Today and Tomorrow

Today I've earned tomorrow. Doesn't that sound nice? Today the mail carrier delivered all the mail that's been saved for us during our trip. We weren't sure of our exact return date, so we decided that August 30th was a good delivery date, just in case we were a little late getting back. We knew we wanted to be home for our anniversary, but delays happen, so we built in a cushion. We didn't want a month's worth of mail sitting on our deck waiting for us to return. It's a nasty job, sorting through five weeks worth of mail, but I managed. Everything has to be opened and sorted into things that need to be handled, shredded, recycled, or trashed, and things that need to be read, like magazines, or filed, like crochet pattern and recipe booklets. 

It's not fun, and I always used to procrastinate. Actually, I used to stuff it in bags and stick it out of sight. When we moved from California, there were bags of old mail that had never made it past the "I'll sort it later" stage. I don't live that way anymore. Suitcases were emptied (by me) when John brought them into the house, nested together and stored away. Laundry was done the next day. We're having visitors tomorrow, and I'll be able to enjoy them, because I won't have to go crazy stuffing things in closets and trying to figure out where the vacuum cleaner is. What a concept. Part of it is just sticking to it; part of it is having a house large enough to actually be able to put everything away; part of it is having learned how to do it; but I think the biggest part is being happy where we are, so I can enjoy being here enough to actually take care of things.

So what have I earned tomorrow? My daughter-in-law Ruth's parents, visiting from California, and two of Ruth's brothers and their wives and children will be coming to visit, and then we'll all be heading into a nearby city to attend a Freshman football game that one of the older kids will be playing in. I'm really looking forward to the fun and chaos that comes from a big group. None of them have seen our home yet. I'm trying to remember how many kids they have between them, and what the ages are. We're not exactly kid-proofed here. I don't want anybody falling down our circular staircase. Alright, everybody, grab a small hand and hang on...

Driving Around Omaha

One of the interesting things on our road trip that we'll love to remember is driving around Omaha, Nebraska. The speed limit is 75 and there are three lanes in each direction. People were doing either 50 or 85-90. You couldn't really drive comfortably if you wanted to go the speed limit. You could either go 50 or under, in the slow lane, or you could have someone crawling up your tail pipe in one of the other two lanes. It was the most nervous I've ever seen John as a driver. He would rather do stop and go on a busy freeway than that. Actually, so would I. You just can't regulate your speed properly when the cars around you are all trying to be Farmer John or Mario Andretti.

And just so you know — when I find my download chord for my digital camera, you'll see some photos...

31 Years Together

Happy Anniversary to us. We celebrated with all those days on the road, and today we had a very happy day together at home. We had one of our favorite meals, my Bison Chili and homemade garlic cheese bread. 

We talked about the trip, looked over the maps a bit and realized that we came about fifteen miles from Vermont without realizing it. If we had made that little jog onto another road, we would have gone through a total of nineteen states on the trip instead of eighteen, but who's counting? We logged a total of 6,695 miles, saw a son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, three aunts, one uncle, and more cousins than I can count. It was a fantastic journey, and the memories continue to warm us — far more memories than I'll ever put on the blog pages. 

There was one point at which I thought I wouldn't be writing any more blogs, and that's probably a good thing to write down. It happened the morning after I had written that we were leaving Michigan and I'd be out of touch for awhile, back in the woods of Wisconsin. No cell service, no internet. I wanted to make sure no one would worry that they couldn't contact us. John was driving slower than usual, since the fog had settled over the Upper Peninsula. Periodically he would pull over on the small strip next to the woods to let the idiots pass, and at the time I'm talking about there were about four cars behind us — nearly time to do that again — when out of the fog directly in front of us, and in our lane, comes a car passing another line of cars. 

