Here's my record of what I did yesterday in Detroit:
I waited for Randy to come back on his lunch break (which he told me would be around 11-ish). I had set the alarm for 10:30AM, but I couldn't get back to sleep, so I started reading the business section of USA Today, that we got each day, in the nice lounge chair in our room. I took a shower, a cold one, to help wake me up, but I still had that lagging achiness (I couldn't imagine how tired my friend must have been). This trip, and the lack of genuine sleep we hadn't gotten all week, was taking a toll on Randy and I.
I watched some TV and waited for him to show up. He didn't get to the room until almost 12PM, because he was let out late. We used the GPS phone to find out how to get to the Henry Ford Museum, but we knew it was going to take longer than we had anticipated and Randy would most likely be late getting back to his training. On the Oakwood St., about 2 blocks away from the museum, we saw 2 Ford GTs (pretty much the only Ford car I really car about). Anyone who knows me, knows that when I see a nice car like that, which I've never actually seen in person, only in videogames and pictures, I flip out. I yelled, "There's a Ford GT!" The first one was coming out of a parking lot and was red with white stripes. Then, just a little further down the road, a yellow with black stripes GT was just taking off from a red light. It was first in line and took off at an amazing pace, with an audible roar. I was shocked to see not one, but two. It made some sense to see them this close to the factory, though. Still, I was overjoyed just to have seen them. :)
When I got let out in front of the IMAX theatre that was a part of "The Henry Ford" (I still don't know why they call it that), I admired the exterior of the building (which was erected ~1929). I tried to snap off a quick shot, but my stupid camera has trouble with white balance and I had to swap out my old batteries.
After I got inside, I got my ticket. I was upset about the price, which was $14 PLUS $5 parking (even though I didn't even park; what a freakin' rip-off), but on the website was only $13. I only had a $20 bill, barely enough for admission alone.
I started down this 'road' that was painted on the floor and set off into the 100 years of Automobiles exhibit first. I passed by the car where JFK was assassinated, and several presidential automobiles. They had so many old cars all set up as a physical timeline with info and memorabilia in glass cases that you could read and look at. They had even had a Cadillac model from early in the 20th Century that was the first to feature the electric automatic self-starter, which was invented by Charles F. Kettering from Dayton, Ohio, who also started Delco. They had a photo of him testing it out and a copy of the original design sketch.
In fact they had so much to do and see there, that I was a bit overwhelmed and worried that I might run out of time and miss my 3 o’clock meet-up time when Randy was supposed to show up and pick me up.
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