Day Three

Morning Activity: Today is the day to make your way outside of Detroit city limits to nearby Dearborn, which is about 10 miles from downtown Detroit. Spend your morning at the Henry Ford Estate – Fair Lane at  4901 Evergreen St. Tours are available of this estate, which sits on a 1,300-acre site. The 56-room estate was built in 1914 as Clara and Henry Ford’s final home. Visitors are invited to explore the home, as well as the six-level Powerhouse, including Ford’s personal garage and cars. This Powerhouse, created by Ford and Thomas Edison, gave the estate the independence to produce its own power, heat and light – and in fact, still produces electricity today.

 

Lunch: Once you have finished at the estate, make your way to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village at 20900 Oakwood Blvd. Here, there are many options for lunch, including:

Afternoon Activity: Do not spend too much time eating, because it’s time to enjoy the rest of the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.  It closes at 5 p.m., and there is a lot to experience before then. The museum and village cover 93 acres and highlight American innovation and enterprise. The museum’s collections include communications, transportation, industry, agriculture and domestic life. Its exhibits feature the Rosa Parks bus, the chair that Abraham Lincoln sat in when he was assassinated, the limousine in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and Edgar Allan Poe’s writing desk. Greenfield Village’s 81 acres cover more than 300 years in exhibits, including steam locomotives, a steamboat, and a Model T. There is an IMAX theater in the vistors’ center. Allow time for afternoon tea near the garden that Clara Ford loved so much at Cotswold Cottage.

 

Dinner: Enjoy dinner tonight at Richter’s Chalet, at the junction of U.S. 24 and 12 in Dearborn. The menu offers many authentic German dishes such as potato pancakes, Wiener schnitzel, and sauerbraten – all in a cozy Bavarian atmosphere.