Good Friends in Michigan

We met Dale and Lisa in Nappanee two years ago, and spent quality time with them again in Tucson this last spring. Today we had the opportunity to have lunch with them as they now live in Flint, Michigan, not too far away from where we're camped. Today is their 35th Wedding Anniversary, and they chose to spend it with us! What a compliment! We had lunch at Johnnys on the Lake, a sports bar/restaurant that caters not only to walkin people, but also to boaters who dock at the outside patio. We sat at a table looking out on the lake, but inside so that we wouldn't have to brave the 15-20 mph wind! The weather is still nice in the upper Midwest, but is beginning to show some signs of approaching Winter.

Dale spent a number of years as an engineer for Ford, so it was only fitting that we met today, on the anniversary of the date that the first Model T for sale rolled off the line at the Ford Piquette Plant in Detroit in 1908. We weren't able to attend the festivities, but we spent a lot of time talking about Ford, both as a company and the man, and marveling at the way transportation facilities, natural resources, and a ready supply of labor combined to create Detroit, the "Motor City". A great number of automobile manufacturing companies have come and gone in Detroit, but Ford, General Motors, and Dodge all continue to thrive using advanced techniques first put in place by Henry Ford.

Our schedule is iffy for the next week or so, so these posts may not show up on a regular basis. Our hope is to return to Nappanee, Indiana on Tuesday, the 29th for a minor maintenance issue and then head west toward Iowa. Back ASAP!