With no one waiting for us at home and no plans for Christmas Dinner, we decided to take our time driving this last leg of our trip. I read about the Heidelberg Project in Detroit a number of years ago, so we figured this could be a good time to check it out.
Heidelberg Project
Detroit, MI
The Heidelberg Project was started 25 years ago by artist and resident of this urban community, Tyree Guyton. This project is a testament to the power of art and creativity in changing and transforming lives and communities.
Heidelberg Project
Detroit, MI
I had seen photographs, but actually walking down the street the cacophony of color, texture, shape, form and objects was both remarkable and inspiring. This once forgotten neighbourhood was being transformed and brought back to life. I will post more images and information about the Heidelberg Project on my blog shortly.
Wind Turbines
Chatham County, ON
Since we crossed the border in record time, we decided to take another detour this time to check out the wind farms in Chatham County, ON. Phil is working on another research project looking at the health effects of wind turbines so we wanted to do some preliminary investigation in an attempt to comprehend the scale of these structures in relation to residential buildings and to get an idea of the noise level produced.
Wind Turbines
Chatham County, ON
I have to admit that there is something sculptural, a simplistic beauty about these massive white steel turbines silhouetted against the horizon. Of course, this may be easy for me to say as I do not live in the shadow of a wind farm.
M*market
ONroute Service Centre
Dutton, ON
After chasing wind turbines for a couple of hours we were back on the 401 heading home and looking for a truck stop to grab a snack and use the restroom. Unlike the U.S. interstates where there was no shortage of truck stops, finding one here seemed much more challenging. The truck stops we did see had inadequate signage, so we were past them before we knew it. We eventually stopped at one of the new ONroute Service Centres in Dutton, ON. These are not truck stops, but cater to the motoring traveler. In addition to a selection of fast food concessions the M*market offers a decent selection of fresh fruit, fruit and green salads, yogurt, sandwiches to go together with water, juice, milk, soft drinks and a better than usual selection of healthy and not so healthy snack foods.
Flying J
London, ON
As luck would have it, no sooner were we back on the highway when we saw a sign for Flying J. Needing gas we took the appropriate exit where we were taken on some service road before arriving at the Flying J in London, ON. I can not imagine this would be a popular route if you were driving a big rig with a full load.
Drivers Lounge
Flying J
London, ON
In fairness the signs at the front entrance informed us that this Flying J was under renovation to serve us better. The new driver lounge was to have 52" televisions, improved showers and other facilities. Probably a good thing as the current facilities leaned towards the purely functional.
Like the Flying J we visited in Ohio, this one had a newly reopened Denny's, minus the Value Menu and a fair bit more expensive based on the prices of the menu items we could remember.
Flying J
London, ON
The refrigerated cases had a good selection of non soft-drink options. We were surprised to see 1, 2 and 4 liter containers of milk in chocolate, skim and 2%, in addition to a variety of juices, bottled waters and coffee drinks. Despite being late on Christmas day, the fresh packaged sandwiches still looked fresh.
Flying J
London, ON
The grocery and snack aisles contained a good selection of granola, power and protein bars, wholegrain crackers and cereals, and even a selection of baked potato chips. Like the American version a deli counter and pizza counter were available for fast take-out meals.
Back on the road we discovered that you really needed to know where to stop as the few truck stops we saw were not well marked and seemed so small in comparison to the ones we saw in the United States. The 401 between Windsor and Toronto is supposed to be one of the busiest truck corridors in North America, so why are services for truck drivers so hard to find?
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