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I'm Back
Tuesday, 2006 May 23 - 11:35 pm
I've returned from a trip to Michigan. Here's the hastily-put-together wrap-up of the trip.

Amy and I went to Michigan this weekend for Steve's wedding. For those of you who know Steve and weren't invited to the wedding, I'm sorry I didn't get to see you. Don't be offended that you weren't invited; it was a pretty small wedding, and I'm getting first-hand experience of just how hard it is to narrow down a guest list for a small wedding.

We flew up Friday evening. We went to the Blue Nile for Ethiopian food with Javi, and then we met up with a bunch of other guys at Earl's house. It was gonna be a bachelor party, but Steve was sick, and the guys really didn't want to exclude the significant others of the people that were invited from out of town (e.g. Amy). So it ended up being more of just a casual get-together.

Saturday I took Amy to two Ann Arbor institutions: Meijer's Thrifty Acres and Zingerman's Deli. When we went to park downtown to go to Zingerman's, I totally stole a parking spot that a woman was waiting for. Granted, she was waiting all the way at the other end of the block from where the parking spot was, and she was rudely blocking traffic... but that doesn't hide the fact that I stole the spot away from her. She pulled up next to us and rolled down her window, and I said pre-emptively, "Did I steal your spot? I'm sorry. Do you want it? I can pull out."

She looked at the New York plates on my rental car, and said, "Oh, no, you're from out-of-town... that's okay!" And she drove off. I felt guilty because I wasn't really a clueless out-of-towner. But I still kept the parking spot.

We were approached by some activists about a proposed Michigan law of some sort that would harm women's rights in the workplace. I promised that I'd take some fliers and give them to my Michigan friends, but I just realized tonight that I forgot to do that. So to my Michigan friends, please remember to vote against whatever bill that is.

We went to the wedding, which was very charming. Amy and I took full advantage of the open bar, even though there was no vodka available... Amy drank wine spritzers all night and insisted she couldn't get drunk from them. That's a bet that I ended up winning after, oh, the twentieth trip back to the bar.

There was an after-party back at Earl's house, and that was a good time too, except for one particular person who was a real ass the whole evening. But I won't go into details about that, because why dwell on the negative?

Sunday we met up with Javi and John for coffee, and then we wandered around town shopping and exploring. Ann Arbor really is a beautiful and vibrant town... as long as you stick to the downtown or campus areas. Downtown, you'll find plenty of unique stores and restaurants, and a colorful mix of people. If you drive outside of town for a few minutes (like, to the part of town where I used to live), it turns into either suburban white-bread hell, or run-down Anytown U.S.A.

Sunday night we went into Detroit to gamble at the MGM Grand casino. Did you know Detroit had gambling? Amy didn't, until this weekend, and she was terribly excited about it. We weren't very lucky gambling, but we had a good time anyway.

On Monday, we went to Cedar Point, the best roller-coaster amusement park in the country. The weather was beautiful, the park was relatively empty, and we rode roller coasters until we just couldn't any more. Unfortunately, one of the top rides ("Millennium Force") was closed for the day... but "Top Thrill Dragster" was open, and WOW, that was a great ride. We also got plenty of the Magnum XL-200, the Gemini, the Mean Streak, and the Raptor. I rode the Power Tower, which was a free-fall drop ride... Amy didn't want to try that one, though.

We left the park at about 5:00 PM and raced back to Detroit to catch our flight. It turns out that our rental car, a Pontiac G6, has a really terrible gas gauge. We got about 300 miles before the tank read half-empty... and then about 80 miles after that. We barely made it to a gas station as the gauge plunged past "E". And we also were on the verge of being late for our flight, so as you can imagine, I was pretty stressed. But I should know better, especially having Amy's mojo with me. We made our flight, we got back into town, and everything was just fine.

So all in all, it turned out to be another wonderful trip with Amy. It seems like we always have fun traveling together. And no matter what bad things might happen during the trip, it still seems like we had a perfect time.

I have some pictures from the weekend but I'm not ready to post them yet. Stay tuned for that.
Permalink  9 Comment   Bookmark and Share
Posted by Ken in: lifetravel

Comments

Comment #1 from olafandyjon (Guest)
2006 May 24 - 11:29 am : #
DUUUUDE!

Zingerman's...*drool* And a Cedar Point trip! Excellent! So what's Amy's take on our fine traditions here?
Comment #2 from MonoCerdo (Guest)
2006 May 24 - 3:21 pm : #
I can't wait for pictures!

Did you do the side of the Power Tower that shoots you UP? I think it's almost more fun than the down.

How much is it to get into Cedar Point these days? I bet it's $400 a person by now.
Comment #3 from Lastewie (Guest)
2006 May 24 - 7:36 pm : #
I
Comment #4 from Lastewie (Guest)
2006 May 24 - 7:36 pm : #
Arrrgh!

That's supposed to say:

I
Comment #5 from Lastewie (Guest)
2006 May 24 - 7:38 pm : #
never. mind.

I think it won't let me say that I puffy heart Meijer, b/c it uses symbols that are employed with that HTML language thingy
Comment #6 from sheila Murphy (Guest)
2006 May 24 - 7:40 pm : #
sorry for the lack of hard booze. consider it a nod to my irish heritage that we went with no hard alcohol. i really wish the post-wedding trip recap had more wedding in it but that's because i'm a narcissist.
i'm glad you had a good trip and i hope to see you and Amy again soon!
Comment #7 from pinky (Guest)
2006 May 24 - 10:10 pm : #
funny - I just got back from MI, too. But I came back on Sunday.
Comment #8 from Ken (realkato)
2006 May 24 - 10:34 pm : #
olafandyjon: Amy said she wouldn't mind living in Ann Arbor. But then again, she wasn't there in January.

Cerdo: I went on the side that drops down. The side that shoots up looked fun too, but we were running out of time. And on the price of Cedar Point, there was a special running: it was only $750 for the two of us.

Lastewie: I

Sheila: I would have blogged more about the wedding if I could remember more of it, but I was too drunk. You can send us a bar bill if you want.

Pinky: Dang, I would have sneaked you some booze from the wedding.
Comment #9 from DonnaF (Guest)
2006 May 24 - 10:51 pm : #
...and I was just in MI too (the first week of May).
Congratulations to Steve and his bride!!!!

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