Lots of Couples Getting Their Vitamin Z's

Steve and I went to the Detroit Zoo on Monday.  He needs to build up his stamina after his surgery and the new geocaches were out.

It seems like everyone and everything had a buddy with them!  Lots of pairs!

Maybe you should grab a buddy for a visit?

Scott Fountain - Belle Isle

Ok, my friends.  I won't deny it.  After such a brutal winter and then a loved one's health scare, I spent the weekend outside sightseeing, barbecuing, and geocaching.  It was the perfect holiday weekend!

As some of you may know, I've written tons of posts about Belle Isle over the last few years.  It's a true gem in the Detroit River, and now it's Michigan's 102nd State Park.  I have probably visited monthly for the last decade - all seasons - and have read books and articles voraciously.  One of the joys of "state parkhood" is the time and money being invested to clean up and repair many of famous structures on Belle Isle.

A few weeks ago I shared some pictures of the fabulous Scott Fountain on this blog.  James Scott was a famous, lazy, womanizing scoundrel (Detroit loves its bad boys!) who cheated men, used woman, and had an all-around good time while alive.  When he died, he left his estate to the City of Detroit to build a fountain on Belle Isle.  The catch?  They had to erect a life-size statue of him overlooking the fountain and facing the Detroit skyline!

James Scott seated on the left side

This I knew.  BEAUTIFUL fountain!  And with the DNR running the Isle, many of my generation (and older) are seeing the fountain - all three levels - running for the first time.

Level One

Level Two

Level Three

Here's a picture my sister took when she and my Dad visited the fountain.  My father had never seen the entire fountain running! And he grew up within a few miles of Belle Isle!

Source: Lorna Hadley

Imagine my surprise when I read an article that the fountain lights up at night!  No!  Really?!?!? Never, ever, ever knew that.  So, the moment Steve felt well enough to travel, we went down to see for ourselves.  Here's our photos from Thursday:
 

 

If you get a chance, it's worth a visit.  The Fountain will run 24/7 all summer, and the lights kick on around 9pm!  

This was a great way to kickoff a red, white and blue weekend!

Detroit Beauty and "Irony"?

I've spent many hours this weekend on my sister's butterfly quilt - about a half day Saturday and Sunday.  And the other half?  I explored Detroit!

Yesterday was fabulous!  Lorna and I spent Saturday afternoon on Belle Isle. This was the first time that I've ever seen all 3 levels of the Scott fountain running!  Gorgeous!  Afterwards, we visited the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory and lunched at Slow's.

Today was an adventure to the Heidelberg Project.  The Heidelberg Project is an Urban art museum, created in 1986, that uses household objects to create conversation pieces.  It makes you think.

And one of my favorite parts of it?  The use of an ironing board in one of the exhibits:

And back to the ironing board I go.....

Belle Isle Sunsets

I had the most amazing time on Belle Isle with Steve tonight. It really felt like Spring so we walked around both ends of the Isle and enjoyed the sunset near the old water slides.

Grabbing Some Vitamin D and Z!

Guess where I went yesterday?  LOVE the Detroit Zoological Gardens, and it's only a mile from my house! My sister and I spent about four hours walking around the park, and all the animals were out!  The weather was a little brisk but the sun was out!

I'm really looking forward to the Zoo in Spring!

Happy Birthday Adventure!

A week ago today was my 44th birthday.  And, as tradition would have it, my sister and I spent the day exploring parts of Michigan, laughing and snapping pictures.

I thought I'd share the wonderful adventure she executed.  It was fabulous!  I had the hardest time narrowing down the pictures to share with you.

Hamtramck Disneyland

Hamtramck Disneyland

Heidelberg Project - is this the house that burned down days later?

Heidelberg Project - the Birthday House.  Fitting, isn't it?

I love the Dog House

Then we headed North.  Lunch at Max & Erma's near Oakland University and then onto the house tour at Meadowbrook.

Then off to Meadowbrook for the house tour!

Meadowbrook - fabulous house and fascinating history

VERY bright (and cold) day - hard to take good pictures

Built 1927

Lorna crossing the bridge to Meadowbrook

Pegasus in the Meadowbrook Garden

After Meadowbrook, we cruised North down very snowy roads. It's "horse country" past Oxford, into Metamora, and on to LaPeer.  In addition, as we rounded the corner we came across a group of wild turkeys!

Dancing in LaPeer

LaPeer - one of 10 oldest continually run courthouses

This is a Virtual cache in LaPeer

Our final stop was Frankenmuth. Lovely at night, streets lined with snow.  Being so cold and a little late, there were only four other parties in the main dining room at Zehnder's.  We need to bring the family back in the Spring.

My fabulous sister, Lorna

Not the best picture but we were tired, hungry, and very happy.

Little Sister is always stealing from my plate!

It was a glorious day.  We decided, in addition to our birthdays (in cold November and March) that this year we'd take an adventure on our Un-birthdays (July 12th) and enjoy an adventure in the warmth!  Grand Rapids this year!