Arrive today in Detroit, MI – Motor City for a three night stay at a local hotel.

Tonight, enjoy a guided Detroit Murder Mystery Tour.  The Motor City is about to get a whole lot more … *deadly*.  You’re invited to a *Downtown Detroit Murder Mystery* where YOU are the detectives.  Sharpen your wits, grab your fedora, and get ready to untangle a web of secrets and lies that stretch from the greasy goodness of American Coney Island to the stoic gaze of the Spirit of Detroit.  A prominent Detroit businessman, known for his ruthlessness and shady dealings, has been found dead.  Not just dead, *dramatically* dead.  He was discovered slumped against the Joe Louis Fist, a single, perfectly manicured glove clutched in his hand.  Our victim was last seen alive hopping between some of Detroit’s most iconic landmarks.  Witnesses place him: American Coney Island, The Spirit of Detroit, Grand Trunk Pub, Campus Martius.  Each location offers a cast of characters ripe with motive and opportunity.  All tours include themed food & beverage!  (Multiple Mystery Tour Topics are available.  Tour maybe different than described here.) (D) 

Today’s focus is on American Innovation and Automobile History.  Start at The Henry Ford Museum where you’ll discover America culture, inventions and can-do spirit.  There are hundreds of hands-on ways to explore it and be inspired by it.  From race cars to railroads, to the Wright Brothers, the wide-ranging exhibits of this museum brings you face to face with things that have the power to inform and engage.  It will put you in the place of the movers and shakers who blazed the trails to where we stand today.

Then at the Ford Rouge Factory, you enjoy awe-inspiring encounters with America’s celebrated manufacturing past with a look at the sheer scale of a working auto factory.  Walk through the Legacy Gallery and Electric Vehicle Display and see the iconic vehicles manufactured here, while looking ahead to auto making’s electric future.

And finally, at Greenfield Village experience firsthand the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s fascinating formation, where over 80 acres brim with resourcefulness and ingenuity.  Here, 300 years of American perseverance serve as a living reminder that anything is possible.  Step foot into the lab where Thomas Edison had his lightbulb moment and the workshop where the Wright Brothers taught us to reach for the sky.  Take a ride in a real Model T, and walk through four working farms.  You’ll rub shoulders with world-class artisans, and explore the place where America’s can-do spirit inspires you to go out and get it done.

The afternoon will also feature a visit to the birthplace of the Model T.  A National Historic Landmark, the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a symbol of Detroit’s ability to invent, innovate, and rebound.  The Model T changed not only what we drove then, but how we live today.  And it was conceived, developed, and built right here.  Tour the factory, walk the plank floors worn smooth by hundreds of workers and thousands of cars.  See Henry Ford’s competition, his early successes and false starts.  Learn how volunteers saved one of the world’s most significant industrial buildings right here in the mechanical heart of Detroit.

Tonight, dinner is included at a local restaurant. (B,D)

This day is focused on the Auto-Barons.  Start with a visit to the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, the serene lakeside estate of one of America’s most prominent automotive families.  The stunning architecture, expansive lakefront gardens and grounds and historic cars all give a glimpse into the Ford family’s life at the estate.  Impeccably decorated and filled with treasures.  A guided tour tells stories of what it was like when the family lived in the home.  Then sit down for a grand lunch overlooking the water at Gaukler Point and Lake St. Clair.

Next is a visit to the Packard Proving Ground Historic Site, their mission is to preserve the legacy of the Packard Motor Car Company through the restoration and preservation, while educating future generations about America’s automotive history.  You will see a historically accurate restoration of the PPG buildings and grounds, displays of Packard automobiles and memorabilia, as well as displays that highlight Packard’s role in WWII’s great American Arsenal of Democracy.  You may even have the chance to ride in one of the vintage cars.

Your day ends in nearby Rochester, MI at Meadow Brook Hall.  A National Historic Landmark, Meadow Brook is the historic home built by one of the automotive aristocracy’s most remarkable women, Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of automobile pioneer John Dodge, and her second husband, lumber broker Alfred Wilson.  Constructed at the end of the Jazz Age (1926-1929) Meadow Brook represents one of the finest examples of Auto-Baron Homes in America.

You have a Behind-the-Scenes Tour to rarely-seen areas in the Mansion.  You’ll see the Mrs. Wilson’s bedroom, the staff quarters, playrooms and even the China Vault that includes vintage liquor from the Prohibition-era.  Your tour provides special insight into what life was like for the Dodge and Wilson family and those who lived and worked at Meadow Brook Hall.  An elegant catered Dinner will also be included here this evening. (B,L,D)

After breakfast, depart for home. (B)