Great North July Fourth

2 years ago for the Fourth of July holiday I did a whirlwind trip to Northern Michigan in 4 days. When I found out that our company was giving us an entire week off this year, I immediately thought that’s where I wanted to go back to (as I didn’t want to venture into Northern Minnesota in the winter). Dad and Don gave me the idea to rent a car for the trip and save old Grey Rock the trouble. I was resistant because I love my car and she has been with me on most every roadtrip and I know just where everything fits. Plus renting a car costs money and that is not something I part with lightly. But the seed of doubt was in my head so I booked a car and ended up with a Chevy Captiva. I was doubtful as I like trunks and not hatchbacks but she quickly won me over with her leather seats, back up camera, sunroof, and other plush amenities. I set off Saturday morning in Captiva and headed west to Marblehead State Park in Ohio. 

There is a lighthouse there and across the water you can see Cedar Point (the famous amusement park). It was a nice spot to get out and stretch my legs. My ultimate Ohio destination was Perry’s International Peace Memorial on Put In Bay Island. It is the only international peace memorial and the last NPS site I had to hit in Ohio. I had originally planned just to view it from shore but my conscious stabbed that it was cheating so I boarded the ferry to Put in Bay island. You can drive there but the island is overrun with golf carts (and roads not designed to hold both) so I caught the bus from the ferry drop point to downtown. The memorial is in honor of Commodore Perry and commemorates the War of 1812.

 It is 352 feet high and you usually can climb it but it is currently undergoing renovation so I just walked around the base. I also checked out the main thoroughfare in downtown Put in Bay but it didn’t appeal to me so I hopped back on the bus to take the ferry back. 

I wanted to get to River Raisin National Battlefield Park before the visitor center closed at 5. I crossed over into Michigan and pulled up to the visitor center at 4:45. I grabbed a few postcards and wandered around the reenactment that was outside. Apparently there was a celebration that day and a military band had performed but they were closing down for the day. River Raisin is one of the newest units of the NPS and was only established in 2010. It is still under development but there were some interpretive signs. 

I think it will be really cool to come back in the future and see what it has turned into. It’s so exciting to visit such a new NPS unit. The battle cry after this battle was Remember the Raisin! As the British Indiana allies had slaughtered the American prisoners the day after they had surrendered. Today was such an interesting day because the places I visited focused on the War of 1812 which I really only remember the name of but no details. That’s why I love national parks. My campground was right down the road and located right on the River Raisin. I settled in for the night and tried to imagine how the river looked to the soldiers who fought in the battle.

The next day I woke up bright and early and it was already in the 70s. I headed out to the Navarre Andersen trading post which is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest woodedn structure in Michigan. It looked like any old house to me but I appreciate a historic structure. 

I also checked out the Custer statue as Custer was married in Monroe. 

And a historic Catholic church

But my favorite thing in Monroe, MI is the Rotary park. They have an amazing wooden playground! My elementary school had a wooden playground and it got torn down when I was in high school. The only other time I’d seen a wooden playground was in San Antonio so I pulled over and happily reminisced about my childhood (although this playground was set in mulch while ours consisted of gravel). It’s so disturbing that so few wooden playgrounds exist anymore. What kid can’t handle a few splinters every now and then!?

 I played around for about a half hour on that playground and nearly threw up after winging myself around the tire swing. It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning. After that trip down memory lane I turned on my Motown Music and headed into Detroit. I drove past the GM headquarters and then trolled up Woodward Avenue which is an All American road.

 When I had researched it online it seemed like it would be packed full of historic stuff and I guess it was but I was looking for signage and I didn’t see any. I plugged a few addresses into Jack and he took me to abandoned parking lots and dead end streets with derelict warehouses so I decided I had seen enough “history” and headed west again.