Isle Bound - It's CITO Week!

CRAWL... WALK...RUN!

That is a simplified description of software development. We're in the midst of a major program and associated training release at work, which has really tapped into our adventure time (and sanity). As a result, I crawl through the week in development affecting a thousand coworkers globally, walk around on Thursdays and Fridays taking care of adult responsibilities so that we can run away to some type of adventure on the weekend.

Knowing that it will be a few months before we can escape to a serious adventure and having our first Spring-like weather to date, these weekend jaunts are so precious. So off to Belle Isle with friends!

You could feel the difference as TaGeez and I pulled onto Belle Isle yesterday. Since the state has taken over Belle Isle as a state park, the Isle is abuzz with new energy. Driving to the Nature Center for the annual Spring CITO, we passed crowds of volunteers raking leaves and piling branches and picking up litter. They were lining every road and even inside the abandoned Belle Isle Zoo! Decked out in color t-shirts, we heard later there were over 2,000 volunteers on hand for Spring cleanup day!

Side note: If I knew there was a chance to explore the old Zoo, 

I would've abandoned our CITO for theirs!

TaGeez and I teamed up with Missy and Dave to work our adopted road.  Amazing to see the improvement on this stretch over the last 6 years - the first time we cleaned here we were dealing with bucketloads of whiskey bottles and condoms (AKA "Belle Isle flowers"), discarded car parts and porcelain accouterments. 

Yesterday we collected 10,000 steps on the Fitbits, two bagfuls of trash and TaGeez scored several empty plastic barrels (probably deposited from picnic areas after the recent high winds).

TaGeez and GSIX

We rewarded ourselves with a hot dog pot luck and a group photo before that other itch took over... geocaching! 

Photo borrowed from Root2tee

Alas, we had lo head out. We were supposed to head towards TaGeez's work to check on his crew, but, typical to us, we were distracted by something bright and colorful! 

Recycle Here! Holden Street in Detroit

Mexicantown

It was a good start, but we need a little more dust on our boots to satisfy that travel itch.

Walking the Streets of Detroit

Saturday rolled around, and I had the itch for adventure. We have to be careful because the mileage is racking up on my lease, so TaGeez suggested putzing around Eastern Market. Does he know me or what? Devries and then lunch is right up my graffiti-lined alley!

And, as luck would have it, we took a turn onto an unknown street and discovery was around the corner! Pretty fabulous, isn't it? So new it's not even on Google Earth yet! So, of course, we had to hide a cache here :) 

I think our adventure was meant to be as we found an empty spot in front of Supino's Pizza.  And, after a delicious yet costly stop at the DeVries Cheese Shoppe across the way, we settled in here for lunch.

The Smokey is now my new favorite: Smoked prosciutto, roasted garlic, chopped parsley, mozzarella, smoked Gouda, and ricotta. We asked for a small bowl of pizza sauce to use for dipping the very thin crust.

Note to self: Don't waste your time with the medium pizza. ALWAYS GO BIG! We found out too late they serve tiramisu, too. That will motivate a speedy return - HAHA!

Back to the streets to work some of it off. In Eastern Market, you must look down every alley.

And in every shop door. 

This lovely was inside the Detroit vs Everybody shop door, and you pass her to head downstairs.

Ah, another Shinola clock in Detroit - this one in Eastern Market's Shed #3.  We picked up the freshest cabbages and Brussels sprouts for around $4. After heading down to the fish market for shrimp, TaGeez has the makings for his amazing shrimp tacos with sriracha slaw for under $10 - nom nom nom ("nom" is "yum" in Thai - did you know that?)

Did I mention caching? 

Ok, spoiler alert - if you don't have this yet, scroll past to the next picture. 

Cute as heck! Sherlock423's My Dogs are Barking is about a block over from Eastern Market. It plays songs, too!

After a find and a maintenance run, back on the back streets of Eastern Market to explore the back alleys for urban art (and potential cache placements).

My favorite one of the day (and maybe all time). This beauty is actually hidden on the opposite side of my Urban Art: To Beat the Band hide - but you'd never know it unless you drove down a dead-end alley and peered to the left as you were turning around. How many of these are we missing?

Yes, it was a very good day. You can find adventure anywhere!

Detroit Urban Art

I was back in Eastern Market yesterday. This time with WikidKriket. We were shopping at Devries and photographing murals. Eastern Market is amazing with murals - artists come from all over the world to color these walls!

