Some of you have remarked in the past how lucky I am to live near so many big parks and/or riverfront venues. I do feel lucky about that fact and, if you didn’t know, Michigan’s state motto (Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice) translated from Latin means “if you seek a pleasant peninsula look around you.” This is because Michigan enjoys being number one as to total area occupied by water, boasting 41.5%. Michigan has more than 64,980 inland lakes and ponds and is surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, plus Lake St. Clair. The tourism bureau touts “no Michigander is more than six miles from a body of water in Michigan or 85 miles from a Great Lake.”
There is always something happening in this city, from festivals at the River, fireworks, the annual street fair and, on New Year’s Eve they had “Wyandotte Rockin’ NYE” which was a free outdoor event in the town square, with a ball drop for kids at 9:00 p.m. and another at midnight and multiple bands all evening.
In the Summertime, there has always been outdoor seating at the many eateries, even pre-COVID, with flowers brimming over hanging bags, baskets or whiskey barrels.
Summertime Vibes.
So, several times each Summer I take a stroll on Wyandotte’s waterfront along the Detroit River and through the heart of the City along Biddle Avenue.
Before I go, I ensure it is not a special event day or it’s not “fishfly time”. While fishflies aren’t scary like creepy crawlies, I’d just as soon not return to my car with their flimsy bodies clinging to my clothes, like this guy or gal that landed on my shirtsleeve a few years ago. Eww.
So, on this warmish August morning, under gray and gloomy skies, I made that five-mile-drive to the Riverfront, camera in tow, to stalk and photograph the seagulls and see if I could catch up with Joanne.
Long-time followers will recall a few past posts about Joanne, a Boardwalk stroller in her 90s, who uses a rolling walker to travel daily from Bishop Co-op, a nearby senior citizen apartment building, to Bishop Park. There she makes multiple trips along the water’s edge before returning to her home base, but not before waving “hi” or stopping to chitchat with all the anglers and fellow strollers.
When I first met Joanne on a cold November day in 2020, she had just celebrated her 90th birthday. She is a bundle of energy and every time I walk alongside her, it’s difficult to carry on a conversation as she literally “works the crowd” happily chattin’ it up with her contingent of fans. This is the last time I wrote about her in case you missed it.
Joanne, like me, enjoys the Boardwalk stroll with its breezes off the Detroit River. We both remarked about the weather and a predicted storm later that day, caught up with each other’s lives and I asked if I could take some photos for my blog. It’s hard to believe she is 93, going on 94.
This shot of the Boardwalk is just a small portion of her daily stroll.
After Joanne headed back home, I looked around to see what else might catch my eye for a potential post.
The anglers are usually lined up along the Boardwalk, but today they were only on the pier that juts out into the Detroit River, or in their boats, all hoping for their catch of the day. Seagulls were swooping, similarly hoping for a bite, while eying each angler to watch for any small fish getting tossed back into the River, or perhaps an unattended bite of donut or breakfast biscuit. The gulls’ incessant screeching would make you believe you are at the beach, not in the middle of a hoppin’ city and residential neighborhood.
Sweet seat sentiments.
I wandered off the Boardwalk and over to the collection of memorial park benches scattered around Bishop Park. Camera in hand, I twice roused a snoozing squirrel …
… and was hoping those benches were not too marred by seagull poop to take photos of them.
Some inscriptions are fun remembrances or tributes to loved ones, while others serve as memorials to the dearly departed. The rest of the benches are in this slideshow.
I continued on my little jaunt through the heart of downtown Wyandotte.
It was a work day, so I had to keep moving. It’s fun to window shop at the collection of different stores along Biddle Avenue. I always peek in the windows of the artsy shops or many casual dining places that line the Avenue – sometimes there is something fun that catches my eye, like this flamingo door wreath.
I even got some photos of a few doors with unusual-looking handles which I’ll spotlight in this week’s Wordless Wednesday, then maybe repurpose them for Thursday Doors.
