Oh yes, a Cercis Forest Pansy would be wonderful, but I've already lived through that yearning, that phase of my gardening life where you attempt to grow things unsuited to your zone. I think I tried 3-4 Forest Pansies, wrapping them in burlap etc... in vain. This nursery has many Japanese maples that I'd love, flowering dogwoods too. There were wonderful variegated Ginkgos, but he said it would be 20 years before I'd know if it was a male or female. All of these were for warmer climates than mine! My tiny dwarf Korean fir is supposed to tolerate my climate, some shade too. :) I feel as though I've been to a foreign country after this outing! Definitely not a wild country garden look. All that was lacking was the chateau!

MK- I know many people who prefer mauritius, including many people who sell lychees for a living. Obviously, I also know many people who dont. Taste is very subjective. Mauritius is also one of the first lychees to ripen- only hak ip ripens as early as it- so thats another benefit- it also has a smaller seed than brewster. As I am not certain I have tasted sweetheart I cant comment on it authortatively, but if it tastes similar to hak ip, it aint that great in my opinion. alot of people like hak ip because it is larger and has a smaller seed than mauritius. a pumpkin is also larger and has a smaller seed than mauritius- doesnt mean it tastes better! Again- it goes without saying that I only speak for myself and if others disagree, thats completely fine. I forgot to note in my report that Jeff Hagen and his wife have a large selection of healthy looking tropical fruit trees and ornamental plants at great prices. If you are looking for something, I would definitly recommend that you check if he has what you are looking for. Adiel- I will def be back to S. FL. What trees do you have

The best burger's in the world are at Miller's on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn. No menu. Just burger's (with or without cheese), fries and onion rings.9and of course a full bar) When you cash out, you go to the bar and tell them what you had. Careful, there's often a line for week-day lunch. I also strongly recommend one of the Arabic restaurants. (In Dearborn this mostly means Lebanese) El Ameer is considered one of the best. I also like Cedarland. Cedarland has a drive through, so it used to get my business for Schwarma and Falafel on the way home from work or my voice lessons. East Dearborn has the largest North American arabic population outside of the middle east. Head to Warren and Schaefer. There are lots of good bakeries and coffee shops, too! La Shish is well known - a local chain. The original is La Shish / Talal on Michigan Avenue. Still.. make the trip, go to El Ameer. Greek Town or Mexican Village in Detroit also have good examples of the food of the ethnic neighborhoods. If they are interested in either, let me know. Also, there are some good Polish restaurants in Hamtramck, but I know less about those. If they are looking for Michelin star eating the Lark is supposed to be wonderful. It's on my list, but I've never been. I agree about the Whitney, by the way. At the other end of the scale, they should definitely go to a Coney Island. Lafayette and American are the original, but Senate, Kerby's, any would be good. Coney Dogs are a must-get for my husband when we are in town. I get greek salad and coney fries. We're headed back to Detroit during Memorial Day week... and we're definitely hitting a coney island. Another must-go for us is The Earle in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor has lots of culinary choices. if it's on their route let me know!

I have made the trip from Ishpeming to Redwoods and camped years ago. I would certainly leave the dogs with a friend. Its difficult being in a car with 3 kids --at least we had a motor home the last few years of camping. California and some of the Western states do not have frequent Highway rest stops or they are under repair, so you may have to rely on stopping at restaurants and that won't be helpful to the dogs. In Michigan you could stop in lots of places and let the dogs run--I wouldn't try that in the Western deserts, or the freeways. What you may want to try is what mariend suggested. Join AAA; their trip ticks and State books are wonderful. they will tell you where gas stations are and interesting places to stop. Whats even a good idea is we have a Garmin GPS. It will tell you restaurants, gas stations and give you directions vocally. We wouldn't travel anywhere without that. If your car has one built in--wonderful. I would recommend that with tent camping your options in the West are more limited than you would guess. Unless you have been here --I would suggest a KOA campground every so often so you can wash clothes, etc. Do they take dogs? Redwoods NP is okay--but consider Zion or Bryce. They have huge trees also. You would have to make reservations now (unless its too late) We just finished a 14 hour plane trip and then a 6 hour car trip with 3 kids (at least they were grandchildren) and it was Australia but it made me recall traveling with my own kids when they were younger. You yearn for peace, quiet and a shower at the end of the day. As you travel across the West,available campgrounds aren't at convenient intervals. We live in California and have sometimes hunted a long time when we didn't have reservations. With two dogs you would have very limited choices in some places.