Let the trip begin! I’ve never been farther north than Cincinnati, but that’s about to change real quick! *Somehow*, many many hours after anticipated, we finally managed to get the tiny car packed and headed out to see a friend in Cleveland! You know those friends that let you crash on their couch when you need? Yeah, that’s how you know it’s real. We were lucky enough to have him show us around to some cool spots before we popped up to Ann Arbor to prepare for our week of camping. Here are a few of the highlights!
Ohio City
What a fun area! We spent our morning walking around Westside Market, a huge public market with produce vendors, restaurants, and shops inside. This market has been around for over 100 years! The crepe stand seemed to be the hottest ticket as the line wrapped around more than a few counters! Across the street we visited Great Lakes Brewing Company, Market Garden Brewing, and The Flying Fig for brunch. As usual, I opted for the classic choice you can never go wrong with – biscuits and gravy. And yes, as usual, I totally needed a nap after.
Platform Brewing
After brunch we decided to check out Platform! I recognized their logo because they actually distribute some of their beers in Cincy, but I had never given them a try. It was a beautiful sunny day to sit on their patio and enjoy some brews. Little did we know, we were lucky enough to try their Undercover Martian – a smoothie style Berliner Weisse – that released that day! This was my personal favorite stop on the trip. I even tried to talk the guys into going again the next day, but a compromise was made to find tacos instead.
Off to Michigan! I wanted to break up the drive to Sleeping Bear Dunes and landed on Ann Arbor. While we spent most of our time here preping for camping, we squeezed in a little fun and got to hang out with a corgi at our airbnb!
University of Michigan
We got into town before we could check in, so we decided to spend the day walking around the University. The old Gothic-style architecture, like the law school quad pictured below, makes you feel like you can hear Hagrid yell, yer a wizard Harry! It’s almost pretty enough to make you want to go back to school….almost. If we’re ever back I definitely want to schedule a stadium tour! Anybody else dying for some college football to be back already?? We’re.So.Close.RTR.
Downtown – Main St.
Of course, we had to stop at the famous Zingerman’s deli for lunch – if Oprah says they’re killing the game it’s worth a try right?? I had the Cuban and Max opted for the Milk and Honey (sopressata+goat cheese). It was a solid (and seriously large) sammie, but in my book Stein’s in Nola still wins best deli. We walked around the area and found a great bookstore that tempted us to add more weight to the car and a macaron shop across the street.
We also stopped into Jolly Pumpkin brewery and ate dinner at The Earle. The Earle is a French-Italian restaurant on the bottom floor of a building with an old-school dimly lit ambiance and a piano player in the main room. But most importantly, they have the longest wine list I’ve ever seen! Seriously, they claim over 1200 different wines, not overwhelming at all. Don’t worry, Max picked out a great one (I know, you were real worried). This is how to celebrate before jumping headfirst into camping right?
I guess we’ll find out if we’ve got what it takes pretty soon! Our next stop in Michigan – Sleeping Bear Dunes!
