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2023.06.17.Traveling in US: Detroit RiverWalk

 On Friday, I watched a documentary called Only Fragrance Remains (90s), which tells the story of the Southwest Associated University in China during the Anti-Japanese War in the 1940s. One of the old people said that she had to make the most of every day (not waste any day). I think this is also the reason why I can’t stay in the hotel on weekends, I want to see more of America.

Because I basically drive everywhere, I rarely walk, and I don’t exercise much every day, but luckily I don’t eat well, so I don’t gain weight, and fortunately I don’t lose weight either. A friend said that Belle Isle Island in Detroit is nice and suitable for walking. I thought, I’ll go here and have a look.

I saw online that if you come early, you can park your car in the parking lot, otherwise you have to park on the side of the road, or even farther. Basically all my friends say that downtown Detroit is not that safe, it should be fine during the day, but if you park your car a few blocks away, then… So I arrived at around 9:10 in the morning the next day. The parking lot manager told me there was no parking space left and asked me to park on the side of the road. He said it was okay to park on the side of the road, but as soon as I parked and got out of the car, a car came out of the parking lot and the manager signaled me to park inside. The parking lot is divided into two areas, it looks like the other half is private, there are special people managing it, most cars are not allowed to enter.



Because there was an event in the afternoon, called Intro to the Detroit Reverfront Walking Tours, which lasted about an hour, so I had to come back before that.

I walked along the river from the parking lot, crossed the bridge, and walked onto the island. The specific route can be seen from the bold line in the picture below: Starting from position 5, walking along the river to 11, then crossing the bridge to Belle Isle.



There were a lot of people fishing by the river, some walking, and a lot of people riding bikes.



The weather was good, but the sun was too poisonous. When I came back in the afternoon, I felt a bit itchy on my skin. I should have put on sunscreen… 

I walked for a while in the morning and saw a lot of people riding bikes. I wanted to ride a bike too. I just saw a shared bike, but when I looked at the price, it was so expensive. It was more expensive than eating. But there was actually a rental option. Anyway, I wouldn’t use it~ Unlocking 1 dollar, then 0.25 dollars per minute after that. It costs 16 dollars an hour. How can you ride this? It’s not that expensive in China. Forget it, I’ll just keep walking. 



When I got to the bridge, it was already past 11 o’clock. Noon. I took a picture: 



This one was taken on the island. The island charges for driving over, but not for walking over. I walked over. 

In the afternoon, I heard that cars can actually park at Richard Park at position 11. There are also parking spaces here. This way I can walk a lot less. Next time I come here, I’ll park here. I haven’t visited much of the island yet. I’ll definitely come again.



There are a lot of barbecue things in foreign parks. This is specially for people to barbecue. You just need to bring your own fire food and match.




When I walked back at noon, I passed by a bus stop sign: There were few people waiting for buses




Foreign signs: You can step on the grassland, hahaha, maybe because there are few people, people can’t step on the grass… 

The one on the left is today’s free event guide. She is a volunteer. She told us about Detroit’s history and said it was founded in 1701. Detroit means Strait in French, 

The city's name comes from the French word détroit meaning 'strait' as the city was situated on a narrow passage of water linking two lakes. The river was known as “le détroit du Lac Érié," among the French, which meant 'the strait of Lake Erie' From <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit> 

Nanjing is also a city built by water. Being close to mountains and water is probably the primary factor for human habitation.

I haven’t seen so many people outdoors since I came here:



From childhood to cultivate children to play with cars:



You can often see this kind of car on the road. It’s also a motor vehicle and can go on high speed:



I chatted with a couple on the island for a long time. They asked me a question: Are there any black people in our company? I asked if they meant our company here in America? They said yes. I said of course there are black people, yes, of course. They said that before you answered we were not sure. I realized then that there might still be some racial discrimination in America, but I had no direct or indirect evidence. I said I also learned Martin Luther King’s speech I Have a Dream.

I also learned a sentence today, saying that it is hard to tell the age of black people, Black don’t crack, meaning that black people don’t have wrinkles on their faces.

I walked 16.7Km today, very good (I haven’t walked this far since I came to America), but it was too sunny. I came back and felt a bit itchy. Celine said I was all red.

I encountered an old man, playing Erhu, which is a Chinese musical instrument.



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