Saturday in the 'Vette

Bill saw that there was a classic car show in Sparta today. It was only from 9a-2p. I had errands to run, so I said we could go up there, if he wanted to come with me. We set out around 10:45a. We stopped at a couple of places and ended at the mall. It's Hallmark ornament premiere, so being a fan of Hallmark, I had to stop and pick up my ornaments. Since we were at the mall, Bill asked if I wanted to have lunch at Olga's. We both love Olga's and don't go there often, so I said sure. They have a "new" (as in new to me) menu option that is half an original Olga and fries. I didn't need the fries, but I didn't want an entire gyro. It was just the right amount of food for me.

I digress, I got side tracked by food. It happens.

So we set off for Sparta. We made it by about 1:45p. We drove through town, only to see it was set up for a parade. It's Sparta's Town and Country Days. We did not find (or see for that matter) any classic cars. We parked and walked through town, thinking we might stay and watch the parade. We got some homemade ice cream and surveyed the situation. It was easily 86 degrees by this time. Since everyone in Sparta still smokes (which is so much easier for me to complain about now that Bill is an ex-smoker - seven and a half years smoke-free!), we decided to head back home. While we still could.

We did see four Corvette's parked at the Brann's at 131 and Leonard.

And we are slightly sun-burnt.

The best part will be ending the evening with the fresh corn-on-the-cob I bought at the Farmer's Market yesterday. We'll be having blt's too. My favorite summer dinner. Yum!

(this picture if from last summer, don't worry I'm not that sunburned!)

D-town

Detroit, Motor City. We spent a couple of hours at the North American International Auto Show today. It has been a tradition, I think if you pay taxes in Michigan you are required to go, since Bill and I have been together. We only missed a couple of years when we were living in other states and couldn't make it back. Bill has been going since he could drive, and since we moved back to Grand Rapids, we have included Dave and Greg.

One thing I have always noticed about Detroit (and love) is the noticeable lack of foreign cars on the roads. This was more pronounced when we came back from Jersey where there are many more foreign cars vs. domestic on the roads. You can often count on one hand the number of foreign cars you pass while driving anywhere in the Detroit area. That alone makes me proud to be an American and a Michigananianander.

One thing I noticed this year was the size of the Ford display vs. all the others. All the American displays were also larger than they have been in recent years, but Ford was truly impressive. The last two years were almost non-existent and very sad.

I think the first year I ever went, in 2000 was the most impressive, at least to me. There were concept cars everywhere you turned, there were full displays on both levels (it's basically reduced to the one floor now), and it was huge. I know it wasn't just because it was my first time. It was huge. Then Sept. 11, 2001 happened and it got smaller. Then the economy crashed (which coincided with the price of oil going way up) and the American car companies were in trouble. It was obvious.

This year was better and I enjoyed it. I'm sure you can check out Bill's blog and he has a very different opinion. That's okay, that's why we go and why cars are designed and not just mass-produced. I have photos, which I hope to get on here tomorrow.

*editor's note: we only took 3500 steps at the auto show. We were able to park in a garage where there was a people mover stop and we never had to walk outside except from the house to the car. That was a first since it is the coldest weekend of the year so far (which is typical for our car show visit).