Disclosure: My tour expenses and meal outlined below was covered by the kind folks behind Visit Detroit. All opinions expressed are my own.
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending a fun blogger event / Detroit staycation with the folks behind Visit Detroit and the Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Let me tell you — fun was had by ALL! Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved Detroit, despite growing up an hour away. Every time I drive into the city, I feel like I’m at home. My parents and their parents grew-up there, and I just feel an intense connection.
When I started working downtown 6 years ago, I was so excited to learn more about the city I grew-up loving. Now that I work from home, I’m back to living an hour away and don’t visit as often as I’d like. So when the opportunity arose to spend a #DayInTheD, I was pumped to go back and re-visit some of my favorite places.
Our tour began with a trek out to the ‘burbs — Royal Oak — for a visit with our furry friends at the Detroit Zoo. They all must have known we were coming because they all were out! I’ve been to the zoo many times, but this was by far one of the best visits. We arrived around 9 a.m., it was in the 60’s, and a bit overcast. This, my friends is apparently the PERFECT time to see the animals!
First, we were able to feed a handsome giraffe named Jabari. Totally something you all need to do in your life. So fun, and only an extra $5 on top of your entrance fee to the zoo. Worth every penny with the photo ops it offers. Can’t wait to go back and let Kinley do this…She will love it!
We also took a walk through the Outback {again, very active animals!} and through the Arctic Ring.
After our stop at the zoo, we headed back downtown to visit the Detroit Historical Museum. I hadn’t been since it was renovated, so was excited to visit. Did you know this museum is FREE? {I suggest you make a donation though.} There is SO much to learn, see, and do here. One of my favorite new additions is the Kid Rock Music Lab, a 1,400 sq-ft interactive gallery that highlights Detroit’s strong roots in music of all kinds from Bob Seger to Derrick May, a founder in techno music. Kid himself donated $250 million to the Detroit Historical Society to help with renovations. Love his hometown spirit!
The Old Streets of Detroit are still there, but have been made a tad more modern with some digital technology added in. It’s still my favorite spot in the museum — I love feeling like I’m literally stepping back in time to when my great grandparents roamed the streets of Detroit. Now, you can literally step inside some of the shops, too!
The Glancy Train area has been revamped as well, and is a huge hit with kids of all ages. This spot is totally worth a visit. Kinley LOVED these trains the last time we visited!
After seeing tons more at the museum, we headed to the original Buddy’s Pizza at McNichols {6 Mile} and Conant. You all can take your Chicago and New York-style pizzas — those are not for me. If you’ve ever had a slice of Buddy’s, you know what I mean. Detroit style pizza is where it’s at! Buddy’s has been serving up their infamous square deep dish slices since 1946, and is hands down one of the area’s BEST spots to enjoy some fresh ‘za.
We were able to make our own little pizzas {so fun}, and my partner Angela and I chose to make the Detroiter, which was made seriously delish with fresh pepperoni, parmesan, basil tomato sauce and special spices. It was so good and worth blowing my diet for the day. Buddy’s also currently has a tribute menu to Michigan’s lakes called the Great Lakes Collection. Buy local, eat at Buddy’s!
The rain squashed our plans to tour downtown with Segways2U, so instead, we stopped by the spot where Motown was made — the Motown Historical Museum, where our tour guide, Antonio, took us back in history, and of course, sang some tunes along the way.
I LOVE Motown music, so I was thrilled I finally was able to visit. It was a FABULOUS tour, and I was blown away to learn the ins and outs of how Motown got its fame and was able to produce that “Motown sound” with limited resources. I was ecstatic to stand in the small studio where artists like Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and many others recorded hit after hit. I left so inspired! I only wish music today was made in such a real and raw manner.
My trip ended there, as I had to get back home to my babies. The other bloggers were able to get a behind the scenes tour of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Grand Prix and a dinner at Brizola in the Greektown Casino and Hotel.
There are so many spots to spend in the D. I can’t wait to plan my next visit 😀
See all my photos from my #DayInTheD on my Facebook page, or tweet your photos with the hashtag #DepictTheD so others can see the great spots Detroit has to offer!
Where are your favorite places to spend a Day in the D?
So fun!! I need to check out everything on that side of the state…I haven’t been to Detroit in almost a decade. Ricky has never been, he’s such a Chicago snob. Do they still have the Taste of Detroit? I loved going to concerts there back in the day.
Yes, come over and visit! Funny enough, I am trying to plan some Grand Rapids getaways…I will keep you posted. I want to do the zoo and children’s museum there with the girls!
The Tastefest no longer exists 🙁 I used to love those concerts too! River Days is similar though: http://riverdays.squarespace.com/
That sounds like a lot of fun … if they do it again I hope to participate :).
I didn’t know the Historical Museum had replicas of old Detroit streets/stores – that sounds very cool.
It’s SO awesome….and FREE! You totally need to plan a day to visit 🙂
OK!! I have a B1G1 coupon for the museum! I still want to try to do a Lugnuts game too!
The historical museum sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve never been there before and sounds perfect for a rainy day!
Love the zoo!!
This day looked like so much fun! I just went to the Zoo yesterday and couldn’t believe all the changes they have made in the past year. We went early too and I have never seen the animals so active.