Michigan In Review Part I

So, I have been back from MI for a month now and I have not updated my blog at all. I loved Michigan. No, I LOVED Michigan. The people were so nice. Living in CA we really don't get much of the politeness of the south or the friendliness of the midwest. Ann Arbor seemed to be a great mix of polite and friendly. It is also a beautiful old city. I love old architecture and they had a lot. We spent some time in Detroit which was sad and beautiful all at the same time. I saw some gorgeous old homes that had been abandoned. I prefer old homes to new construction. So, being somewhere that was predominantly brick and classic architecture was dreamy for me.

We arrived in Detroit in the evening and my sister and her awesome housemate Andrew came to pick us up. We drove to Ann Arbor. Driving through the University of Michigan campus is like being on a movie set. It looks exactly like the colleges in the movies look- huge brick buildings, enormous frat houses, college students wandering around riding bikes. We stayed at my sister's house with her 8 roommates. The house is huge, four stories and she lives on the top floor.

We got to do a bit of sightseeing while we were there. We went to the Motown museum, which was really neat. It was amazing to stand and sing in the studio that so many music legends had recorded in. I also learned a lot about the making of those records. It is amazing to see what they were able to do with so little.

After the Motown museum we went to lunch at a place called Slow's for lunch. It is the best barbecue I have ever had. I am from California so my barbecue background is fairly limited. It was amazing, if you are ever in Detroit this is not a place you should miss. My mom, my sister, and I each ordered a different sandwich and then split them 3 ways. We had The Mary Ann, The Yardbird, and The Longhorn. BEST BRISKET OF MY LIFE. We also ordered the waffle fries with Hoffman's Cheddar. Mia was especially wild about the fries.

After lunch we headed to the Detroit zoo. Mia had a blast. Her favorite thing is going to the zoo. It is an enormous zoo. The funny thing is you have to walk a little ways to see the exhibits. I have been to other large zoo's but the exhibits are usually closer together. It was really neat.

Now for an extremely picture heavy post.

Mia sleeping on my mom on the plane.

Kinesiology Building at U of M

Motown Museum : Studio A

Motown Museum : Berry Gordy's House

Abandoned train station in Detroit

Slow's for lunch

Zoo time!

Mia and I enjoying a little misting.

Mia and Aunt Hannah  

My mom

I will fill you in on a little more of our trip in part II.