Detroit, Ann Arbor, Buffalo, and Niagara Falls (Canada side)

Grafitti can be beautiful as long as it is done in an acceptable place!
We found a lot of this amazing art around Detroit.

Our first stop once we landed in Detroit was actually "Greek Town."

We ordered a greek omelette which had all the usual but an addition of gyro (lamb)!

For lunch we went to Slow's BBQ located on Michigan Ave.
This, even after traveling to Texas, I gotta say is the best BBQ
meal I've ever had.

This was Slow's special in-house brewed peach tea sweetened with brown sugar.
I loved this! It was even better than the "sweet" tea I tried in the South.

This was #17 (if I remember correctly). 
A combo plate that included the most AMAZING
corn bread battered cat fish, brisket, and jambalaya.  With a SIDE of
gruyere mac'n'cheese and coleslaw.

Must have an up close view of the mac with perfectly crusted cheese on top.

This was called the "Triple Threat."
A sandwich with ham, bacon, and pulled pork.

We managed to make our way up to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
to watch the SDSU vs. Michigan football game.
Now this is what I call tail gating!
They apparently charged (and completely filled up) $80 or more
to park in this lot.  We parked about a mile away in someone's yard
and paid $15.  Basically everyone had their lawn open to make a profit.

There was so much spirit in the stadium!
(See the guy's arm in front of us moving along with the school song.)
We learned that this very stadium we were sitting was the largest in the nation,
seating over 110 thousand that day.

We made the 3-4 hour trip from Detroit to Canada to see Niagara Falls.
The road was not too exciting, lots of farm land, but it was quite
pretty and serene.  Now I really know what it means when people say
you don't get to see how trees really change colors in California.

Once we made it to Niagara Falls we crossed over the Canadian border
to go to Buffalo, New York and eat at The Silo.
The was actually in a quaint little town called Lewiston.

We ordered the "Haystack."  As you can see it is basically a foot long.
It has rib eye steak, cheese, and crunch potato sticks.

We split in half and finished the whole thing.

Niagara Falls view from the "Maid of the Mist" boat.
The blue in the bottom left is the much needed poncho that they provide you.

Hot Dog's are big in Detroit.
I mean they have rivalry restaurants like these two.

We tried the food from both restaurants.
They looked pretty similar, but a slight difference in taste led us to favor...
dun, dun, dun... The American Coney Island hot dog.
Apparently they both have their devotees, its like a cult thing.

We had a lot of fun exploring Detroit and the surrounding areas.
It is very obvious once you are there though the city really does need
some TLC.  It is pretty sad seeing how many places had been abandoned,
a direct result of the sliding economy.

Yet the city still lives on and maintains it's uniqueness and positive outlook.
This was a community garden, literally in the middle of the city, that grew
many fruits and vegetables that would be fed to people in need.

I love that the garden only used rain water collected in these tubes!

A must-visit-place in Detroit is the Heidelberg Project in Heidelberg.
To keep this town from being demolished, a town member began turning the town into a canvas.
The project grew and grew to the point where the whole town (a few square blocks)
has been decorated like seen in this picture.

A house decorated with stuffed animals.

The art was an amazing site.

People consistently asked "Why Detroit?"  Well here's why...when you go there you can really make the best out of what little the city have to offer.  Or you can miss the many unique sites it has to offer.
(Cheesy, I know.)