It's strange how the brain can think multiple things at different speeds. I've never experienced this before, but at high speed, I thought, "Gee, no more blogs to write, and how long will it take everyone to know we're dead, since I told them I'd be out of reach for a few days?" At the same moment, and very slowly it seemed, my brain clearly thought, "This is going to hurt!" John barely had time to react when the car hit the ditch next to us, and he corrected to stay in our lane. The cars behind us all screeched on their brakes, but it was reactionary. Out loud, but not very, I said, "Thank you, God; thank you, John. I guess I don't need clean pants." If John had been driving even a mile faster than he was, we would have been hit head on. There was no more room than that. That was our only close call, but it was close enough to be grateful for the prayers we say on the road and the care with which my John drives.

Just for the record, here are the States we visited on this trip: Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wyoming.

Now our big plan is to stay here and let people come and visit us. 

Road Trip, Day 32, Honey, I'm Home

Soon I will fill in the missing days, mostly spent in the woods where there was no internet available, and give an overview of the trip as a whole, like how many States we actually visited. For now, I'll just briefly recap the road home and go reconnect with my own bed - ah, bliss.

We made it home from Wisconsin in two days, one of which was quite long. The first day we made it all the way to Minden, Nebraska, home of the Pioneer Village that we really wanted to see. We hadn't eaten since breakfast, so I was really anxious to remedy my growly stomach, but we first went to the Pioneer Village Motel and checked in. That's when we found out they didn't have internet available. Or shampoo, etc. Oh, well. Too bad I packed like I was going to a normal hotel and so couldn't get to our own amenities. We just love to camp out at hotels. 

At least the Pioneer Village Restaurant was right next door. Please do yourselves a favor and never eat there. The service was the worst I've ever had, and the food was (at best) inadequately prepared. In other words, don't ruin a perfectly good empty stomach at this place. There are worse things than hunger. 

The Pioneer Village itself was really great, though, when we finally got there the next morning. The only problem was our refusal to eat at the restaurant again, and the fact that there was nowhere else nearby, so we only stayed a couple of hours and then hit the road with some great photos and some mixed memories.

The last thing I'm going to mention tonight is a recap of my license plate insanity. Over the duration of the trip, I found all of the States except Hawaii. The penultimate find was Montana, which I didn't spot until driving through Wyoming today on our way home. I consider that a pretty good score. The only other extra plate I really wanted to find but didn't was Washington D.C. I almost never get that one. I find Hawaii more than that — usually around military bases. I also found eight different Canadian Provinces. That's a new record for me.

It was a wonderful trip, but it feels so good to be home. Now if I can just get the laundry done, and the photos downloaded and get them linked to my web site... I'm sure I can figure out how to do that, right?

Road Trip, Day 27, Gwinn to Marquette & Negaunee

These Yooper names may seem strange to people who didn't grow up hearing them, but when I asked John, "What's the name of that town where we got the pork pies and Fin Toast and he said, "Uh, Ishmish?" I really cracked up. It was so strange sounding that suddenly I realized how ridiculous the correct answer actually was, as I remembered the right answer was Ishpeming. My spell checker would really be going nuts here if this program had one. (Oh, what's a Yooper? It's someone or something from the U.P., the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.)

Today we harassed more relatives, arriving unannounced at the hardware store and lumber yard where cousin Dennis works and trying to rent a cousin. He figured out who I was pretty quickly, and we managed to have a nice visit between customers and phone calls. Then John and I headed up North even further to Marquette County, first stopping at Marquette itself, where we visited St. Peter's Cathedral, with its beautiful spires and turrets. Then we crossed the street and walked down a couple of blocks to the Marquette County Courthouse, another amazing structure, infamous as the site of Teddy Roosevelt being put on trial for being a drunk. Yes, it's true. Google it if you don't believe me. Or watch the old movie, Anatomy of a Murder, filmed in this same courthouse.

