Back from Glen Arbor

Wednesday morning, Remy and I drove up to Glen Arbor to see Elsie and Isabel. For those of you readers who don't know who those people are, Elsie is Chuck's (my former husband) mom, and Isabel is my niece. One reason I hurried up there is that Bill Peterson had an aging truck-back camper that could possibly be mine, and I needed to measure it to see what kind of truck would be needed to carry it. So, my first stop was the Reservation, the property at Gilbert Road where I have happily camped for many summers. I had hoped to camp this time, but the well has stopped working, and I decided not to stay there without easy access to water.

There's nothing like the air and sound at the Reservation. I didn't camp there, but I brought it home with me in my heart and in my nose.

I got the measurements of the old truck and the camper, drove further into the place to see if I could see Fiona's (my old dog) grave from the car and noticed a tent. No car. I wondered who was camping there.

I called the used car man. He told me that the need for an 8 foot truck bed meant, in today's market, that I might end up with something 20 feet long. I suggested that perhaps I could deal with a truck with it's own covered back, but it's really not the most appealing idea. I'm looking again at the idea of tent camping out of the back of a van or SUV, with the option of sleeping in the vehicle relatively comfortably (not like sleeping in my car on the way to Ithaca) if necessary.

Thanks to Frances for asking me to write another blog post. You may have noticed my tendency not to report so much now that I'm back in Grand Rapids for a time, and yet the adventure continues. It's nice to know someone continues to read about my exploits.

I was lucky enough to have a little one-on-one time with Isabel on Wednesday afternoon before she had to go to work. We went hunting, and I mean hunting, for an open restaurant. Well, the Good Harbor Grill turned us away because of Remy, even though he was wearing his service vest. Then we tried Foothills Cafe, which had closed for the day about 10 minutes before. The other place at the narrows (don't remember the name) had closed for the season, and then the coffee-sandwich shop/pizza place on M-22 in Empire had the sandwich side closed for renovations. Fortunately, we managed to get most of the menu of the sandwich shop at the pizza place, and a delicious lunch was had by both.

The beautiful Isabel at the Village Inn in Empire.

While in the metropolis of Glen Arbor, I had the chance to bike out past Sleeping Bear, read more of Travels with Charley, see a movie (Equal Means Equal -- see it!) and have supper with Elsie. The air in Glen Arbor is life restoring. 

View from the deck at Elsie's house in Glen Arbor.

The Pole of Lost Soles near Art's in Glen Arbor.

I used M-37 to get both ways this week. I find, after all the places I've been, that I don't really enjoy the expressways so much. 

I had a similar experience to the lunch restaurant one when looking for coffee on Saturday morning. Leelanlau Coffee had a line out the door, I guess because it was raining and people weren't out running, biking, or swimming. The place in Empire didn't have the coffee part open. The Grocer's Daughter serves coffee drinks, mocha in particular, but they don't have decaf. So I thought I was going to have to take 131 back after going through Cadillac in order to get a decent cup of coffee. Luckily, there's a sweet little shop -- the kind that sits in the middle of a parking lot -- right at the intersection of 115 and 37, so I was able to get my coffee and take 37 back to GR. 

Dear Beth Miller supplied me with raspberries from her garden on my way back. And I finally returned to Annie's, had supper with and helped Tony Blair with music for the Chamber Choir picnic on Tuesday, walked Remy and went to bed in the sweet, sultry, summer air of Michigan.

staying in GR for a bit

Here I am, staying at Annie's in Grand Rapids. Do I miss having my own home? Maybe a little, but not very much. When the tornado went through on Saturday, I was glad I didn't have to worry about home damage and cleanup. As I walked Remy this morning, I saw a plant in someone's yard that caught my eye. In the past, I would have tried to find out what it was and plant it on the hill. This time, I smiled at how pretty it was, as I passed by.

