Artsy Travel Memories

Just like I can never pass up a photo opportunity with a beautiful flower, there's rarely a piece of public art that I walk by on our travels that I don't snap a picture of. Perhaps I just appreciate their stillness, when I'm usually trying to grab a shot of a running 3-year-old or a baby who refuses to look at the camera and smile.

But I think these beautiful sculptures, statues and landmarks are worthy of their photo moment. Here are a few of my favorites.

Found outside the Field Museum on the grounds of the Museum Campus in Chicago:

In downtown St. Petersburg, Florida:

Outside the University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan:

I only wish I knew more about these pieces. But did I mention the 3-year-old and the baby? Doesn't leave much time for delving into the finer points of art history as we walk around.

Speaking of not having much time, we're off for a week on the lake in Michigan next week (the first of two trips this month to our neighbor state to the north!) I won't be blogging until we get back, but I'll try to update Facebook and Twitter with tales of our adventure there, so be sure you're following.

This post is a part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

Lunch at Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor

Even though I'm a planner at heart, my favorite part about traveling and visiting new places is those unexpected discoveries that leave you smiling for days. I had one such experience at Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

If you're familiar with Zingerman's, you're probably assuming I fell head over heals for their famous corned beef sandwiches. Or maybe it was the deli cases that sucked me in. Or the hip, kitschy atmosphere. Truthfully, that was all wonderful.

Chicken salad sandwich at Zingerman's Deli

I passed on the corned beef and ordered a personal favorite: a chicken salad sandwich. It was awesome. Creamy, but not too much mayo. Lots of tender pieces of chicken and crisp celery. Perfectly seasoned. But it's not what brought a smile to my face.

Patio at Zingerman's Deli

I got to sit outside with a magazine on the sunny patio and read for pleasure for more than an hour. Which also left me very happy and content.

But what will I remember most about Zingerman's? The birch beer soda.

Creamy Red Birch Beer Soda at Zingerman's Deli

You see, when I was kid growing up in Connecticut, we spent many weekend meals visiting my grandparents for lunch or dinner. My dad is the youngest of 10 siblings, and I'm the youngest of 28 grandkids. This meant family gatherings at their apartment (oh yes, I said apartment) were high on the chaos scale. So while my mother was normally very attentive to the amount of sugary drinks my sister and I consumed, we quickly learned that she was far too distracted by the number of people crammed into a tiny space to know what type of shenanigans we were up to when we visited. (Sorry, Mom.)

And if it's one thing you could count on my grandparents to have stocked up, it was birch beer. Tons and tons of this clear, delicious root beer-type of drink. I think my sister and I guzzled it down by the gallon whenever we visited.

Given the number of grandchildren they had (and the language barrier--they only spoke French), my grandparents couldn't always show the type of individual attention or gift-giving that some grandparents shower upon their grandkids. But always having birch beer for us kids and a big, strong hug to greet us? We never doubted how much they loved us.

But between moving to Indiana (where I've never seen it in a store or on a menu), and my grandparents' subsequent passing, I haven't had a drop of birch beer since I was 10 years old. When I approached the soda dispenser at Zingerman's, I was startled to see that my typical choice of a Diet Coke wasn't there. Instead, Zingerman's serves Boylan's Fountain Soda, a specialty line of bubbly beverages. I quickly glanced at my options and when I saw "Creamy Red Birch Beer" was a choice, I think I almost fainted.

While it wasn't the same clear color I remember from my childhood, the red version tasted just the same. I think I sucked down three glasses before taking a final refill to go.

What's that people say about drinking alone?

I was far too embarassed to photograph myself drinking soda in front of all the other diners on the patio. So this was taken in the privacy of my car.

Zingerman's, I don't know if anyone has ever thanked you for offering birch beer. If not, let me be the first. It's been well over a decade since I saw my grandparents, but I sure felt them that day at lunch.

You can read more about my kid-free day in Ann Arbor here.

This post is a part of Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick.

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A Day in Ann Arbor, Michigan Without The Kids

A few weeks ago, my sister called me out of the blue and invited me to join her in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a kid-free overnight (scheduled for the very next day). I'm sure she thought I'd say no, afterall, she's the spontaneous one in the family and this trip required jumping in the car without much thought. Not really my style.

But I hung up the phone and thought, if not now, then when? Baby Arrow's arrival is quickly approaching, and impromptu road trips will become a thing of the past (temporarily, I hope!) My sister and I both have young kids, so the time we spend together is typically consumed by wiping noses, fixing lunches, and desperately trying to get all the kids to nap at the same time (which we are rarely successful at doing). So 24 hours without those obligations and lots of time to chat in the car sounded really good.

Off we went... she was there for a conference, leaving me with several hours in beautiful Ann Arbor to roam and explore on my own. Heaven.

Kerrytown Market

I spent the first couple of hours at Sweetwaters Cafe, a coffee shop in the Kerrytown Market to finish up some writing deadlines that were breathing down my neck. While it sounds a bit boring, any stay-at-home mom will tell you that a couple of hours in a coffee shop is just about the best present you could give her.

From there, I was off to explore the shops themselves. A little too upscale for my taste, but it was fun to browse without worrying about little hands breaking valuables.

Zingerman's

Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor

By now I was hungry for lunch, so I headed to an Ann Arbor institution--Zingerman's. The deli location of this restaurant/mail order business was just a few blocks away from Kerrytown. Read more on my lunch at Zingerman's Deli here.

University of Michigan Museum of Art

Finally, I thought I'd better get myself to the University of Michigan's campus, the lifeblood of Ann Arbor. I've toured campus before: after my husband was accepted to U of M's business school for his MBA, we gave serious consideration to moving to Ann Arbor. But this time, I got to enjoy it from a tourist perspective.

University of Michigan Museum of Art

I chose to spend a quiet hour wandering through the University of Michigan Museum of Art. It was so quiet and peaceful inside. I didn't know much about the art itself (no time to plan, remember?), but it was heavenly to take my time and read about pieces that caught my eye. If you visit, don't miss the Amalia Pica exhibit. I found it totally fascinating (and modern art typically isn't my forte!)

If you're interested in more details about UMMA, I look to Dominique at Midwest Guest for all things Michigan, and she doesn't disappoint with her knowledge of UMMA.

Then I quickly breezed through the union before heading out to pick up my sister and get home to our babies. (The ride home is a story for another day... we sat in horrible traffic for three straight hours due to an accident, and what's normally a 4 1/2 hour ride quickly grew to a 7 hour extravaganza.)

Days like these are few and far between for me. That's fine--I love having The Arrow as my nearly constant companion. But their rarity makes them all the more special and appreciated. And I love rediscovering who I am as a traveler and adventurer when I'm me, and not just Mom.

This post is a part of Mondays are for Dreaming at The Mother of All Trips. Today Mara is dreaming of a bike ride around Madison, Wisconsin. I actually have one more kid-free road trip up my sleeve to that very city for a friend's wedding later this fall before I become a mom of two, and I hope to enjoy it to its fullest. I'm also dreaming of a return trip to Ann Arbor: I saw so many spots The Arrow would have loved. (I never said I didn't think about him all day...)

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