After that we went over to Big Bay, on Lake Superior, a few blocks over, and visited the Maritime Museum and filmed the lighthouse there. Then followed a string a "hug and run" hour long visits with a bunch of relatives we hadn't seen in a couple of years. Aunt Dorothy looked great, and her home is still museum quality. Her daughter, my cousin Clare, we managed to track down at work. She's the manager of the large Peter White public library. It's huge, and another historic building, with grand architecture. After that we got lost looking for Uncle Peter. We finally found him in Negaunee - or at least on the road leading to Negaunee. He lives in Negaunee like we live in Loveland. Our mailing address says Loveland, but we're a thousand feet above it and 20 minutes outside it. He's about five miles before Negaunee. We just didn't start looking soon enough.

Then we traveled through Negaunee and Ishpeming to the other side of the area to the little shop that makes pork pies and Fin toast to take a treat back to Aunt Cookie tomorrow when we head back to Wisconsin. We're also bringing back some breakfast pasties. Okay, I've mentioned pasties a couple of times here. They're meat pies. Picture a pie crust, stuffed with cubed steak, potatoes, onions and rutabagas. They're folded over and baked, and they're wonderful. (Pronounced pass-tees.) A breakfast pasty has eggs, potatoes, cheese and onions; just what you'd expect. What we bought was all frozen for travel.

So we'll do a little sight seeing on our way back to Wisconsin tomorrow, but we're basically winding our trip down now. Blogs will get shorter. Sleep will get longer - we can hope. Tomorrow there will be no internet, and no cell phone. Try not to need me.

Day 26, Road Trip, Big Families, Big Memories

One thing I've discovered as I touch base again with so many family members that I so seldom get to enjoy is that they all remember different things. My mom was one of fourteen kids, two of whom were twins. Aunt Cookie had eleven of her own, including two sets of twins. None of us can sit down without the memories starting to pour out. It's so hard not to whip out the journal and start taking notes, but it would destroy the moment, and so I don't, but it always amazes me that everyone has their own favorite memories, and they're always different. I guess it's not so strange that they often seem to show us kids in our goofiest moments.

My favorite from today's visit with Aunt Louise was her retelling of the long awaited visit of my mom when she brought little Pat, just a small boy, for a visit. While the two sisters sat by the wood stove in the kitchen to catch up on old times, Pat went up the stars to use the bathroom. As they sat there, the sudden sound of sizzling on the stove got their immediate attention, and they looked up to see "something" dripping from the bathroom register onto the stove. When Pat came downstairs again, Aunt Louise said that she asked him what he had done upstairs, and he told her that he had gone to make pee.
"Where?" she asked.
"In the toy-o-let."
"Then why did it sizzle on my stove?"
She said he looked at her very solemnly and said, "I had a little left over."

Those registers played a big part in my memory, too. When I was little, if we were very good for Grandma while visiting, the doll would dance in Grandma's kitchen. I didn't realize it then, but Grandpa would be up in the bathroom above their kitchen (different house) with fishing line attached to the rag doll, who was collapsed on the floor below. Grandma would say we were very good, and the doll would jump up and dance. It was one of the miracles of my childhood, how that doll knew if I'd been good or not. If I had done anything that wasn't very nice, then that doll would just lay there, and never more than twitched. I always knew if she was going to dance for me. Another one of those things that I didn't figure out until much later was that Grandma never really had eyes in the back of her head. She had a very small mirror over the sink.

Why do we travel so many miles? Yes, the woods are glorious, and the many beautiful new places we visit are treats and treasures to take out and examine on quiet days of reflection. They are all blessings in their own rites. But the real gold is in the smiles and memories we make today and call up from all those yesterdays.

Day 25, Road Trip, From Wisconsin to Upper Michigan

Tonight we're bedded down in a hotel in Upper Michigan, my birth State. (It appears to have recovered.) We'll be seeing more cousins, aunts and hopefully an uncle here, but the last week will be hard to beat. What a time we had in the wilds of Wisconsin.

