'night,
-George
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