Day 14 - Deliverence and Ann Arbor

Monday, July 2nd, 2007 - This was the day where we were going to triumphantly roll into Ann Arbor and unveil our plan to storm the beach. But right away we knew that it was going to be a long day filled with mishaps, disappointments, and accidents. The drive from Flushing to AA is about 1 hour. We had planned to leave there right around 9 so that we could be there at 10 to sign the lease when the office opened. Well at around 8:15 am we got a call that the technician from Covad (internet provider) was at our apartment waiting for the hookup – yikes – let it begin. We rescheduled for later and hurried out of there. Lucky for us Laura and her family graciously allowed Sammie to stay with Olivia for the day – we are already beginning to wear out our welcome. Anyways on the ride down to Ann Arbor I got a call from our apartment wondering if we were still going to rent from them? Yes – we will be there in 15 minutes. Then I got my first taste of what the Michigander’s call the second season Construction (apparently there are only two seasons in Michigan – Winter and Construction). 10 minutes outside of Ann Arbor we hit a dead stop because of road repairs. Luckily, however, Stella once again proves her worth and she is able to route us around the backup saving us some time. We finally get into AA around 10:15. We sign the lease and the Internet guy is waiting for us on the doorstep of our new apartment. I spend the next two hours unloading the car and trying to help him get it properly setup. It is a disaster. The apartment is somewhat of a disappointment – dingy and rather small – not too many families around – lots of college kids from nearby Eastern in Ypsilanti. There is a pool, however, and something that I’m sure will be used a lot by Sammie and the rest of us. The weather is also stifling – so within a matter of 2 days I am introduced rather rudely to the brutal trifecta of the Michigan summer – Construction, Bugs, and Humidity. It is about 100 degrees with humidity. Fairly sticky and not the best weather for unloading a car. We then coordinated the cable guy’s arrival and then I had to drive back up to Flushing to get Sammie and the rest of our boxes. This time the drive back was uneventful and quick. Sammie was pretty tired and fell asleep in the car. She had had a little accident – falling down the stairs at her cousins house – but everything was fine - so I think she was ready to sit down and sleep for awhile. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and getting used to the new surroundings. Sammie settled into her room and I think has been kind of excited to be in the same room as Lucas. They have become quite good friends and she can get him going like no one else – it is quite cute to see him following her around. The rest of the evening we learned that our complex was not quite the Shangri-la we had hoped. We heard some loud partying close by and at one point some drunk neighbors rang our doorbell by accident. Yeah apartment life is not fun.

Then after ALL of this I had to start thinking about my interview with Borders the next day. Welcome to Michigan – traffic jams, construction, parties, accidents, humidity, etc.. Why did we move again? We both had some second thoughts made even more so by the difficulty sleeping – the hot night making for a poor evenings slumber. We decided that our AC bill is going to be very high indeed. In the end though we had seen this coming and that this was going to be the hardest day – each one getting better and easier as our laundry list of things was completed. Cable TV and Internet for us was a great start. Now if I could just get a job…..

So about 3800 miles later our trip officially ended. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I do it again with my kids – I’ll get back to you on that.

Thanks for reading it was pretty fun writing (hope it was not too negative) and I hope it wasn’t too boring for you. We have an amazing country and even though, I’m sure they won’t remember, I was glad to be able to force, er, take my kids on this trip. I hope you all get to someday visit these places as well. We have a beautiful country. Our favorite places – probably the camping at the Tetons. I also really enjoyed the drive on the other side of Yellowstone through Wyoming to Cody. Also the drive from Custer up across the Bighorn mountains down in to Rapid City in South Dakota was incredibly beautiful – made that much more beautiful because I was the only one awake in the car. Nice. Adios and thanks again for checking in. I’m sure we’ll be in touch!

What we learned today: The best laid plans of Mice and Men….; Michigan is HOT; apartment life sucks (we forgot but we already knew this one);