Where Were You When The Lights Went Out In Motown?

It was three years ago today that the big blackout hit. 50 million people without power.

I actually had fun that weekend. I rode my bike around town. We found the only bar still open, and sat on the patio drinking beer with some guys wearing homemade t-shirts bearing the slogan "Blackout 2003: No Shower Until Power". Then the health department showed up and shut them down. Apparently it's illegal to run a bar without electricity or running water.

We were fortunate on the food front. The Dream Cruise was that weekend, and a carnival was set up on Woodward. They were generator powered, and I ate corn dogs and elephant ears all weekend.

They say it "probably" won't happen again. I'm inclined to believe it; otherwise it would have happened a few weeks ago.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is back this weekend, and the cars are already cruising Woodward. I like the days leading up to the Cruise best; cars are actually cruising Woodward right now. The actual days of the cruise are a cluster-bleep, as thousands of classic cars trudge slowly up Woodward, crawling until they overheat. No cruising on the weekend, it's more of a dream crawl.

Last night we rode our bikes on a long trip around the city. It was partly to see the cars, and partly just to get out. We rode by the Detroit Zoo, pausing to peek through the fence and see what we could see. Not many animals are placed for through-the-fence viewing, but there are a few. There were a few lemurs lounging in the dusk, a bunch of deer, and some camels. One of the camels took offense at our after-hour intrusion, gawking at him when he was off the clock. He kicked dirt in our direction and bared his massive choppers.

Leaving the fellow to his evening, we rode on. Up Woodward, past 11 mile, up to 12 mile. We stopped at the Shrine of The Little Flower and sat in the grass, watching muscle cars rumble by in the cool evening. Then we made our way to downtown Royal Oak for some ice cream and home again, home again, three hours and 14 miles later.

Summer is starting to wind down; there won't be many more nights like this left. I'm just glad to be able to get out and enjoy them while they're here.