Ann Arbor Institutions

Jared and I have an informal competition going to see who has been to the most states in the United States. I think we're tied or pretty close to tied, but it's always fun to add another state the list of places I've been. At the end of September we met the Kennedy family (minus Johannah) in their favorite state, Michigan. We were excited to go to Michigan for a few reasons - we could hang with our friends, there was a Michigan vs BYU game to attend, and we could both add another state to our lists. It was a whirlwind trip but we managed to visit three Ann Arbor institutions in one weekend - who knew there were so many cool places in one town!

We arrived Friday evening just in time to see Mark's concert at the Hill Auditorium. It was a beautiful space,  there was beautiful music, just the perfect start to the evening. The music was all from Czech composers and was glorious. Even though we were sitting in the balcony it was easy to spot Mark on stage because he is easily a foot taller (okay, maybe ten inches) than everyone around him!

After the concert we headed to Zingerman's Deli, which was called a "temple of deliciousness" by Mario Batali and is something of an Ann Arbor institution. There's a lot of hype surrounding the whole Zingerman's experience. The hype is big and loud and I wasn't sure a sandwich from a deli could live up to the hype. Believe. the. hype. Zingerman's is more than just food; it is an experience! 


There is so much to see in this place. Right when we walked in I was stopped in my tracks by this wall of bread. Bread, my favorite food group! We continued on, passing fancy olive oils, cheeses, meats, and vinegars. Ordering was difficult only because there were so many things I wanted to try that I couldn't decide. There were traditional Jewish foods like potato latkes and knishes, delicious sounding soups, and a crazy selection of sandwiches. In the end I went with the Bahn Mo sandwich and it was a pretty fantastic combo of chicken sausage and pickled carrots. 


After Zingerman's we headed to the Big House, another Ann Arbor institution, to get a picture with the big letter M. I'm pretty sure it stands for Moran, right? Jared timed his jump perfectly so that he could be seen behind all those tall people. 

The next morning was the big game. After a delicious pancake breakfast courtesy of Ethan and Rebecca we were ready to go! We were all decked out in our Michigan gear thanks to John and Larisa and a late night stop at another Michigan institution, Meijer, the original discount superstore. We found free parking in a neighborhood that was somewhat close to the stadium and just followed the crowds to the game.

We arrived at the Big House. It's aptly named as it's the largest stadium in the United States and the second largest in the entire world. It didn't seem that amazingly huge as we were there until they announced the number of fans that were there for the game that day was over 100,000. That's a lot of people in one place at one time! We aren't really BYU fans but we're not really Michigan fans either - sorry John and Larisa - still it was so much fun to be there and cheer for the home team.  


Other Michigan/Ann Arbor institutions that we experienced this weekend? Faygo pop (NOT soda), Cottage Inn pizza, and the institution that is the University of Michigan.  I'm sure there are other Ann Arbor institutions that I missed seeing on this quick weekend visit that I'd love as well. Perhaps the only thing to do is go back for another visit?

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