6 years since my first trip to Detroit

Photo by Herman Yung

July 16, 2010. This is how I traveled then. Light, duffel in hand and backpack with a camera on my back. I was trying to think of the last time I did something like this and I think it was the summer of 2013 when I drove from LA to NYC with Melanie. But even then, it wasn't quite like this. This was almost completely unplanned -- I remember being given a few days off work -- and I just got into a car with my packs and drove, first to Buffalo, NY, then across the top of the US toward Detroit (passing a little part of Ohio along the way).

At the time, I stayed in budget hotels as they were cost-effective for my needs (just a shower and a bed) and basically always had free internet (you wouldn't believe the number of "higher-end" hotels that charge for internet).

This particular trip was a few days long and I remember sleeping in the car for the first few days, completely unaware that at any moment, I was a prime target for robbery. I had a bright red car, NY plates, and no tinted windows. But I guess not knowing helped me to not be scared because I did it anyway. Only on the last night back toward NY did I stop at a hotel for a shower. It rained, I remember, as I was at Michigan Central Terminal and I had gotten cut while inside there so I needed some place to rest and clean my wound. I still have a scar on my left butt cheek from that wound. Don't worry, I won't share a photo of it. But it always reminds me of how much fun this trip by myself was. I think it's time for another.