Hilton Garden Inn, Detroit

Hotel Stay




First impressions are most important in life. At least that is usually the advice we all get. Always make a good first impression my mom would say, that is what people remember most. So all my life I always tried making a very good first impression. I smiled and greeted people, all people with that smile and happiness that my family gets to see everyday. This same happiness appeared to be what we would get when arriving to the hotel.

We pulled in to the uncovered parking lot outside the hotel and were quickly greeted by a very energetic and smiling valet attendant. So far so good. OF course was his happiness true or just the fact that he would get to drive our fast car? One will never know. I knew I should have taken pictures and recorded the mileage. LOL.

Upon entrance to the hotel, you walk thru a large, very well designed lobby to the guest services area. Behind the front desk stood two people. Both black and well dressed, one woman and one man. Neither of them appeared to be well educated, although I think that appearances can be deceiving. Greeting them discovered I was probably right this time.

First issue; Their computers weren't working properly at the moment. Or at least the woman was complaining about issues on her pc. The middle aged man greeted us and checked us in and we were on our way in no time. Top floor unavailable even though that's what I asked for. And the main reason I made my reservations months ago. To make sure I got the room I wanted. He politely told us that he didn't have the very top but had the next level to the top floor. That was fine, we took that floor.

Took elevator up the floor and quickly found our room just to the left of the elevator shafts. Not completely ideal, but if it's the room I asked for I am ok. Entering the room you are welcomed by a small living area, chair, couch and small 36" flat screen HDTV. Small hallway leads to the bathroom and the bedroom. Well i wouldn't call it a bedroom really. More like a small box with a bed. Ok. This is starting to look more like a shanty than a suite. I am displeased by the price of the room and the quality. Spoke with front desk and found that this was the largest room they had and I wasn't going to complain. I didn't want something like this to ruin what was supposed to be a great weekend. After all we are here to sleep and....uh sleep.

After getting settled in we decided that we would go down and find the pool. Easily found on the Lower Level, just next to the work out facility. It was designed like the pictures but it wasn't nearly as white as the pictures. The edges of the pool were slightly discolored, and the hot tub was loaded so much so with chemical that your eyes burned before you even got in the water. While sitting in the hot tub, we actually started coughing because of the amount of the chemical in it. We had to leave. I will make a visit to the front desk.

They ended up giving me a small discount for all my displeasures. It will do.

Overall; Staying at the HIlton Garden Inn...I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Tony's I-75 Restaurant

Tony's I-75 Restaurant


Our First stop on our trip out to Detroit was a pit stop in Birch Run, MI. Not for what you are thinking though...we stopped at a restaurant that was shown on Travel Channels top 30 restaurants you must eat at for Super food.

By the look of the place I thought I had transported right back in to the past and this was a hole in the wall dump that I was going to be completely turned off by. It is positioned right by a gas station; one of which gets a lot of trucker business from the looks of things and just across the street from the Birch Run Outlet Mall.

Upon entry to the restaurant, you are first welcomed with an empty hall way and makes you feel like they are trying to hide what's in from the outside world. However, when you make your way inside the next set of doors, you are greeted with, how do I put this lightly, redneck servers? I know that sounds bad but it's the south trapped in the north in this place. So much so that they actually offer you the option of the Deer Hunter Special. This includes gallon servings of two soups and a huge log of salami. All for about 65 bucks.

After being seated, the menu is placed on the table already and comes in the form of a local newspaper. The front cover shows a couple of local articles and then you open to find the entire menu on the next few pages. OF course the whole reason for our visit was to try the BLT that premiered on the Travel Channels Top 30 restaurants you have to visit for Super food. This sandwich is unlike any other BLT. It is served on large italian slices of bread and unlike the normal thin 3-4 slices of bacon you get when you order BLT in most restaurants, you get an entire pound of thick sliced bacon. This bacon is not just flat iron slices, it's curled and thick. Taste is amazing The bacon has just the right amount of salt and by no means is it overly greasy like most bacon is. First bite I was unsure I would get the sandwich in my mouth. But once I did, it was the best BLT I had ever eaten.
 

All I have to say is if you decide to take a trip anywhere in Michigan, you have to make time to visit this Hole in the Wall restaurant in BIrch Run. It was well worth the 9 bucks.


