Girls' Trip 2008
This year marked the second summer that Sara Titus and I have explored an unknown city. Last year was LA/Santa Monica\Hollywood. This year was Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Sara has heard fantastic things about the city and was also told about a really big art festival they hold at the university. So she coordinated it all and off we flew for a weekend of fun in the city that Matt Pryor first introduced me to in that Get Up Kids song.
The weather was beautiful! The best thing about flying to such a close place is that you can arrive early on Friday, leave late on Sunday and really feel like you've seen the city.
We spent 2 days exploring Art Fair. She bought a beautiful landscape and I bought a portrait of Mother Theresa. Both were created by the same artist (whose name I am forgetting right now). I collected a bunch of cards for the artists I liked and will be sure to post links to their sites some time soon..... soonish.
There was so much fantastic art!!! If I had a much more money, I would purchase it all.
We met some funny college kids who told us that the Blind Pig (bar) was a little sketchy. Sara asked, "Like, we'd get shot?" The girl replied with, "Oh my gosh! No! This is Ann Arbor." I looked at Sara, dumbfounded and we both wondered what "sketchy" meant in this town. Sketchy in Baltimore means we might get shot. Or at least mugged.
A cafe almost locked us in for the night.
We ate at the best Chinese restaurant in this great nation, I do believe. Sara emailed to tell me that she saw a thing on Micheal Phelps and it turns out that he too loves that place. Apparently he trains in MI.
Saturday night we found some free music being played in a chocolate shop. Naturally, we had to sit for that! The artist was Brett and the Circus (www.brettandthecircus.com). It was this guy Brett and his friend Justin. Brett played lead acoustic guitar and Justin did funky Jazz rythms on a matching acoustic. It was magical. They played from a list of originals and covers. Since we were the only people there, for the most part, we kept them busy with covers. Indigo Girls, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Pearl Jam, Jamiriquai. It was great. They were super nice guys as well. They gave us more pointers of places to see and we encouraged them to trek out east to visit our wonderful city. The owner of the chocolate shop was also fantastic!!! After indulging in our first bite of his wonderful truffles and non-periels, we desperately needed milk. I asked him if he could part with some he saved for coffee and he abliged. I pulled out the wallet to pay and he insisted on not charging.
Sara and I visited the Arboretum (which Sara likes to call the arboritorium... which is wrong). It was beautiful there. Our last stop before heading out to the airport to return home. Apparently, lots of college aged lovers enjoy being all lovey in the Arb. That was OK with me as long as they did not mind me taking photos of them seated perfectly beneath large oak trees.
There is a Natural History Museum on campus as well. Being used to the Smithsonian, it was really weird to be in a museum full of small dioramas of prehistoric times. Scenes of cave men and extinct animals were behind large panes of glass.
Ann Arbor is the home of the biggest squirrels I have ever seen! They were at least twice the size of the grey squirrels we have here. Fox squirrels, is what the museum told me they were.
More pictures here.
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Sara has heard fantastic things about the city and was also told about a really big art festival they hold at the university. So she coordinated it all and off we flew for a weekend of fun in the city that Matt Pryor first introduced me to in that Get Up Kids song.
The weather was beautiful! The best thing about flying to such a close place is that you can arrive early on Friday, leave late on Sunday and really feel like you've seen the city.
We spent 2 days exploring Art Fair. She bought a beautiful landscape and I bought a portrait of Mother Theresa. Both were created by the same artist (whose name I am forgetting right now). I collected a bunch of cards for the artists I liked and will be sure to post links to their sites some time soon..... soonish.
There was so much fantastic art!!! If I had a much more money, I would purchase it all.
We met some funny college kids who told us that the Blind Pig (bar) was a little sketchy. Sara asked, "Like, we'd get shot?" The girl replied with, "Oh my gosh! No! This is Ann Arbor." I looked at Sara, dumbfounded and we both wondered what "sketchy" meant in this town. Sketchy in Baltimore means we might get shot. Or at least mugged.
A cafe almost locked us in for the night.
We ate at the best Chinese restaurant in this great nation, I do believe. Sara emailed to tell me that she saw a thing on Micheal Phelps and it turns out that he too loves that place. Apparently he trains in MI.
Saturday night we found some free music being played in a chocolate shop. Naturally, we had to sit for that! The artist was Brett and the Circus (www.brettandthecircus.com). It was this guy Brett and his friend Justin. Brett played lead acoustic guitar and Justin did funky Jazz rythms on a matching acoustic. It was magical. They played from a list of originals and covers. Since we were the only people there, for the most part, we kept them busy with covers. Indigo Girls, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Pearl Jam, Jamiriquai. It was great. They were super nice guys as well. They gave us more pointers of places to see and we encouraged them to trek out east to visit our wonderful city. The owner of the chocolate shop was also fantastic!!! After indulging in our first bite of his wonderful truffles and non-periels, we desperately needed milk. I asked him if he could part with some he saved for coffee and he abliged. I pulled out the wallet to pay and he insisted on not charging.
Sara and I visited the Arboretum (which Sara likes to call the arboritorium... which is wrong). It was beautiful there. Our last stop before heading out to the airport to return home. Apparently, lots of college aged lovers enjoy being all lovey in the Arb. That was OK with me as long as they did not mind me taking photos of them seated perfectly beneath large oak trees.
There is a Natural History Museum on campus as well. Being used to the Smithsonian, it was really weird to be in a museum full of small dioramas of prehistoric times. Scenes of cave men and extinct animals were behind large panes of glass.
Ann Arbor is the home of the biggest squirrels I have ever seen! They were at least twice the size of the grey squirrels we have here. Fox squirrels, is what the museum told me they were.
More pictures here.
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