A Day in Ann Arbor - Sawyer & the Nichols Arboretum

This Sunday Kevin thought it would be a great idea to spend the day in Ann Arbor at the arboretum and to go downtown for lunch.  I had great memories of spending time with the pups at the arboretum in Tuscaloosa while I was in college, so I thought it would be a great idea to borrow Katie's dog Sawyer for the day. (We would have brought Callie too, but she is currently recovering from leg surgery.  Sorry Callie!)

Kevin made sure to double check the Nichols Arboretum website to confirm they allow dogs, and I got the OK from Katie to pick up Sawyer, so we were ready for a day of fun in Ann Arbor! 

Let's go, I call shotgun!

The arboretum is located in the middle of a neighborhood very close to campus, so we found a parking spot in the neighborhood and walked into the Geddes entrance to the arboretum.  First, of course, we had to stop and take some pictures with Sawyer.

Parking Map

 

Once inside the gate, there is a map at the entrance that shows you the different paths you can take.  This Web page explains the three entrances and what to do if you get lost:  Nichols Arboretum.

We took a stroll up the path and made our way to the river.  It was the weekend of graduation and all of the students were moving out for the summer, so there were lots of families taking strolls through the gardens and taking pictures in front of the river.  Needless to say, Sawyer received lots of attention.  He did very well with all of the other dogs and groups of people, we were very proud of him!  A few times throughout our walk Sawyer looked pretty tuckered out, so we made sure to give him plenty of water out of our camelback.  Wish I would have gotten that on video, it was pretty funny. Then, back at the car, he drank two bottles of water.  Poor pup, he's more of a "city" dog and enjoys his light strolls through Royal Oak. 

Making our way around the river

Sawyer, Sit

Sawyer, Lay Down

Great view of the river

Sunday Funday

Sawyer loves the camera

Pretty flowers!

After spending a while at the arboretum we were ready for lunch.  We had the bright idea of taking Sawyer for a walk downtown and grabbing some lunch at one of the tables on the sidewalk at one of the many restaurants, but soon realized that that was not going to happen.  Sawyer was just too friendly and wanted to "say hello" to everyone eating at tables along the sidewalk, no matter if they wanted to "say hello" back.  So, instead we rode over to Blimpy Burger and ate our to-go burgers on the sidewalk while Sawyer enjoyed a nice stick. 

After that we headed back home while Sawyer had a nice, long nap in the backseat.  Once back at the house, Kevin and I enjoyed a nice, long nap in the hammock.  It was a pretty great Sunday Funday!