I'm Not Leaving on a Jet Plane
Pilgrimage to Canada | Day Two: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Day One (yesterday) began a bit later than intended, but I was on my way to I-80 East to access Highway 34 East by 5:45 am. I waxed nostalgic passing Red Oak, Iowa, for two reasons. One, with my pregnancy “overdue” back in 1995, my mother thought it would help induce labor by taking me golfing with her on her favorite course at the Red Oak Country Club. (In the literal country.) Bouncing around on a golf cart did not work. The second reason for my Red Oak nostalgia is that it is where I sprinkled (most of) my mother after she died. She requested the ritual way back before the cancer diagnosis, when she first fell in love with the place. Like a good daughter, I heeded my mother’s wishes, and she has been part of the Earth there in Iowa for seventeen years.
I am a slow driver in that I drive the speed limit, (call me crazy), but a bit beyond Red Oak while watching the gorgeous sunrise, a very young state patrol officer clocked me at 65-mph in a 55-mph zone. I think he was lonely. He just gave me a warning as the monster pickup trucks zoomed by doing 90-mph at 7:30 in the morning while we discussed the fact that neither of us has ever been to Michigan.
Ottumwa, Iowa was my first get-out stop. To cool it down, I parked in the shade of a car wash stall and gave a bath to my beloved Celica.
Fairfield, Iowa did not disappoint, and after parking in the shade, I took a walk and then bought a dill Havarti/cucumber/tomato sandwich on Ciabatta bread at the natural grocers I was gushing about yesterday. Delish.
Back on the road, even with the air conditioning on, I began to really feel the effects of the humidity, so I stopped in Burlington, Iowa for the day. Their downtown “port town” is made up of lovely old buildings much like the old Omaha riverfront before they tore everything down. But when I saw that the front desk person at the hotel didn’t have any front teeth, I decided to cross the Mississippi and head into Illinois. They have more trees and seemingly more cornfields over there - but worse roads.
I’m sleeping in Galesburg, Illinois tonight, all tucked in as I write this, happy for the rain and cooler weather that’s coming, and grateful I left before the areal flooding forecasted for the Omaha and Red Oak areas tomorrow. Be safe, everyone.
Michigan tomorrow and Thursday.
See you here soon…
Blessings & Love,
