One-Tank Trip
for Nov. 23/19
(c) By Jim Fox
Metro Detroit is
getting all decked out for the holidays – and there couldn’t be a better time
to visit.
Starting with the
U.S. Thanksgiving next Thursday and then less than a month until Christmas,
this “come-back” metropolis is thriving.
It’s “Go Time
Detroit” as Thrillist, the online travel website, named it “one of America’s
most fun cities.”
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| America’s Thanksgiving Parade |
Starting downtown,
some attractions are the Thanksgiving Day parade, “pop-up” Christmas stores,
decorated trees, special shows at the Fisher and Fox theatres and Noel Night in
the Cultural Center.
In the metro area,
there’s Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village, lavish decorations at the
Dearborn Inn and historic ones at auto baron homes.
They’ve kicked off
the season with the lighting of a huge Norwegian spruce wrapped in
19,000 multi-colored lights and ornaments at Campus Martius Park.
Known as “America’s Thanksgiving Parade, this long-standing Detroit holiday tradition has colourful
floats, marching bands, celebrities and gigantic character balloons that wow
the crowds.
It travels along Woodward Avenue on Nov. 28
while another tradition that day is the Detroit Lions-Chicago Bears football
match-up at Ford Field.
 |
| Holiday Walks at Meadow Brook Hall |
Mansions
aglow
Visitors taking holiday tours of the (Edsel
& Eleanor) Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores are dazzled by the spectacular historic
holiday decorations from Nov. 29 to Jan. 5.
Likewise auto-baron holiday splendor as it
was along with 50 decorated trees are at Matilda Dodge Wilson’s Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Hills from Nov. 29 to Dec. 23.
Completing the
baron fantasy tour is the Dearborn Inn, the grand hotel Henry Ford had built in
1931 across from his airport.
 |
| The Dearborn Inn is all decorated for the season. (Barbara Fox photo) |
The National
Historic Site is lavishly and tastefully decorated for the holidays and
contains historic automotive photos, artifacts and furnishings.
Part of the
Marriott chain, it also has two Colonial lodges and replica houses of Barbara
Fritchie, Patrick Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman and Oliver Wolcott. dearborninnmarriott.com
 |
| Barbara Fritchie house at the Dearborn Inn (Jim Fox photo) |
Bright
lights shining
Holiday Nights in
Greenfield Village, adjoining the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, immerses
visitors in 300 years of holiday traditions.
This
lantern-lighted journey is called a “Christmas card from the past” and runs evenings
throughout December.
It includes
carollers, costumed presenters, horse-drawn wagons and Model T rides, skating
and Santa with live reindeer, capped off by fireworks.
 |
| Take a spin in a vintage Ford at Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village. (Barbara Fox photo) |
There’s
also a dinner package with a vintage feast in the Eagle Tavern, a former 1850’s
stagecoach stop.
The museum is now
the home of 6,600 Hallmark ornaments from their origin in 1973. thehenryford.org
There’s Wild Lights
at the Detroit Zoo with five-million lights illuminating trees and buildings
and 280 sculptures until Jan. 5. detroitzoo.org
Attention shoppers
Canadians make a
run to the border in search of “Black Friday” deals on Nov. 29 and for seasonal
gifts and a low six per-cent Michigan sales tax to ease the dollar difference.
 |
| An operating vintage Italian carousel is at the food court at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets. (Jim Fox photo) |
Shop ’til you drop
at the Great Lakes Crossing Outlets with 185 stores, the Mall at Partridge
Creek, Somerset Collection, 12 Oaks and Fairlane Town Center.
The Detroit Metro
Convention & Visitors Bureau has the online Canadian Guide for Detroit
Shopping Malls at visitdetroit.com/shopping-detroit-guide-canadians
There’s also the D Discount Pass offering
savings of 20 per cent and more at attractions through Dec. 31.
A Detroit original
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| Detroit-style pizzas were made famous by Buddy’s. (Jim Fox photo) |
Hungry shoppers can
sample the 1946 Detroit original – Buddy’s Pizza – for a Sicilian square pie that’s named
one of the best in the nation.
There will
be 15 locations when the second downtown Detroit Buddy’s on Broadway opens next
month.
Still made
as they were 73 years ago, the pizza is handcrafted and double-stretched for a light,
crunchy crust.
Specialty
pizzas include the Great Lakes, with Ontario being Motor City cheese
blend, cilantro, Canadian bacon, grilled pineapple and barbecue sauce. buddyspizza.com
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Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com
For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca
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