I especially liked the flowers near the vintage truck at “Whiskeys on the Water” eatery …
… and these beautiful flowers in the outdoor seating areas along Biddle Avenue.
Summer vibes.
Soon I had walked one more mile and arrived at BASF Waterfront Park, another riverfront venue tucked along busy Biddle Avenue and the Detroit River.
I walked through the Memorial Garden toward the River.
It was long past gosling time so I was sure there would be no photo ops. Too bad as the sun was finally filtering through the clouds. In the past, during May or June, I’ve gotten some fun shots of geese and their goslings around the Yacht Club or pavilion area. Apparently the goslings were grown up and at other riverside venues on this morning, or annoying the golfers at Wyandotte Shores Golf Course.
But I noticed the Yacht Club was a hubbub of activity, so I went over to see why so many people were milling about. There are often regattas, or races, on the River, but those are on weekends. Your Roving Reporter said: “Must. Investigate. This!”
The Wyandotte Boat club has been around since 1875 and is the largest rowing facility in the Midwest, with some 600 members.
I arrived just in time to see several rowing boats, a/k/a shells, being moved by a group of rowers. I recalled the proverb about how “many hands make light work” as the shells were flipped over and moved effortlessly.
You can see the process below and see a close-up of the shell.
There were already some shells, moving swiftly through the water – for rowers using two oars, it is called sculling. A lookout or spotter in his/her boat always hovers nearby with a megaphone and life vests. It was still a bit hazy so the photos aren’t clear.
Meanwhile, back on shore, here is the dock from where the rowers depart …
… and here on this platform, I wondered if their shoes and socks weighed THAT MUCH that the rowers would have left them behind? After all they didn’t wear life vests either. There is no swimming allowed.
Good thing the geese weren’t there – they like hanging out or sleeping on the platform where the shells set off, just soaking up the Summer sun. They’d probably flip the shoes in the water just to be ornery.
A glance at my watch told me I should be heading back to the car at Bishop Park as I intended to make a fast pit stop at Council Point Park to get in a lap and feed my furry and feathered friends.
I am not participating in Terri’s Challenge this week – it is week two of “Your 2023 Year-in-Review” and I crammed everything into last week’s post.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
It was wonderful to see that lovely post on a cold, wintery night.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am glad I warmed your soul a little Anne. I had heard that North Carolina had some cold and wintry weather. We had a gorgeous day today but will get snow tomorrow morning, followed by an all-day/all-night rain and gusty winds and a big snowfall on Friday into Saturday. Now the real Winter will begin … the mild Winter weather was fun while it lasted.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Our big wind and ice storm have fizzled before they began.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, that is good as I keep seeing pictures of different weather conditions across the U.S. – a lot of bad weather. I feel lucky here as we were supposed to get one to three inches of slushy snow this morning and then an all day rain to wash it away, but instead we had an all-day rain … literally, it has not stopped raining since I got up this morning. We do have a “real” snow storm coming Friday though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are so lucky you live there so many big parks and/or riverfront venues.
“if you seek a pleasant peninsula look around you.”
Wonderful photography! Wonderful vintage car & flowers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do feel blessed to be around so many big parks and pretty venues Raj. Our state motto really is true! Glad you liked the photos. I really like that old pick-up truck with its flowers too – perfect for that restaurant.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Linda! me too that like. Very well you do feel blessed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have crammed a lot into this one too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did do that didn’t I Anne? At least I saved the door handles for Wordless Wednesday … it was a toss-up between the door handles and the benches with the sentiments on them. The handles are quite unusual.
