We chatted for about an hour and I chose to sip on a chocolate cappuccino, which is ironic given that I don't like hot beverages. I figured that now that I'm 24, I should be more open to new beverages. We both laughed over the fact that Heather doesn't even like coffee, but she got me to drink a coffee product without even trying.
Following our chat, we drove to her apartment so I could drop my things off. We then ventured to the Faber Piano Institute, where she works, and then went on to Potbelly's for dinner. I chose the chicken cheddar sandwich, while Heather had the Wreck. Her boyfriend, Luke, met up with us for dinner, and then we went to the Good Friday service at the Fellowship Bible Church. Heather introduced me to the pastor, assistant pastor, and a handful of friends before we all went out to Biggby Coffee. I chose to have a mocha latte, another surprise for the evening. Once Biggby closed, Heather, Luke, and I went to downtown Ann Arbor so that I could get the night tour of the University of Michigan. We wandered past the M Den, Michigan Theater, and I chose to be spiteful and step on the Diag. We then went to NYPD for pizza before heading home to sleep since it was almost 1am.
The next morning, we went to The Broken Egg for brunch. I went with the cinnamon french toast and a glass of milk. After brunch, we drove around Ann Arbor in search of parking. We were confused about why there was such an influx of people to downtown until we realized that April 7th was the first day of Hash Bash, the weeklong marijuana festival held every year. We made our way to the M Den for a quick bit of shopping, where I learned that the colors for U of M are blue and MAIZE, not blue and yellow. I opted to buy a shirt that says, Geh' Blau!, which means "Go Blue" in German.
In order to avoid the chaos of downtown and the sweet smell of Mary Jane, we chose to drive up to Frankenmuth, MI. This little town is known as the Little Bavaria of Michigan, so I felt right at home with the timber buildings and polka music. Our first stop was Bronner's Christmas Store, which is the largest Christmas store in the world. Heather and I found some ornaments to buy, but Luke kept liking the ornaments that cost $18, so he skipped purchasing any. We then went to the Leather Shop and went into the gift shop of the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn. I had a fun chat with one of the women working in the leather shop. We somehow determined that she was on work release from the insane asylum and that I should only shoplift if she could catch me because she would get $20 out of the deal. We then wandered up the street to the Cheese Haus and Fudge Kitchen. Our last stop was the Lager Mill so that Luke and I could pick up some beer. He suggested that I get Two Hearted Ale, which is what I chose.
Soon Luke drove us all to Sidetrack Bar and Grill in Ypsilanti, MI. To live up to its name, a train barreled past the window that our table was next too. It really caught me off guard, actually. I opted for a bacon cheeseburger and a local beer, which was delicious. As an appetizer, Luke and Heather ordered beer-battered pickles. We really enjoyed ourselves, but didn't stay out late so that Heather could try and sleep since her back was acting up a bit.
The next morning, I drove to Portage, MI, to spend Easter with my great aunt and uncle. I hadn't seen them in about two years and figured it would be silly to not drive the extra hour and a half to visit them while in Michigan. I arrived around 9am and my Aunt Jan greeted me with a big hug at the door. She asked how the drive was and showed me some pictures of my great grandparents. When Uncle Archie got home, they both asked about my degree and Uncle Archie wrote the name of it down so that he could research it more later. After chatting for about an hour, Uncle Archie drove us to the First United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo. Since we were early, he gave me the grand tour of the new wing of the church, complete with elevator and mini movie theater. After the tour, we chatted with some of the other church members before heading to the sanctuary for the service. The pastor spoke on Acts 10:34-43, which was the speech Peter gave at Cornelius' house.
Following the service, we drove around Kalamazoo and Western Michigan campus to check out the engineering buildings and solar panels set up by the auditorium. They then treated me to a prime rib lunch at the Great Lakes Shipping Company. After lunch, we went back to their house in Portage. Aunt Jan told me a bit about my grandmother over a dessert of lemonade pie and milk. They both also gave me some travel tips and Aunt Jan had me look at some more pictures from my great grandfather's 80th birthday party. They shared about their kids and grandkids, and we had a good laugh over the fact that Aunt Jan didn't really want to have her picture taken, though she eventually agreed.
Once I had been around for about nine hours, I made my way back to Ann Arbor for a late dinner with Heather and Luke. We went to Pizza House since Paesano was closed for the evening. We got the cheese breadsticks for an appetizer and a half cheese/half pepperoni pizza as our main course. We discussed music over our meal and then went back to Luke's so he could show me his Wolverine claws that he made for Halloween last year. Heather and I then went back to her place to watch an episode of Band of Brothers before sleeping.
I left Heather's around 7am on Monday morning to take the scenic route back to East Stroudsburg. To avoid the toll on I-80, I took a side trip along Route 2, which is part of the Lake Erie Circle Trail.
After transferring onto a few different roads, I found myself on the outskirts of Cleveland. I headed the back way to Youngstown, OH, before hopping onto I-80 east for my 300 mile haul back to the Burg. All in all, it was a very pleasant weekend.
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