Wonderland Tuesday

Yesterday, I went on an adventure. My brother, two friends, and I pedaled our way through downtown Flint on bikes to a location only the youngest of us knew the way to. I didn't really know what to expect. Was it a trail? Or perhaps a little playground? What we found was this: 
It was like a a concrete wonderland. We ran around, exploring this unseen, hidden place for what must have been close to an hour. I'm certain, if asked, I could never find it again. The four of us climbed, jumped, and ran across this weird, unknown world in various states of awe. 

Adventure truly is the best word for it. It's hard to believe that there's really any corner of downtown Flint that I haven't seen, but this opened my eyes to a whole new aspect of it. It was honestly better than I could have ever imagined.

After a while, we left on our bikes, promising only to come back another day. 
As delightful as this was, our ride didn't end there. We then travelled to the Farmer's Market, where my friend Zach bought us all ice cream and we sat in the little garden place for about an hour. From there, we biked through Kearsley Park and the parking ramp at Mott, and discovered another wonder I knew nothing about. It appeared to be just a large wall of rocks, built in such a way that was convenient for climbing. Which we did, of course. We also stopped at a little pavilion, which we pretended was our home somewhere on the Mott campus. 
We visited both my home as well as my friends' before the green bridge near our house over Gilkee 
Creek, which flows into the Flint River. We then pulverized a bit of rock so the water wasn't so still, allowing it to travel more freely. In the process, we moved along a stagnant pool of water that had been showering us in mosquitoes. 
The whole day, only two things even slightly resembled the stereotype that our city is given. 
A) On Saginaw street, when we were passing pedestrians on our bikes, one woman loudly declared that she hates children. Yes, we heard you. And we hate rude and condescending adults. 
B) A couple kids talked about stealing our bikes while we were in Gilkee Creek. We thank then for not doing so. 
Those two things aside, it was the best day I've had in ages. It was delightful, and fun, and free. I can't imagine a more charming or happy bike ride could even be possible. Who would think that it could happen in such a town? Who would even think that we could go on a safe, 6-hour bike ride? 
This city is so much more beautiful than people say it is. 

Flint is the Bomb!

Last night was the last night of Back to the Bricks! We took our '80 Camaro, '59 Cadillac, and great friends out for the evening, and definitely had a lovely time.
Well, except for one small detail.
We had pulled into a parking lot and were preparing to get out of the car when a pleasant young lady came over to us and asked through the window if we were getting out of the car. Upon telling her that we indeed were, she advised us not to. Apparently, there had been some sort of shooting.
Before anyone assumes the worst, allow me to reassure you that no such thing occurred. Police were EVERYWHERE for every night of Back to the Bricks. Pulling a gun would have been virtually impossible. Though there was no shooting, there were rumors of a bomb threat, which I suppose some could argue is worse.
Fortunately, no bomb went off! Nothing bad really happened at all, except clearing off Saginaw Street (and I did hear about a riot at one point.)
One could definitely say that B2tB went out with a bang. (Okay, I'm sorry, I just had to.)
I say all of that to say this: it's remarkably easy to look at Flint in this horrible, grey, pessimistic sort of light. But if you can see past it... Well, there's nothing better. Like the lady who warned us about not getting out of the car, or the people of Flint who actually didn't kill each other! This sounds absurd, but I'm so proud that we managed to get through a 5-day event without having some hugely publicized, horrific downtown murder.
There's a quote I found on pinterest some time ago that I can't help but think of whenever someone talks bad about this city. "I live in a city that everyone claims to hate, but no one seems to leave."
It's about time people stop hating, or start leaving, because a place like this is too unique and lovely to complain about for the rest of one's life.

Back to the Blog!

After a long and unexplainable absence, I have returned to the blogging world. Hello! My inspiration right now is at an all time high, so I figured now would be an effective time to post some new thoughts.
My family has recently invested in a 1980 camaro. Not only is this car SUPER FREAKING AWESOME, but it has played a huge role in my inspiration lately.
My mom generally drives the camaro, and I generally get the fortunate position of her shotgun. This car, though not a convertible, has T-Tops, enabling us to let our hair flow in the breeze. This has not only been some incredible bonding time for us, but our treks through downtown Flint, up and down Saginaw Street, have once again reminded me why I love it here so much.
The looks we get from people, and the compliments we receive make us forget that supposedly, we live in one of the most dangerous cities in the US.
People are SO kind. So often, I'm left smiling like an idiot as we cruise through Flint, because of the unconditional kindness some stranger showered on us. Every single person is such a blessing.
Compliments aside, the sense of fun in this town is so great. Back to the Bricks starts tonight, so classic cars have been screaming around Flint for the past week. My favorite is seeing other fast cars on the road, and the undiscussed drag races that come from it. Both cars, just taking a minute to show off.
Plus, with all the classic cars, it's the one time a year Flint actually starts to look like it did in its golden age.
So, as Back to the Bricks begins, I must remind myself that it's about time I get back to the blog.