Flying to Flint, Michigan, from Chicago was an experience to day the least. As Flint is a small airport, it was the smallest commercial plane I've ever been on and only had 18 rows, each with 3 seats. I was right at the back in the 18th row and felt every single bump and dip as we took off and landed. The small planes definitely jump around a lot more when going through the clouds!

Fortunately I made it to Flint in one piece, where Kristin was waiting for me at the airport. In her words, she took me to her 'favourite hole in the wall', the Starlite Diner for lunch. Flint is a pretty run down town since the car manufacturers pulled out of the area taking people's jobs with it. The diner fits right in and looks kinda sketchy from the outside. Kristin assured me that the food was great, so I took her word for it and she was right; my grilled cheese and milkshake were pretty good!

After that, we drove to Frankenmuth, a quaint little town that is described as Michigan's little Bavaria as it's designed to look like it's in Germany. It's also home to Bronner's, the World's largest Christmas store which is open 361 days a year. It's huge and they have baubles for any interest you could possibly have, including all sports and every kind of food: ketchup, burgers, cupcakes, you name it, it was there. Oh, and of course red, white and blue trees and wreaths!

Dinner that evening was at BD's Mongolian Grill where you choose all your raw meat and veg and they stir fry it all together right in front of you. I was a bit skepticalike about filling a bowl with raw chickenot and piling veg on top, but it turned out to be a good stir fry.

It was on my second day in Michigan that we headed into downtown Detroit. First stop of the day was the thing I most wanted to do here: the motown museum at Hitsville USA. The museum is based in the actual house in which Berry Gordy set up his record labels and the studio downstairs is preserved as it would have been in the 60s. We had a very chirpy guide who taught us to dance like the Temptations and encouraged us to sing My Girl in the studio. Not awkward at all!

After that we went down to the river walk, which starts near the Renaissance Center, the headquarters of General Motors. Walking up the river, you can see Windsor, Canada across the other side, as the river is the border. It was a beautiful day, if a little hot and humid, so we only walked a mile up the river to Hart Plaza. Cutting through, that took us to the monument to boxer Joe Louis (the big fist) and the Spirit of Detroit statue. On the way back to the car, we stopped into the lobby of the GM building to discover that they have palm trees. Must be fun to feel a bit tropical in the freezing cold winters.

That evening we went on a 10km bike ride around the neighbourhood in which Kristin grew up and through the woodland trails nearby. We ended the day watching the movie Detroit, about the race riots in the city and specifically the Algiers motel incident. An interesting look at the history of the city to round off my day in Detroit.