I love this apple orchard. It is a hidden gem tucked away on a side road near saline. A lot of…read moreapple orchards are overly commercial, overly crowded and overly manicured (paved roads, neat signs, orderly rows etc). If you want a silly theme park feeling (hay rides and cider and all that) this will not be the orchard for you. If you prefer something a little closer to what a Michigan Orchard is and was, you will love it here. This place is a little older, a little wilder and far less crowded than most UPick Orchards, giving is a "secret garden" kind of feel. I love that you can wander through the orchard without tripping over people and that you can experiment with an assortment of apples of all shapes sizes and flavors (who cares what it is called, take a bite, find out and if you are curious ask Bill and he will tell you all about it). This orchard has more varieties of apples than I have ever seen before including rare heritage breeds (Wolf River, and Snow Apple for example) and some of the newer apples that we are all familiar with (no Gala yet, but I think they are coming), he also has a few Quince and Asian Pear trees. Upick apples are $8 a half peck. They keep the spray to a minimum, so these apples look a little less pretty than normal, but are probably better for you. He also has honey and will sell apples by the tree - you buy the rights to an entire apple tree at the beginning of the year and reap the rewards come fall (great for gifts!). Also, for people interested in picking apples this year - they have arrived early this year all across MI and Ontario, so you better get out there soon, or there may be none left!

When we first arrived at the barn on Macon Road, I stepped out of the car to ask for instructions…read more The woman tending the barn was engaged in a personal conversation, and I politely interrupted to ask if this is the location where we would be picking. She seemed slightly annoyed, and said yes, and that she would be with us "shortly." After another two minutes had passed and we had already gotten my 18 month old daughter out of her car seat, we were eventually told that we needed to drive another mile down the road to pick. Not off to a great start... Upon arriving in the orchard, there were no employees or signs to guide us or explain any of the available apple varieties. I found it interesting that the few other customers we saw already had standard orchard bags, which apparently had not been offered to us at the barn. The actual picking was not good either, as many of the apples were very high up and out of reach. After some time we were able to accumulate a fair amount of apples, however, and drove back to the barn to pay. The woman who had so pleasantly greeted us earlier then seemed confused as to why we did not have one of the proprietary half-bushel bags, When I calmly said I didn't think a bag had been offered, she not only criticized me for not listening, but raised her voice and demanded that we pay $20 for an entire bushel. When I suggested we transfer the apples from my bag to one of her standard bags, she was resistant and outright disrespectful. I have never witnessed such poor customer service at another apple orchard, or any self-respecting business for that matter. All of these problems could likely have been avoided with a few simple signs to provide direction, which would be much more efficient than relying on verbal communication. That being said, my family will never return to this orchard due to the blatant lack of respect with which we were treated.

Ann Arbor Book Festival is one of the city's best events, and it will take place May 9 to May 18,…read more2008. It always includes visits by scores of authors, discussion panels, and a lot of book related events. I think the writers' workshop is a recent addition. The antiquarian book fair draws dealers from around the state and from outside the state. This year there are opportunities to have your story ideas critiqued by professional writers, have breakfast with panelists and authors, and hear writers read from their work. You can take a tour to see the houses where famous authors slept, when they lived in Ann Arbor, including Robert Frost, W.H. Auden and Aurthur Miller. There will be more going on than can be fit in one review. Check out the web page for more info.

Coming up the weekend of May 18, this has been a growing and improving event for several years…read more Check http://www.aabookfestival.org/index.htm for full details -- there's lots to do whether you are an author, a serious reader, or a casual reader.

Our tour guide, Cheryl gave us a lot of interesting information. We enjoyed our time with her.read more

I have lived in Ypsilanti since January of 1999 and just now got around to exploring the Historical…read moreMuseum. These can be very dry and educational (in the bad, boring way), but Ypsi's museum does a great job. Part of it, I think, was the enthusiasm of our tour guide. She told us something cool about each room and pointed out a few nifty artifacts in each as well. However, the home, which was originally built by Asa Dow in the 1860s, would probably be fun to explore without a guide as well. Downstairs, you can view the formal parlor or the less formal family parlor, the dining room, and the kitchen. Upstairs, rooms are dedicated to a variety of displays, from musical instruments, to the tool room, to the children's room, full of porcelain-headed dolls and toys. Some of my favorite bits of the museum included the elaborately built and tricked out traveling carpenter's kit and a huge stainglass window that actually originally was at the city's "Ladies Library." The tour guide told us they had trouble protecting the stained glass from vandals and so moved it into the Dow house. The best thing about the museum is that it's free, though donations are accepted. I spent an hour there getting the tour, but would love to go back with a friend and explore it for another hour or two some time.

What a cool experience! I like these small yet interesting museums and the Michigan Firehouse…read moreMuseum fit in my wheelhouse. This one was recommended by a firemen in the City I work and I'm glad he suggested it. If you are intrigued by loud and screaming mostly red but sometimes yellow fire trucks like I am coming here was pretty good. The building is a mix of new and old. The new part of the building is a modern looking building and contains most of the apparatus. The older portion is an old fire house that has everything from the pole the firemen came down on to the horse drawn carriages used in the beginning. There are quite a few apparatuses to look at as well as badges and patches of Michigan fire departments. Back in the corner there is a portion of the wall dedicated to the manufacturers of fire trucks (name plates) that I thought took some time and effort. Definitely worth a visit, cost was cheap.

