Detroit, MI

Photographer = Terrorist. That seems to be the opinion of the many of our border patrol - at least the ones guarding the dangerous border between the U.S. and...Canada.

We arrived in Detroit yesterday and checked into our extravagent hotel. In the cityscape below, we were in the tall center building on the 60th floor. That is about 10 floors above the lower buildings right beside and in front of the tall building. Great view!

After hitting up yet another Hard Rock Cafe, we went our separate ways. Dave and Shelley to Belle Island and me to Windsor, Canada.

Without a car, I planned to try to take a taxi across to Windsor. You can't go by foot and apparently many cabs won't bother with the hassle of crossing a national border so your choices are limited. I asked the valet guy how to get across and he said my best bet was to use a guy he knows who would drive me across and then pick me up and bring me back. All for the low price of...$100! He said it was pricey but there wasn't a better option. What our young valet failed to mention was that there is a bus for this very purpose that takes you across and brings you back for the astronomical price of $3.75. I'm guessing the "guy" the valet knew was his brother or best friend.

So across the border I went. The Canadian border patrol was a piece of cake. They asked some questions and sent me on my way. I wandered down to the riverfront but was bummed to find that a good chunk of the path was closed for construction. I really wanted to get an angle that had the tall GM building in the center with the remaining buildings somewhat split on either side. I resigned myself to not being able to get that shot and went ahead and set up my tripod.

It eventually dawned on me that I still had 2 1/2 hours until sunset so I decided to tear my stuff back down and wander around in search for a better location. That wandering paid off. I walked another mile or two down the shoreline and found a pumphouse with the view I was looking for. From there, I captured the shot below.



So where does the terrorist part come in...oh, that is still coming. After dark, I wondered back in search of the bus stop at the Caesar's Palace that would take me back to the U.S. I couldn't find it anywhere so I wandered back to where I got off the bus knowing there was a stop there. I couldn't find that spot either and had already missed the first bus that would take me back. That meant 30 minutes of waiting. I finally found someone to give me directions to the bus stop. It was on a dark street with a little 6 square inch sign 10 feet up a pole that simply said "bus stop." How is someone supposed to find that?

I eventually arrived back across the border and had to go through our customs and border patrol process. Keep in mind here, I am an American citizen with a U.S. passport who has been out of the country for a whopping 3 hours in Canada. I thought this would be a breeze. Not so much! I was treated like a completely psychotic terrorist. They grilled me on my every activity in Canada, my photography background, exactly what buildings were included in my pictures, and were especially focused on whether or not I was a professional photographer.

They asked question after question about whether or not I had included the tunnel in my pictures. I couldn't help myself - I responded that the tunnel is under water - duh! - and that I only captured the water flowing over top. So they turned their focus on that. What? It is a moving river, by the time I hit customs, not one drop of water in my pictures was still flowing over the tunnel. How is this a terrorist threat?

I eventually requested that they simply flip through all of my pictures (I told them they were quite good - they would enjoy them - they didn't find that humorous) and see for themselves. They refused - apparently it was more fun just to grill me.

I had to empty my pockets and they wanted to see all of the contents. This was especially funny because I have a cold and it is freezing outside so my pockets were all full of dozens of used kleenex. I tried to hand them to the patrol guy but he quickly told me to stick everything back in my pockets.

They wanted to know my entire vacation schedule after Detroit and why the rest of my party hadn't come into Canada with me. It was really an amazing experience - I wanted to shout "my tax dollars pay your salary, treat me with a little respect" but figured that wouldn't help my cause. It was really ridiculous. But I did get a good shot of Detroit so it was all worth the effort.

I finally got around to processing a shot from our morning shoot in Pittsburgh. It is a lot closer in to the city than our shots from the bridge.

We are now in Chicago, IL but it is extremely rainy so I have nothing to show for it. Last night we hit the John Hancock Observatory but didn't leave with anything usable. This morning we were at the Navy Pier in the pouring rain. Still nothing usable. Luckily we do have two days in Chicago. Hopefully tonight will provide an opportunity. We shall see!