Flint Art Road Trip, Part 1

I have been accused of being way more serious on this blog than I am in person, so I aim to correct this misconception by posting my photo views of my recent trip to my hometown of Flint.

The goal was simply to get in my car, pack a few friends, don't alert family of my arrival and just drive over to the East Side to see all the things I never have time to view between the baking of the turkey and the emergency therapy sessions with family members.

Sunday's trip was to include a few other folks but due to my last minute decision to visit Flint only my friend Jean Hanks was able to accompany me. No regrets, please.

First up, we toured the many empty storefronts of downtown Flint. One thing that stands out about Flint is the beauty of decay. Something about the rust and boarded storefronts ignites such passionate conversations.

My favorite observation is that as you start off the highway on the main street to downtown you are greeted on the left by the Genessee County Jail. Nothing is more welcoming of urban renewal than a prison on the corner of your city’s main street. What the hell was those city planners thinking when they built this modern structure?

After all this decay I was hungry like the folks who would wander up the streets looking for money. A stop to an old Flint favorite, The Bill Thomas Halo Burger complete with a cow mascot with a halo was definitely in line. As a child this halo meant nothing but now I know that the cow is just a spirit of the cow that used to be. Almost saint like. And don't even think about counting Weight Watcher's points here.

Our last stop was the Flint Institute of Arts. DAMN! This is museum is worth blowing a hole wide open in the sky to visit. FIA is the home to the second largest collection of art in the state. And if you love contemporary art, hell, each and every period is beautifully represented here. The Buick may have come and gone in style but this collection only gets better with time. It makes you wonder what Grand Rapids is thinking when you see what an art spread Flint puts out. (Psssst….The Warhol show is only there until the end of December.)

Ok, I want to write more about this trip but I need to make a break. The Flint Road Trip, Part 2 will include our trip to Frankenmuth - The over the top German CHRISTmas town. (Hometown to Vince Salerno – tell me his life was not hell, an Italian boy in weinerschnitzel town.)

Lastly and Sadly for those folks looking for a souvenir from this downtown Flint trip would have to visit the Wal-Mart on the outskirts of town/farmland to procure this much sought after Made In China gift item.