There is an artist that Colt is stuck on right now, his name is Alec Benjamin. While trying to find somewhere to go during his Spring Break from school, I found out that Alec was performing in Detroit Michigan. The planning was set into motion.
I worked on packing our suit cases at night while Colt was asleep and would not let him open them, even though he asked, no, he begged to see inside. I could not show him the clothes I packed because even though in was sunny and in the 80's here in N.C the forecast for Michigan and Canada was rainy and in the 30's and 40's. If he would have looked inside, the assortment of hoodies and jackets would have tipped my hand and possibly ruined the trip.
Friday morning had finally arrived and it was time to go. He was confused when my Mother pulled up at our house and I loaded our bags into her car. I told him she was going to drive us so we could hang out in the back seat together on the way, he bought it and was happy about that. Although still unclear on where we were going, he transformed the normal kids "are we there yet" game into "tell me where we're going, is it the mountains? is it the beach? tell me where we're going" Luckily for all parties involved, we only live 10 minutes from Charlotte Douglas Int. Airport. When we turned in to the main entrance, his eyes lit up with excitement, even though he still didn't know where we were going.
After loading our bags we made our way to the counter to check in, this is where he discovered the second part to this surprise, we had 1st class seats! He informed me that "Jake Paul flies 1st class!" so he was even more excited now.
We boarded first and had a bumpy flight since it was raining most the way. We landed safely in Detroit and took a private blacked out Suburban into Windsor Canada to our hotel. We only stayed in Canada so Colt could use his passport for the first time.
After checking in, we asked the concierge was the best food in Canada was and he advised to try Bubi's Awesome Eats, it was a quick walk but worth it. I got there signature burger which consisted of 2 beef patties and 2 grilled cheeses all stacked up with toppings. I ate on it all weekend back in the room but man, it was good. There is a picture in the RANDO'S gallery below. After eating, we taxied back the greatest country on Earth to catch the Detroit Tigers take on the Chicago White Sox at Commerica Park. It was in the 30's and seem to last 154 innings but ultimately ended in a 7-3 loss for the home team. After taxing back to Windsor, day 1 was complete.
Day 2 began with a forecast of rain most the day and a high of 38 degrees so outdoor activities were limited. We had been using a taxi to get to and from the US because we couldn't find an Uber driver that had their passports and the taxi fair was $60 each way. I got online and reserved us a new 4 door Jeep Wrangler for the rest of the weekend and we were able to return it to the Detroit airport Enterprise, so we could go anywhere we wanted. After picking up our new wheels, we went back to the hotel to get our swimming trunks. A couple blocks from our hotel was an Adventure Bay indoor water park and that's where we were going! That place was a perfect fix for a rainy day! after spending several hours in there we went back to our room to shower and get cleaned up for the main event, which at this time, Colt still didn't know what it was.
We left out and crossed back in the good ol' U.S of A and started looking for something to eat. We found a Detroit hot spot tucked away in an 1880s all brick building on the corner across from St. Andrew's Music Hall. Sweetwater Tavern has it going on and once again was not let down by the culinary experiences of this trip. Starting to feel like Guy Feiri on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I ordered their most iconic meal, the ribs and wings combo and they nailed it. I had to take my wings to go because I was stuffed from the salad, the fries and the rack of ribs and maybe even from the super burger had the night before! Now it was show time. We walked back across the street and put the left overs in the Jeep. Thinking we had over an hour before the show started we went over to get in line so we could get inside early. Surprise! the line was wrapped around the building and down about 3 or 4 blocks, so we took our spot in line and waited. It was still very cold but at least the rain had stopped. After playing countless games of I Spy and watching a homeless man walk over to a parking meter and urinate on the sidewalk like a dog, completely exposing himself to us and the tons of young kids and teens in line the doors opened. While walking I asked the people in front of us if that life altering event was normal up here? the mom of two teen girls said "yeah, every time we come downtown we see that happen, it's not that big of a deal" I was amazed, it's bad enough Colt briefly saw him before I turned him around in shock but if he was a little girl, I probably would had extended my stay, well at least until the magistrate said I could leave!
We made it inside and it was a packed sold out show. I was able to upgrade our seats to VIP overlooking the stage from the balcony. The show started with Alexander 23 opening and then Alec took the stage next. Colt had a blast and we picked up souvenir t-shirts on the way out. And back to Canada we went!
Day three started off with breakfast in the hotel and then we checked out. Our flight wasn't until 7pm so we had time to kill. We found a little Italian joint and grabbed some pizza before heading to Dilborne to visit the Henry Ford Museum. I ordered their most iconic meal, the ribs and wings combo and they nailed it. I had to take my wings to go because I was stuffed from the salad, the fries and the rack of ribs and maybe even from the super burger had the night before! Now it was show time. We walked back across the street and put the left overs in the Jeep. Thinking we had over an hour before the show started we went over to get in line so we could get inside early. Surprise! the line was wrapped around the building and down about 3 or 4 blocks, so we took our spot in line and waited. It was still very cold but at least the rain had stopped. After playing countless games of I Spy and watching a homeless man walk over to a parking meter and urinate on the sidewalk like a dog, completely exposing himself to us and the tons of young kids and teens in line the doors opened. While walking I asked the people in front of us if that life altering event was normal up here? the mom of two teen girls said "yeah, every time we come downtown we see that happen, it's not that big of a deal" I was amazed, it's bad enough Colt briefly saw him before I turned him around in shock but if he was a little girl, I would have probably would had extended my stay, well at least until the magistrate said I could leave!
Colt was a little hesitant about going to a museum but as soon as we walked in, his Parsons' historical spirit began to shine thru. I originally asked him for 30 minutes to see if he liked it, we spent 4 hours inside and didn't get to see it all. We did find two "penny machines" to add to our collection. They also had these little machines set up around the museum to encourage kids to see it all. The machines allow you to make a plastic figurine that correlates to that section of the museum. We rushed but was able to find them all, the pictures are in the gallery below. After leaving the museum, we drove to the airport but not before an iconic street sign caught my attention and warranted a detour. So now we're cruising down "THE EIGHT MILE RD" and jamming to Eminem's song on the radio. This gave me a minute to talk to Colt about, well we had a good heart to heart talk. After taking in that last minute detour, we arrived at DTW and returned the Jeep and flew back home, 1st class of course!
It was an awesome weekend with my bff. I love you Colt!