M is for Michigan!

On my way home from The Big City, I took a two-and-a-half day detour to Michigan, to visit Annie B. and Jeffrey. Michigan was a blessed sight after the hustle and bustle of NYC. As I flew in over the lakes and treetops, I could tell I was going to love it there. Anne and Jeff have set up a great little place for themselves and all seems quite routine. I could easily see Wheatie's influence on Anne's home decor: the Halloween decorations, candy corn in an all-too easily accessible dish, and the perfect setup in the guest bath. Of course two days wasn't anywhere close to long enough to fulfill my Gone-Since-August Anne Withdrawls, but I was grateful for the temporary remedy!

Highlights from my adventures with A & J:

-Charming Ann Arbor
-Stucchi's - almost as good as Shop-n-Go...almost. And Jeff, it is "Shop."
-Anne's pork chops
-Walking around the Arboretum and chatting about absolutely nothing and absolutely everything
-Cajun food a la Michigan!
-Anne's tour of the U of M campus, empty stadium and all
-Time with Jeff (in between studying, studying, and hmm...let's see...more studying)
-FRANKENMUTH! (Okay, so not so much our thing, but the drive was beautiful and I did make off with a great ornament for Rich)
-Bee-boppin' it late into the night at Steve and Barry's (Is it Steven Barry's?) while they were trying to close for the night.
-Parallel parking. Way to go, Annie B. We almost had it, didn't we?
-Driving through the old neighborhoods to look at the houses
-"You've found your paradise and Woodchase!" (No pets allowed)
-Candy corn, peanut butter pretzels and "Death in a 4x4"
-Stapled sack lunches and other high school stories
-The air mattress
-The Apple Computer Club chats with Jeff
-Morning walks
-Shmallow time - there's never enough of that!

Annie, I wore my Michigan sweatshirt all day today, not wanting to face work. Oh, the joys of a home office. Faxing in your flannel pjams. Okay, so I wasn't that casual. I'm going to get a lot of good use out of your generous gift. Can't wait to GO BLUE here at home.

Thank you for the most wonderful visit. I can't wait to come back. Have the Coleman (and the heater) at the ready!