Road Trip USA Detroit to Halifax
Road Trip USA – Epic Journey 2016-18 Part IX
Detroit
In Detroit, Michigan, we have reached the 8000-mile mark; a long drive behind us, a much longer one ahead. On the one hand, Detroit interests us because it is the hometown of friends from California, on the other, the city is in transition.
The decline of the automotive industry in the city dubbed Motor City ("Motown") was just one reason why Detroit had to file for bankruptcy in 2013.
Wikipedia says that in that year, one-third of the steadily dwindling population lived below the poverty line (often African-Americans) and had a high unemployment rate of 18.2%. Between 2000 and 2010 alone, a quarter of a million of the population migrated.
Today, outside the modern city of Detroit, which resembles all other urban centers, we see many vacant, dilapidated apartment buildings, barricaded stores, and the ruined Michigan Central Station, which is now a tourist attraction.
Slowly, the city seems to be recovering. With trendy cafes, live subcultural music, and small stores, Detroit's residents are trying to reorganize. Compared to other once considered "in" and affordable cities in America like San Francisco and Austin, Texas, it is possible to live cheaply in Detroit. Sure, a lot of money isn't available to most residents anyway.
The issue of poverty in America is also on our minds when we visit the Food Bank in Detroit. Rachelle, whom we met a few days ago on the eve of the solar eclipse south of St. Louis, works there. She invited us to her place during our stay in Detroit, for which we are very grateful.
Now she's giving us a tour of her work site at the Food Bank, explaining how this 50-year-old nonprofit relief organization collects food that would end up in a dumpster, distributes it in an organized way and gives it to those in need. Nationwide, the Food Banks are networked in the states (there are counterparts of them in Europe as well), so they can distribute food specifically throughout the country, often through intermediary associations and private volunteer work in so-called Soup Kitchens.
The Food Bank building in Detroit is large. It includes a vegetable garden for children, where they can learn that food does not grow in supermarkets and that healthy eating is important.
This visit shows us once again that "having to eat" is not a given, and that people are capable of much good, especially when they connect.
To the East Coast
Our journey continues along the mighty Lake Erie to Niagara Falls, which we wouldn't want to miss while we're in the area. Touristy, sure, but gigantic, that too.
Not much further, at the other end of Lake Ontario, we find a beautiful, somewhat kitschy place to spend the night: Alexandria Bay and the Thousand Islands in Upstate New York.
We're jagged on our way, spending a night in Vermont and another in New Hampshire. Time is a bit pressing, the arrival of Seraina's parents is steadily approaching, so we don't explore these certainly beautiful states any further.
Finally, we arrive in Maine, where we reach the east coast. But before that, we make a detour to Bangor.
For two reasons: First, we have to have our van repaired (the cooling system has quit). The chief mechanic Mike and his team happily get to work. We are allowed to linger in a lounge in the meantime. The door opens, Mike comes in, tells us stories about his everyday life, and grabs his guitar from the wall. He sometimes plays in bars, whether he can serenade us?
Of course! So the hours pass in an entertaining company.
When the van is ready to leave, we drive a few streets down to a house which is the second reason for our visit to Bangor: The beautiful villa is situated in a green garden, the curtains are drawn. Only a red balloon can be seen in the window. An allusion to the start of the new film adaptation of "It".
Stephen King, who has accompanied me with his monstrous fantasy for more than half my life, is not to be seen. Instead, we take a picture of his house and drive on.
Then, finally, we are at the Atlantic Ocean. We hike through green forests, visit Acadia National Park, which is very popular even in cool weather, and - how could it be otherwise? - eat lobster. Following a tip from Mike, our mechanic in Bangor, we stop at the Lobster Pound at the Trenton Bridge, where we can each choose a lobster. Been there, done that.
Canada
Out of Maine, into Canada! We are welcomed by the torrential Canadian weather. So we take a break in a motel in Saint John, New Brunswick.
The next day the sun shows up again. We drive to Shediac, where we find a drive-in movie theater. As it gets dark, we watch Stephen King's "It" from the cozy cabin of our van.
Before the movie, we chatted with a neighbor of the drive-in. He promptly allowed us to park in front of his house to spend the night. In the morning we discover a surprise on the windshield wiper; a doobie on the way 😉.
On to Nova Scotia, which really reminds us of Scotland. At Cape Breton, we reach the furthest point from California. Once across America, 11000 miles done. High five!
The weather is very moody on this wild coast, but thanks to beautiful landscapes it doesn't spoil our wanderlust at all. Unfortunately, we don't see any whales, but once again a bear crosses our path.
In Canso, a small fishing village, we enjoy a few rays of sunshine after two cold and wet nights. Before we head west again, we pay a visit to Halifax, which has some sad stories to tell (see the explosion of the SS Mont-Blanc, which destroyed a whole part of the city in 1917, and the Swissair crash in 1998).
We are about halfway through our 6-month road trip through the USA (and Canada). We want to celebrate this and the many bars and clubs in Halifax provide the perfect place to do so. 1, 2, 3, 4 beers, and then Häfiläx.
A little outside the city center we wake up the next morning in a free parking lot. I peek through between the curtains. Someone has just taken a picture of our van. He is talking excitedly to his wife.
Oh yes, it's not the first time our California license plates have attracted attention. If only they knew we are even farther from home than California. I close the curtain and doze off.
Epic Journey 2016-18
Back to Part VIII:
Epic Journey 2016-18
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