An Evening In Port Huron, Michigan

Blue Water Bridge at the mouth of
St. Clair River and Lake Huron
connects Port Huron, Michigan in the U.S.
to Sarnia, Ontario in Canada

The Great Lakes Basin
This gives an idea of how Lake Huron
fits within the configuration of the Great Lakes 

St. Clair River on a cold and 
drizzly day in April

Casino across the St. Clair River
 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

A Canadian cargo ship makes its way
from the St. Clair River to Lake Huron

It's the Manitowoc

Statue of Thomas Alva Edison  
at the base of the Blue Water Bridge

Thomas Edison spent his boyhood in
Port Huron, Michigan

The Thomas Edison Inn & Restaurant

There's a cute little antique railway station
turned Museum called
the Thomas Edison Depot Museum
to the right/north of the Thomas Edison Inn

And today's train tracks
running right in front of it

Note the Canadian & U.S. flags and
the Grand Trunk (GT) Railway which is now
known as Canadian National (CN) Railway

The graffiti on the rear wagons
was pretty spectacular

                                 

  

We had dinner at Cracker Barrel before making the hour-long drive back home

Navy Week at GM Renaissance Center in Detroit

We spent an eventful day, yesterday at General Motors' headquarters in downtown Detroit.  The city's bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812 was being held September 5th through the 9th.  The festivities were planned in cooperation with the U.S Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

Here are some of the highlights of our day:

Ongoing demonstrations in the GM RenCen Wintergarden of military technology.

Demos of US Military technology

Remote controlled military robot

Two flight simulators that were very popular with adults and kids alike.  These displays were specially geared to students' interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects.

Flight Simulators

A view of the buzzing activity in the GM RenCen Wintergarden from the first floor.

View of Wintergarden from above

The GM Showroom featured a collection of GM cars including vintage and modern Corvettes in honor of the car's 60th birthday.

Corvette

Other cars

Outside it was a balmy 73 degrees Fahrenheit.  The US Brig Niagara was docked on the Detroit River.  "The tall ship is an exact replica of the original 1813 wooden-hulled, two-masted ship that served in the Battle of Lake Erie" (a.k.a. the Battle of Put-in-Bay) which was fought on September 10, 1813 during the war of 1812.

Across the river off the Canadian shores, the Canadian ship HMCS Ville de Quebec was docked.

HMCS Ville de Quebec on Windsor side of Detroit River

 The crowds were interesting to watch, a white cockatoo among them.

In the Plaza Stage area, the U.S. Coast Guard Drill Team demonstrated their precision rifle exercise.

On the Detroit River, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) demonstrated Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.  These operations simulate the series of events following a distress call from a USCG vessel regarding a member of the crew who needs air-lifting to the nearest hospital.

The USCG vessel pulls up on the river in front of the RenCen

USCG HH-65 Dolphin Helicpter arrives from Selfridge ANG

Dolphin Helicopter makes a pass around the RenCen

Pulls up over the USCG vessel

Prepares to hover 

Drops a metal cable that attaches to the USCG vessel

Member of USCG team leaves helicopter

Ziplines onto the vessel

Boards the vessel

A freight ship pulls up (not a part of the demo)

Excitement builds

Metal cage is lowered via the cable

Imaginary and invisible distressed crew member
is air-lifted and SAR demo concludes

Of interest on YouTube, Coast Guard Top 10 Rescue Videos .

Military festivities continued in the parking lot adjacent to the Plaza with a raffle of a souped up Chevy Camaro, a couple of SUVs and military equipped Humvees.

Camaro on raffle

SUV First Responder vehicle

Decorated with decals everywhere