Day 31 - Pontiac

Tony Cacciarelli • Jul 15, 2020

Pontiac and West Bloomfield, MI

- July 15, 2019

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Orchard Lake, Pine Lake and Cass Lake

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My old neighborhood

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I can see my house from here

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Formerly Andover High

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So overgrown!

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The Gazebo - a neighborhood landmark and meeting place

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The steepest hill in the neighborhood - we called it 'Suicide'. Doesn't seem nearly as tough now

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I always liked this amazing church stuck in the middle of suburbia

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Original Instagram Post

Slept in a little later today, for a change. I needed to catch up on some sleep!

I did get up in the air and fly over some old spots from when I used to live here. It's been almost 25 years since I moved away, so combine that with being airborne and my fading memory and it was tough picking things out at first.

After the flight I decided to use the crew car from the FBO and drive around to see things from ground level as well. It was crazy to see how much has changed but still be able to pick out some familiar landmarks. They've been getting a lot of rain here, so everything is VERY green and almost looks overgrown.

Tomorrow I have an early start to get to Muskegon, MI ahead of some weather that's moving in. The A5 will be down for a 100 hour inspection, which means my 31 day flying streak may come to an end. Maybe I'll schedule a few lessons with an instructor over the next few days, just to keep it going and get some valuable learning in.

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More nostalgia than actual flying on this day. As I cruised around the neighborhoods and towns, it was such a weird sense of familiar but different.

Michigan (or at least the area around Detroit) has a unique driving feature - the Michigan Left. I think it was an experiment in traffic flow without using roundabouts (traffic circles).

At major intersections instead of having a left turn lane/light, you make a right turn and then there's a spot for a quick U-turn. It's definitely more complicated than just being able to make a left at a light, and you run the risk of hitting the same light red as you go back through, but I do think it helps keep traffic flowing. Maybe they should give this a try in LA.

I was able to meet up with a few more old friends for dinner, which led to even more nostalgia. All in all, it was a good day.

Not sure if I'll ever get back to that area, so it was fun to have what might've been a last look around.