ANN ARBOR

May – November, 2022

On May 23 we pulled into our campground in Grass Lake, Michigan. After many many years of ownership, Hideaway RV Park had recently been sold to a young couple, who have taken a pretty decent and beautiful campground and through some very thoughtful plans have made major improvements with even more improvements on the horizon. The price is right, and the location is perfect. Grass Lake is 20 miles or so from Ann Arbor, and a short 5 minutes from Interstate Highway 94. If planning to be camping in the neighborhood we highly recommend bypassing Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Jackson and spending some time here. Hideaway RV Park was a perfect place for us as we anxiously began the next part of this journey started so long ago.

We are in active pursuit of attaining our goals – spending as much time with our grandchildren as they and their parents can stand, and becoming part of the University of Michigan community. We are so very close…

So as we are traveling around the region looking at condominiums and figuring out where we want to live, visiting family in East Grand Rapids, Michigan and Yellow Springs, Ohio and Gettysburg, PA we just had to have a few more things to keep us busy.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum will forever be The Arb to students at the University of Michigan and to the Ann Arbor Community.

80 acres of property just a few blocks from the University of Michigan campus, between Geddes Road and the Huron River, was given to the University by Walter and Ester Nichols in 1907. The University established a botanical garden and arboretum on the property, which was named after the benefactors – The Nichols Arboretum. Today, more than 100 years later, The Arb has grown to more than 700 acres of gardens, research areas, hiking trails, green space(s), and natural preserves.

At over 800 species and over 10,000 flowers The Arb is home to one of the world’s largest herbaceous peony gardens. In 1922 Dr. W. E. Upjohn donated the first plants to the garden – 2022 marks the 100th year bloom! We couldn’t help but join the celebration. Pictures alone do not do justice to the magnificence of the blooms and the garden.

It’s pretty easy to walk right past an alley covered in graffiti, but take a few minutes and stroll through this amazing outdoor art exhibition tucked away off of East Liberty Street. In 1999 local artist Katherine Cost painted the alley – within a few weeks her original work was defaced by local graffiti artists and entirely painted over within a few months. Here we are more than 20 years later and the alley has become an ever-evolving place of graffiti art.

The Fairy Doors of Ann Arbor are a series of small doors throughout downtown and the neighboring community. As the story goes: “In 1993, while Jonathan and Kathleen Wright were renovating their century-old home, their young daughters discovered itty, bitty, six-inch doors scattered throughout the house. When opened, the doors revealed tiny railings inside that led to other miniature doors. There were even windows springing up, where lights inside would magically turn on and off. Subsequently, several other doors were discovered in the fireplace surround and two in the kitchen.”

On April 7, 2005, the first Fairy Door was seen in public, found on the exterior of Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea. Since then, ten (or more?) have shown up; seven of the original “public” doors still exist.

The first Fairy Door on our list was found in the effacement of the outdoor foyer of the Michigan Theater.

And no public library is complete without its own Fairy Door.

We’re not really sure if this homestead is a Fairy Door in the strictest sense.

Fairy Door located at the Red Shoes home decorating store – it is meant to be an exact replica of the front door.

The Ark – music venue Fairy Door.

At the Himalayan Bazaar…

We were in pursuit of one of the original Fairy Doors located at Peaceable Kingdom, but due to covid restrictions the store was open only by appointment. However, we passed by another store in process of renovation, and we bumped across a window display that caught our eye. We started looking around outside in the hopes of finding a Fairy Door. The shop’s door opened, the store owner stepped out and asked if we wanted to take a look around inside. Turns out that his parents owned the retail store at this address, which closed as a victim of covid. He was renovating the space into what he hoped would be a uniquely themed bar and grill.

Our generous host provided 2 surprises for us. Jonathan Wright was a friend of his parents and he believed that this was one of the original Fairy Doors…

…and during renovation he discovered a hidden mural and sign describing the artwork.

Fairy Door at Sweetwater’s Coffee Shop. Check out the detail in this one, which includes a mini poster of the Ann Arbor Fairy Doors poster next to the door itself.

Tough door to capture in a picture as it’s in a corner of a window display at Shinola Store at Main and Liberty. The employee who showed us the display made sure we knew he believed!

