Marnee Thai, Ann Arbor

It was our second time dining at Marnee Thai this trip. We tried to enjoy the food better this time. Aside from our all time favorite, Pad Thai, we also re-ordered their Lotus Duck (deep fried duck with tamarind coffee sauce). I guess, we re-ordered everything we had a couple of dinners ago, Green Curry Chicken and Three Flavor Catfish.

Totoro, Ann Arbor

Our next destination after Chicago was Ann Arbor, Michigan. We tried to leave as early as possible, but we waited for quite a bit for our car to arrive. We stopped somewhere in between for breakfast and continued to our destination. By the time we reached Ann Arbor, it was lunch time and DH had his mind set on this Japanese restaurant that we visited in our previous trips, Totoro. It was right in downtown Ann Arbor, where University of Michigan is. 

We were joined by Miss L and we only ordered two dishes. I can't exactly remember why, but it was more likely that we had dinner appointment later on and it was rather a late afternoon when we sat down in this restaurant after we checked in into our hotel.  We have had better Japanese dishes elsewhere, of course, but we were pretty much happy with what we had on the table. The salad was complimentary and not interesting, but we cleaned up the food we ordered rather well. 

Totoro, Ann Arbor

I had the suspicion that DH had it all planned out, that we were going to have our lunch in this Japanese restaurant called Totoro. He came here before, probably more than once, some eight months ago when he came to Ann Arbor and he loves it. Parking at downtown Ann Arbor was always difficult, hence we were dropped off while he looked for a parking spot. 

Naturally we were very hungry, it was 4PM. We just flew in from Dulles earlier and only landed around 2:30PM.  We had breakast so many hours ago and surely, we ordered a bunch. We had Salmon Sashimi, Avocado Salad, Tempura, Sushi and Unagi Don. I am saying this not because I was so desperate for food, but I truly found the food really good. I liked every single dish I tried. I wish there were a restaurant here that serve the food Totoro's way. 

We liked the food so much that we went back again the next night for dinner. I'd love to go there again someday. What a long way to good food!

Ann Arbor's Blue Sky

We finally arrived at Detroit Metro Airport and drove to Ann Arbor. It's my first Spring Time in Michigan since 1988. Yeah, it's been that long. I always came in the Summer after I moved out of the state and I must say that this place is pretty in the Spring! I never appreciated it back then.

The sky was blue and the trees were green while the flowers were blossoming. People were on the street enjoying the weather and the sun. It's almost like Summer, but cooler and more beautiful. What a lovely time it was!

Beach By Lake Michigan

Walking further north along Michigan avenue, one will find themselves at the beach by Lake Michigan. It is so lovely to see the water and the beach so near to the city. Many people were found to be enjoying the sun and the beach. It's definitely a great place to be! Many hotels are located nearby, including The Drake Hotel and The Westin.

University Of Michigan

University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is one of the best universities in the country, and maybe the world. A few snaps around the campus here, it was really quiet because the pictures were taken on Sunday, during Summer:

St. Thomas Church

We attended the mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Ann Arbor last Sunday. I don't know much about the church or the history behind it, but it was a beautiful medium size church both from outside and inside. The mass was well attended and the homily was good. The choir was great too.

At Kathy's

One of the best things that I get to do when I go to Michigan is to see Kathy and Joe, our dearest friends for more than 20 years. We met back when I was still a student, studying in Michigan. We were kindly invited to their house and had an nice Sunday dinner prepared by both of them.The picture above is taken just behind their house.



Out of all the excitement, we had no pictures of the food. We had ham that was prepared by Joe, with salad, vegetables and mashed potatoes (I hope I did not miss out anything!). The dessert was yummy, the coffee was great, but we enjoyed the conversation the most.

We went to a softball game afterwards and met her daughter and her family as well as some friends. It was a lovely afternoon indeed and I was happy to have met these nice people.



My dearest 12-year old assistant that accompanies me the whole time, admitted that she was a tiny bit bored and spent time taking some nice pictures that I surely appreciate, except for the the pictures of her two fingers (there was a total of five of them with different background). She behaved really well as always and I am very appreciative of that. Thanks again Miss K, as always, also for taking our other pictures. You're a good girl!!! Pocket money will be increased next year, maybe!