Last weekend was my first visit ever to Port Huron, Michigan – and the closest I have ever been to Canada without actually crossing the border. The town is well-named – most everything I saw there had something to do with the lake, the river, or the bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada . . .
This was my first view of the bridge – it is huge, metal, and loud. The little building underneath is a museum – apparently Thomas Edison lived here as a boy and rode the train from Port Huron to Detroit every day selling newspapers. Over time, he got so good at it that he hired two other youngsters to sell papers on other trains – and this is how he earned the money to do his first experiments.
There is a Doubletree hotel attached to the convention center (or vice versa). It has been at least 15 years since I have stayed in a Doubletree, but they still make a big deal about greeting you with warm chocolate chip cookies at the front desk when you check in. And so they did . . . handed me a bag straight from the warmer under the desk . . . but then I asked if they had nuts in them . . . "Oh yes . . . walnuts . . . but we have a nut-free alternative if you prefer that." So she went back and dug through a drawer and pulled out these . . . and as she handed them to me . . . "They're also gluten-free . . . but they don't have much taste." Yum . . .
From my room – can’t remember the last time I saw a phone in the bathroom . . .
Before and after setup – the Blue Water Convention Center is really nice, and anyplace that has a loading dock so I can avoid using the liftgate on the truck to load and unload is all right by me.
Couldn’t resist taking this – the promoter is branching out – “Heirloom Productions and Bike Rental”
The barges, fishermen, outdoor music and such naturally draw you out to the river in the evening – there always seemed to be something going on.
The demos in our booth were “self serve” – but the customers were quite willing to help each other. The nice lady in the middle was there for the better part of 45 minutes and drew quite a crowd.
Back to the river on Friday evening – took a walk as far as I could in both directions from the convention center.
Even though I never crossed into Canada, apparently my phone was pinging a tower on that side of the river – Verizon thought I was there, and my directions started appearing in metric . . .
How to keep your kid occupied while you shop . . .
Another crowd at the demo table. I see these t-shirts at practically every convention in Michigan – finally told them what goes through my mind when I see them . . . “We represent, the Lollipop Kids . . .”
Another bunch of customers sat around a table and did a sing-along by reading from cards provided by one of their group. There were more than seven dwarfs, and I didn’t have time to figure out how to make it appear here, but if you click on this link from our Facebook page, I think you’ll be able to watch it . . . https://www.facebook.com/MarcosPaperandCrafts/videos/10156771811342558/
While we were tearing down after the show, this bunch was right outside in the hallway. We thought it was a wedding reception, but found out later that the open bar was getting these folks well-lubricated before the wedding. Made us all wonder what might be shouted out when the minister got to “speak now or forever hold your peace” . . .
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