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If you caught my first entry, you might think that Ann Arbor is simply a University, but in fact it's a 100,000+ person community that was founded in 1824 by a Virginian and a New Yorker. I've spent nearly five hours during the past two weeks simply walking through the city, with info in hand, getting the lay of the land, enjoying the neighborhoods, and seeing the historic sites. The photos capture about 1% of what I've seen, but hopefully give a feeling for this lovely little spot. Many evenings have also been spent enjoying live music at SummerFest. While there's a handful of paid performances, this outdoor festival offers free music, six nights a week, for an entire month! I'm sorry to see it coming to a close soon. Otherwise, life goes on with dental torture, a bit of work, some house managing, training for a cycling event, a few delicious beers with a friend, and a self-imposed headache, as I start thinking of writing "the book".
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I've been quite busy during my first two weeks in Ann Arbor, though I have another six weeks to explore the area. I would love to say that I landed here because it's the #1 best city to live in in the U.S. of A, but the truth is that I'm here because it has the top dental school in the country. Yes, I'm here to hopefully alleviate a dental issue that began in Idaho nearly two years ago. However, I'm not simply hanging around awaiting dental appointments, as Ann Arbor has much to offer. It's also the best time of the year to be here as spring has arrived, and 99% of the student population has left. I've rented a small, fully-equipped room via Airbnb that's walking distance to the U of MI, and biking distance to the Border-to-Border (B2B) Trail. Just perfect, and I adore my host, who in her 8th decade still frequently travels, writes, and enjoys sharing conversation with a glass of wine. While I've been getting my bearings on foot and two wheels, I've discovered that Ann Arbor is a small town with a lot of personality, and lovely waterfront parks along the Huron River. The B2B Trail currently follows nearly 24 miles of paved, shared-use paths that link open spaces of the Huron River Greenway, and the goal is 70 miles within five years. So, I've been enjoying cycling from park-to-park, and discovering a few other small towns along the way. The University is certainly the hub of Ann Arbor, so it's also where I began my quest to know more. Unfortunately, some of the old was demolished to make way for the new, but I located more than a dozen historic buildings, and have highlighted a few in photos. More to come on those that are now museums that I'll visit on a rainy day (as I haven't had one yet). There's so much to do here as I've already joined a writing group, a Saturday bike group, and scoped out the downtown library for books, films and music before SummerFest begins this week. |
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March 2023
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