Life of Wry

This is why we come to Ann Arbor… to see the kiddos and to experience a slice of their life. So here’s how this day unfolded:

Our basement apartment at Chez Claire-Lisa is — as I’m sure I’ve said before — lovely, quiet, comfortable and fully equipped. Fully equipped includes all the usual guest amenities, but add a fully stocked exercise gym and a laundry room.

So, this day started with a spin on Claire’s Peloton (again). This photo shows the space we walk through on our way to the bedroom/bathroom. When guests are not occupying the basement, it’s also their big screen TV room. Things to note in the photo: the Peloton over there in the corner; my traveling workout notes (I’m a weirdo); and especially that huge, plush couch, which C&L are bequeathing to Peter and Maya, sure to be the nicest piece of furniture in their new studio apartment.

The other thing I’m loving about this summer trip to Ann Arbor is the cool rain, humidity (well… only in the shade when it’s unseasonably cool, like this morning) and all the GREEN! This is the view to the backyard (could also be the neighbor’s yard.. they don’t really do fences around here).

After a leisurely morning, Jim and I went into town to hang out at Argus.. my absolute favorite corner in A2.. we sat in the green house (not sure what they call that space) and drank coffee/tea and ate croissants prob for a couple hours. We then bought a bunch of locally farmed produce and headed into Kerry Town to finish our dinner shopping at the Coop and Zingerman’s (birthday cake).

We headed back to Loch Alpine and having exhausted himself, Jim took a very long nap! I prepped dinner.. fun to make my way through somebody else’s kitchen….not hugely efficiently, but I found most of what I needed.

Dinner was some cheese and cracker apps, a sheet pan Greek chicken that’s been a fave at home (though guessed on the marinade.. and it came out great), a big salad, some fantastic bakery bread, wine, and a weird tropical birthday cake and ice cream. Yummers.

Best part of the night was Maya’s willingness to share a presentation she’d made to her company this week. It was about 15-20 minutes long (with our frequent interruptions and questions) adn it was a compelling and thoughtful look at the impact of school design (good and bad) on the well being and productivity of students. She delivered it as she did to her colleagues so it was like seeing her in her professional role.. and it was impressive. I felt so proud of her.

I do love these kids.

[That’s the Huron River Rd that runs between Ann Arbor and points west. Loch Alpine is about 5 miles from A2 along this road.]

This lazy summer day in Ann Arbor starred Dexter and Lowertown Bar & Cafe. It also starred our darling kiddos, but they’re always the star of the show.

Day opened with another round on the Peloton. Claire’s created a nice workout space on the bottom floor .. surround by plants and flowers, a powerful fan, a place to position/charge your devices, a clear view of the big screen tv (though I didn’t have the patience to navigate that) … just step on and go. Which I did. Fun.

Then Jim and I headed to Dexter, a tiny town (pop 4500) 4 miles west of Loch Alpine (L&C’s rural, deer and lake-rich neighborhood). Dexter is just darn sweet. It sits, as well, along the Huron river. Its downtown has a critical mass of bakeries and essential merchants, the residential areas are tidy and awash in flowers and fresh cut grass. We sat outside at Joe and Rosie’s and drank coffee/tea, ate muffins, did puzzles and watched small town life happen.

Peter summoned us at noon and we picked him up (again, at the loading dock), and headed to El Limon, a Mexican restaurant, again on Plymouth, close to his office. Kept it short, as he was busy and was going to be spending the end of his day at the optometrist getting fitted for new glasses and his first set of contacts! He lost his own glasses (sad) and has been wearing Maya’s (for a month or two!), which only approximate his prescription.

After lunch, we dropped Peter back at his office and Jim and I whiled away the afternoon at Loch Alpine. Around 5, we met Peter and Maya at their newish neighborhood hangout: Lowertown Bar and Cafe.

Lowertown Bar & Cafe is a hybrid neighborhood space, serving Hyperian coffee and pastries during the day, and a wide selection of beer and craft cocktails in the evening.