I've been considering (pretty seriously) getting a 6-cylinder truck, since Betsy offered me the Peterson truck camper. It feels like the right thing to do. Since I still don't know for sure where I'll end up, the idea of having portable shelter is very appealing. I need to get up to Glen Arbor and talk to Elsie about it, as well as find out from Jon what kind of shape the camper is in and what I need to do to keep it going.

I'll make some appointments today for mammogram, colonoscopy (screening tests I missed in the spring), and teeth cleaning. After that, I'll know when and for how long I can go up north. I'm really looking forward to being in Glen Arbor. The Reservation is one of my favorite places on Earth.

It's also possible (still waiting to hear) that I'll spend some time living with my friend Kate, who has had surgery and an infection and could use some assistance. Whether I stay at Annie's or go to Kate's, I'm looking forward to writing more words and music, getting my keyboard set up, and spending some time learning to play guitar better. Annie and I looked at Gracias a la Vida together on YouTube the other day. It's a song I've long been drawn to, and I've always imagined singing it with Annie.

My awareness is growing of simply doing the next thing, not putting things off or ignoring impulses. This is the only way to live in joy. 

Returning again to W Michigan

I had breakfast with Abby at Steve & Lu's and then hit the road for Michigan -- well, I stopped off at Green Star Co-op one more time, but then I was on the road. The weather was gorgeous, and I didn't even have to run the AC the whole day. Remy was very cooperative, and we only stopped a few times. The journey in pictures is below.

I hope you can magnify this and the next two. On this one, an example of the signs in one county where place names are presented in English and Seneca language.

One of the spellings of Allegany/Allegheny. The former seems to be used for counties, state parks, etc., while the latter is for bodies of water -- river, reservoir.

Here is the reservoir, second spelling, and Seneca translation which looks like "Ohio."

Lucille Ball Park, Celoron, NY, "Angry Lucy" with her bottle of Vitameatavegemin.

Close up of "Angry Lucy." This statue was moved to a place of lesser prominence when the following statue replaced it recently.

Remy posed with Lucy. He was so cute that other tourists who didn't know him wanted to take his picture.

One of those other tourists was kind enough to take a picture of the two of us. That bronze plinth was hot!

One nice thing about the very slow-going traverse through Cleveland was that I was near the lake and caught occasional glimpses of it. I had gone along the lakeshore because I was looking for a specific restaurant, but traffic everywhere was so backed up that I just kept going till I got out of Cleveland. Found a great place called Wood and Wine 15 miles or so west of Cleveland, before I-80.

After dinner, watching the storm approach with some apprehension.

A "ray" of hope -- do you see the small area of light in the distance, right over the road?

I'm getting under the clouds, but the area of light is growing larger, and the road goes right into it.

Off to the right, I can see the downpours in several places.

Zeroing in on the light. No rain yet.

A few raindrops just starting.

Raining hard enough for wipers beyond intermittent. Behind me, there must have been a beautiful rainbow.

Stormy conditions sometimes make for beautiful sunsets.

And there it goes.

This is still Ohio. Remy and I continued on to around Lansing before getting a room. I know, why not go all the way to GR? Because I didn't have anyone expecting me tonight, and it was getting too late to call someone for a bed. BEsides, I was getting tired. 

Speaking of tired, this guy was parked so far from the front of the parking spot that I had to take a picture. Made me smile.

I had a memory, as I often do when driving west on 96 from 23, of the time over 30 years ago when Chuck and I rode back from Ann Arbor on his motorcycle and stopped at the rest area east of Lansing because it was raining, and the rain felt like needles on our skin.

I sometimes wish I could record the stream of consciousness that occurs while I'm driving. Out of all the thoughts I had today, the following seemed worth mentioning. When we value something, we are attached to it. Many times, our values define us so we are deeply invested in them. When someone else shares the things we value, we value them. When a person does not, we tend to dismiss them at best, hate them at worst. It's largely about attachment. When we see ourselves as one, the differences don't matter. 