Fairy Window at Found Gallery (across the street from Zingerman’s in Kerrytown). We were told that the fairies are home when the lights are on!

Found Gallery – fairy mailbox, tools and transportation device.

Fairy Door at Black Slate Creamery…Barbara thought the ice cream was very good.

Fairy Door at Nicola’s Bookstore.

We were unable to see the Fairy Door located at Mott’s Childrens Hospital because of covid restrictions.

Part of any adventure is what we believe to be a treasure hunt, and finding Fairy Doors in Ann Arbor was a blast. It gave us a chance to talk with any number of believers, and, when we would ask for help to find a Door, to see people’s faces light up in their own revelry about Fairies.

Atlas Obscura gave us three Ann Arbor additional oddities to find.

“Food Gatherers was Michigan’s first food rescue program and was founded by Zingerman’s Delicatessen in 1988. The organization rounds up perfectly good food from restaurants, food retailers, and food wholesalers that would otherwise go to waste. The food then goes to low-income adults and children who may not otherwise have access to nutritious meals or snacks. Food Gatherers also runs a food bank, serves food to those in need at its community kitchen, and works with local farmers.”

The carrot is the organization’s symbol.

“Pineapples were a symbol of hospitality in early America.” The owners of the Liberty Title building have said they had this welcoming spirit in mind when they placed a metal pineapple on the roof of their building to welcome people to Ann Arbor.” Any reason for doubt? 

“Gallup Park is part of a network of parks known as the ‘green corridor’. These parks preserve the wetlands and other ecosystems along the banks of the Huron River. To encourage visitors’ curiosity and appreciation for the natural environment, oversized statues of local wildlife have been placed throughout the park. Many of the animal sculptures can be found around the main play area, while others have been placed at spots along the paved walking trails that run along both sides of the river.”

Makes for a superior scavenger hunt for youngsters and families!

Thoreau’s quote has been our guide throughout this adventure started so long ago: “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” And we find that if you slow down just a bit (or bunches for some of us) you see quite a lot more. Turning around after taking the photograph of the Liberty Title pineapple we found a pretty amazing mural.

After closing on our condo on June 15, 2022 we moved into our new home on July 22, 2022. There were some renovations needed, painting to suit our taste and the agony of, after at least 25 years, of buying furniture, a TV, lamps and lighting fixtures, and re-equipping a kitchen. There were the assorted other mundane things like change of address, updating our wills, and establishing accounts with electric and natural gas companies. And, add to all of that the delay in delivery of furniture due to supply chain and manufacturing issues. As of November 30 we’re happy to report that all of our furniture has finally been delivered.

We applied and were hired to be part of the University of Michigan Department of Athletics Event Staff Team. Brian was hired pretty early in the summer, but then Barbara wondered what she was going to do on the 8 football Saturdays on this year’s Wolverines’ home schedule. She applied, and the rest is history. Barbara had the honor (sic) of being assigned as a ticket taker for the student gate, and then served as an usher in the Big House. Brian started out as a ticket taker as well, but was asked if he’d like to become a shuttle cart driver taking fans from the parking areas to the stadium, and then after the game shuttling players and their family from the stadium to Schembechler Hall. And, oh, by the way, once the game started he was assigned to be on the field. A hard job, but someone had to do it. Working the football games requires 800 event staff that agree to work all of the home games. Other sports are by our choice only. In addition to football, we’ve worked a high school football jamboree at the Big House, a high school men’s and women’s wrestling meet, men’s soccer, ice hockey, and men’s and women’s basketball. There are stories to be told (just ask Barbara about her student gate football experiences!) – we’ve had an absolutely fabulous time and look forward to continuing enjoying our time as event staff team members. Go Blue!

Barbara and Brian

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.“ – Henry David Thoreau

And as an added bonus…When in southeastern Michigan being told to go to hell may not be a bad thing. As a matter of fact, for $100 anyone can become the mayor for a day of this small tourist trap town. 72 souls strong, the town has no municipal building, no city hall or utilities building. It has a tchotchke/ice cream store and miniature golf course, a bar and grill…and little else.

Welcome To Hell!

That’s Ice Screams!