a trip to detroit

it’s been over a year since i’ve seen my dear friend in detroit, so when a four day weekend appeared in my schedule and round trip train tickets were discovered to be only $131 (including an upgrade to business class for one leg of the trip), i jumped at the chance.  the trip actually started with a bus ride where i discovered that the wheels on the bus song is true!  i noticed that the wipers on the bus were going ‘swish, swish, swish’ and that later the horn went ‘beep, beep, beep’ and the children’s librarian in me had to giggle to myself.

the photo at the top of this entry is from chicago’s union station.  most of the train station is pretty depressing, standard mass transit fare–low ceilings, insufficient lighting, rushing crowds and cramped escalators.  but then there’s this great hall with soaring ceilings and wooden benches like pews and a relative hush.  granted, this is also the area where the unhoused take peaceful naps and hucksters ask you if you can spare a dollar or two so that they can buy a train ticket, but i still find the atmosphere so calming that i’d much rather hang out in this space than anywhere else in union station.

i find something charming about eating paper-wrapped sandwiches on a train, so i bought lunch at the train station, but waited until i was on the train to eat it.  it was actually surprisingly tasty for “food court food.”  and i made an impulse purchase at the sandwich shop that turned out to be the best decision of the whole trip:

this tub of jelly bellys (only 89 cents!) lasted me all the way there and all the way home.  it may become a travel tradition.  i mean, i got that fuzzy teeth feeling, but the variety of flavors kept me from popping them all into my mouth in giant handfuls and kept my tastebuds entertained.  my brain was kept entertained by reading the most recent popular vampire romance teen novel.

when i arrived, we enjoyed dinner at a local brasserie, then drove home and tumbled into sleep.

the next morning, we visited the local farmer’s market.

i couldn’t resist the hotdogs as soon as i saw they offered sauerkraut as a topping!

remember this baby?  he grew up a little.

and he got a little brother (whom he lovingly calls, “labula” or sometimes, “bulabula.”)

(does that quilt look familiar?)

later that day, we took the kids out trick-or-treating at some of the local businesses.  the two-year-old went as a devil.

at first, he didn’t really know what was going on.  he didn’t want to wear the horns and he didn’t want to carry his treat bag.  after two stores, he was running ahead of his parents, bag in tow.  although sometimes the handles got frustrating:

the other boy zonked out pretty quickly and missed out on the candy.

that evening, i had the distinct pleasure of meeting rebekah–my first blog-to-real-life friend!  we met for dinner at cafe habana for some really delicious cuban food, then we went to the creative arts studio for some fun “adult night” crafting.  i had some trouble deciding which craft to try out, but in the end, i chose to do some more glass fusing (i’m an addict!)

rebekah chose to paint this great mug.  apparently, when after it’s fired, it won’t be red at all!

my other friend, anna, couldn’t decide what craft to do, so i loaned her my camera to play with and she got some great shots around the studio.  this was my favorite:

“after”photos are available here (thanks, rebekah!).  i had so much fun meeting rebekah.  i was a little nervous beforehand, but it turns out that there’s something comfortable about meeting someone whose blog you’ve read for awhile–you already know some of the things they like to do and the conversation can skip right past small talk and dive right into discussions of things you know they’re currently working on (thanks for the free-motion quilting tips and hints!  i love the way your common threads quilt turned out.)

sunday was a lovely cozy day at home.  we made beef stew and homemade bread.  in the afternoon, anna ran out to buy a few groceries for dinner and on the way home, she saw that one of the houses she had been keeping an eye on had an open house.  she stopped and had to go in and … she fell in love.  as soon as she got home, she told me about it and i walked over to the house and took lots of photos.  since i don’t know if she’ll actually get the house, i’ll just post this one:

lots of really great architectural details!

we stayed up late each night, chatting and catching up.  what a treat!

the next morning, it was time to head home.  i love that train travel is so unfettered.  the location where i caught the train didn’t even really have a station–just a sidewalk and a small shelter (like a nice bus stop).  you wait there for the train and when it stops, a train employee hops out, puts out a stepping stool and calls for people to board.  they don’t even check your ticket until the train is on its way again.  i splurged (all of $13!) to sit in business class on the way home to see if it was any better.  here’s the scoop about the perks of business class on amtrak:

1.  more foot room and recliner-like leg rests and seats that recline further than in coach.

(i brought slippers to wear on the train.  comfy!)

2.  unlimited free coffee, hot chocolate, and hot tea, plus one free soft drink.

this hot chocolate, while made from a simple powder-in-a-packet mix, was mixed in the most theatrical manner i’ve ever seen.  he poured it rapidly from cup-to-cup until it was sufficiently mixed–reminded me of an energetic bartender–only with hot chocolate.  here’s a photo of hank, the cafe master:

3.  free copies of the new york times (no photo–i didn’t really read mine).

4.  electrical outlets for each passenger.  i was able to re-charge my phone and work on my laptop freely.  coach also has some outlets, but maybe not as many.

another thing i love about train travel is the scenery–quaint train stations (have you ever seen a quaint airport?  i think that might worry me in air travel…)

the grey clouds just made my train ride seem all the more cozy.  beautiful fall scenery rushed past my window.

one more silly photo–i loved the train’s “symbol” for soap!

hmmm…. looks like needlepoint inspiration to me!