I haven't yet figured out how we live together as human beings without values. Maybe valuing things is still an important part of our egoic existence, but attachment to them is how we become one.

Nice to have a friend to spend some time with!

I've been back in the Ithaca area since midday on Saturday, as some of you may already know. I left Whitehall about 8:15 p.m. on Friday (after picking up Remy from the kennel). The following two pictures are of the sky to the east as I traveled I-96 back toward GR.

This was only the beginning of the stormy weather to come throughout the next few days. Fortunately, I didn't have to drive through very much heavy rain on my trip to Ithaca. I say "fortunately" because I was doing my OCD thing where I keep telling myself, "Just a little further, and then I'll stop." I made my first sleep stop at a toll oasis between Toledo and Cleveland for about 2 hours, and the second when I was nearly to Erie, PA. I really had intended to get a hotel room, but by the time I was exhausted and ready to sleep for a few hours, everything around me was booked up. It was Friday night, after all.

This was the view I woke up to after another hour and a half of sleep. I was parked in a gas station parking lot, overlooking semis where people were probably doing the same thing, although I suspect more comfortably.

The three pictures above were taken at a rest area that overlooks Chautauqua Lake. A bridge spans the lake right before the rest area. I'm so glad that Remy and I both needed a break. I've driven by this gorgeous place several times without taking the time to stop and look around. 

Not long after this, traveling along I-86 across New York state, I saw a sign that I was passing over "Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Boulevard." I thought, "I wonder if that's the place with the Lucille Ball statue." Turns out it is. I'm going to stop there tomorrow as I head back toward Michigan. (Sorry if I mentioned this before.)

I enjoyed meeting people at the birthday party that Chris had invited me to, although many were from Michigan. The party had wonderful food, music and company; but many of the activities were cut short by sporadic showers including heavy downpours and one major storm with thunder, lightning, and strong winds. We pulled our chairs away from the edges of the porch and sat out there enjoying the cooling effect of the winds and rain.

Sunday, Chris and I spent some time figuring out where we would spend the next few nights. We had planned to camp, but the daytime air was hot and humid, and there were thunderstorms in the forecast every day. We checked out Airbnbs but didn't find anything there. We ended up in a Days Inn in Cortland. 

Yesterday, I boldly headed out on the bike with Remy in the basket. I planned to meet Chris for breakfast in Cortland, but I wanted to get a ride in, so I headed south from the hotel. I could see on the map that I could head west on Blodgett Mill Road, meet up with another county road heading north again, and come back toward the breakfast place (Frank & Mary's Diner) going east. 

Oh. My. God. Blodgett Hill Road just goes up and up and up, and sometimes quite steeply. I walked a lot of it. When I finally got to the top, I looked ahead and saw that, after a bit of down, there was more up and up, so I turned on Pendleton and still went up and up some more, but I was able to do most of this part on the bike.

Wildflowers along the road on Blodgett Mill.

A glorious view from up high on Pendleton.

The descent into Cortland was exhilarating, although I braked the whole time. It took a little riding back and forth to find Frank & Mary's mostly because I was actually looking for someplace I'd been before (which turns out to be called Steve & Lu's), but I finally did find it, and Chris was there. It wasn't bad, but I still like Steve & Lu's better.

Yesterday, Chris and I had kind of an auto tour of the area. We set out for Aurora because there is a shoemaker there who works with the same patterns as someone in Michigan that she has used before, but who doesn't seem to be accomplishing anything for her recently. We found the Aurora Shoe Company, but the sign outside said that they were only open on Fridays from noon to 4. We turned north on 34B and headed into Aurora proper. It's a cute little town, but we didn't stop there. We had heard about a place called Mackenzie Childs with wonderful, creative, household goods, and we found it just north of Aurora. I was sorry I left my phone in the car because there were many things I would have photographed. In case you're interested, Mackenzie Childs' goods are available by catalogue or Internet search. www.mackenziechilds.com  If you take a look, you'll see how fascinating everything was. And while things were quite expensive, one wouldn't have to furnish an entire house from here. Just a piece or two would spice up any room.

