Visiting A2!

Adam and I reunited in Ann Arbor, MI. We stayed with our friend Kat at her place, which is down the road from where we used to live a few years back. Our first night, we just hung out with Kat (and she made us dinner too! We seriously have amazing friends and hope we are as good of friends to them as they are to us!). Somehow, I didn't take a single picture of us together!

Our first full day in Ann Arbor was pretty relaxed. We did some errands (washed the car, vaccuumed it out, had the oil changed), ate chicken shawarma wraps at Al Noor's (potent garlic sauce is a major plus!), and had coffee at a local shop, before heading to the Ann Arbor library! We didn't go to the downtown branch (which is fabulous), but instead went to the Malletts Creek branch. It's actually a neat library because it has sustainable architecture (solar heating, vegetated green roof, recyclable materials). Then, it was time to head over to Dominick's to meet up with some friends. Dominick's is an Ann Arbor establishment, especially for Michigan grad students. It is only open in the spring and summer and serves up a ton of sangria. Since Adam and I don't really drink sangria, we really go for the company.

Adam needed mints after this wrap!

Spring was absolutely beautiful here- flowering trees everywhere

Adam and I with Mary (who grew up with us in Ridgecrest) and her friend Molly (far left)

The next day, I had coffee with some other friends from grad school, while Adam checked out our old apartment complex and drove around town. After I bought a Michigan cap (I figure I'll need one to protect me from the hot Ecuadorian sun!), we met up with David Schoem, Wendy Woods and a few students that I worked with when I was a grad student. They work in Couzens Hall in a living-learning community that focuses on service and social justice. Some of the students that were freshman when I met them are now in their first years of grad school! Time flies! I talked their ears off before I had to say goodbye.

I had coffee with Amy, who was one of my grad school classmates

Familiar views- the bookstore and the coffee shop across from the School of Ed

Amanda, Kate, Wendy and I

It was really nice to visit Ann Arbor, especially since there were still people that we knew there. Not to mention Spring was in full bloom and things haven't changed too much. When I stepped into the School of Education building, the smell just brought back a ton of memories- mostly walking in and out on freezing cold days with coffee in my hand. I don't think Adam has the same nostalgia as I do. After all, I was a student at Michigan while he worked in a suburb 20 minutes away.

Oh, the sights and smells of the School of Ed building...even after it's been remodeled!