THE ENGINEERING OF AMERICA

Hi everyone,

A short drive from Flint to Dearborn, Michigan, the home of Henry Ford, the Ford Museum, factory and the Greenfield Village.  We bought a 2 day package and are staying about 3.5 miles away and get hotel accommodation and entry to 2 attractions each for a good deal. 

We couldn’t check into the hotel early so headed over to the Henry Ford Museum.  It’s all part of the same complex – HUGE HUGE HUGE – actually as you will get by now everything in America is big.  It houses a huge collection of machinery, steam engines, cars of course, agricultural machinery, American manufacturing, heroes of the sky, presidential vehicles, the bus Rosa Parks was on in Alabama during the civil rights movement, a drive in theatre, Weiner mobile – a vehicle that looks like a hot dog - only in America.  Just huge.    A circular modular house designed in 1946 which was to use aluminium, Perspex etc and was to offer ¼ million houses a year for the post war housing shortage. 

Attached to the Museum area is Greenfield Village which we will visit tomorrow.  This houses the Henry Ford house, along with famous houses from around the country that have been moved here to create a tourist historical village and Neil will be touring the Ford Factory.

Tonight we’re dining at my writer friend’s Kelli Finger/Abbey MacInnis’ house.  So cool to meet after all these years of chatting on skype or emailing on the net.

The area we’re in is really suburbia Detroit.  Very busy, commercial mixed with residential.  We're here for a few days...even spending July 4th, so it will be nice to get to experience it American-style.

The Weiner Mobile

Neil and the 1918 Willys Overland - like one of our Works in Progress

The Car Kennedy was in, in Dallas

The making of a Ford Model T

Lunch  with all the sauces - 1foot long hot dog (we shared it!).

See you tomorrow, Jane and Neil