Ann arbor

It was Friday, 16th July and we were to leave Canton on Monday evening. I had no intentions of going out anywhere anymore. My wife said the same but I knew that she was hoping to dash into IKEA and Bed Bath and Beyond one last time. I suggested that we sit at home talk and pack. Bhanu agreed with me as usual but had already planned something else as usual. We were going to Ann arbor, a city which is a part of Detroit metro, roam around the down town and have dinner in an Indian restaurant. Vishwa’s sister Uma and her husband Krishnakant (KK for short) were hosting a dinner in the honour of visiting (shortly departing) dignitaries.

We drove down to Ann arbor around six in the evening. Vishwa was happy to get a convenient parking place and we started roaming the streets. Ann arbor is a university town. It houses the University of Michigan around which its activities and economy revolve. We had been there earlier but had not visited the downtown and university campus. I liked Ann arbor. It looked exactly like the ‘foreign’ scenes which I had seen in books and magazines. Most of the people seen on the streets were young, probably students.

It was very pleasant to walk along the streets lined with shops, theaters and restaurants. No one seemed to be in a hurry. Traffic was not a hassle and not much. There were people everywhere but no crowd. It was an informal and relaxed atmosphere. Our first halt was the ice cream shop.



Children selected their flavours and we sat on the chairs outside the shop under the tree and spent about half an hour. Then we moved onto the university campus. The campus was clean and green with old ivy covered buildings. University of Michigan is one of the oldest in the US. Since it is a state funded university all the facilities are open to public. We walked into the library just to have a look. The library made me wish that I were a student there.





It was around eight in the evening when we headed towards the restaurant. The streets had the typical small town feel with people sitting outside the restaurants enjoying their food and drinks and musicians playing violin and accordion in the street corners.





The restaurant was good and I do not remember what we ate. The company and conversation is what I remember. It was past eleven and children were sleepy when we came out.
An enjoyable evening, thanks to Uma and KK.