If I was going to fly to Washington, then I was also going to bring my computer and work from home for a week. This meant an early morning arrival at Detroit Metro, where thankfully Nailhed was able to pick me up. We had some 'splorin to do.

Nailhed had recently posted about Edgar's Sugar House Number 5, a once nearly-impenetrable warehouse that was now susceptible to ingress.

In no time at all, I dropped off my luggage at his house and we found ourselves driving through the streets of Delray on a hot, humid day where the summer was still hanging on.

One of the main reasons I wanted to see this place was its location along the railway tracks in Delray, one street over from Junction. This is the number one area where I've spent time in Detroit, where I've watched as plenty of nearby places have disappeared (Sybill Corp, McMillan, Delray Medical Clinic, etc.) and now it's even worse with the new bridge coming through. I also don't live nearby anymore, so if something's going to quickly go, I'm going to miss it.

This Number 5 Sugar House still exists, whitewashed and sealed in the new June 2018 StreetView. While it isn't within the footprint of the new Gordie Howe Bridge's customs plaza, it is just across the street and on the other side of a planned noise abatement wall.

With the building now sitting empty and closed, it's not hard to envision border security, the province of Ontario or the state of Michigan purchasing the building and simply flattening it. That's a big reason why I wanted to see the sugar house, since it could still be there as I clear customs in 2022, or it'll be a vacant lot where I'll remember what used to stand there.

In addition to the Number 9 Sugar House that was adjacent to this plant, W.H. Edgar & Son had at least five other sugar houses or factories in Detroit. The business controlled quite the slice of the Detroit sugar pie.

This leads into the other reason I wanted to see this place, because of an interesting local connection.

Sugar baron James Edgar, then owner, could branch out into other endeavours and he did just that in collaboration with Henry Ford. In 1935, the two men agreed to work together on an experimental soybean mill, which would produce soybean meal, soybean flour and soybean oil.

This new mill was to built on the Canadian side of the river at Belle River Ontario.

The only thing is that I can't find anything else to do with this soybean mill in Belle River. I can't find if it was ever built, when it was destroyed or anything else. And while I definitely haven't read every old book about Belle River, I would think mention of an old soybean mill would be the type of thing I would note.

I have a digital copy - or rather I have a photo folder where I photographed every page - of History of Belle River from 1874 to 1974. Looking in this folder, this book doesn't mention anything about soybeans or a soybean mill.

History of Soy Flour, Flakes and Grits, states that the mill is already under construction in 1936 and lists that the soybeans will be stored as "shelf stable". The quote from the 1936 proceedings makes it seem like the mill was on its way and actually constructed.

This source also goes on to say that James Edgar is constructing this building as Edgar Soya Products Ltd, and plans to contact farmers to secure acreage to grow the needed 400 acres of beans.

The interesting thing is that my grandfather was actually a soybean farmer. While he would have only been in his teens around the time of this James Edgar/Henry Ford soybean mill, it is possible that his father sold soybeans to the guy who invented the assembly line and the $5 workday.

I loved the local connection of this building.

You might've noticed two things in my pictures: that I should've brought a tripod and that the interior left a little to be desired. This was definitely one of those cases where Nailhed makes a place sound more exciting than it actually is, haha. It was certainly small and fairly empty.

It was still in Delray and had a fun connection to Belle River, so I'm happy we checked it out regardless.

Following our fun in Delray, we found ourselves all the way over on the East Side and I asked Nail if we could stop at the old Slovak Home.

Staying in the truck since he checked out this place in 2006, I was free to walk up the alley if I really wanted to check it out.

And so, I fought my way through the overgrown and trash-strewn alleyway, finding a hall that looked just a little worse for wear than Nailhed's 2006 pictures. In fact, by the time I was at the top of the ladder leading inside, there really wasn't anywhere to safely go.

Maybe I should have came in 2006? Then again, I have pictures from taking a look in 2009, but the building was somewhat occupied with new windows and awnings. Sadly, whatever church or organization that was trying to use this building didn't seem to get past the initial hurdles of renovation.

Much like you would have the Polish Club and the Caboto Club in Windsor, you had the same in Detroit for all the incoming immigrant groups, plus even more examples because of the greater population numbers.

I've now explored the Danish, Finnish, Ukrainian & Slovak version of these places in Detroit and I often walk past the occupied and reused Lithuanian Hall in Mexicantown.

Nailhed's update mentions that there was a bowling alley in the basement, something he regrets not looking for, and as the wet floor sagged beneath me I guess I almost checked it out without knowing it was there, haha.

The Slovak Home is one of those rare places that has sat abandoned since I started visiting Detroit and still survives unchanged into today. Regardless of how easily you could reuse the front facade or the fact that someone was in here trying to keep things under control with tarps, you can't like the Slovak Home's chances in this condition, or in this sparsely populated neighbourhood behind GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly.

The Slovak Home was built in 1923 and as you can see from the cornerstone above, it was designed by P.R. Rossello.

It was getting to be about 40 o'clock by this time and knowing about an abandoned house along the freeway with great city views, Nailhed pulled up.

Going inside, I spent a few minutes thinking about the weight difference between Nailhed & I. I also thought about how he often forgets to mention key safety facts about floor softness and loose timbers.

Thankfully I didn't come crashing through the floor and I was allowed to sip my blue Schlitz as the evening just kept going and going. It was one of those warm midwest evenings with the beautiful soft grasses, puffy clouds and summertime comfort.

I also tried to get into some stuff on the Canadian side while I was home, but we unfortunately showed up at the same time as the plywood.

While I try extremely hard to save all my travel for escaping winter, I have to admit that I was also pretty excited to be home and able to finally return to the village of Bothwell. It had been about 15 years since I rode this place for the only time, and ever since then, I've thought about driving back past Chatham for one of my favourite parks.

Oh the Sunday mornings I would spend here if I lived in Southwestern Ontario.

And the skatepark even came with its own sweeper!

(A city worker actually saw Don sweeping and stopped to blow off the whole park with his leaf blower, which was much appreciated. Squirrels were dropping acorns throughout our session, along with the leaves they'd displace as they scurried amongst the branches in the tall surrounding trees.)

In addition to Bothwell, we also managed to have a bonfire in one of Windsor's hoity-toity bedroom communities.

I personally didn't think it was the best idea, especially after we saw the police stop a bunch of tweens from playfully wrestling at Boston Pizza, but in the end, things went off without a hitch and it was the shit.

Maybe there is something to be said for not being so focused on saving trips for the dead of winter.