Hilarious

A moment from the reunion. And yes, I'm a ham.

Nowhere Like Home

I already miss Detroit.

For many of you, that might be a strange statement - missing a city that is so maligned, so badly publicized, a city that to many, must seem like a wasteland. Yet for me, the area holds so many memories and still is home to many close friends that when S and drove back to the airport early Sunday morning, I was choking back tears.

The weekend was fantastic, but a bit of a blur. S and I arrived early (around 5:30am) Thursday morning and after a much-needed nap, took the day to wander around some of my favorite parts of Royal Oak, Birmingham, as well as some of my old neighborhoods. Though, much to my dismay Royal Oak is morphing into a slightly less well-kept version of Birmingham, it appears that Ferndale is starting to attract the crowds and businesses that made the city so cool when I was growing up. I did, however, fall in love with a pair of shoes that I snagged (and a pair, that sadly, didn't fit) and coveted but much too expensive Red Wings tank-style shirt made by RetroSport.

That night, after a delicious dinner (including my favorite, spedini, and some tastings of grappa and lemoncello - interesting but not my thing) at Maria's (a must-visit Italian spot if you are in the Detroit area), I got to see my good friend H and PB, one of my best friends growing up who I hadn't seen in four years. It was a real treat - and a surprise, considering the dreads he'd had since ninth grade were gone! We were out until the wee hours of the night, drinking and talking, and catching up.

The next morning, we attempted to wake up early to go downtown. We ended up missing the Red Wings parade (who schedules a parade for 11am? Ridiculous!) but were able to ride the People Mover, visit Greektown (Opa!), and see many of the fabulous art deco buildings in the area. After about five minutes, I stopped counting how many times S said "Oh my god" in awe. Though, I will have to agree, the outbursts were deserved.




That night was devoted to the cocktail party for my ten year high school reunion. It was surreal. There were people I hadn't spoken to in ages who I had lost touch with and that it was wonderful to see, then there were others who I never had anything to say to in high school and still had about that much to talk to them about. Near the end of it, it started to pour. I loved it, as there are so few thunderstorms in Los Angeles, and the storms in Detroit are powerful and romantic. That night we grabbed a small bite to eat at a coney island...though I'm still kicking myself a bit for not going to Dick o'Dowd's where apparently Lidstrom brought the cup!!!

The next day was devoted to visiting my old school, and for anyone who has been there, it takes some time to trek the many many acres. I think S really enjoyed it though, as I was able to show him all the little nooks and crannies that I knew from going there since I was very little. I even nearly got him with the Weeping Zeus! Hehe.






The old class (well, a quarter of it, at least):


Having fun


We're still teenagers at heart :)


That night, after the reunion dinner, we went to O'Dowd's for a drink (no Lidstrom, sadly) with friends then back to Ferndale to meet up with the same crew and stayed until the wee hours of the morning and H brought out some old photos that were hilarious!



I didn't want to leave, as it was my last night with them, but we had a plane to catch early the next day to go to my friend JD's wedding in New York.

I'll say this about the wedding. I don't cry at weddings. But at theirs, I had to keep wiping away the tears. So, thank goodness, later, there was plenty of dancing (their first song was to James Brown's "Sex Machine" - um, awesome) and fun.


In the morning, before we had to head to the city for our flight, S and I took a tour around Sleepy Hollow in the 95 degree heat (oof), and despite not much help from the locals (except for an extremely knowledgeable, helpful historian at the cemetery), found the headless horseman's bridge, as well as many notable graves and locations from the spooky novel.