I know I still have to finish my Disney trip report. I'm hoping to get an update for that soon, but until then. Here is the promised one from my birthday weekend in Detroit. :)
Melinda and I got early on Thursday, which was my birthday to leave for Detroit. It was a cloudy, overcast morning. We loaded the car and headed out. We stopped for breakfast and Melinda realized she left my birthday cards at home. Since we weren't too far from home or too far behind schedule we went back home to retrieve them. I wish I would have gone back into the house since I ended up forgetting something pretty important.
Take two! After that we were finally on the road. Road trips with Melinda are always fun. We're both so insane and crazy. We made good time getting down to Farmington Hills and didn't encounter too much construction until we got close to our destination. Of course! The exit we needed was close and the detour was kind of confusing, but we eventually found the road we needed. It wouldn't be a trip without getting lost at least once! LOL
Our first stop was the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington, Hills. It was the first free standing Holocaust museum in the United States. It isn't as impressive as the one in Washington, DC, but is very interesting. The most moving part was after the camps were liberated and you walk up this ramp and there are disturbing videos of the dead bodies that the liberators found along with those that had survived. At the end of the ramp you can see the Eternal Flame through a glass block. It was heart breaking to see those images. In the next room they had a bunch of stories from survivors that were really interesting. Photography isn't allowed inside the museum, but we got some of the exterior, which is just as interesting. I remember a few years ago when they moved to the new building that there was some controversy over the design of it with the barbed wire and such. I wish I could remember more of the details. It was from an article in one of the Detroit papers about the controversy that I learned there was even a Holocaust museum in Michigan.
The front of the building
Me by the front doors- It was pouring rain at this point and this was the only way to get a photo since it was sheltered.
The side of the building - The pointed cones represented the six million people killed during the Holocaust
After we were finished at the Holocaust museum we went to a scrapbook store and spent quite a bit of our scrapbooking spending budget! They had a ton of cute Disney stuff. Melinda spent most of her spending money in that store. Of course it didn't help that I was sort of enabling a few of the purchases.
We then drove around looking for somewhere to eat, but really didn't find many restaurants on road we were on. We ended up going back to the Holocaust museum since we had seen a few restaurants near there. After we ate lunch we decided to go to the hotel.
We had decided to book a hotel for this trip since we knew Pat would be moving at the end of the month and weren't sure when that would be when we planned our trip. Plus we wanted something closer to downtown Detroit since there was a few things we wanted to do downtown. We got to the hotel without any problems. Every time we drive down I-94 from the airport to Pat's old house we would see this really cute, pink hotel called the Best Western Greenfield Inn. When looking at hotels we found that it was only about 15-20 minutes from downtown Detroit and the rates weren't too bad. Plus it has an indoor pool! YAY! And it's pink! That was actually a key deciding factor. LOL We're insane I know! It is made to look like an old Victorian house. The lobby was gorgeous! The walls have pictures of old cars. They do a lot of business with the Henry Ford (museum and Greenfield Village). The room was beautiful. Of course when we got to the room and I opened my suitcase I realized I left my swimsuit at home! D'oh! We decided to go get one the next day when we were going to go shopping. After we unpacked we decided to take a nap before going to dinner.
So pretty and pink!
The inside of the room
When we got up from our naps we decided to head to dinner, not thinking that it was 5:30ish and traffic would be horrible. It was supposed to take 15 minutes to get to the Hard Rock Cafe in Detroit, but it took a little over 30 minutes. Our directions from Yahoo were kind of confusing and we ended up at Joe Louis Arena! LOL Of course from there I knew were we were going and we finally found the Hard Rock Cafe. We also found the Michigan Civil War monument, but since it was pouring rain we really didn't get a chance to get any photos. We'll have to go back another day. The Hard Rock Cafe in Detroit is smaller than the others I've been to, but there was lots of memorabilia from MI artists including Madonna who is from near where I live, though she never likes to admit that! Melinda had a chicken sandwich of some kind and I had the twisted mac and cheese with chicken that I had in Chicago and was really good, but this time it wasn't as good. The chicken was very good, but the twisted mac wasn't as good. After we were done eating we perused the gift shop. Since I already had a t-shirt from there from that Pat got me a few years ago I got a necklace and Melinda got a cute little stuffed bear. She always buys animals when we go somewhere. It's so crazy.
Michigan Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Hard Rock Cafe sign
Melinda and I waiting for our food
The Hard Rock Cafe in Detroit is actually located in the Compuware building and they have this really cool fountain.
Our food! Yum!
The dress that Madonna wore in her "Vogue" video
Goo Goo Dolls guitar
Alice Cooper guitar
Guitar from the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent. 
