Thus far...

Sunday morning we packed up the car and headed north to our old stomping grounds- Ann Arbor! We pass through our old home town every summer as we head to the tippity top of the lower peninsula of MI and every summer we marvel at the changes that have happened in our absence. Ann Arbor is frozen in my memory as the place I started my adult life, went to college, met Kyle, got married and had Henry. It is a place of "oh remember that" and "I used to love that place", so it hurts our nostalgic little feelings when the places we remember disappear from the landscape. No more Del Rio or Old Town, and Babs has gone from dive bar to frat joint. Village Corner, where my broke college self used to buy a baguette and butter for lunch, is gone. No more In Flight or Cat's Meow. No more State Control. American Apparel, 7-11 and CVS have all moved in downtown. It isn't home anymore.

There is one new face we were excited to see, though- The Robot Supply & Repair Shop on Liberty Ave. Robot Supply & Repair was built using Dave Eggars' amazing brainchild the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store as a model. It is a retail front for a mentoring and tutoring space, full of creativity and HOPE! We loved it!


We managed to squeeze in an Angelo's breakfast and what could be the best falafel I've ever had at a hole in the wall in Ypsi. An amazing falafel with tons of hummus, cabbage and pickles for $4. Hear that, Asheville? A FOUR DOLLAR FALAFEL! Make it happen. Understanding that Asheville doesn't have the Middle Eastern population that Ann Arbor does, I got right with the fact that a $4 is probably not in my NC future. We hit one of the half dozen Middle Eastern groceries in town and got big jars of Lebanese pickles so I can make a pathetic attempt to recreate the masterpiece at home. I also picked up a box of Turkish Delight for Henry's birthday- a treat he has been begging to try since we read the Narnia series years ago but I never got around to tracking down.

The weather turned as we headed up north. Yuck.


We used the weather as an excuse to stop and get a gluttonous breakfast at Tony's in Birch Run. Yes that is all bacon. No, I didn't eat it all.


I was in a hurry to get up north and see the little man after a whole week apart, so we soldiered on and made good time the rest of the way. He humored me with a big hug and claims that he missed me, but... he seemed to have had a pretty fabulous week with his grandparents.

After a gray and blustery day, the sun came out this afternoon. We got the boat in the water, filled her up with gas and headed out for some tubing!



This picture was taken a few minutes before the boat puttered out and everyone had to be towed in by a neighbor who happened to pontoon by. Oops. Hopefully we'll get that sorted out before too long and Henry will be back in business!

The rest of the Kett clan arrives Friday and our annual crazy family reunion will begin in earnest. Lots of loud card playing, staying up too late and blowing thing up are sure to follow. Until then... reading, knitting and relaxing await!