July 08, 2000
Summertime in Ann Arbor
All things considered, not a bad Saturday at all. Mom and I went over to get the last of my things from the trailer and to do that whole moving out cleaning thing. It didn't take us that long, and we were back at my apartment having lunch by 2:30. After lunch, we unpacked the car and mom went home. I sorta flopped and vegged for a while. I was up too late last night and up too early this morning.
Dinner last night was wonderful. We went to a place in Ann Arbor called The Real Seafood Company, and it was fabulous. If you're ever in Ann Arbor, it's right on Main Street. I highly recommend it. From the time we parked the car and walked the couple blocks to the restaurant, to the time we got back in the car, I lost track of the times I said, "I really missed Ann Arbor!" Jo and Eric were probably tired of hearing me say it, but it's true. I can't explain it. There's just something about the town. I've never loved a place this much before. It manages to have a sort of small town feel, and yet larger city attractions. It's very artsy and liberal. It does have a tendency to cater to a yuppie-ish sort of mentality in a way, but not overly so. Or rather, not so exclusively that the more hippie-ish among us can't enjoy it too.
I'm just bummed out that I practically missed my most favorite Ann Arbor summer event: Ann Arbor Summer Festival. The best part of it is what's called Top of the Park. Every night for several weeks, they fill the top of an underground parking structure with food and art booths, then line the huge center area with folding chairs. On weeknights, there's free live music of every kind imaginable until about ten, then they show a movie against the huge wall of the structure. On weekends, there's just live music until the wee hours. Aside from vending, it's all free. The infamous summer of 1995 I lived about three blocks from that structure. We spent almost every night there, just hanging out and enjoying the music and the movies and the people watching. One of my fondest memories of that summer is sitting and watching Grease with several hundred people, with the entire audience singing along.
And... looking at the calendar, tomorrow's the last night. I could go, I suppose, but I doubt I'll be back from gaming in time. Ah well, there's always next year. Besides, there's no shortage of nifty free musical events in Ann Arbor. That's one of its many charms.
Right now I'm feeling like there's plenty of Ann Arbor summer left. And I'm feeling like I want to make sure to take advantage of it.
Posted by Lisa at July 8, 2000 08:57 PM
