Michigan: Week 1

Alas, after two and a half months of living out of my car and staying on the go, I am officially staying put here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My parents very graciously accompanied me on the 700 mile drive from Atlanta with a 16 foot truck, my car in tow, and their car following. Here is the view from my parents' car on the road:

As you can see, it was quite a load. We arrived in Ann Arbor last Tuesday and immediately unloaded the truck, as I was anxious to find my bed and assemble it in time to sleep in it that night. Mission was accomplished, and it was SO NICE to finally be back in my bed, though I must say I was not without comfortable accommodations all summer, thanks to many wonderful friends and family members.

The first few days here were spent unpacking, getting settled, and checking out the town of Ann Arbor. My parents have some good friends who spend their summers here and were nice enough to show us the ropes and a good time as I was getting settled. My dad's birthday was Thursday, and we had a very nice dinnner with the Coopers that night at The Real Seafood Co. in downtown Ann Arbor. They had the best cole slaw I've ever tasted (and I thought that was a Southern thing) and I tried swordfish for the first time, which was delicious.

What I noticed most about downtown Ann Arbor as we walked around after dinner was that it was really BUSY! After living in and visiting other smallish towns with absolutely dead downtown areas, it was uplifting to walk around and see tons of restaurants with oustide seating that was full and bustling. The weather was perfect, warm but with a cool breeze (not too cool, though, as even I didn't need a sweater). I tried to take a picture to capture the bustling downtown atmosphere, but I recommend visiting to get the full effect.

My parents left on Friday, and I spent a lot of time over the weekend with a friend of mine from Georgia Tech, Leigh, who has been here for a year. I am taking over Leigh's position as orthotic resident at the UofM, so she is sadly moving this week. We went with a few other people on Saturday to the Extremity Games at Pontiac Lake State Park, which was about a 45 min drive from here. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we had a great time just hanging out by the lake and watching wakeboarding and kayaking events (this was an amputee extreme sports competition). As you can see, so far I like the weather in Michigan:

My new roommate, Sara, moved in yesterday, so we are still getting settled in the new place. Kelsey, my dog, is totally freaked out by all the moving and new people and has spent a lot of time under the bed.

I decided to go ahead and transfer my drivers' license and car tag to Michigan so I could register to vote and also have legitimate car insurance, etc. So my car looks a little different already than it did on the drive up here. But don't worry y'all, I'm not a Michigander yet :-)