Michigan in a Day — Our 47th State
🏙️ A Few Hours in Detroit
With only a few hours to explore, we headed straight into downtown Detroit and decided to make the most of the time we had.
Hello, Detroit! ❤️
Our first stops brought us around Campus Martius Park, right in the heart of downtown. There was an energy to the city that immediately surprised us. We walked around, took photos, and of course couldn't resist stopping at the colorful LOVE DET display.
We also visited The Spirit of Detroit, one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. What started as a quick detour on our way to Chicago was already turning into a fun little adventure of its own.
Detroit surprised us in the best way. ❤️
🌊 Detroit RiverWalk — Canada Across the Water
From downtown, we made our way to the Detroit RiverWalk, where the pace felt completely different. It was peaceful walking along the river and taking in the views of the city and waterfront.
One of the coolest parts was realizing that Canada was right across the Detroit River! 🇨🇦 Standing there in Michigan and looking across the water into another country made this quick stop feel even more special.
Detroit RiverWalk — with Canada just across the water 🇺🇸🇨🇦
We didn't have much time, but moments like this reminded me that sometimes you don't need a long itinerary to appreciate a place. You simply stop, look around, and enjoy where the journey has taken you.
🌭 The Coney Dog That Got Away
Of course, we couldn't visit Detroit without trying one of its famous Coney Island hot dogs—or at least that was the plan. 😂
We made our way to the restaurant hoping to finally taste one, only to discover that it was already closed by the time we arrived.
No Coney dog for us that night!
We still took a photo outside because sometimes the things that don't go according to plan become part of the travel story too. 😂
Earlier, while exploring around Campus Martius, we had dinner at Shake Shack, so thankfully nobody went hungry.
Maybe the missed Coney dog simply gives us a reason to come back to Detroit someday. ❤️🌭👣
The Coney dog that got away 😂🌭
🎨 A Colorful Stop at Eastern Market
Before wrapping up our quick Detroit adventure, we made our way to Eastern Market, where the colorful murals added yet another side to the city we hadn't expected.
We walked around, admired the artwork, and took plenty of photos. After spending the afternoon seeing downtown landmarks and the riverfront, ending among all that street art felt like a fun final stop.
In only a few hours, Detroit had given us a little bit of everything—city life, history, waterfront views, food plans that didn't quite work out 😂, and colorful local art.
For a destination that started as an unplanned detour, we managed to make some pretty good memories. ❤️
🏨 One Night in Michigan
After squeezing as much sightseeing as we could into the afternoon and evening, it was finally time to call it a night. We stayed at the Red Roof Inn & Suites Detroit–Melvindale/Dearborn, knowing that the next morning we'd be back on the road again.
👣 Sometimes a State Doesn't Need a Week
Michigan reminded me that not every footprint has to come from a carefully planned, week-long vacation.
Sometimes you have only an afternoon.
Sometimes you're passing through on your way somewhere else.
And sometimes you look at the map and simply say, “We're this close—let's go!” 😂
We certainly didn't see all of Michigan—not even close. But during those few hours in Detroit, we experienced a little piece of the city: its downtown energy, landmarks, riverfront, colorful murals, and even the famous Coney dog we didn't get to eat. 😂
The next morning, we headed back toward Chicago so Adriel could meet his friends while Mark and I spent some time exploring a city that already held memories for us from much earlier in our marriage.
That Chicago story deserves a footprint of its own someday. ❤️
For now, Michigan marked something pretty special in our journey:
47 states down. Three to go. 🇺🇸
What began as a spontaneous detour became another little piece of our family's much bigger journey across America.
Sometimes the shortest trips still leave a footprint. ❤️👣
