Detroit, MI & A big surprise

It was stressful to get our trailer on the truck and everything retracted because we were having so much trouble with our power by this time.  In the morning I offered a fervent prayer that we would be able to get the help we needed for the trailer.  As we set off for Detroit I went to a website recommended by the last tech that worked on the trailer and found some mobile RV techs that appeared to work the area we were heading to.  I sent messages to two of them and heard right back from one of them and he said he could meet us at the park when we arrived!  The trip to the Wayne County Fairgrounds & RV park were relatively uneventful.  Sure enough, when we arrived the tech showed up about 10 minutes later.  In about 30 minutes he had found the problem PLUS he had a replacement for the bad part in his truck.  This was SUCH a miracle for us, another miracle as promised in the father’s blessing I received prior to leaving on this trip.  I can’t express the gratitude I felt for this miracle.  The problem was a bad switch.  Amazing that such a small thing caused such big trouble.  After the fix, all trailer systems worked perfectly.  By the time we were fully set up it was past dinner time.  I told Will to find us a good restaurant and he did.  If you ever find yourself in Belleville, Michigan try Rusted Crows!  After dinner I got the laundry done in the immaculate laundry room and finally fell into bed.

The reason we came to this area was that many years ago I travelled there for an IAFP tradeshow and found myself in the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village.  I thought it was a great place to go back to at some point.  I had to do quite a bit of Addium work in the morning so we didn’t head out until early afternoon.  I was so excited to find that they still had tickets to their Salute to America in Greenfield Village with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra available for that night (July 3rd).  They were sold out for the 4th (and as it turned out the third was a WAY better night as those who came on the 4th would have gotten soaked!!!)  We enjoyed the museum until it closed at 5 and then it was time to go into the celebration.  We saw some really fun stuff in the museum including some early signage for fast food (part of car culture), several presidential limos, the actual bus where Rosa Parks started the bus boycott, the camp bed and mess kit of George Washington, the chair Abraham Lincoln was sitting in when he was shot and then a whole room full of Hallmark ornaments.  Hallmark ornaments are special to us because Grandma Jolley gave us several of them.  We saw some of ours among the collection.  I am really glad that our instructions for the Salute to American said we should bring a wagon and chairs.  We got ours out of the car and headed into Greenfield Village.  We got our chairs set up in the area where the concert would be held and headed out to find food.  It is never an easy thing to find something Zina will eat so we didn’t end up eating together.  I took Zina to find milk and ate some fried chicken and sides.  David, Myra & Zina had rib tips and corn on the cob.  Then we let Zina play in the playground until almost time for the concert, grabbing some ice cream on our way back to our chairs.  I love patriotic symphony concerts and this one didn’t disappoint.  The concert was nearing the end when David got up and left saying he would be back.  I assumed he went to the restroom.  At the end of the 1812 Overture I stood to give the orchestra a standing ovation when I was shocked to see my sister Julia!  And, there were my sisters Gillian, Cecily, and Karine!  Uncle Tom was taking pictures.  I was so surprised and shocked.  It turns out David had gone to meet them and show them where I was.  They had come all the way to Detroit to celebrate my 60th birthday (on the 7th)!  I am not even sure I can properly express what a wonderful surprise that was.  My kids were thrilled too.  A very dramatic moment with the fireworks going off in the background.  It was a near thing to get them there. Tom had to work his magic on the rental car company and they had to bat their eyes at the kid at the gate but it all worked!  We gabbed all the way back to the car.  Then we headed to the trailer to sleep and they headed to find food.

I still had to do some Addium work on the morning of the 4th but finished early to go walk with Julia.  The other sisters slept in a bit considering they had been awakened by the hotel fire alarm at 1am.  All of us were finally ready to head back to Greenfield Village to see the attractions there and then see more of the museum.  At the village we saw weavers, potters, glass blowers, and printers and then ate lunch.  The village was closing early to prepare for that night’s Salute to America so when it closed we headed into the museum.  I hung out with Zina for a while and then Aunt Gillian took over while I got to see the history of cars exhibit.  We were all pretty tired by the end!  We headed back to camp where we all worked together to make a Grandpa Harris griddle dinner.  The sisters and I prepared and pre-cooked potatoes and onions and Tom manned the griddle.  Gillian provided some watermelon and we all still had some room for ice cream.  It was pretty loud with fireworks but I fell asleep easily.

I had to get Will up at 5:30am on Saturday so he could go golfing with Uncle Tom.  I had hoped we could get a late check out but that didn’t work out and that probably worked out for the best.  The sisters came about 9:30.  They had some breakfast, then helped us get packed up and hooked up.  We left the truck and trailer in the big fairground parking lot.  The sisters and I headed to Costco and David and the kids went with Tom to the hotel to swim.  With my sister’s help I got all the shopping done and put away in record time.  Then we even had time to eat a Jimmy John;s sandwich.  About 2pm, Tom drove us to the trailer and we headed to our next destination.  Tom & Julia took Cecily, Karine, & Gillian to the airport.  They will have a long drive following us and we will get another day together.