We wanted to head back to the hotel before it got dark since I hate driving on the highway in rain in the dark. When we got off the highway by the hotel we saw a Target. We had forgot to bring plates and silverware so we decided that would be the best place to get that. We almost always forget something when we go away. We got Tinkerbell plates and napkins. LOL After that we saw a few clothes stores and looked at those for a swimsuit, but didn't find anything I liked. So we went back to the room to eat cake!
Before we left I asked Mom to make me a cherry chip round cake with cherry frosting in the middle and almond icing on the outside. She asked me what I wanted on it. I said a monkey. I thought she would draw a monkey on it, but instead she created one with cake! It was sooooo cute! I was blown away by how cute it looked. I didn't want to cute it. It was good, but toooooo much sugar.
MONKEY! :)
There is a story behind the candle. We realized after we left that we forgot to grab candles. Melinda remembered that she still had the one we had taken with us to Florida for Mom's cake in her suitcase. So we used that instead of buying other candles. Though we did remember the wand of fire to light the candle with! We normally forget that and bring the candles.
Happy Birthday Yzerbear!
On Friday we got up early to go shopping. We started out in Shelby Township at a scrapbook store then I found a swimsuit I liked and used the money my parents gave me for my birthday. Then we went to Archivers in Sterling Heights and found lots more cute Disney stuff. After that we went to our favorite B&N store in Rochester Hills. Melinda found a bunch of books for 88 cents. She was all excited by her finds. I got 3 used books and a new one. After that we went to the Somerset Mall in Troy to go to Build A Bear. Which wasn't as big of a zoo as most days since it was a Friday morning. After that we headed back to the hotel. Whew! Lots of shopping and driving, but it was fun! :)
When we got back to the hotel we went swimming for 40 minutes or so and spent some time in the whirlpool. That was heavenly!!! After that we went to get some pizza for a really late lunch. Pat was going to meet us at the hotel after he got out of work. He got ended up getting there about 5:30. We then all rode to the Red Wings game together.
I haven't been to the Joe in probably 4-5 years. I haven't seen Stevie's number since they retired it. That was sad to see. The game was AMAZING!!! The teams kept trading off goals. One of the Wings got injured and was bleeding on the ice. That was kind of scary. It looked like it might go into overtime, but Lidstrom saved the day. Those last 40 some seconds of the game were pretty tense since the Ducks were buzzing the Wings goal. During the game I realized that exactly one year ago we were actually in Anaheim at Disneyland. Isn't that ironic! :)
The outside of Joe Louis Arena
Giant octopus!
Me at the game
The starting lineup during the national anthem
The opening faceoff
The final score! Wings win! 
The retired numbers
After the game we went back to the hotel and watched some TV before going to bed.
We got up early on Saturday to go swimming once more before we had to check out of the hotel. There was no one else in the pool and it was so nice to start the day with a relaxing swim and a soak in the whirlpool. We couldn't stay that long since Pat was going to meet us at 9:30 to go with us to the Detroit Science Center for the Star Trek Experience. We packed up our stuff while we waited for Pat. 10:00 came and he still wasn't there. So we called him and he was stuck in traffic. We decided to go get some breakfast at McDonald's and Pat arrived while I was getting the food. So we ate breakfast then headed back to Detroit.
We found the Science center pretty easy, since it isn't that far from where Pat works so he was somewhat familiar with the area. We got our tickets and went straight to the Star Trek exhibit. They had props and models and set recreations from the shows. You could sit on the bridge of the original Enterprise. It was interesting, but there needed to be more stuff. And photography wasn't allowed, which was a bummer. They had quite a bit from "Enterprise" which is my favorite Star Trek show. Melinda did the Star Trek simulator ride. I hate the full motion simulators, but she enjoys them. So Pat and I watched as she went upside down and did barrel rolls. She's so crazy! She loved it. After that we left. We did look around at all the other stuff in the Science Center, but it is geared more for children. Lots of hands on stuff. After that we went back to the Target parking lot where Pat had left his car. We then parted ways and Melinda and I headed back north and Pat headed back to his apartment.
The Detroit Science Center
Sign for the Star Trek Experience
I never knew there was a drain at the North pole! LOL
Pat attempting to play the drums
Melinda on the Star Trek simulator ride
I loved getting to spend time with Pat. It's been a while since we got to hang out like that. Though we didn't get to see his new apartment. The drive home was pretty uneventful. We stopped in Flint for lunch at Sonic. The banana shake I had with my cheeseburger was phenomenal! It tasted like a homemade shake, but way better. YUM! After that we continued towards home. We stopped in Birch Run and did some more shopping at the outlet malls. We then finally headed home.
Overall it was a super fun birthday weekend.
