No, we did not wear OSU gear when we visited Ann Arbor, but Paul wore a Great Lakes Brewing T-shirt one day and a Rock Hall member shirt the other day. We had our conversation starters without football. We had two days in Ann Arbor, which we’ve never visited, and we did our research before we went.
We started out in the Kerrytown historic district and after finding on-street parking, walked to the legendary Zingerman’s Deli housed in a historical building with a large partially-covered patio and adjacent café. The Deli’s sandwiches are world famous, the house-made breads are fresh and authentic, the cookbooks are interesting, and the specialty foods and gifts are unusual and hard to pass up. We stopped at the tasting table, walked past the deli and cheese cases, checked out the fresh baked goods, and got in line to order. Our huge Binny’s Brooklyn Rueben served with garlicky redskin potatoes and a garlic pickle were delivered to our picnic table.
We then walked across the street to Kerrytown Market and shops. The Market was gorgeous, and everything was fresh, colorful, healthy, and very fine. Fine meaning, a filet of upscale fresh-caught specialty salmon was $50/pound. Paul said we have to remember that the University of Michigan is a public Ivy League school. The best places to window shop were Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars, Malofta’s vintage home and clothing, and Mudpuddles toy store, but if we were hungry, we’re pretty sure Pizzapazza would provide us with a good wood-fired pizza.
I had a list, and things we wanted to do were crossed off while others added as we explored. We drove out into the suburban countryside and spent a relaxing and informative afternoon at Matthaei Botanical Gardens in the town of King. The complex features tropical flora and desert plant areas with unusual cacti, but we spent most of our time outdoors in the bonsai, native, and perennial gardens. I was especially drawn to the medicinal herb gardens from various cultures around the world and couldn’t help noticing that lavender showed up in most of them.
On a friend’s recommendation, we ate dinner at the bar (always the best place to be in a new place) of Arbor Brewing Company’s Session Room. The brewery has 65 selections of beer on its menu, some house brewed and many brewed by other breweries, including Fatheads. We can recommend the brewery’s BuzzSaw IPA and note that the drink menu also includes ciders, wines and cocktails. The bar staff made good conversation, and we enjoyed a cobb salad and a burger with potato chips; the nachos and beef barbacoa tacos also looked good. A collection of tap handles decorated the ceiling, which was creative.
Anticipating a thunderstorm the next morning, we went to Gallop Park on the banks of the Huron River and had a good hike as we watched the sky get dark and menacing rain clouds move toward us. The 69-acre park is one of Ann Arbor’s most popular recreation areas with its scenic walkways and pedestrian bridges that cross over small islands. The park has paddleboard, canoe and kayak rentals, several playgrounds, outdoor sculptures, and picnic areas. We took lots of swan photos, talked to young men who were excited about pike from a bridge, and enjoyed a public outdoor display called “Embracing Our Differences Michigan.” And then there waw thunder, high winds and rain. We just made it to our car in time.
Full-on pouring rain pummeled the car while we tried to get to the University of Michigan Natural History Museum. Flooded streets forced us to park for 30 minutes, until the rain became lighter and waters subsided. Good thing we had our rain gear because we were sopping by the time we reached the museum. The students and faculty have made a great museum in the Biological Sciences Building, and the stories of awesome discoveries were plentiful. We spent most of our time in the Evolution: Life Through Time exhibit area and marveled that there was a thing called the last university common ancestor from which all life descends. And again (as at Cleveland’s Museum of Natural History), we shook our heads over the mass extinctions that happened over the eons and what Earth’s future could be like.
Midafternoon, we took a walk through the urban, vibrant, and edgy downtown to find Graffiti Alley (we think people sleep there at night) and had the chance to talk to some of the artists. It was not just an alley but a few intersected ones that would be hard to find if you didn’t know it was there. We did, and were impressed that the walls, ceilings, and floors contained layers of paint and artists’ perspectives.
Social Vines, a rustic winery with award-winning wines, was only 15 minutes away. So off we went. The family-run boutique vineyard and winery is located on a 70-acre farm where the owners planted seven grape varietals in 2022. We enjoyed half a bottle of the Rendezvous Cabernet blend as we relaxed at a picnic table, which didn’t seem overpriced at $32 a bottle. We strolled the wet vineyards so we could smell the new grapes before bidding adieu and getting our bottle recorked.
We lucked out on dinner. We selected Aventura Ann Arbor on Trip Advisor. The story goes that the woman owner bought the 1800s building because “she was immediately inspired by the history, the patina, & the character of the space.” She and her staff flew to Spain to learn about Spanish wines, cocktails and tapas, and returned to Ann Arbor to create an authentic Spanish restaurant. We arrived at happy hour and found the restaurant to be beautiful—brick walls, dark wood, windows that let in just the right amount of light, and white table cloths. We sat at the bar, ordered some creative cocktails, and went down a list of the day’s tapas offerings with pencils in hand. The wait staff was efficient, knowledgeable and friendly and they brought us our food plate by plate so we could savor each one. Bites of Spanish cheeses with bechamel and quince, ham croquettes with hazelnut romesco, salted cod with poquillo cream, and dates with chorizo ran us up at $2 each, and we shared larger $3 tapas of grated tomato on sourdough bread and crispy potatoes with garlic aioli. We were very happy there.
We spent 48 hours in Ann Arbor getting to know the city and its sites, and at the end of the day, we were glad to soothe our legs and backs in the Regent Ann Arbor’s pool and hot tub. We knew Ann Arbor’s streets and destinations, its people and its culture. It was worth the 2 1/2 hour drive each way.
