It was a cold opening day in downtown Detroit, but the fans and the win made it a little warmer inside my heart. I was able to venture downtown to witness the craziness that surrounds the holiday of Tigers Opening Day.
I will admit that I did not get up and head down early like I planned. In fact I was driving through downtown trying to find a (free) parking space around first pitch time. I would usually have parked at the Greektown Casino but the line was long and only one of the structures was open. Instead I went a little further out of the way to the Eastern Market parking (which is also free) and walked a little further towards Comerica. While driving around I did get a lot a few pictures of just how crazy some of the sights were, and how expensive parking near Comerica was. Do the prices change on opening day? In front of the ballpark was almost like a state fair atmosphere with booths, vendors, food and activities.
After parking I walked about 10 minutes back into the Foxtown area and the ballpark down Brush St. to the Ellwood Bar. It looked as though my chances of getting in to the park, not to mention a fine dining establishment while the game was going was very slim. Other places I tried to get in were the Old Shillelagh and Cheli's Chili. For a moment I thought about joining some fans trying to climb the fence for a peek, but decided against it.
Luckily during about the fourth inning I wondered into a place called Shotz at Greektown where I met my brother and some of his friends. It was still extremely hard to get a beer if you did not have a seat at the bar but I could tell the staff was working as hard as they could given the circumstances. The word around was that if you had a waitress it could take 1 hour to get food! I will say they had ample standing room and plenty of TV's to catch the opening day action.
If I had to do it again I would definitely get downtown earlier to stake out a seat or seats before the game started. I would also like to get actual tickets to the game but don't want to pay inflated food and beverage prices inside Comerica.
On Saturday night I was priviledged enough to visit two local establishments in Ferndale for a first time and was not surprised that both impressed me with their atmosphere and service.
Let me first say it was a birthday party group, but we did not have reservations at either establishment, nor do I think they take reservations. Both are located on Woodward in Ferndale but have distinctly different characteristics.
First stop The Emory. Named after a Toledo, OH. farmer, Emory Johnson, it features hardwood decorations harvested from the farm it was named after. It also incorporates many of the old materials gutted from the building during it's construction. The recycling program is also a proud point for the purveyors of this find establishment. It is funded by the restaurant and provides funds for the city of Ferndale. Their pick-up/delivery vehicle runs on alternative fuel too! Seems as though The Emory is doing their part for a greener Earth and I am proud to support a Michigan business like that.
I did not get to sample the food but checked the menu online and it looks like regular bar food... burgers, pizza, salads, sandwiches, appetizers and sides. They also offer breakfast Saturday and Sunday mornings 9-2pm. Right now they are running a Tuesday special, burger and fries for $5. For those of you night owls The Emory is open till 2am on the weekends and offers a full service bar with pool tables and a wicked juke box (Springsteen, The Killers and Hall and Oates).
Second stop Sneakers Pub. Although Sneakers does not have a website detailing their history or menu I will take a shot at this one. Deep, dark and old school. Call it a dive, a hole in the wall, a locals spot, a beer joint, it's great.
Greeted up front with a looong bar and plenty of beers on tap including Pabst. As you move back toward the stage... yes a stage, there are a few tables and chairs set up so that you can watch karaoke... yes karaoke. And it was in full swing Saturday night. Everyone and their sister was doing karaoke and loving it. Songs I heard included "I like Big Butts", "Afternoon Delight"(performed that one), and "Don't look Back in Anger" (actually performed by a british guy that was raising awareness of karate kicks).
Great night supporting local Ferndale establishments that I will for sure go back to. Plus a late night pizza from Como's in Ferndale. They are open till 4am!
As the sun breaks and the snow melts now is the time to break the seal on your cabin door and head out into the wilderness and do some hiking. That is exactly what I plan to do this spring with a trip to Moab, Utah and a visit to Arches National Park in the high Utah desert. But you don't have to travel across the country to enjoy the outdoors. There are plenty of ways to get your hiking fix here in the Detroit area.
I got on the website Trails.com and looked up hiking in Southeast Michigan and the Detroit Area and the site brought up a map that highlighted all the trails in my area. From here I checked the websites of the ones I was interested in to find out more. Trails.com gives the name, length and location of the trail on an easy to read map. It also offers a short description of each trail and some helpful tips. I looked at three hikes that vary in location and length.
1. Paint Creek Trail - length 8.9 miles, location - Rochester Hills - This trail is a hike through northern Oakland County that passes a local cider mill. It was the first Rail-to-Trail conversion in Michigan.
2. Island Lake Recreation Area - length 12 miles, location - Brighton - This recreation area has two hiking loop trails that total 12 miles. If you want to extend your stay there are campsites but the trails are pretty easy. Island Lake also offers canoe rentals (we've done this before), a shooting range and picnic facilities.
3. Proud Lake Recreation Area - length 21 miles, location - Commerce Township - This park offers 21 miles of trails and is the premier hiking destination in the Detroit area. They also offer canoe and boat rentals along with biking trails. If you want to make a weekend out of it there are two campsites one more rustic than the other.
I caught the hiking bug in college but have not been in a long while. My wife and I are just getting back in to hiking and backpacking (camping along the trail for multiple days). Along with these local trails my backpacking wish list also includes Isle Royal National Park and the Porcupine Mountains in the U.P. If you are also interested in getting outdoors this spring and summer checkout Hiking Michigan, a free hiking club that offers info on group hikes, classes, camping, canoeing, kayaking and almost everything you need to know to get outdoors.
