Road Trip to Detroit-Part 4-THE DRAFTING TABLE

We were still tooling around Detroit....Decided to go hang out in Canada for the day. We used to go there at least once a week growing up. And once my friends and I turned 19, Canada is where we spent our weekends since the legal drinking age is 19. We haven't been there in ages, so we thought it would be a great place to take the kids. We decided to take the tunnel on the way there and the bridge on the way back. My husband has always been a little bit sketchy about the tunnel, but we convinced him to face his fears and take the tunnel. The city of Windsor is pretty crappy...however, I do so like a crappy city, I am from Detroit after all....


Customs....

 

The tunnel.....

 

 

 

The Ambassador Bridge ...

 

 

 

 

One of our goals while we were in Canada was to buy candy. Yes candy. My son, Evan has severe nut allergies and he really doesn't ever get to eat a candy bar, unless it is some less-than-delicious candy bar from the allergy section of Whole Foods. However, in Canada, there is a huge selection of candy bars that are safe for nut allergies, Many are the same bars that are not safe for him in the US. So we bought some candy bars. $40 worth of candy bars.

Here is him eating his first ever Kit Kat bar:

You may not understand how important this is. Imagine being 11 and never being able to eat candy bars...Kit Kats....Trust me, its a big deal!

I guess these Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs are illegal to bring across the border. We didn't know...And we ate the evidence.

As many of you know, Evan, my Kit Kat eating son, is also an artist. He has been selling his art at markets and venues for almost 2 years, he has been quite successful and we are very supportive of him.

 

The following day we went to a local art market to poke around. We  go to a lot of art markets and this was a very nice one in the city of Northville. There was a chalk drawing contest, and Evan just couldn't refuse! Even though it was very late to enter so he only had 1 hour to complete his sidewalk chalk for judging. He went for it!

Here he is starting the process......

 

Still at it.....

 

 

Moving right along....

 

 

 

Almost there....

 

 

 

 

 

Blending with a wet sponge.....not much time left!

 

 

 

 

Done in the nick of time 5:00! Time for the judges!

 

 

 

 

....And this was the piece of crap that won....

 

 

 

Very disappointing, but that's life. Evan was planning on sharing the money he would have won with this sweet family next to us. It was 2 young kids and they kept coming over to see Evan and asking if he needed anything, and they were so adorable. They were doing some sort of Lego mini figure chalk drawing in the 6 and under category. They didn't win either....

 

My husband and daughter hate garage sales, thrift stores etc. I kept promising my son we would go to some garage sales, he loves that sort of stuff! We only had one car to share, so we decided that I would drop off my husband, Greg, and my daughter Avery in downtown Plymouth to do some nice (new) shopping and go to lunch, maybe sit outside a coffee shop and just hang out, Avery loves to eat so they got to sample all different ethnic foods and have a nice time,  while Evan and I hit the garage sales. Of course it was one amazing sale after another. Evan had no idea...He was getting a little adrenaline rush, practically drooling! He was able to pick up a cool vintage Star Wars ATT-ATT...Those retail from $50-$90 on Ebay, Evan paid $10. Then we both bought some vintage crank style pencil sharpeners. He was able to bargain the guy down, he ended up paying HALF of what I did for mine! (NOTE: have Evan do all negotiating in the future)....We were having so much fun, that we lost track of time. We were already an hour late to pick up Greg and Avery...whoopsie. I am driving like a banshee...to pick them up, about 20 minutes away...Evan is pleading to stop at every garage sale sign we see....NO no and no.....and then there was one right before we got to our destination....Evan pleaded "just this one last one, mom, PLEEEASEEE! One last Detroit garage sale!" I said no...as I turned into the subdivision...Seriously...what luck? What are the odds? It was hosted by an arts distributer. Yea... full of brand new art supplies...And he had new drafting tables. We had promised Evan that we were going to get him a drafting table this summer...and here is a very high end drafting table, with a magnifying arm lamp. It retails for $1000...and this guy is selling it for $100!!!

 

Unfortunately we had to walk away broken hearted. Our trunk was already filled to the max, we had all of my dads artwork that was in storage to bring home and a black family heirloom bookcase AND our luggage....Those items were already not going to fit and Greg was adamant about not renting a trailer.

 

We went to pick up the rest of the family and we told Greg about the drafting table and how it was just too bad we couldn't get it and oh well...and where are we going to eat for dinner.....

 

Greg said that he just wanted to pass that garage sale and take a look...Next thing you know we bought it...Ummm WTF Greg?! Our shit is already not going to fit and you bought a huge drafting table?? OMG you are fucking insane!

 

He said he was going to make it all fit...(idiot!!) My sister in law even was saying "there is NO way in hell he will get that all in the car!"

 

So he spent about 2 hours playing luggage tetris...And guess what? He made it all fit! I swear to God...he made it ALL FIT!

 

 

 

Some stuff on the roof of the car...

 

 

 

 

The inside of the car.....

 

This is where the kids were supposed to sit..Yea...I didn't say it was a comfortable ride home. But he made it fit! We just jammed the kids in somehow and they didn't seem to mind.

It also forced us to drive straight through on the way home...18 hours. Because we were not going to be able to unpack anything to stay at a hotel. So we arrived home at 5:30 AM. Greg and I taking turns behind the wheel every hour or so...hallucinating...slobbering on ourselves...But we made it! Home sweet home! 

 

It was Evans birthday 2 days later...

 

 Some of Evans art is now available in my Etsy shop!

Check it out!

 

 

Evan Gatscher Studios