You have to look down alleys and circle all sides. You never know what you will find. 

We've decided this is a great idea for a new cache series - Detroit Urban Art - and this is our first spot.

We're calling it "To Beat the Band". From the GZ, you can see this mural, a building decorated with mirror mosaics and the fabulous agriculture mural along the Dequindre Cut.

The weather was gorgeous! 40 degrees and sunny on this late January afternoon. To celebrate a successful weekend, we headed to Supino's for pizza....

and then up the road for my daily geocache....

Dukes of Hazzard GC73687

...and ended at a local timey-whimey thing.

I've already submitted our first cache in the series - this should be an excellent way to get our exercise on over the summer!

Urban Art Adventure: Welcome to Eastern Market and the Dequindre Cut

TaGeez had to work today, and I had the adventure itch. 19 degrees and partly sunny, I turned my car towards Detroit for a brisk walk on the East side. Even in these temperatures, the streets were packed with locals enjoying cheese from DeVries or Kalamata & Mozzarella Pizzas from Supinos. It's often forgotten that Eastern Market is located on what once was the Russell Street Cemetery. That all changed around 1855, and, now, Eastern Market is an institution.

As exciting as the smells and sounds are in Eastern Market, they don't hold a candle to the vibrancy of its murals. You could spend all day wandering the alleys and bi-streets seeing our local urban art. Well, I guess I shouldn't say "local"... artists come from all over the world to use Detroit as its canvas. And I respect that Detroit appreciates the mark it leaves behind.

WOW! So much talent and so many styles. How many people walk past these every day without looking? So hard to pick a few to share with you. With a pocketful of PBNs geocaches all ready for hiding, I set out to enjoy a little piece of the East side. 

Now, one fascinating thing about Eastern Market... as a central site for commerce in its heyday, it was conveniently located next to a rail line that has been since converted from rails to trails. The Dequindre Cut is a 3-mile round trip walking & biking path that runs from Eastern Market on the north to the Detroit Riverwalk on the south. 

Can you believe how quiet this is in the heart of Detroit's East Side? In my two hour stroll along the Cut, I passed only a handful of walkers and runners. Vastly different than the summer months when the pathway and the green will be teeming.

Yes, this is painted on one of the decommissioned bridges that once spanned over the railway.  

Each former bridge has a mural or series of tags unique in character and color. Some have aged very well...

 ... and some have not. If you look closely this one has seen better days. I would love to meet this artist. I suspect he's the same one that did the magnificent owl at the Lincoln Street Art Park. 

Unfortunately, "partly sunny" turned into "really cloudy" which made for photographing some of the murals easier to capture but very cold on base skin. I'm SO grateful TaGeez grabbed my Heat Keep thermals for me! 

As I neared the church south of Eastern Market I had assumed it would be time to turn around. I had totally missed that the new section that runs alongside Eastern Market had completed development and was open to the public. OH SO COOL! As cold as my cheeks were, I had to see what's ahead.

Well, this is new!

This mural was created by one of the local schools depicting the evolution of agriculture.  As you walk along the Dequindre Cut you can see quite a few of community gardens native to Detroit (they are everywhere! Have you been near the greenhouses near the Chene-Ferry Market? Worth the fieldtrip. RecoveryPark, a non-profit, has transformed 22 blocks from urban blight to urban farms). 

Believe it or not, I've only shared approximately 10% of the photos taken today. Welp! Almost to the North end of the trail - time to turn around. Cool to see new entrances and sitting areas along the new section. 

I can't wait to see what they are doing with the factories they are renovating along the way. Some look like they may be converted to retail or lofts - wouldn't that be cute? That would remind me of those fun and funk shops near Newport, Kentucky. Others are fenced off but the taggers seem to find a way. 

I've decided it was time to call it a day. Can't help feel like I'm being watched...

As I ended the 3 mile trek and continued onto my car I glanced over and realized this was a new view of the RenCen for me. If you are from Michigan, you give directions using your hand (which is the same shape as the Mitten State). If you are from Detroit, the GM Renaissance Center is your guide. Detroit is built on a grid pattern, but the main North-South streets (like Gratiot and Grand River) curve at their southernmost point to meet at the base of the RenCen.  It's that big thing just up ahead.

Walking past the Outdoor Adventure Center, I returned to my car and exited the lot. Pretty cool view, eh? Did you know Detroit had a lighthouse? 

Milliken State Park

If you enjoyed this tour, visit my last Urban Art feature: This is OUR Detroit!