And a Blimp

As I was heading home after boatwatching, I looked up in the sky and saw a blimp over Detroit.  I think it is here because of the Detroit Grand Prix this weekend.  Of course, I had to find a place to stop in order to catch it.

 This particular blimp was launched in October 2007 for the World Series in Boston. 

 The blimp is a second general A-170LS lightship and is owned by Van Wagner Aerial Media.  It calls Orlando, Florida home.

 The blimp is 178 feet long, 46 feet high and 55 feet wide.  It holds 170,000 cubic feet of helium.  It can carry one pilot and 4 passengers.

 The lightsign is 70 feet long and 30 feet high and is full color.

 The blimp's cruising speed is 32 miles per hour and has a maximum of 52 miles per hour.

 I ended up catching it at the Eastern Market, so I had to get a shot of the vege-a-ta-bull.

I couldn't get a shot of it over the skyline though.  This was the closest.

Flower Day at the Eastern Market

Ever since I started this blog, several people have told me that I need to check out the Eastern Market on Flower Day.  So I made sure that I had my calendar circled for this day but sadly, I didn't wake up as soon as I had hoped.  I was planning to walk down the Dequindre Cut again but it was pretty hot today, so I looked for a parking spot closer to the Eastern Market.

 So I ended up parking at the spot at the Gratiot end of the Dequindre Cut.  I wasn't 100% sure about that but there were a few other cars there, so it seemed okay.  But that made it so that I wasn't going to stay long at the Eastern Market.

 If there is a picture to sum up Flower Day at the Eastern Market, this one is it.  I was amazed at the number of cars around the market.  And people dragging wagons of flowers.  But still, I soldiered on.

 A shot of the skyline from the Market.  I think a better view would have been on the other side of this bridge.

 Some of the shops around the market.  These have been here for quite a while.

 A closer shot of those buildings.

 And finally some flowers.

 There were all sorts of flowers here and I'm not about to try to identify any of them.  I will just leave you with the pictures.

 There were a couple of musicians performing.

 And people....

 ...lots of them.

 But the flowers were cool.

 Especially the ones in the shade.

 This just gives you an idea of the number of flowers.

 This group was performing a blues tune and they were pretty good.

 More flowers....

 I think I would have liked this shot more if all of it were in the shade.

 Looking up at one of the shacks.

 Another flower.

 Another group of flowers.

 I kind of like this purple one.

 I really like this one.

 And this one.

 Another group of flowers.  I would imagine this would be the place to go if you were stocking up a flower garden.

 All sorts of flowers.

 I love these blue flowers.

 And these.

 Did I mention there were a few people there?

 A mural that you would only find in Detroit.  Some sort of mutant vegetable bull.

 There were other kinds of stalls there too.

 Some sort of bird statue.

 Another shot of the skyline to put the market in perspective.

 A group of restaurants near the market.

 And then I headed back to my car.

 I kind of like these buildings.

 A hardware store.

 I'm lumping this in with my Eastern Market shots because I don't feel like starting up another post.  This is St. Joseph's Church.  I posted pictures of it before.

 But I couldn't quite get this shot because I didn't have the right lens for it.  Sadly, I was shooting right into the sun.

 And then I noticed that the door was open, so I wandered inside but not too far.  The church is just as beautiful inside as outside.

 One of the windows.

And one more shot of the church before heading to my car.

A Trip to the Eastern Market

In the 25 years I've lived in this area, I've never been down to the Eastern Market.  I figured it was time to change that streak.  Although I think next time I go down there, I will drive and park closer since I think I might want to get some stuff.  However, it was a pretty cool place to get photographs.

 It sits roughly a mile or so north of Downtown and is bordered by Gratiot Avenue, I-75, Mack Avenue and St. Aubin Street.  I was actually surprised at how easy it would have been to get to had I driven to it.  Although I can see why people would say to get their early because it seemed like parking would be a premium.  But now I can check one item off my list.

 The Farmer's Market in Detroit was first opened in 1841 in Cadillac Square.  It later moved to the corner of Michigan and Trumbull (which is also famous for some Stadium).   The current site was used for hay and wood sales until it was designated as the Farmer's Market in 1891.  Sheds were built and used.  After World War II, more wholesalers and food processors moved into the area making it a destination for wholesale food purchases.

 The area became a Michigan Historic Site in 1974 and made the National Register in 1978.  It is the largest public market in the United States.

 In 2006, control was taken from the city and transferred to a public-private entity called the Eastern Market Corporation.  In the years since then, they've renovated infrastructure and helped to foster development in the surrounding neighborhoods.

 There are also a variety of restaurants in the area.

 I kind of liked this mural.

I'm not sure if this is one of the original stalls or not, but this is one of the areas where much of the product is sold. 

 This is the restaurant where I decided to have lunch.  It was pretty good.

 Another one of the stalls.  It was amazing how many different things were here.

 The front of that building.

 One of the reasons I came down here was because I wanted to get shots like this.  I may have to come again now that I have a little better idea of what to expect.

 I think many of these buildings have been here since the 1800's.

 Another view of the stall.

 Looking inside the stall.

 More vegetables.  I'm pretty sure some of these are wholesalers and not farmers.

 Especially since we don't grow oranges in Michigan.

 It's amazing that Detroit has a vibrant market like this but then again agriculture is a pretty huge segment of Michigan.

 I think this may be the place where some coworkers get this really good cheese.  I didn't see it there.  I will have to try again.

 Looking up at that building.  I love old buildings.

 A stand of restaurants.

 Looking at that group of buildings from another spot.

 And Detroit's contribution to cuisine.

 This picture was an attempt to show the scope of the place but unfortunately, it doesn't do it justice.  But you get an idea of who busy it was.

And a picture of the mural facing Gratiot Avenue.

So I will have to make it a point to return some day.  Maybe try to catch it early in the morning to get some of those low angle sun shots.  It was a pretty neat place though.