Victory at Sea - Dearborn

Before we head to Dearborn and the Henry Ford Museum I must tell you about our lunch yesterday.  I totally forgot to include it in the previous post.  So sorry.   However, I'm thinking we will have a make up post at the end of the Great Lakes Tour because I know I have left out several things.  We were welcomed to the Chateau des Charmes by a young man that took us into the working portion of the vineyard, explaining the whys and wherefores of wine making from choosing the grape to aging the wine.  Very informative and that area was spotless.    To read more about their history, their philosophy and their family check them out at http://www.fromtheboscfamily.com/chateau-des-charmes  Below is an exert I borrowed to show you the integrity of the operation.  Can you tell I was impressed?

"Château des Charmes was founded in 1978 by Paul Bosc, a fifth generation French winegrower. Paul and his young family arrived in Niagara in the 1960’s with the idea that growing our own grapes was the best way to make fine wine. More than ever, we believe in this Estate Winery model and we make our wine only from grapes we’ve grown ourselves."

Our Menu for lunch and a glimpse of what I was in the middle of eating:

WINES

Sauvignon Blanc, Estate Grown & Bottled

Rose, Cuvee d'Andree, Estate Grown and Bottled

Cabernet Franc, Estate Grown & Bottled

Vidal Icewine, Estate Bottled

SALADS

Organic Field Greens, Late Harvest & Vidalia Vinaigrette

Roasted New Potato Salad, Crisp Pancetta Candied Onions &

Crunchy Mustard Emulsion

SANDWICHES

Maple Honey Baked Ham, Tender Lettuces & Grainy

Mustard Mayonnaise

White Meadows Maple Roasted Chicken, Cured Tomato &

Thyme Aioli

Grilled and Marinated Niagara Vegetables, Baby Spinach &

Hummus

Rosemary Roast Beef, Sweet Horseradish Aioli & Peppery

Lettuces

DESSERT

Selection of pastries from Queen's Landing Pastry Chef

Did you notice Icewine on that menu!!!  Finally I got to taste it...a bit sweet for my liking, but I could take it as a cordial more than a wine.

OK, sorry about that....back to working on Henry Ford Museum pictures and sailing into Windsor, Ontario. 

To get here we sailed from Toronto across Lake Ontario through the Welland Locks to Port Colbourne and then through Lake Erie to the Detroit River to Windsor.  Dang, I'm good.  We did stop at Windsor across the river from Detroit so the custom agents could earn their keep another day.

There was a moment in time when I wasn't sure I would make it to Detroit.  Nahh, Captain Kerr got us there safely but.....

Went up on deck to have breakfast and watch the world go by (one of my favorite things in the world to do) and saw this baby coming at us.

Loved that it was getting so close (see the little black spot in the bottom right corner?  That's the railing on our ship).  All excited that I was that near to the "Queen of the Lakes".  She is the longest of all the vessels on the Great Lakes at 1,013' 6" long.  She is so long that she had to be built in two parts.  Read about her at http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/prtrgrth.htm

When it got this close (admit to some cropping but still) it decided to tell little ole me standing on the upper deck "hello" with a good sized toot.  Not nice to do to a little old lady with only one cup of coffee in her.  So I sent him on his way with a finger wag.

The Detroit skyline...duh, bet you could have figured that one out yourself.

Heading up the river enjoying the beautiful scenery.

What is going on here???????????

ahhhhh....just a condominium for Cormorants (I think that is what they were)

Lots of fishermen out this morning.

More pretty scenery

Had to laugh at this guy hauling his lunch, a fish as big as he was, with him.  He would swim/float for a bit and then stop and get a bite and then float some more.  I just hope he wasn't tangled in a fishing line.

Of course everyone should have their personal lighthouse for safety...right?

FINALLY!!!!!!  I found some rust to photograph  Ahhhhh, all is right in my world.

Coming out of the customs checkpoint into Detroit from Windsor this is one of the first sights you see.  It is the Old Mariner's Church.  in 1818 Julia Anderson came to the area with her husband, a military man and stayed until her death.  During her life time she saw the area grow especially with seamen coming to work on the Great Lakes.  Unfortunately, those seamen were treated like yesterday's garbage even in church.  In 1842 Mrs. Anderson died and  willed “lot on the corner of Woodward Avenue and Woodbridge Street in Detroit become “a site for a Mariners’ Church…” She also specified that it be a stone church (built for the ages), with “forever free” pews so that mariners would not have to be relegated to the back.  It was one of the stops on the Underground Railroad; in order to pay the bills since sailors couldn't sustain the building they rented the lower levels to various enterprises; and the church was able to continue to serve the mariners in the area.

During Detroit's revitalization movement in 1955 there was talk of tearing it down.  Nope, the citizens were not going to have that so their answer was to move it.  The 3000 ton building was moved 900 feet to what was at one time the location of the old Indian Council house.  All so a civic center could be built. 

Lots more interesting history can be found at http://marinerschurchofdetroit.org/history/

Thank you Wikipedia

The Mariner's Church was mentioned in the Gordon Lightfoot ballad about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, remarkably title "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

The Edmund Fitzgerald was an iron hauler.  Taking iron pellets from mines near Duluth and transporting the iron to Detroit steel mills. On November 10, 1975 the ship sank taking with it all of the 29 crewmen whose bodies were never found.  

