Last week, I traveled to Dearborn, Michigan to attend Ford‘s annual news briefing & holiday reception on behalf of MiscFinds4u. It was my first visit to the state, and I had a great time!

I arrived on Wednesday night and enjoyed a nice dinner at The Henry Hotel, where I stayed for the duration of my visit. The next morning, I took a bus with the other guests to the Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center for the unveiling of Ford’s annual trend report, Looking Further with Ford 2014. We were also briefed on company news and developments, and got a close-up look at the Ford Fusion Hybrid automated research vehicle, which Ford created with The University of Michigan and State Farm in order to further develop driverless car technology.

After the news briefing, we were able to choose a breakout session to attend to get an in-depth look at various aspects of Ford’s history and current product development – I chose to attend a 3D printing session at the Beech Daly Technical Center, and it was a fascinating experience. I was taken on a tour of the facility to watch industrial 3D printers in action and get a glimpse at the prototypes produced using this method. I even had the chance to get my hands in a vat of nylon dust!

At the end of our tour, everyone in attendance was given a cell phone holder manufactured in one of their 3D printing machines. I thought this was the coolest souvenir – not to mention really useful, I’ve been using it ever since I got home!

After the breakout session, there was a quick rest period before we all headed over to Ford’s yearly Holiday Reception. This was a fun party that had everything from a Mustang pool table and toy car races to a candy conveyor belt!

I even took home a custom Ford Christmas ornament, which I hung on my tree right next to my Maroon 5 bauble.

The following morning, I flew back to the Pacific Northwest and had an adventure with flight delays at Sea-Tac, which is what I get for traveling on Friday the 13th. 😉 But I eventually made it back to Portland and enjoyed a delicious dinner with a friend before heading home to Seaside and passing out.

I had an awesome time during my trip, and this recap barely scratches the surface of everything I saw and did. For detailed recaps, videos, and photos, be sure to follow MiscFinds4U all this week for my coverage!