LikeLike
A lovely walk about thanks Linda. I still don’t get putting wreaths on doors. To me if it is intended to be decorative 🙄
Keep walking and taking photos 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you liked this walk Brian. No critters in this post, but it’s too nice of a venue to pass up writing about. I usually see a freighter or two, but there were none that day. Hope you like the door handles on Wednesday – those doors have unique handles instead of wreaths. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are so lucky to have so many fun venues to discover. I love that Joanne is still walking. I could see you, Linda being that 94-year-old still walking and still enjoying the moments found on the adventures in MI. It was fun to walk along with you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed my walk in Wyandotte Shelley. The Boardwalk ends, so you are forced to go thru the neighborhood and onto Biddle. I probably should have said that. The neighborhood part is only a block or two, then the “Avenue”. Joanne rolls along the Boardwalk effortlessly and I, like you, hope I am her age and still getting around so effortlessly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it was a lovely stroll. I’m thankful for each photo you share, it’s like I’m walking right along with you and can hear you thinking about how you might use that photo in a blog post someday.
I hope you’re still walking at Joanne’s age and that you’re still blogging!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope I am too Shelley – Joanne is very sharp too, important when you get older. I hope the brain/word games I play daily are going to keep me sharp as well as keeping fit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You will be! Brain and word games are helpful. I heard yesterday that one trick beside the ones you’ve been doing is to trigger your brain by doing the normal tasks like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. It triggers new pathways in your brain.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll have to try that … interesting concept Shelley. I do like my word games/brain games a lot. So much I give them up for Lent.
LikeLiked by 1 person
After I wrote that suggestion, I tried it myself. I was a tad messier at the task than I thought I would be. 😆
Wow, you really love those games. I’ve heard of people giving up stuff or people taking on things they want to do more of, you could go that route. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
My mom and I always gave up sweets for Lent. Sometimes Lent fell during my mom’s birthday, so we celebrated with a cake beforehand. My birthday fell during Lent once maybe. Well, I used to give up something I liked to eat every year for Lent, then never return to eating it … that restricted me … no more treats. So I stopped doing that. The only thing I adhere to now is I don’t eat meat on Fridays all year around, but I rarely eat meat anymore, just chicken or fish. So the word and brain games are something I really like, so I give it up. I gotta be different. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have a well-thought out plan for Lent, I admire your efforts and perseverance!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you (though some people might think I was strange). For a New Year’s resolution I was only going to play Word Wipe once a day, but I have strayed a little. It is a word search game but it is timed, so you have to go quickly. I turned off the music – it drove me up the wall. It is addictive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. I bet you’re very good at the game! We bought a Dollar General book of word searches and do them together to see who can find the words the fastest. We find it is a nice distraction from watching the gloom and doom news. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds like fun. My mom did the word search puzzles all the time. There was a monthly book I’d get her from the grocery store. There are probably some still here in a drawer far away and unreachable at the present time. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is fun. Aw, another treasure to uncover when you retire!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I know where they used to be kept – whether they are still there is a another thing. 🙂 In looking for a cardigan in the cedar closet, I found an outfit I looked all over for a few months ago. Now it’s too cold to wear it. It is light flannel pants and flannel and Sherpa top. Maybe I’ll wear it in Spring.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s fun to go shopping in mystery closets…careful though, you might end up keeping those items you didn’t remember you had. At least that’s what happens to me! 😆
