Change of Plans

The plan was to leave for Florida after Labor Day. One of my tenants didn't pay rent for the month of August and I went by his place to check on him. The front door was open with the keys in the locks. No one was around but his truck was down the road at his friend's house. After several days of the door being open, I decided he had moved out so I went in to check things out.
Special thanks to my mom and dad and nephew Jordan who helped clean the place out in one day. Becky stopped by for a few hours too. 

 It was all so organized, yet out of date. Rice, beans, and the bags on top were pancake mix and potato flakes. One of the cabinets was also packed with them.

 The back room.

 The front bedroom where he used to sleep.

I was going to clean everything and move on but the more we checked things out the more it just looked like things needed to be made new and whole. I was going to have to do it sooner or later, I chose sooner.
Patrick's favorite day. Demo! Things look pretty gross.

 The door to the bathroom did not open all the way, instead hitting the stub wall for the tub. I wanted to move the door and of course get a new tub into room. We ripped open the wall to find strange construction practices.

 This was behind the medicine cabinet. Who the hell wired that?

I'll post up photos of the new bathroom.

Finishing the circle.

August 25 Friday
More doughnuts! Love that Walmart bakery.

 We stopped here and had no idea what this place was about other than War of 1812.

River Raisin was the site of the fledgling United States' worst defeat in the War of 1812. After Congress declared war, they sent the announcement west via regular mail and by the time Hull received the letter, the British had already seized Detroit, Fort Mackinaw and several other strategic forts in the area. American forces were rushed to the area but the British and the Indians united to fight off the Americans.
Had Oliver Hazard Perry not won the naval battles on Lake Erie (see the monument on Put-in-Bay), Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin might be part of Canada. I highly recommend you read up on the battle and visit the site to learn about a little known part of our history that was not covered up but tried to be forgotten. Nobody likes to lose.
The monument is tearing down several houses and building a replica of the fort and surrounding houses based on British surveys of the post.

We made it home! We were all ready for hot showers and some time off. 

Getting out of Hell and into Detroit, well maybe its all the same...

August 24
We got an early start in the morning, ran back up to Flint to get on I-75 and turned south again. It was almost eleven when we rolled into The Henry Ford parking lot.

 This is a diner that we ate lunch at.

 The bus Rosa Park made her stand, rather sit in.

 Becky is a hotdog. Patrick wouldn't lay down on it.

I was disappointed in this museum. I was hoping to learn more about Ford and his life but it was just stuff. I've been to enough museums and seen enough farm equipment and cars to say the Ford was alright but I wouldn't recommend it based on anything cool I saw there. Maybe I'm jaded.
Our night was spent in a Walmart parking lot in Monroe.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to Hell

August 23
Doughnuts got us going and we rolled west to Eureka and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore. We now have toured all four national lake shores.

 First stop was the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive that winds through the dunes, trees and well nature. Not much was accessible on the road. One look out provided us with this view.

 Down the road was the:

 The far end of the road was the puddle pirate house.

 We found Hell, drove through it, turned around and stopped. From local reports, it repeatedly freezes over yet the Browns haven't won the Superbowl, or the Lions.

Outside Hell is the Hell Creek RV park. We stayed the night and was glad to leave in the morning.