A touristy kind of day

The day was reserved to meet with friends, to have time to catch up and visit, but it also turned into a touristy kind of day. They gave us a guided tour of parts of their city that we wouldn't have known to look for.

Longway Planetarium was our first stop - an educational site that we WERE familiar with, having visited decades earlier. The largest planetarium in Michigan, the Longway puts on a spectacular show. However, I made a note to myself to also find an Astronomy 101 show - because although I am fascinated by the stars and planets, I struggle to grasp even the basics of the solar system - let alone the universe.

Our next stop was to the newly renovated Farmers' Market.

What a cool place to hang out. 



AND to have lunch!

Besides the predictable fare of freshly baked breads and colorful garden produce and beautiful items made in Madagascar and Ghana, there were lots and lots of little restaurants offering ethnic menus as well as the all-American hot dog or tasty BBQ. And don't forget the homemade pies and cakes and fudge and other sweet sensations.  In the last decade we have learned to love farm markets and this is one of the best we have seen.

I have had sporadic connection with Flint throughout my lifetime - and found myself remembering many forgotten moments. Visiting the planetarium brought back memories of field trips with our kids and maybe, just MAYBE, even one when I was a kid. There was Flint Central High School where I had played the piano to accompany a trio from my choir at solo and ensemble festival - a lifetime ago. We drove by Carriage Town Mission where I had served food in the soup kitchen and sorted through donated clothes for their thrift store and helped prepare the building that now houses the women's center. 

'Twas a good day. A fun excursion. When we were nearly home we suddenly decided to take a little detour. We had recently realized that we had not yet visited the nearby town of Holly and we wanted to explore it a bit before we move away in a couple weeks. So we did. We found the depot and the old hotel and lots of other cool stuff.

The depot was our first priority. We wandered around it - delighted to find it in good repair and wondered about what plans there were for restoration. I peered into the windows imagining what it would have been like back in the day - until hubby pointed out the little post-it note that said "If you can read this, you are trespassing." Oops. The rule-keeper in me began to argue with the adventurer but not for long - because just then we saw someone walking purposefully and directly toward us.

We assumed our exploration was finished. We greeted him and were pleased to discover that we weren't in trouble. To the contrary, he asked if we would like to see more. Turns out he had a key - a new one that he had just acquired and was wanting to try out! How fun! Having lived next door for 25 years, he keeps an eye on the place. He understandably has a wealth of information about its history and seemed to enjoy sharing it.
And then, still another bonus. As we wandered around the big rooms inside, he said "You are in luck; there's a train coming."

Cameraman* hubby scurried outside and quickly found a way to climb some scaffolding to a better vantage point in time to shoot the very long freight train coming through on the fast track. Yes, this depot has tracks on both sides - a fast track and a slow track. The so-called fast track comes through town on a fairly straight course (generally northwest/southeast) while the other comes in at a much sharper turn as part of a line north to Flint and south to west Detroit. I am fascinated with trains and railroads - something I seemed to inherit from my dad - so this was great fun for me.

We meandered through the rest of the historic downtown - enthralled by the old hotel and lots of other cool buildings.

I think we found the best eatery in town - thanks to Kevin, our helpful depot host. He had recommended the Bittersweet Cafe and we loved it.

It's the kind of place that we hope to find in our travels - a tiny store-front tucked in among other shops with an antique door opening into a long narrow row of tables.

How delightful to sit there and rest our weary feet and
gaze up at the awesome tin plate ceiling or notice the nostalgic decor covering the walls - AND to enjoy good food.

The perfect spot to end a fun touristy day. 

... or so I thought.

However...

as we were walking back to our truck...

there was one more sweet little surprise waiting for me...

We walked around a corner to see this...

... which felt like some kind of a secret treasure for me.

I love it!

...

* Photo credit: Almost all of the photos in this post are by Bob Sims of SimsShots Photography.  

** Later note - like four years later! 
Little did we know that we would end up moving to Flint. 
The day described above probably planted some of the first seeds that began to attract us to this city.