On we went to Auburn, where we had lunch at a fairly middle-of-the-road, nothing-special bar/restaurant. We split a salad. And then we headed to Skaneateles. 

We thought we would go swimming at the park in Skaneateles, but we ended up walking, shopping, having some ice cream, and heading out, back to Cortland. 

So, today, swimming was on the agenda! I recommended Taughannock Park, and since I was doing the driving, that's where we went. All the weather sites warned of cloudiness and storms today, but we ignored them and took all our outdoor equipment. When we first arrived, it was kind of cloudy, but as we stuck around, the day grew gorgeous, with high fluffy clouds, a brisk yet warm wind, and reasonably acceptable temperatures. There were a lot of children in the swimming area, but we just waded past them and swam in the deeper area. Another swimmer commented to Chris about how warm the water was. I suppose that makes sense, since the area hasn't had much rain this summer, so the cold water from the waterfalls isn't contributing much to the lake (Lake Cayuga).

Chris reading peacefully.

A late afternoon shot of the swimming area. Note the bright blue sky in the distance.

The gateman at the park had a suggestion for a nearby restaurant for lunch, and we ate at The Falls Restaurant in Trumansburg. My review would be much like the one for the place in Auburn. We returned to the park for a couple more hours. Chris had a book to read, but I had left mine in the hotel room, so I borrowed some paper and wrote some (possible) lyrics, and then culled numbers from my phone directory. 

When we finally left the park, we were hungry again. This time, we went into Ithaca where we were sure to get something interesting and well-prepared. We ended up at Just a Taste, where Abby and I had gone twice a couple of weeks ago. Chris and I shared the amazing potato wedges, she had pasta, and I had a salad. We sat outdoors and couldn't help noticing that the waitstaff was quite on edge about a possible impending storm. The wind had come up throughout the afternoon, so it was understandable, but we hadn't seen any sign of dark clouds on our way into town. Some people were cynically saying that it would probably rain all around but not in Ithaca, since that's seems to be what;s been happening all summer. It didn't rain on us.

But as we drove north back toward Cortland, dark clouds gathered to the north and west, and we could see lightning bolts flashing through the darkness. We got into a little rain, but it really didn't start coming down till we got back to the hotel, thankfully. 

As we sit here now, we have the window open -- so much nicer than the air machine attached to the wall -- and it's cool and lovely. We had the window open last night, too, and Chris asked whether I thought it was safe. I pointed at Remy and said, "Yes." He's no big bruiser, but he won't let anything or anyone get by without making a helluva lot of noise.

Chris is leaving tomorrow morning to return to Grand Rapids. I'm meeting Abby for breakfast (at Steve and Lu's!) and then I'll head out, as well. I don't think I'll go all the way back to GR tomorrow. I definitely will stop in Celoron, NY, to see the Lucy statue, and I'll give myself time to take in the sights. At least I probably won't have as much trouble finding someplace to stay on the way back, since it's the middle of the week. 

I'm looking forward to staying with Annie again upon my return. I'll be hanging around GR through September, most of the time, so I hope to catch up with anyone who wants to see me. I have some more philosophical things to share here if just being in GR becomes something not to report on. 

Back in Ithaca

For those of you who have been following faithfully, I apologize for days away. As I continue this journey, I find that the details of my day-to-day travels don't seem as relevant, and I've also found myself in places without WiFi for days at a time, so I've foregone the daily writing.

I dropped my parents off in Grand Rapids late on Friday afternoon. I got to the car rental place just after 6:00 and returned to Maple Creek (where my folks live) to put the bike on my car. I then drove the hour out to Whitehall and picked up Remy about 8:00 p.m. Since I wanted to be in Ithaca as early as possible the next day, I decided to head straight out, so I didn't even stop off in Grand Rapids to pick up a couple of things I'd left at Annie's house. I drove off on I-96 toward Lansing, took 69 south to 94, then to 23 and south to the 80/90 toll corridor.