Lowertown is more than a location – it’s a community revival. This neighborhood predates much of downtown Ann Arbor, with the oldest commercial building in town just steps away.

Where morning coffee meets evening cocktails in Ann Arbor’s historic northside.

Tuesday night offers a rousing Trivia competition and we were there for it. In fact, we got 2nd place in the first round (and won a gift card!) and we came in 6th in the second round. Looked like about 20 teams, some very large.

Maya and I had walked over to a nearby Indian restaurant to pick up to-go dinners, which was wonderful. Lo Town only serves drinks.. people bring their own food.

A nice shot of Maya…probably conferring on a correct answer of some sort.

After all that excitement, we headed to that ice cream place (the one we’ve noticed for the last 5 years, the one with the very long lines) at Liberty and 1st. Fantastic ice cream (the line moves fast) on a warm night. Heavenly. We drove them back to their car and we headed home.

Gotta love a town where folks are still displaying their Kamala signs (signs with a touch of hometown pride).

Jim and I have Lisa and Claire’s home — a home we know and love — to ourselves for the week. Started our first morning with a phone call from Lisa, (all the way over in Germany) who checked in to make sure everything was good but mostly needed me to fetch some info for her. That was our wake up call, though it wasn’t that early.. we’re still on California time.

Now up, had a great workout on Claire’s Pelaton, showered then headed out to lunch (it was that late..). We’ve now mastered ePark Ann Arbor.. a very cool phone app that is the fastest and most convenient way to pay a parking meter ever. We tried a new place (to us): First Bite, on Main Street between Huron and Washington. Lovely spot.. all healthy and thoughtful. Sat inside, but nabbed an outside table when one opened, had bowls and soups.. easy breezy. After lunch, we strolled down Main to the Himalayan store so I could show Jim one of my favorite stores in town and have him look at one of the videos that runs on a large screen in the back of the store promoting the various trips they coordinate to Nepal (in case P&M want to do that as a graduation gift). The owners were the first, I believe, couple to marry at the top of Mt. Everest. How ’bout that!

We dropped into State and Liberty — that men’s clothing store that specializes in stretchy, athletic-cut suits (odd garments, those). Peter needs to get sized for a suit we bought him (via gift card) for Christmas last year, in time for a wedding next month in Scotland. (Hurry up, Peter!) Then walked up to Sweetwater in Kerry Town and sat there for another couple hours drinking coffee/tea, doing puzzles, blogging, clearing email and tabs.. whatever. Productive. (Or not.)

This is what I mean. Chill. Jim and I occupy ourselves leisurely during the day and, depending on the day, will meet up with Peter and/or Maya for lunch or a walk or dinner, as their schedules allow. We are up for anything at anytime. We might service P’s car, or at least gas it up, maybe clean it. How great is that? Everyone’s happy: win win win win.

Peter was ready for us at 4:00, so we picked him up from the usual spot (a service dock behind a North Campus building) and off we went to take a good long walk along the Huron River in Gallop Park.

A great data dump was had as we dodged Canada Geese (and their green slimy poop). Me: over the moon to be strolling with the boy, hearing his stories and updates. He had a coop work shift that night and would miss dinner, so we stopped at a place new to Jim and me, Rapport, another eatery/pub in the strip mall along Plymouth that is so often his destination for meals, as it’s close to North Campus. He had some fried food and a beer, me a cider, Jim an iced tea.. and lots more stories. Excellent. We dropped him at Escher in time for his 7pm shift and we headed over to the Burnt Toast to take Sarah out for dinner.

Sarah suggested Mediterrano.. on the outskirts (or so it seemed) and we had a fantastic dinner and some great catch up with her. Returned to the Burnt Toast (love that place) and had some of her rhubarb pie. Hung out for about an hour, then headed home.

Today had some sun, some overcast, no rain, but warm (high 70s). Warm enough to sweat even if not exerting much energy. We’ve not been in A2 much in the summer (ever, except for me back in 2019). Peter sings the praises of the upper midwest summer.. so that was one reason we decided to go now. Also: lightning bugs.