Stopping for gas in Detroit is a mistake. The cashier is behind bulletproof glass, and with good reason. There are some shady characters in here, buying do-rags. We fill up fast and get the hell out of town.
Thirty miles outside Ann Arbor, the streetside muffler shops, billboards, fire hydrants turn to blue and gold. No mistaking it, we're entering Wolverine country.
Jayme and Ryan put us up and show us the town. Undergrad bars, grad school bars, locals bars, the first Borders, and one huge football stadium. We grab a few local brews on Liberty St and get to talking.
Turns out, Michigan has seen better days. The automotive crash has hit hard. The Pfizer plant outside town was shut down. Seems fitting that in mid-May, it's still cloudy and cold. But Google has come to town and employs many. UMichigan seems to be thriving, new buildings abound. Rich Rodriguez is coming...
Thursday morning, the sun comes out. We grab sammys for the road at Zingerman's, turn down the windows and turn up the iPod (Especially in Michigan, Chili Peppers), and rock all the way to South Bend.
So the state motto goes, 'If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you'. But I prefer the sign near the Indiana border: You Are Now Leaving Michigan: Great Lakes, Great Times.
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