Oh Hey, Friday... and Detroit

Hey, All. Am I ever glad it's Friday this week! It was a long week of work travel, kicking off with a flight that was delayed 6 hours. That got me to my hotel around 2 a.m. before 2 days fully booked of meetings, meetings, meetings.

This week I'm joining September Farm again for the link-up. Since my mind has been on one thing and one thing only this week, that's what you all get to hear about. I am promoting a HUGE meeting in Detroit this year, so my Friday Five is Five Things You Did Not Know About Detroit. I get really aggravated promoting Detroit because of all the negative media hype. I had never been to the Motor City before December, but I've been going pretty much once a month since then and I have to say - I love it! It is vibrant and beautiful and if the winters were not so crazy cold I would move there in a heartbeat.

1. The Detroit River is insanely blue.

I took this photo from the 1 Woodward building. It overlooks Hart Plaza and is shows you just how  gorgeous the river is. It may honestly be the most beautiful color of blue I have ever seen. P.S. - that is Canada on the other side of the river. Yes, it is that close.

2. They build a park downtown every summer. 

As you can see, this may be my favorite feature of Detroit. Campus Martius Park is turned into a beach oasis, tiki bar and gelato stands included. This is about 10 a.m. so we are the only patrons, but come lunch hour this place is packed and they host a happy hour at nights.

3. The foodie scene is pretty decent.

Astoria Pastry Shop in Greektown - yum. I have to go at least once on every visit. They also have Roast by Michael Simon, Slows BBQ always has a line out the door, Joe Muer Seafood is killer for sushi... you get the point. And, while I don't drink, people recommend places to grab a drink all over the city.

4. It's safe.
No photo for this one, but it's one of the issues I come up against the most. I travel alone a lot, and I never worry about walking around, catching a cab, or anything that I need to do. Sure, I'm not going to take a stroll at 1 a.m. by myself, but I'm not doing that in any city. And honetly, the suburbs have more crime than downtown at this point thanks to all of the revitilization.

5. It's beautiful. 

 

I mean... come on. This is Belle Isle, an amazing park/island right in the middle of the Detroit River. As you can tell, I love it. The whole downtown area is beautiful. All of my colleagues have agreed that if you closed your eyes and we transported you to Detroit and had you open them, you would never be able to guess where you were. It looks nothing like what the national media would have you believe. 

Check out the other's participating in the link-up below!