Michigan: 'I visited the US state which is a place of invention and rivalry'

Elon Musk’s all-electric Tesla is named after the Croatian-born genius Nikola Tesla, who worked initially for the inventor of the incandescent light bulb, Thomas Edison.

They sparked each other off as they applied themselves in their separate workshops - Edison on the Michigan side of the St Clair River, in Port Huron, north of Detroit, and Tesla in Edison’s laboratory further afield.

But as with many cutting-edge and perhaps ego-charged entrepreneurs, their relationship had an on-off switch too.

Little changes over time. A hundred and fifty years on, Elon Musk and his one-time close collaborator, President Trump, have also had their bust-ups and rows. It seems the Tesla car is aptly named.

It’s fascinating to be where it all kicked off - right there in Port Huron, exactly an hour’s drive from Detroit, and right on the Canadian border, the scene of another modern-day blow-up, this time over import tariffs.

Lines of trucks pack the two view-commanding bridges - one old, one new, with both arching high across the St Claire River between Michigan and what Donald Trump provocatively calls ‘the 51st state.’

Huge freight vessels pass through the straights below, providing America with iron ore for its steel furnaces.

You can look out from Port Huron’s Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, watching this attention-grabbing scene, with the Thomas Edison Museum nestling on the shore in Port Huron’s historic railway depot, just south of the Great Lake with the same name.

The depot is where Edison worked from the age of 12 onwards, selling passengers food and newspapers - and conducting his experiments, even at that tender age.

On display in the depot, and in an adjacent railway car, are Edison’s amazing inventions. There’s the famous incandescent lightbulb that effectively gave the world light.

There’s the phonograph that helped give us recorded sound, and there are exhibits to show his prowess in mass communications and with motion pictures. As the film director might say: ‘Lights, camera, action!’.

But spare a thought for Tesla, who lost the so-called ‘War of the Currents’, and who died penniless.

He should have been an outright winner, since his alternative current (AC) system prevailed over Edison’s direct current (DC) as the one we use today.

Unfortunately, Tesla’s PR machine broke down, whereas Edison was in top gear.

So what else is to be seen and done in Michigan and the USA’s Great Lakes region, which is packed with scenic drives and trails, and lots of cultural festivals?

On the maritime front, there are the sandy beaches of the ‘Thumb Coast,’ so named because this part of Michigan’s coast north of Port Huron is shaped like a thumb, sticking out of hand-shaped Michigan.

The nearby Gratiot Lighthouse, which you can tour, is Michigan’s oldest.

Downstream is the equally-interesting Port Huron Lightship, moored a short walk from those Blue Water Bridges to and from Canada.

You can take a bus up to the beaches, and the Blue Water Trolley around Downtown Port Huron (www.bwbus.com).

You can be dropped off at the Carnegie Centre, the former library set up by Scottish-born philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Apart from locally-focussed displays and artefacts, the highlight is a full-scale, simulated pilot’s bridge on a cargo ship, complete with captain’s wheel.

You have to navigate the river - and it’s harder than you imagine. Participants crash into the river banks all the time!

Eating-wise, you can’t go wrong with Freighters Eatery, attached to the Doubletree Hotel, and with those incredible waterfront views (www.freightersph.com), and the Vintage Tavern, a first-floor balcony restaurant with Downtown location (www.vintagetavern.net).

You can start and finish your Michigan holiday in the now pretty-much recovered city of Detroit, famous for its cars and Motown music.

But we chose a round-trip discovery journey from Chicago, right across the heart of Michigan. There are unexpected treats in store.

You discover the relaxing seaside resort towns of South Haven and Grand Haven on Lake Michigan; and the surprise addition of Holland, an old Dutch settlement complete with proper working windmill.

All three are resorts and playgrounds for Chicago, Illinois and Indiana, and used to be linked up by a steamship service across Lake Michigan.

South Haven’s Maritime Museum outlines the full story, with sailing trips downriver and into the lake, and firework and light-shows into the bargain.

Between the two Havens is Holland, with its European heritage going back to 1847 when a group of Calvinist separatists sought refuge and a new beginning.

When they saw the dyke-ridden area near the coast they found a home from home. They eventually brought over a full-size, fully-functioning windmill from the Netherlands, and the settlement took root.

Today, their fields of commercially-grown tulips provide an added touch of spectacular authenticity, with May being the best time to see the fields of glory.

Then there’s the wonderfully-named Michigan town of Kalamazoo. It’s a Native American name, and is so unusual that for years the city motto was: ‘Yes, there really is a place called Kalamazoo!’

So much so that the famous Glenn Miller Band had a hit with the pre-war song: ‘I’ve got a gal in Kalamazoo’.

Nearby are two fantastic museums. The Gilmore Car Museum has more than 400 classic vehicles, ranging from a Ford T ‘Tin Lizzy’, to rare early Franklins and Duesenberg models.

Then there’s the Air Zoo, an aerospace and science centre that has more than a hundred artefacts, including flight simulators. Both museums are a joy, and both unexpected.

Pure Michigan tourism - www.michigan.com and www.greatlakesusa.com. Aer Lingus fly from both Leeds-Bradford and Manchester to Chicago via Dublin, which has American Customs pre-clearance - www.aerlingus.com. Hertz hire car for your Michigan adventure - www.hertz.com. Hotels - www.hilton.com