So on we went heading to the Henry Ford Museum with a bit of look-see along the way.  Of course we are in Detroit, so car manufacturing is a big deal.  Now how do you figure out what to change on a future car if it never drives under normal conditions?  Well, you haul down the street in your prototype the competition is going to be all over their cell phones snapping pictures and tweaking their prototypes.  So what do you do???  You put a slipcover on it and drive along with the other traffic.  Problem solved.  Not to be picky but seriously this looks like my car if you dressed it.  Wonder what they are hiding under there?

Bear with me here...as so often happens on a bus tour the guide will point something out and you will be long gone before you can focus on what he is saying, what he is pointing to, and your brain is missing half of what he is saying.  However, I do know that one of the white buildings in this photograph is where Rosa Parks spent her remaining years.  Sorry I can't pin point it down more than that.

 Approaching the museum - notice 2 of the 50,000 school buses that were there that day?
In all honesty the children were well behaved for the most part, I only smacked a dozen or so of them.

I came to The Henry Ford for three exhibits but got to see much much more than that.  The first thing I saw, and how could you miss it, was the Weinermobile.  "Oh I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner that is what I truly wish to be....."  Crummy picture (just pretend I burned the ends) but proof I saw it.

I was married to a pilot who was also quite capable of spreading a bit of manure, especially about his long lost Native American Grandpappy, Chief Somebody or the other.  (rolling eyes)  So for you, my dear, this manure spreader should make it easier for you.

Made abut 1905 by International Harvester

Mail call

What is difficult to read in the red square is "American Railway Express".  Back in the old days, the planes flew VFR (visual flight regulations) meaning they had to be able to see where they were going and not rely on instruments to get them there.  That was not always possible so this company worked in conjunction with the railroads and if the goods or mail couldn't be flown it went by train until it could be.  The big brown truck took over the ground delivery business and FeddyX took the air away from ARE in 1975 when it declared bankruptcy. 

Another power house of the aviation world was the Douglas DC-3

The Ford demonstrates the length of the Wright Brothers flight quite well for me who is terrible at judging distances.  The little round plaque is the beginning or "wheels up" and the people in the distance are at the end of the flight.

OK, obligatory nod to Walt done.  On to the first of the exhibits I came to see.

Rosa Parks bus.  When the incident occurred where Ms. Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, she was actually in seats assigned for the African American population.  However, if the bus filled up and there were no seats available for a white person then an African American was required to relinquish their seat.  That day Ms. Parks was tired, exhausted tired after working all day.  She just wanted to sit and refused to give up her seat and she was arrested for civil disobedience.  So the story goes, however I would be remiss if I didn't tell you she was very much an activist in the civil rights movement working along with Martin Luther King and others as well as being the secretary of the NAACP in Montgomery.  She remained a staunch supporter of civil rights until her death in 2005.

The Henry Ford had automobiles, who would have thunk?

This is THE 1949 Ford.  I say THE because my brother had one and I have not so fond memories of he and his buddy, John, staring into the open hood and taking time to spit occasionally.  Not sure if Jim's ever ran but he sure did enjoy it.

Everything about this car was redesigned except for the engine.  Ford continued to use the pre-war V8 engine design until 1953.  The car was roomier, sleeker, and had more trunk room making it a good family car that was able to tow a boat or a camper easily.

Who remembers Bing Crosby singing

"Come away with me, Lucille,

In my merry Oldsmobile.
Down the road of life we fly,
Automo-bubbling, you and I."

Well here she is, the Merry Oldsmobile 1903 model.  Oldsmobile was the best selling car from 1903 to 1905 but just a fun fact - in 1903 4000 people bought Oldsmobiles and 900,000 people bought buggies and carraiges.   One of their advertisements touted that it only cost 3/8 of a cent to drive an Olds. 

LaSalle - manufactured by GM's Cadillac Division from 1927 - 1940.

And that brings us to #2 of the three things I came to see.  The car President John Kennedy was in when he was assassinated.  I need say no more.

There is more to The Henry Ford than things designed to make man's life easier like planes, trains, and automobiles - not to mention the manure spreader.  There is also a separate section that house glass works...beautiful glasswork of all sorts.  The first reminds me of Chihuly but not sure if it is one of his or one of his students.  So enjoy.

Glass Beaded

The last one is, I believe, one of Jack Storm's.  If you haven't seen him demonstrate his technique on a YouTube video please please take 3 minutes to view this...it is fascinating!  The spotlight dots are not part of his work, just the joy of shooting in a museum setting.

Lastly, the main thing I wanted to see at The Henry Ford - the chair Lincoln was assassinated in at the Ford Theater.  Sort of grim but a part of our history.

The stain at the top of the chair is not blood, actually the bullet used did not cause lots of bleeding.  The stain is in fact hair oil.  Once upon a time this chair was in the Smithsonian and stored in the basement (so the story goes) and the night watchman would sit it in to take a break.  The hair oil is his.  Just repeating what I was told.

Time to head back to the ship for my food, more laughs, and more wine.  Great day in Dearborn!

Looked across the river at Windsor and saw this industrial area - how pretty is that?

Sailing away through Lake Huron heading to Parry Sound.

Think this place might have a few whispers?????

Check back in a few days and find out why I stayed on the bus!