We have now spent two weeks in lovely Adrian Michigan, so I thought I would tell you a little about the city, in case you have never been here. Adrian is a city just north of the Ohio / Michigan border. It is the county seat of Lenawee County and has a population of 21,000. Adrian is known for its good schools and its beautiful parks. It has a historic downtown with lots of restaurants and shops – very few empty buildings.
There are two colleges in Adrian, which gives it a more prosperous and lively feel than many similar sized cities. Adrian College is a nice-sized liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church and established in 1859. Adrian College is ranked one of the top midwest colleges by US News and World Report and is located on the southwest end of town. Siena Heights University, on the northeast side of town, is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Siena Heights was established by the Dominican Sisters in 1919 and was a liberal arts college for women only until 1969.
in between Adrian College and Siena Heights University is a wonderful town with lots of restaurants, all the usual stores, and lots of interesting people who are proud of their city. September 19 and 20 was the annual Art-a-licious downtown. Over 80 artists set up booths displaying their artwork. We saw stained glass, woodworking, fiber arts, homemade soaps, photography, and many paintings. The “licious” part was not as well represented as the art, but we did find some one BBQ stand amid the kettle corn, elephants ears, and pizza.
We ate at several restaurants. One night we had Italian at “Sauce”. My food was very good. Another night we tried a local Mexican restaurant on the south side of town. We enjoyed a dinner at Culvers and we even ate at Bob Evans for the first time since leaving Akron.
But our favorite place in Adrian is “The Spotted Cow.” It is, of course, an ice cream shop, although it also has sandwiches and the location at the south end of town has a fun little putt-putt place (there is also a location at the north end of town). It has soft serve ice cream in lots of different flavors, and scooped ice cream from the Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company in Wisconsin. The scoop ice cream is super premium and I love how they describe it: Nutritional Information – Don’t even ask. This is the best ice cream made in Wisconsin, and it tastes so good because it has gobs of rich Wisconsin cream, tons of real ingredients for boat-loads of luscious flavors. That means it’s not low-fat, low-calorie or low-anything, and that’s why everyone loves it. You want nutrition – eat carrots. I’ve tried five different flavors and it is delicious. It’s a good thing we are working so hard at the work site every day or I’d never be able to enjoy this ice cream so much.
Our two week stay in Adrian has been full of hard work and fun relaxation. Adrian is a good place to visit or to live.