Sunday Again Ann Arbor

I woke with my alarm at 7 in a huge bed in a massive hotel room in the Royal Park Hotel, wondering how the night could be over so soon. In my bare feet, I walked on the balcony one more time to enjoy the gurgling river and returned to my room before I froze. I threw on my clothing as Deborah had a complex schedule this morning and could only spend ninety minutes at breakfast with me. She lives only a few miles from the hotel.

We met and soon had coffee (our first cup was the excellent free stuff in the entranceway) and then had more that was less free in the restaurant. Our waiter was busy, and like most fancy hotels, the place was always just above total chaos. Our order was lost and sent to the wrong table, and the waiter dropped the coffee charge from the bill. Deborah and I talked and remembered friends from Eric’s service and how happy yet strange it felt to see so many people for the first time in forty-five years! We all felt young, remembered our days in high school, and wondered how such and such person could look so old, but the smiles and the light in the eyes were still the same. How could they be so old? Of course, we all are now.

Deborah had a meeting for an event, and later, I learned the event was to make perfumes. Deborah had to be in Ann Arbor at 11. We finished, and I paid using a $100 bill. My ATMs in Oregon tend to give them in place of the five twenties now, and I did not think about it then. It took our waiter extra time to break it and use it. Oops.

Deborah was on her way, and I returned to the room, showered, redressed, and packed up. I had only slightly unpacked and soon headed out. I used the express checkout (after viewing the bill) and just left the key card in the room. A couple decided to use the staff elevator as there was something wrong with the main lift (likely busy at checkout time, but one was out of service). I joined them. It did not open in the hallway on the ground floor but in the kitchen. We were first thinking of ascending and trying another lift, but then we together found the boldness to walk into the kitchen, me with luggage, cross, leave to the bar, and then out. Exciting!

With that last-minute exploration and chaos, I left the place, taking one last photo of the too-f**king-early (TFE) Christmas display in the lobby. Deborah and I also learned the night before of the Holiday Bar. A particular room offered special drinks and food for the TFE Christmas. This we learned included the cookie charcuterie board, which left Deborah, often overly precise in her thinking, thinking that cookies would have to come with little piles of frosting and sprinkles so you could assemble them yourself. There was a long line for access, and we demurred.

I boarded Air Ford (Edge), loaded the cargo area with my wraps and luggage, and used my Apple Maps app to travel. Concerned that I would take another unique trip, Deborah checked my directions before heading out. But she could not prevent me from making the wrong or missing turns altogether.

I was enjoying the tour of Bloomfield Hills, the high-end homes of Michigan, and did not take my turn, and the next one, and the next one. I enjoyed an extended tour of the area and enjoying the drive. I saw many nice-looking homes and schools.

Aside: Michiganders have for years paid for schools with local property taxes, which means more affluent and expensive areas get much more money for schools as the money was not pooled and used by need. This was changed years ago, but the impact can still be seen. In my case, my hometown had a run-down high school with asbestos dust falling from the pipes–I remember we used to play with it. The gym was built around 1946 with maple wood and was well cared for like a beloved antique, but it still showed its age when I was there. Back in the 1980s, there were seldom arguments about textbooks or what to put in the library–unlike today, as we were happy just to have something newish and not torn up. I am pleased to write that Laingsburg now has a lovely new high school known for its excellent basketball and often plays in the finals. Change takes time, but equity finally rises.

Returning to the story, I again take the wrong exit (at the time me imagining getting a tsk tsk from Deborah), I drive through some nice areas and finally arrive downtown Ann Arbor. I don’t think I have been here before. It has the usual college town fascination for charging for parking, and most of the metered parking is full and the one I could take would require me to parallel park an Air Ford (Edge) with no idea if I could manage that without lost paint. Sheepishly, I find a parking structure and put Air Ford (Edge) into a slot. I open the back gate; it is an SUV, and I miss a metal pipe holder by an inch (F**K) and grab my laptop.

I found two bookstores across from the garage, Third Mind Books and Literati, which I visited. At Literati, I found a book (translated from Greek with stories of traveling the Greek shores) and a few cards to send out. After that, I was directed to a coffee place a few blocks away. There, I got a tiny table, wrote the blog, and enjoyed the Sunday rush in a college town. Once the blog was over two days, I bought some croissants, two bags, one with four for Deborah and her son to enjoy (they stay good for about two days), and two in another bag for me. Barb, my sister-in-law, contacted me for dinner on Sunday night at 6ish, and she, being familiar with Ann Arbor as her daughter went to Michigan, recommended the Peruvian place, Culantro, just a few blocks away.

Deborah appears with her new scent, Sunrise, and parks in the same garage. We meet for a late lunch, stopping by to get some physical copies of the new issue of the newspaper Laim works for. After navigating Deborah’s dietary restrictions, we get a fine repast at Culantro. Lunch-dinner was terrific, and we enjoyed some sugary but deliciously spiced drinks from mason jars. Barb was quite right about this place.

But it is time for me to return to Lansing and Deborah to go home and prepare for the next week. She has been at a conference for a week, a service for Eric, and then spending much of her time with me. We say goodbye, and we head back. We talk as we travel on the phone, and Deborah is very amused that I finally managed to follow a sane path and miss no turns this time.

I soon arrive at the Homewood Hilton. There the rooms are enormous but full as they come with a small kitchen, full frig, and even a couch. Excellent. I am most pleased with this choice; parking is free for the first time on the trip!

I met Barb, my sister-in-law, at BJ’s Brewhouse. We sat at the bar and had a beer and an excellent appetizer: California flatbread, large enough for two. We talk about travel and plans. Barb wants to return to Europe with her husband Gordon, “Gord,” to visit Poland, Germany, Spain (Barb’s wish), or Italy. We discuss potential trips and some of my unfulfilled crazy trips to multiple countries. We will keep each other informed and may overlap to see each other in Europe. Barb, like me, has noticed that Europe is cheaper now than the USA for travel. We had a lovely snack; we both had too much for lunch, and we will reconnect soon for more trips. Barb also suggests that she and “Gord” have not reached Scotland yet, which is another potential overlap.

I returned to my room, and Barb returned to Grand Blanc. I sent out an updated travel plan. I soon was in my PJs reading and fell asleep when I put the iPhone down for a moment and stopped reading the Kindle app. I rose and completed bed tasks, and turned off the lights. It was still early for me, and I woke at 11, thinking it was morning—just jetlag. I woke twice, thinking it was morning each time, and instead, it proved hydration.

Thanks for reading.