Can I gush, just a little bit, about how well my adopted hometown does with its historical museums?…read moreIn the last few weeks, I have been bowled over by first the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Collection, followed by the Ypsilanti Historical Museum in the Asa Dow house, and now the Firehouse Museum. All three are fan-freaking-tastic, at least if you're geeky in that way, which I am. The Michigan Firehouse Museum is housed partially in what was once an Ypsilanti Firehouse, though there's a larger expansion attached to it now. The main showroom contains fire trucks from a variety of eras from all over Michigan. Most of the examples are from southeast Michigan, but I was also enchanted to find an example of a 1950s or 1960s-era firetruck that was originally used in the Upper Peninsula town of Escanaba where I was born and raised. In addition to the firetrucks, there are displays of fire men's caps, badges, and other paraphernalia. The main room also contains a collection of firehouse bells, both full sized and smaller salesmen models. You or your kids can ring them with a wooden mallet so you can hear the different tones. This brings me to the coolest aspect of the museum- there are a variety of hands-on displays. Most museums have a "Look but don't touch" policy, and while that's understandable, it's really fun to be able to touch at least some of the exhibits. The Firehouse Museum has at least four exhibits that I noticed with a hands-on component. In addition to the bells, there are a couple of places where adults or kids can try on firemen's gear, and in the basement, there's an area where kids are invited to learn to tie knots. In addition, the basement also houses one firetruck that's available for touching. You can climb right into the driver's seat if you like. Upstairs in the larger building, there are several auxiliary displays featuring firefighter kitsch, a tribute to firehouse dogs, and a small Smokey the Bear display. There's also a video on a loop and chairs if you want to see a guy explaining the various parts of the fire engines and how they work. The part of the museum that was once an old firehouse holds really old gear, including horse-drawn hose carts. Upstairs, you can see how the firefighters of old lived. There's a restored kitchen and a sleeping quarters, in addition to the firepole. Almost the entire museum is handicapped accessible. The sleeping quarters at the very top of the museum is up a short flight of stairs, but the rest of the building is accessible by elevator. As if all that wasn't enough, there's an extensive collection of firefighter and Dalmatian merchandise that can be purchased, and there's even a Brave Fireman videogame and a firefighter-themed pinball machine in the lobby. This place would be absolutely fabulous for kids. The next time I have my nieces and nephews for a day, I plan to suggest an outing here.

A lot of the events that take place at this center are classes offered through Ann Arbor Public…read moreSchool's "Rec & Ed" programs. Drawing classes, dancing classes, ceramics....a nice variety. To my knowledge it isn't available for public use otherwise. Furthermore, I was once among a group of parents who were excoriated by a Rec & Ed staffer when we did not properly follow building rules about where to sit or stand while waiting for a child's class to begin. Therefore I would advise against just wandering in on your own to poke around.

I love the State Theatre. The art deco style is beautiful and gives the place a personality you…read morereally don't see much anymore. The marquee on State Street is one of those sights that makes Ann Arbor. I appreciate the mix of old movies they show. It makes the theater feel alive instead of just another multiplex playing the same few blockbusters. The different theater sizes are nice too and the whole place feels very convenient, comfortable, and community-oriented.

OK, time to show some serious appreciation to our local indie movie theatres! In a time when so…read moremany are closing we're profoundly lucky to have them here in Ann Arbor (alongside the Michigan Theatre) and I admittedly have taken having them here for granted. No more! We've committed to going to see more flicks here. Just tonight we went to see The Phoenician Scheme and had the best time. Pros: * Convenience! It's right downtown and close to so many places where you can grab a quick bite before a movie (we opted for NYPD for pizza tonight). * Really good popcorn! And much less expensive compared to big multiplexes. Today we got a large popcorn and pop combo for a cool $11! It's a bit smaller in size than the bigger guys but the quality is great (very satisfying) and they use real butter, y'all! * Tickets are also not terribly expensive comparatively and, though they only offer a few films at a time, you can see things here they don't screen anywhere else in the area. Especially now that so many theatres have closed (RIP Main Art). State Theatre is a destination! Sure, they don't have the big recliner chairs, and I do admit I miss those, but there's something really special about that old school movie experience. Every time I come here I feel like a teenager again coming here to see Run Lola Run with my friends. It's a special place and I hope it continues on for more years to come. I'll do my part to make it so!

We're fortunate to have several local theatre companies in our town which is also the home to the…read moreUniversity of Michigan. Ann Arbor Civic Theatre (AACT) spreads out their 6-play season so that, as season ticket subscribers, we find that a play pops up about every 8 weeks. Because Ann Arbor is a rather large college town, there always seems to be abundant local talent to fill out the casts of the local productions even though AACT is not affiliated with the U of M. AACT does however, utilize two University theatre venues to put on their productions. Today's production is "Oliver!" and panning the audience of the Mendelssohn Theatre, I'm definitely seeing more kids in the audience for this Sunday matinee that normal. Bottom line is Ann Arbor Civic Theatre is one of the many great cultural offerings of this community...a theatrical 4 stars!

They had one of their open weekends and I have to say Woohoo! As good as it gets for pinball games…read more They had over 200 pinball games, 11 hours of play time for $25 on Saturday! The staff was great! Very friendly and helpful and if anything went wrong with the game, they were johnny-on-the-spot taking care of it. They also offered food and drinks outside in the pavilion area. Just a fantastic nostalgia event for those that love to play pinball! I can't wait for the next one!!

This place was an absolute blast! To my surprise, I enjoyed the games from the 50s most of…read moreall...there was something just wonderful about the simplicity. But all the games were fun...great atmosphere, really fun time!