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the touch of summer on such a dreary day! Loved seeing everything green.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you liked it Kate – it seems like such a long time ago now that the “real Winter” has arrived. How many days before we see green I wonder?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wyandotte seems like a charming town in every respect (and I love your blog title). Hard to believe a corporation had a building here at one time. I also enjoyed the Michigan statistics you led with. So much water! I knew you had easy access to most of the Great Lakes but I wouldn’t have come close to guessing the number of other lakes nor percentage of the state under water. Maybe MI should have been designated the “Land of Ten Thousand Lakes” instead of MN!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a fun town Dave. I love alliteration and can’t resist putting it into the post titles. 🙂 It is hard to believe that it was an industrial area and took years to remediate it and create the peaceful park it is now. We are actually called “the Great Lakes State” so perhaps I should have put that in with the other factoids. I especially liked the stat of how close every Michigander is to water or a Great Lake. Our tourism ads really emphasize unlimited water fun in our state.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And as of today, your state has the college football national championship!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dave, yes, lots of excitement as Michigan (both the university and the state) are boasting bigtime today – first time in 27 years for UM to win the national championship! And, the Detroit Lions are in the playoffs for the first time since 1992 which is pretty exciting. Now everyone calls them OUR Lions as opposed to THE Lions. That will be a fun playoff game as Matt Stafford returns to Detroit – he left as he wanted to win a Super Bowl and replaced Jared Goff as QB and Jared Goff came here in the trade. So lots of excitement these days. In fact, the Spirit of Detroit statue in Downtown Detroit is wearing a Lions jersey. Every time a sports team is in the playoffs, the Spirit of Detroit wears that team’s super-sized jersey – so the first time for the Lions ever. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dave, here is the Spirit of Detroit statue with a Lions jersey:
https://youtu.be/8TzMGewJcZ4?si=5cl8wMSuJuKyzXAU
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s some good pro football knowledge there, Linda. Indeed, congratulations to the Lions! My Broncos were a horrific mess this year (we’ve yet to latch on to any team here in the South) and the Lions are a great story of revival. Perhaps you’ll grant me a temporary spot on your bandwagon 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to be honest Dave and tell you I pick up most of my sports knowledge by osmosis. 🙂 I listen to an AM all-news station and they have sports once every half hour, so I learn a lot of tidbits that way. Plus, the news has been full of our two teams that are doing so wonderfully, especially the Lions who had a 0-16 season one year. On the other hand, the Pistons basketball team tied, then broke a record for most consecutive losses (28) the end of 2023. They won one game, but have lost every game since. Be sure to jump on our bandwagon Dave because they say that Jared Goff has an axe to grind with his former team for trading him to Detroit in order to get Matthew Stafford. Stafford, however, was/is still a good guy who does a lot of charitable things in conjunction with his friend Mitch Albom’s charities and has donated money toward education and donations of playground equipment and a play center, so it will be interesting to see if he is respected or shunned as he returns to Detroit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I forgot the Stafford-Goff trade was a swap, which makes the Lions’ success story even better. I’ll be watching, and hoping they make it to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Denver’s kind of the flip-side of Detroit now, because the Nuggets are suddenly the defending NBA champions (first time ever), and looking just as good this year. Guess you can’t have it all 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the Stafford-Goff trade makes it all the more fun. And, speaking of trades, a local realtor bought 1,000 tee-shirts in different sizes, mostly Jared Goff. He offered anyone to bring their Mathew Stafford tee-shirt to trade for a brand-new Goff shirt. That was happening today. People here are worried … we have a powerful Winter storm bearing down on us Friday/Saturday. First, the victory parade for UM is Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor. But more impactful is the fact that this Bomb Cyclone snow/wind event will bring 45-50 mph wind gusts and expected widespread power outages. People are worried about missing this big playoff game. The game is at Ford Field which is a covered stadium, so no worries there, just the feared power outages. The Nuggets could show the Pistons a thing or two – they have lost eight games in a row since they won the one game that broke their 28-game losing streak.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just so much to see on every walk. The board walk is so nice, I like walking on those as well when I find them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, there is Sandra and I was bummed there were no freighters here that day. There are usually one or two that pass by while I am down there and make for a really picturesque scene. It’s so nice in the Summer … get two or three different venues walked in the morning. The days are getting longer though and that is nice.