This is where my particular form of OCD kicks in. It was late. I was sort of tired, but I wanted to put some miles behind me, too. So I kept looking forward: I'll just get to 94 and then I'll look for a hotel; Once I get on 23 I'll look for a hotel; I'll get on the toll road and then stop at an oasis and sleep for a few hours (which I did -- 2 hours between Toledo and Cleveland). Once I got off the toll road, I was feeling quite tired, so I started looking for a hotel in earnest. Guess what! It was Friday night, and they were all booked up. So I slept another hour and a half in a gas station parking lot, overlooking the semis.

I found a decent place for breakfast and continued on I-86 across New York state toward Ithaca. On the way, I noticed a crossroad called Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Boulevard, and I wondered whether that was the location of the Lucy sculpture I'd recently heard about. I found out later that yes, it is; so I plan to stop there on the way back to Michigan and see it.

I arrived in Ithaca about 2:45 in the afternoon and purchased a few food items at Green Star Co-op. I heard from my friend Chris. She and some friends had just ordered at the Moosewood Restaurant, but I wanted to get to Verizon and increase the data on my plan, so I told her I'd meet up with them later. The Verizon stop didn't take long, so I made a short side trip to have a closer look at a van I'd seen for sale on my way into town. I took some pictures -- will post later, left my phone attachment in the car. Then, I headed out to go up hwy 34 to Scipio Center where the birthday party was happening. I had just reached the northern edge of Ithaca when I heard from Chris again. They were all heading to Tremain Park to go swimming. I turned around and headed back, stopping at Chipotle for lunch.

I arrived just in time for the life guards to close the swimming area because of thunder. I got my suit on anyway, and when the rain came we sat in the downpour and enjoyed the coolness.

The incredible farmhouse where the party was being held was very period with lots of antiques and perfect decorating. Also true to the period -- no AC. The rooms were hot and still. Outside was marginally better, but it improved a lot after a major storm went through. Unfortunately, it made folk dancing in the driveway kind of difficult. The food was under a tent, but the people mostly went inside and to the front porch when the rain came. We'd all just started going back to our outdoor pursuits when another storm came through. The remnants of the party continued on the front porch, but not too late.

Luckily, once the front door stood open for a bit the bedroom Chris and I were using cooled down adequately. I slept on the floor on an air mattress, a significant distance from her, holding onto Remy's leash all night so he wouldn't get it in his  head to attack her feet if she got up to go to the bathroom. He made several dives at people's feet while we were sitting on the porch last night. He actually hurt Chris, who wasn't wearing shoes at the time. I'm so discouraged about this antisocial dog. I think it's time to get a truck, get the truck camper from the Petersons (if it is, indeed, available as indicated), and have a "home" for me and especially for Remy.

This morning, we packed up and drove into Ithaca for breakfast. I left a pair of earrings, so sometime in the next few days I'll have to drive back to Scipio Center. The weather continues to be "iffy," quite variable: from high humidity and sunshine to pop-up extreme thunderstorms. Chris and I have decided that it's not the best situation for camping, so we are reserving a room at an inexpensive hotel in Cortland and will head out there to get settled shortly.

We'll stay in the area till Wednesday morning. She has some things on her agenda for Thursday in Grand Rapids, so she won't stay beyond that point. I might. We'll see.

I told her today that I'm planning to stay in GR through her surgery on September 27, and she was very happy. I'm happy that I can help. 

Duke Gardens, and more family

It's been a long day, and it's late, so I'm not going to write much; but I wanted to post these photos from the beautiful Duke Gardens before I head to bed.

