Jessica & Judith Take Detroit | {Day 1-Belle Isle}

This weekend sure flew by in a hurry. I'm not complaining though. It was a bit hard to go back to a quiet house with Judith flying home to Arkansas last Thursday. Staying busy is sometimes what keeps my mind from noticing just how quiet it is and how far away from home we really are. The remedy is to walk out our front door. The city is hustling and bustling with business men and engineers working for Ford and Chevrolet, the river is full of fisherman and steel freighters, the seagulls are stealing french fries from the parking lots, and the yellow taxis are zipping down the freeway. Nothing is quiet in the city.

My camera chip is busting at the seams and to blog day by day of her visit would require a lot of stamina on your part, so I thought it would be far more enjoyable to journal the places we visited per day. I don't want to forget all the little moments. These pictures tell a story in my heart.

Judith flew in on a Delta flight and landed Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. The airport is a 30 minute drive from our house, so getting there wasn't a problem, but it is a huge terminal and finding her was another issue. We were so relieved she could fly in Saturday night and not Sunday, since David would be off Sunday and could chauffeur us around Detroit the next day. With David working every Saturday, eight hours a day, having guests can sometimes require a bit of strategic planning. With David being in a supervisory position here, this is just a season in our lives where we count our blessing for financial stability and grin and bear it.

David parked and I ran into the terminal, looking for Judith. Judith is a really special person to me. Having taught together on the same team for three years, she knows me better than most. She has seen me at my best and worst, personally and professionally. With wisdom {she has been married 15 years and has four young children} that I happily accept, she has my utmost respect. Her husband is a pharmacist and I love to email her my health questions. Lovely, isn't it? Ha, ha! I keep offering David's engineering talent, but apparently they have no need for David to value stream their personal life. Friends like Judith are hard to find. I trust her completely with all of my faults and insecurities.

In looking for Judith, she wandered outside and found our car and David first. It felt like a Lifetime movie when we spotted each other amidst the crowd and ran full speed down the sidewalk, screaming and crying. We chatted nonstop{Judith beside a sleeping Harbor in the backseat} and I gave her the quick version of the tour of the house and got her settled.

The next morning, we loaded the car and headed into the downtown for a full-force, don't blink tour of the city. I already feel pride when I explain the buildings, the architecture, the history, the culture of this place. We started off the morning with a trip to Belle Isle. Feel free to visit this link if you are a nerd like me and want to read up on it yourself {and get a visual map for where we are}.

Belle Isle in a an island on the east side of the Detroit, located between Windsor, Canada in Ontario and Detroit. It is a fantastic place to see Detroit's skyline and the Ambassador Bridge. The bridge connects the two towering cities in nothing less than drama and "Ahhhs!" Great place for photogs! The island itself is spacious, with a beach for swimming, a marina, yacht club, flower conservatory, water park, nature zoo, fountain, and a train to ride. It truly is the closest you can get to this side of Windsor without a passport {and border patrol on the island are aplenty.} It is actually the largest island park in America, comprised of 985 acres.

Our porches, {both front and back} were decorated to celebrate Judith's arrival. I also had a little basket on her bed for when she arrived full of snacks {peanut butter eggs, beef jerky, and peanuts}, a Detroit tourism magazine, and a map of Lake Erie {so she could read up in her down time before bed.} I also included a card {handmade} with a message.

This one reads, "We love Judith!"

And off we go....

Windsor on the left and Detroit on the right

In other news....

Tonight, after dinner, we drove to our downtown to let Harbor play in the fountain. This area has no shortage of public water features meant for cooling off. The Detroit News said today that Detroit was experiencing a "heat wave" since it had officially reached 90 degrees. We both got a good chuckle out of this. I'm sure the joke will be on us in September when they officially begin to cool down and the October/November snow looms in the near forecast.

David tried to show Harbor how much fun the freeee-zzzzzzzing cold water was and I just laughed at those two because Harbor was not convinced.

Have a great week!