LikeLike
How nice to see Joanne and her trusty rolling walker again! She looks happy and healthy and hopefully that walker has kept her from having any more falls. You are indeed lucky to have so much water surrounding you. Seeing pictures of all those lovely flowers makes me long for summer, or spring maybe. It’s so nice when cities and towns decorate their streets and shops with colorful flowers. Think of all the watering and deadheading they probably have to pay someone to do to keep them looking so beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
She is such a cheerful person Barbara. I mentioned I was writing a blog post about her each time I spoke with her but she doesn’t have access to internet, so she couldn’t read the info nor see her picture(s). Yes, I thought the same thing about seeing the colorful flowers as our Winter finally begins to kick into high gear this week. Those impatiens bags are lovely – I had them for years and it used to take an incredible amount of hours weekly to deadhead them. If you used Miracle-Gro to keep them blooming, they bloomed profusely, but grew too leggy in the process. I wonder if the City does the watering using the big tanks of water? Bet their “city guys” don’t deadhead!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That flamingo wreath though! Awesome. That whole street looks amazing and I love old trucks. Joanne looks spryer than a lot of people I know, good for her, the exercise is probably keeping her going. Its a great area you have there. I like living near lots of water spots and parks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That flamingo wreath sure was different! All the little shops are unique. I’ve taken pictures of a vintage candy store before – it has a lot of fun stuff in the window, but even on a gray day, my reflection shows up in each picture or the cars along Biddle which is a very busy street. I do feel lucky to be so close to all these places and not far from me at all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How delightful to view your midsummer stroll as I prepare for winter’s coldest night so far! Loved the stats about Michigan’s water situation. I stepped foot in Michigan about 1984, about 50 feet from the Ohio state line. That is my sum total of experience in the state!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Eilene – I’m glad you liked this stroll. I thought it would be interesting to share why Michigan is known as the Great Lakes State. Water is the main attraction for tourism here as you might imagine with these stats.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What an interesting place! It looks like it would be fun to visit. I would not, however, want that big bug on me. It may be perfectly friendly but I still don’t want it on me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is fun to walk through the Downtown Wyandotte area Zazzy and I forgot to mention in the post about the parades as well. Their Santa Claus Parade is very nice. I went once years ago … down the middle of Biddle Avenue and parades for other holidays too. They have something called “Third Friday” which they have casual events right in the main square with bands and food vendors, but their biggest event is the Wyandotte Art and Street Fair in July. The fishflies hatch, mate and the males die within hours. They are everywhere, in swarms and there are so many of them that the streets get greasy from their bodies being run over by cars. You can’t feel them landing on you and in this photo, I happened to look down and there it was. Before I flicked it off, had to take a photo of it. (Wouldn’t have done that if it was a centipede or spider – I’d have likely had a heart attack.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
you should tell Joanne to put an odometer on her push chair.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like that idea Wayne. The next time I see her I am going to tell her that idea. She knows all about the blog from the first time we met, but I never took her photo or did a post about her until the second we met. She is somewhat of a celebrity on the Boardwalk!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed reading about this walk. Interesting facts! Your next career might be writing a blog for the tourist center. I liked seeing the squirrel sunning on the bench. And the flamingo wreath was fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you liked it TD. There is a lot to see and do in Wyandotte and many events are at night … something is always going on. I liked seeing that squirrel too – I think he was mad I woke him up. There aren’t too many squirrels in Bishop Park though, mostly seagulls. In the water there are ducks, geese, sometimes swans but the ever-present gulls swooping down everywhere.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was a great topic to read on a cold night! Wyandotte looks like a great place to explore.
The truck near the end is a 1928-31 Ford Model AA, which was the heavy duty truck version of the Model A passenger car. Great find!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, a wonderful, warm Summer day JP. The next time I whine about the heat and humidity, I will remember how cold it was this past week! I am not surprised you recognized this truck with your knowledge of vehicles, but that is still amazing to me. I think I mentioned to you before that a few years ago I went to a Model A event (“Model A Rendezvous”) to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Model A . It was fun chattin’ it up with the owners and getting a peek inside their vehicles and taking pictures of course. I didn’t know there was a Model AA as well. I did see a few vintage trucks at that event, all in perfect condition, one pick-up truck with its original paint job.
LikeLiked by 1 person