Since my last post, we hooked up with my brother Pat's son Tim and his family in Ohio, had a fine breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, and an even better visit, then got on the road about 8 a.m. - at least two hours later than we usually get going. That put us into Wisconsin after dark. We stopped for groceries before trying to find the cabin. Have you ever tried to find a cabin in Wisconsin in the dark? First off, it's on 40 acres of woods, in the middle of a whole bunch of other acres... of woods and farms and more woods. We did find it, but when we got there we couldn't find the key. No problem. We'll call cousin Joe. Oops. Cell phone doesn't work out here in the woods. So we sat there and looked at each other. Then John calmly reached over and tried the OnStar phone in the car. I wouldn't have thought of that, as tired as I was. It worked. Joe came over with his key, some great hugs and (very welcome indeed) food from his wife Wendy. As often happens, we had neglected to stop for lunch. Have you ever seen a horse with the bit between its teeth? John can get that way sometimes when he drives. He's got the wheel and he's got his bag of beef jerky, and nothing's going to stop him. (We have over a 400 mile driving radius with our Tahoe.)

Anyway, the next morning we were up at first light, showered and dressed and ready to go spring Aunt Cookie from the assisted living facility. Of course, they wouldn't let her go until after the 8:30 end of breakfast, so we dragged our feet a little, and then went to get her. We had so much fun this week it would be impossible to list it all. A few highlights would have to be included, though.

There was the squeaky shoe incident at the hospital. Cookie needed a blood test before we could take her to the cabin, so we drove her to the hospital in Portage, about 30 miles away, and after the blood test we were walking out, and laughing about something. As we passed this tough looking 40 something guy in a Harley Davidson tee shirt, this squeaking sound escaped her. She looked at the guy and said, "My shoe squeaks." We both started laughing so hard that we stopped walking. The squeak didn't stop when we did, however, and pretty soon there was a distinctive fragrance emanating right in front of this poor guy. Then Cookie says between laughs, "I need a bathroom NOW!" I dragged her out of there and we found one. I told her that next time we went anywhere I was going to follow her with the fireplace bellows, humming the graduation march. It seems that we spent the entire time I was there laughing about something or nothing. And we did actually do the bellows thing later in front of two of her boys. It worked really well, getting a great laugh. She was really proud of herself.

Cousin Suze came and took us on a field trip one afternoon to a broom squire and basket maker (husband and wife) and it was really a nice afternoon. She wore Aunt Cookie and me out, but it was well worth it. She was telling us about a conversation she had with one of her hillbilly neighbors, and I was practically rolling on the floor. She's quite a mimic. I had already cut everything up to make pasties that night, so we enjoyed a late dinner and then practically fell in bed afterwards.

We saw cousin Andy and his wife Sally on Saturday, along with their two boys Eli and Riley. Sally brought a wonderful lunch, and even did the dishes afterwards. Then cousin Jim showed up. That was great. I was hoping to see as many of the cousins as possible. Labor Day weekend they'll all be at the cabin, but that wasn't going to work for us, so we've really been pleased we've gotten to see as many as we have. We actually left the cabin before they did, as Joe and Wendy had invited us to join them for dinner. Their son PJ was there, and when we arrived, they sat down for drinks while Joe took me out for the grand outhouse tour. It was raining, and the woods were lush and wonderful. I've always loved the rain. We even went a few miles back to where the deer stand is on his property, and I got some wonderful photos. Once we get home I'll be adding some photos, and also putting up a link to my photo site. Won't that be special?

After church this morning we had to return Aunt Cookie to the Care Facility and head up North, but we'll return for a few more days with her later this week. She gave me the most wonderful compliment, saying that I had taught her to really laugh again. I don't know if that's true, as she was already laughing before we even left the breakfast table at Mill Pond, the Care Facility, but it did make me feel good to hear that, anyway. And I know that we had as good a visit as we've ever had together. But then, we've always had great fun together, my Aunt Cookie and me. I do love that lady.