What is there to do in Detroit, MI?

Outside of the many hours that were spent doing research at Wayne State, what else did I do? Well, on my first weekend in Detroit, Benessa (my fellow CRA participant), her roommate, Myah, and I all went over to Canada! We had never been before, and the city of Windsor wasn't that different from the States, or at least that's what I thought. But, here are a few pictures of us as we walked along the Detroit River and enjoyed the many sculptures that were in the park.

Here I am in Canada- with the Ambassadors Bridge behind me!

Here is Benessa and Myah in Canada... look, in the background, that's Detroit with the GM building!

Here I am with the giant chicken made of wire and the big stone egg, over in the park in Canada.

Here are Benessa and Myah again with the penguins in the middle of the park!

I was very fortunate in my assignment to be here at Wayne State, in Detroit, Michigan, because I have family up here. So, I was able to spend a lot of time with them at their houses on the weekends and on a few nights during the week. They were also helpful in knowing where to go to shopping for groceries, where a Wal-Mart was located, a good mall, and other sorts of information about what there is to do in Detroit.

Here is my Aunt Karen, and my cousins Donovan and Davina

Here is a picture of my grandma and me at my cousins house

Here is my cousin Davina, and the next picture is of her little girl...

Breyana. Isn't she the cutest?

One weekend, my friend Megan who lives in Buffalo, NY, came over to pick me up and take me to Traverse City with her and her family. The scenery was beautiful. The woods, the lake, the clear sky! :) I got there on Thursday afternoon, and almost as soon as we arrived, we left to go to the "cliff." The cliff is about 450 feet tall, and has an almost vertical drop, completely composed of sand and rocks. Going down is a blast- if you can avoid the rocks! But, going up... that's a whole different story. Luckily me, we had taken two cars, and so only one of the adults had to climb back up the cliff to get the car and the others could walk around to the other car. I chose the latter, and got to walk along Lake Michigan and talk with Joan and Matt (Megan's mom and brother). By the time we arrived back at their lake home, it was just about time for dinner, and I got to meet some of their extended family and family friends. Friday was yet another adventure, in which we went to one of the rivers and rented some canoes and rowed down the river. That was definitely an adventure. At one point, the canoe I was in, the front got a little too close to a tree, and since I was sitting in the front, I had a split second to lie back as far as could, so that the tree wouldn't take me out! Once out of danger of that tree, the rest of the ride went pretty smoothly for me, no other major incidents to report on. Just a lot of beautiful scenery and sunshine to give me a tan! That night, it was Megan's family's turn to make dinner-- lasagna all around for the 28 people who were there at the time! Plus... I think there were an additional nine or ten dogs! It was quite a busy house. Saturday began with another outing, this time we went up to Leeland, a nearby, old, fishing town, where we bought the makings of a picnic lunch which consisted of smoked fish, cheese, bread, sparkling juice and fudge! :) We then went out to the beach, ate our lunch, and I just laid out and soaked in all the sun I could! The next day, Sunday, we actually went into Traverse City, and I was able to buy a bit of fudge to take back with me, and we did a lot of window shopping. That evening, as it was approaching the time to leave, Megan and I decided to spend one more night, and just leave early in the morning so that I could be back at work the next day. We mainly decided this so that we could spend some more time with her cousins Trisa and Hailey, and her aunt Lindsay. It was a very fun weekend up in Traverse City- I only wish I had some pictures to share the beauty of the area, but since we had done so many activities near the water, I didn't bring my camera with me.

What else did I do while I was up here in Michigan? Well, not a lot really. I spent a lot of time in my apartment reading, but I did go home for my friends' wedding in the end of July, since I was a bridesmaid! That weekend was fun, but it was also very surreal. I arrived in Kansas City on Thursday afternoon, and so did Ray, one of my best friends. That night we didn't do much, but it was just the calm before the storm. Since on Friday morning, I had to be up that morning to go get a manicure and pedicure with the rest of the bridal party (very, very relaxing and nice, I must add.) Afterwards, Katy (another bridesmaid who I have known since high school) and I went to buy Rachel (the bride) a wedding present. After the shopping was complete, Ray and I went out to lunch at Sonic, there are no Sonic's here in Detroit, so it was one thing that I was really wanting to do while I was home. After lunch, we just hung out for a little while and messed around on my laptop (he's a Computer Engineering major at the University of Arizona). Then, it was time to get ready for the rehearsal and the dinner that followed. The rehearsal went well, lots of laughs as we were going through what would happen the next day, and then dinner was at Jack Stacks Barbeque. It was the nicest Barbeque. that I have ever been to! And then that night, all the bridesmaids spent the night at Rachels' house. Then when we woke up- it was to the smell of bacon and eggs being prepared for us by her parents. After breakfast was over, we went to the Beauty Brands to go have our hair done and then it was onto the church to finish getting ready and have pictures taken. The wedding was very nice, as was the reception that followed. One of the best parts- the Navigator Limo which took us from the church to the reception at a nearby hotel! The reception was a lot of fun- AJ the DJ was great! He really knew how get the people involved and dancing!

This is Ashley, Me, Katy and Jen waiting at the Alter for Amanda (the maid of honor) and of course, Rachel to arrive at the front of the church so the ceremony can really begin!

Here's a picture of Steve and Rachel as they are wandering around the reception talking with everyone who came to support them on their wedding day.

Here's Bobby, Steve's friend, who I was paired up with in the bridal party, and I as we dance our way down the dance floor during the bridal party dance.

And we can't forget when Katy and Josh went down the dance floor doing the wheelbarrow!

Look at the cute couple dancing their first dance together as a married couple!

It's still surreal that Rachel's married though. Sunday, Ray and I went out to lunch and then with hung out for a just a little bit before it was time to head back to the airport to come on back to Detroit for me, and Phoenix for him.

One last thing that I did while I was in Detroit, on the Wednesday before I left, my friends' uncle and his two kids took me out for a night on the town! I had meet them when I was in Traverse City with Megan, and when he learned that I had been in Detroit all summer, and had done hardly anything in town, he told me that he would like to take me out one night with his family, so I could experience a taste of downtown Detroit. We went down to Greek town, a corner in Detroit which has all sorts of Greek restraunts and shops (along with the Greek Casino). We had dinner in Greek Town, and then after my first experience of real greek food, we took a walk through the city and went down to the river front and saw Canada. Then, we walked over the GM building and took a walk around there, looking at all the cars, both old and new. By that time, it was starting to get dark, and I still had packing that I was needing to get a start on, so they dropped me back off at my apartment. It was a great night, learning all about the city and being able to get a taste of what downtown life could be like.