ann arbor for the very last time

we've been slowly and sweetly checking off our list of things to do in michigan before our move.  one last day spent in ann arbor was a must for us, so it was the first place we went when luke had a free day.  every single time we go to ann arbor one of us says this exact statement: "i know i say it every time, but why couldn't we have moved here instead of lansing?".  i wish we could pick up our entire community here, and move it there.  you know we have lansing love, but ann arbor has so many things we really love about a city:  outdoor cafes, hiking trails, hills, lots of outdoor activities, rei, art, cobblestone streets, great thrift stores...  i could go on and on.  and even though we've been to ann arbor for countless day trips, we still have the feeling that we've only scratched the surface there.

so this day in ann arbor, our last day, we went to some of our favorite spots: first rei where we pretended that we had a $2000 gift card and had to decide how to spend the money, whole foods for a stroll around, nypd pizza for a new york style slice, a walk around the downtown and a stroll to our favorite shops, a coffee and special treat at zingerman's, and a visit to the super organized salvation army store.  it was the perfect day.  on the drive home we talked about our goals in arizona of camping more and our need for more national parks in our lives.  and then we suddenly remembered when luke came to visit me in spain and we hitchhiked to andorra so we could backpack through the mountains back into spain.  and how we hadn't packed meals well and hadn't planned on hiking through glacier-covered peaks but how it'd been the most incredible hiking experience ever.  we'd both completely forgotten about that trip.