We finished off the day with a lovely dinner at Patrick Jane's, a locally sourced, mostly organic restaurant in the Raleigh/Cary area (not sure exactly where it is because I wasn't driving). I had an amazing salad with mixed greens, goat cheese, honeyed pecans, dried cranberries, and I added shrimp. It was delicious and reasonably priced. Everyone else seemed happy with their meals, as well.

Tomorrow, we leave for Parkersburg, and after that, Grand Rapids again.

I have a new sense of purpose. I'll keep you posted.

Photos below:

A view of the pond in the Asiatic Garden section.

A mother and her two young girls were feeding the ducks in the Asiatic Garden.

My fellow garden hikers coming down the path into the local plants area of the gardens. (Dad, Mom, Jeff, and Halcy.)

In this photo and the one below, Swallowtail butterflies pose for me on the local plants.

A stand of beautiful lilies.

Halcy and Jeff actually pose for me!

Looking toward the koi pond from the gazebo. (That's Mom gazing from a lower level.)

Still in Local Plants.

The koi are very friendly, as they are accustomed to being fed. We did not feed them and they drifted off.

Water lilies, obviously.

Looking up toward the gazebo, with Dad in the foreground.

Family.

The fountain in the Rose Garden. The water wasn't even cool enough to be refreshing to the fingers. Air temp was about 91 degrees, and heat index near 100.

This gorgeous tree was in a small park on Main Street near the Luna Rotisserie and Empanada restaurant where we had lunch, in Durham. I highly recommend it.

Charlotte

I thought I'd open tonight's blog with this holdover photo from last night's family gathering. It's such a happy group! L to R back: Torri, Cooper, Bill, Keaton; middle: Colleen, Carol (Mom); front: Harold (Dad).

 The highlight of today's activity was a solo drive to Charlotte (2 1/2 hours each way). My friend, Patrick Hamrick, who was previously at Fountain Street Church, is now working in Charlotte. I missed the opportunity to see him last year when we were in the area, so it was worth it to me to drive over to Charlotte today.

I got an early start on my day, heading out for what I thought would be about a 6-mile bike ride. I took a wrong turn, though, ended up in Apex, and then had to ride back, so I didn't get back to the house until about 15 minutes before I had planned to leave, and I still had to eat and shower. It all worked out fine, though.

I arrived at Patrick's church, First United Methodist Church, about 11:40. He showed me the sanctuary and a little of the rest of the church on our way out to walk Tryon toward the center of town.

We went directly to an Irish pub (Ri Ra) for lunch -- excellent food and service -- and chatted for a while. Before returning to the church, Patrick showed me a little bit of the downtown area (photos below), introduced me to some of the church volunteers, and caught me up a bit on the logistics and demographics of the area. It seems like an area I wouldn't mind visiting again, but as far as cities/towns in this climate zone, I like Asheville better.

This plaque explains the statues at all four corners of this major intersection. I only got photos of two.

The Future.

A gorgeous negative ion park only a few blocks from the church. Patrick said he enjoys coming here, and I can see why. There are plaques with historical information, but I didn't read or photograph them this time around. Maybe next time I visit.

This plaque tells about the fresco pictured below, which was commissioned for this spot.

Very interesting painting.

Patrick is much better at selfies than I. am, so here are a few. The one that is obviously not a selfie was taken by his friend and volunteer, Jackie.

First United Methodist in the background.

The biggest skyscraper in downtown Charlotte and 30-somethingth in the world.

You can see more of the beautiful waterfall park in this one.

I had driven over to Charlotte by going up to Greensboro and then down to Charlotte on I-85, but there was a considerable amount of construction on 85, and I decided to take a different route back. The return trip was more 2-lane roads and also involved some construction, so I didn't save any time, but it was more interesting.

The weather was just a bit cooler after some rain today. On my way back to Cary, I saw a horizon rainbow -- don't know if you can really see it in the photo. I've never seen one before that wasn't raised up and curved. This was just stripes across the horizon.