Overall; I give Tony's 4 out of 5 stars.

Judes

Judes.




On the road by 9am this morning, we stopped for what was supposed to be a brief moment to pick up our cake and get Dave a haircut. This moment turned in to almost two hours. The cake, although completed and ready to go, the lady in the bakery forgot to put a label on the bottom, so when I got to the check out it delayed me about 15 mins while I waited for the cashier to call the bakery and get the upc number.
That done,
 ,
 headed off to Jude's Barbershop.

Dave has never been here before, so about a month ago I bought him a gift cerificate in which he was to use prior to going on our trip. So as we pulled out of the Meijer parking lot he called them using their call ahead system. Told the lady that answered we would be there in 20 minutes and that he wanted a hair cut and straight shave. She said that would be fine and we could get in about 9:30am. We got there and waited until about 9:45am before he was seated by one of the barbers for his so called appt.

When you walk in to the barber shop, it isn't what your daddy had. There are naked women, covering their private parts on the walls, man movie posters among many other types of posters plastering the walls. A mans garages is the feel, with Craftsman Tool boxes holding all the barbers tools. The barbers aren't your daddy's barbers either. These are women. Pretty good looking. One sports a baseball cap, tee shirt and jeans with holes. Skinny, attractive. The other typical blondie.

Now, the haircut was great and looked really good....she asked dave if that was it and he said no. OF course not. As he told the lady on the phone he wanted a straight shave. While sitting there another gentleman, Bob, a regular apparently was waiting...so when Dave told her he wanted the shave he had to tell her regular he would have to wait or come back because there was obviously a mix up. Obviously. Try the lady on the phone today doesn't know how to do her job.

So the shave went well, although Dave was a little nervous at first because he has never had one before. It was good. All shaved and smooth and trimmed up. Ready to roll.

Overall; I give Jude's Barbershop 3 out of 5 Stars

The world of Auto Mechanics.....

I went out to the car the other day to listen to the noise that I had been hearing for a while. I described the noise to my father and he told me it was probably something to do with the exhaust. While he was at my home for a visit he took the time to listen to the car and determined that it was indeed the Catalytic Converter, which would need to be replaced and could not be repaired on my vehicle.

Now keep in mind that my father is someone who has spent the better part of his years, close to 55 of them under a hood of a car or under it's chasis. He knows a lot about them and taught my brother a lot as well...so much so that he now owns his own shop and can fix just about anything you can drive.

I'm rambling... I called a local muffler shop, to try and avoid the higher charges of a dealer, and a nice young man answered the phone, very proudly I might add. I was speaking to Chad, when he asked what I needed I informed him that my Catalytic Converter was completely junk and i needed him to provide me with just a rough estimate of what the shop would charge to do these types of repairs. After quickly supplying him with all the information of my vehicle, he stated to me that I should bring it in and have the techs take a look, free of charge of course, and that they would then determine what was wrong. I corrected "Chad", stating I knew what was wrong, it was the Catalytic Converter.

Now at this point "Chad" was getting irritated because I wouldn't agree to bring the car in to him. I tried to explain that I already knew what was wrong and I just wanted a rough estimate, nothing written in blood and he cut me off again and told me that I should take advantage of his Free Inspection service to find out what is wrong. I was getting frustrated at this point because I already knew. I didn't need a FREE INSPECTION, I needed a monetary amount that would provoke me to bring my vehicle to their shop. But apparently, because I have a vagina and also boobs, I was not qualified to make this decision and a young burly man such as "Chad" should make that determination. Not I.

For those of you who know me well, this didn't go down as smooth as one might think. I politely told him that he was crazy for thinking that I didn't know what was wrong and he was in the wrong for telling me that I wouldn't know what it could be. Now, I know that my dad was the one who told me for sure what was wrong, but I made the assumption to begin with that it had to be something in the exhause and I thought it might by the Converter, so Dad just confirmed what I assumed already.

I told "Chad" that I wouldn't be bringing my car in to him and that he should really think about what he says and how he says it to women he talks to because we aren't all stupid.

End of call, as I hung up before even giving him the chance to apologize for being a complete moron!