Throwback Thursday - Date Night

 Detroit Detour, December 2013

     So, brace yourself as this is not the kind of thing you have seen on this blog very often!!   We went on a date called the DETROIT DETOUR!   Back in December, I came upon a Groupon (yes, that's sometimes how married people make plans) for something called the "Detroit Detour".  This was the description that drew me in...

Wine fans and beer hounds gather for an exciting afternoon, sampling some of downtown Detroit’s most dynamic dining establishments. Featuring 20 of Detroit’s hottest restaurants and lounges – including the Biergarten at Winter Magic at Campus Martius – offers patrons the opportunity to indulge in a variety of craft beers and carefully-selected wines, both paired with signature appetizers. Detroit Detour will offer continuous bus transportation between locations, a map to all of the food and beverage destinations offered and an unparalleled opportunity to discover the very best of Motown's burgeoning nightlife.

20 Premier bars and restaurants and a couple questionable joints. over 40 exquisite beer, wine and appetizer samples with continuous transportation to and from all locations:

BOOKIES
FIREBIRD TAVERN
OLD SHILLELAGH 
BIG CITY SANTORINI
PAPPY'S
THE JEFFERSON HOUSE
RUB PUB
CAMPUS MARTIUS BIERGARTEN 
DETROIT BEER COMPANY
TOWN PUMP
24 GRILLE
SKYBAR LOUNGE
CHELI'S
ANCHOR BAR
GRAND TRUNK PUB 
HARBOR HOUSE 
CORNERSTONE BARREL HOUSE
WAH-HOO

     Sounds, good, right?  Plus, I believe the Groupon was like half off the normal price.  I want to say we paid like $40-$50 for both of us.  I actually think it was $40, and I love a good deal.  I booked it on a whim a couple days before the event and surprised my husband.

Sometimes we drank beer from nice glasses...

and some places provided nice plastic cups...

Early on we even took time out for a "selfie" on this rare occasion.



     Overall, I'd say it was a big hit, and it was fun dashing in and out of the cold to the various drinking establishments and hopping on the shuttle buses that took us around town.  We made it to about seven or eight of the places.  There was no way to make it to all of them in the time allotted.   A couple of establishments I had been to, but most I had not.  We purposely tried to go to the ones we had not been to before.  They also served small appetizers along the way using a ticket and wristband system. 
     People seemed to be having a good time along the way, and it was fun to chat with some of the other participants.  Mainly -- it was fun just to be out and about in the wintertime (and away from the kids) for a day!!!  No babysitter required! 

     One of the establishments we went to was across the street from this lovely graffiti shot below.  It was literally like this "secret" door hole in the wall type place and then you went down some stairs and were suddenly in this dance club kind of atmosphere.  Oh, to be young again!?

      The majority of the event was in the afternoon and the day was cold, but sunny.  I snapped this picture below as we were passing by.  If you know anything about Detroit, you know that our Coney Island restaurants are pretty well known.  The picture is of the two most popular coney restaurants in Detroit, right next door to each other.  Most people prefer either "American" or "Lafayette".  Personally, I'm a Lafayette girl, but I would be fine at either one.  Around here, we take coney restaurants for granted -- they're everywhere.  However, I remember my father-in-law, from Ohio, used to love going to the coney restaurants when he came to visit because they didn't have them.




    As a side note, I realized the timing of this whole "date" was meant to be.  The week I planned it II had just recently found an envelope in my mom's things while cleaning up her condo.  The envelope was marked "babysitting" and had over $100 in it.  I knew right away that it was the money we had given to my mom when she had watched our kids on various occasions.  We knew my mom could use the money and most times insisted on paying her for her time.  I decided the best thing to do would be to use that money on some kind of special date night for us.  The next day was when that "Groupon" came up...and there you have it! 
     As the afternoon went on, we were getting colder and colder as we occasionally walked to the different locations instead of waiting for the shuttle buses.  We were trying to squeeze in a couple more stops before the event was over.  After talking to some people, we soon realized that the "Sky Bar" was one of the best stops so we hustled to get there as our last stop.
     We were soooo glad we made it!  They offered some nice drinks, nice atmosphere and a great view of the City.  It was a great place to end our "Detroit Detour".
     Here you can see Comerica Park (home of the Detroit Tigers) in the background...in December!

Below is a shot of the City where you can see the Detroit River and then Canada on the other side.

Here you can see Ford Field (home of the Detroit Lions) in the background...

As it was ending, people were starting to clear out and we got this great seat with a view and relaxed for awhile.

     Detroit gets a bad reputation, but there are many fabulous things about it.  I hope by the time my kids have kids, it will be back to being the best it can be!!
     After a long day of running around "bar hopping" as though we were two "youngsters", we took a cab and settled in for a nice quiet dinner at Wolfgang Puck's located in the nearby MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. 

We weren't terribly hungry, so we just shared one of Wolfgang's yummy pizzas...

  

a little more vino... 

and a yummy dessert!!!!

     At dinner, I told my hubby, "Mr. Living" (ha!) about the babysitting money I had found my mom had tucked away in her drawer.  By the end of the night, I realized it did that money covered our entire fabulous date with just a couple dollars to spare, and I thought to myself "Thanks, Mom" -- we had a good time!!!!