So I got to see some of the town after I finished the class. Every house in this place looks expensive, even the ugly houses. It is a nice and safe, lots of S Class Mercedes and big Suvs. So much so the host of the class said she does not lock her house during the day. The downtown is not that large but it is full of women's boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants galore. This place is big money to say the least. People say that Birmingham is the nicest suburb in the Detroit area. I am sure the other nice suburbs say the same thing.
As I walked up West Maple after peering through windows of women's clothes almost giving up hope on something interesting I found the Backcountry North outdoors store. It is a smallish typical outdoors store that is full of expensive Northface, Kuhl and Patagonia clothing articles which included some gear for backpacking, white water and yoga. I met a couple of chatty locals working inside who were eager to exchange conversation and eating suggestions around the area, one suggestion I will talk about in a bit. It was refreshing to meet a girl who said dude more than I do. I also got the inside that the Detroit scene was not sketchy at all and very cool. I bid my farewells, thanked them for the suggestions and headed down a side street where I found a skate shop named Pogo. It was another typical tiny skate shop (all be it nice and well organized) that had the usual boards, trucks, stickers, t-shirts, hoodies and a plethora of shoes. It was managed by one guy who like the other store employees I had encountered was eager to chat me up and just talked about whatever came to mind. Since we were in a skate shop we talked about skating, imagine that. I did learn that Louisville Kentucky has one of the largest skate parks in the world. He boasted about some of his buddies doing a camping session there that sounds like fun one day when I can actually skate transitions again. I ended up leaving there and getting a burrito at Qdoba, not the greatest I have ever had but then again I met another chatty employee. He was happy to tell me how he was preparing for a 10 day canoe camping trip on some river north of here.The next day was grueling in the class room, tiring since I have not taught this particular material in over a year. It was great, I did fine but it sucked in the fatigue department. After I rapped up the class I went back to the room and did a bit of writing and decision making on what to do next. At the outdoors store the dude, not the girl, suggested that I go check this place out in the neighboring suburb called Inn Season Cafe. This is an exclusively vegetarian and vegan restaurant in Royal Oak about five mile away from the hotel. As soon as I turned into Royal Oak it had some of the same feel as Birmingham but not the pomp. The houses seemed a bit more affordable but nice from what I could gather from just appearance alone. The down town was bigger and was more rustic in appearance, it did not have the refined look of Birmingham, which is welcoming. This is a arty community that has some real feel to it. There was a bustle about the street and tons more regular folk and young people walking about the streets. Inn Season was located just on the other side of the downtown. I was really up in arms and apprehensive after I passed this trendy little Thia place on the way. I parked my car and was off to Inn Season thinking that if I was not impressed immediately I would keep walking to the Thai place. I got to the door and could see people sitting just inside the door waiting for a table. This is always a good sign on a Tuesday night if there is a wait. It most often means there a line to get in because it is worth waiting for. So I walked in and put name down, waited for ten minutes and got my table. While I was siting there I was mesmerized by the girls waiting tables. They were beautiful, trendy and tattooed. The food was great, I had a burrito filled with pinto beans, rice and cheese served with a side of sour creme, garnished with blue corn chips and shredded greens. I started the meal off with a cup of red bean cashew soup, great as well.
Now I sit in the hotel dreading what comes tomorrow, dread. I have a full day of teaching then as soon as that is done I have to run off to the airport, fight traffic and catch a plane. I am slated to get home around 1am which really sucks. Maybe I will tweet hostilities tomorrow.
Finally - I wanted to honor the death of a friend that died last night of a seizure. Pat Boyd you were a great guy and will ever live in our memories of the smartest goofy bike wrench known to me. Good knowing you buddy.
TA!
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