Phase 3 of the trip “back east” this year went a little west. I left Boston for Detroit on October 12. Dillon picked me up and we rode to nearby Ypsilanti, to Julia’s and Sam’s house.
They were grieving. I had been aware of the failing condition of Juno, the chihuahua they “inherited” when it was already elderly, but only on arrival found out Juno had been euthanized that afternoon at the house. We reminisced about Juno and paid attention to Tarski, their toy poodle.
While the primary reason for the visit was simply to see my daughter, son-in-law, and son, there was an add-on reason that was just happenstance. In 2022, I had interacted with a member of our BC alumni chapter at a gamewatch. I learned that she was from Michigan and her kids attended the university. She added that she had season tickets to Michigan football games and sometimes not all of them were used.
I realized that during my visit, Michigan was to play Indiana in the Big House, the stadium on campus. I contacted the fellow BC grad who said she had just learned from her son that he would not be using two of the tickets for that game. I was able to purchase the tickets for Dillon and me. For some reason, Dillon was a big Michigan football fan when he was a kid. For both of us, this would be an exciting experience.
Here’s an aerial photo of the stadium and its surroundings.
Of course, it was going to rain. This radar image showed the weather for southeastern Michigan on October 14.
Julia and Sam dropped us off and we joined the many thousands heading toward the stadium. (Michigan Stadium is the largest college stadium in the country. Its official capacity is 107,601.)
I remember another Michigan native telling me about her daughter, raised in the state and an attendee at Wolverine games. She’s now a student at Stanford and she tells her mother about attending Cardinal football games, “It’s just not the same!” Wolverine fans are pretty intense. They all seem to know the songs, the cheers, when to pump their fist, etc.
Gotta admit, this is a great college fight song. (22-second video)
The Wolverines actually started a bit slow in this game. Indiana scored first and dominated the first quarter, outgaining Michigan substantially. Halftime score was 21-7 Michigan, however, and the final score was 52-7.
And when you have 100,000 people in the stands, you need a big band. Michigan has a big band. The halftime show was extensive and featured something of a “horse race.” The band formed two ovals, one inside the other. A hundred and more of what I assume were kids, dressed in horse costumes, ran into the stadium. Most of them frolicked in the center of the oval and some, carrying flags representing the schools in the Big Ten, raced inside the “race track.”
The “race,” of course, was fixed. Finishing first, in what I assume is always the result, was the “horse” representing Michigan. And finishing far behind, indeed last, was the “horse” representing Ohio State.
Check it out.
For the second week in a row, I didn’t see the second half of a football game, at least not in person. Dillon agreed it was wise to head home and watch the rest of the game on television.
While waiting in downtown Ann Arbor for Julia and Sam to pick us up, I came across this striking tree in the courtyard of a university building.
Sunday, we visited one of the stores in the Zingerman’s empire for breakfast. The “Zingerman’s Community of Businesses” is a collection of establishments in the Ann Arbor area each offering a food specialty. It started in 1982 with Zingerman’s Delicatessan, where Julia and I got sandwiches during my visit in 2022. Boy, is it good!
Julia also showed me her new hobby, which may be a retro hobby coming back into vogue. Remember macramé? Here’s just a few of her output.
She’s also expanding their garden and zinnias are a new addition.
Later, we visited downtown Ypsilanti and some of the unusual stores. There was also a bar that seemed to bring us back several decades.
And met his cat, Molly.
Monday, it was off to San Diego and home.