First, let me digress: I have to tell you this about Cowboy and me: we NEVER planned out our trips....we like wingin' it & takin' chances.....getting into arguments -- because he didn't follow my directions (or maybe because I didn't navigate in English ~~~*sarcasm*~~~); trying to get a hotel room over July 4th weekend in tourist towns on Lake Michigan --- 3 yrs in a row! Sometimes I even grocery shop without a list.....You get the idea....we're kinda fly by the seat of our pants people. You know, moment to moment. Yeah, that's us.
I had booked accommodations ahead and printed out maps to each day's hotel stay and also each day's itinerary. I entered each hotel's address and any special destination into our ancient-by-technology-standards TomTom. This was a clear departure from the norm in this household. (*an indication that this trip might be a life changer)
Cowboy put off to the last second taking the dog to the boarding kennel. {I think he may have even asked again if the dog could go}. While he was delivering the dog, I packed my pick-up with our things. I've become quite good at arranging things so that I can fit the most stuff in a small space --- years of Tetris practice....(Tetris is one of my guilty time wasters....but,but,but let me just say that I'm usually working out some sort of botheration in my mind while I'm playing --- ahem).
He inspected my packing job. I passed.
Wagons, Ho! We were off!
First road block....7 miles into the trip. Oh yeah...I forgot about that one. We hadn't even left the county. It all work out well...we've learned our way around out here. After a quick stop at a filling station and breakfast at Arby's, we continued west. As we crossed the state line in to Illinois, I came up with a brilliant idea.
"Hey, let's play the state game," I blurted. No response from the driver.
"We'll look at license plates and log the state they're from. Haven't you ever played that?"
"No," said he.
"I'll write down all the states. When you see a plate from a state, call it out. I'll put your initial beside the state on the page. Same for me," I explained. He remained uninterested, probably mentally rolling his eyes.
I had to look in the atlas to make sure I got them all (and in alphabetical order). I could have thought of all 50...eventually. But who has time to waste? -- going for fast and efficient!!
So, let the games begin! I'm spottin' states right & left.....I'm smokin' him. I knew that he wasn't playing, but I didn't care. It became a quest of me against the odds.
A few miles into the trip, a truck sped past us -- dog next to driver. We noticed simultaneously. I knew what Cowboy was thinking. I was right...
"See, he has his dog with him," he laughed. I laughed, too.
Because Illinois looks like Indiana, I decided against taking pictures. At heart I'm a zealot when it comes to photographing landscapes and I have more than enough pictures (printed photos and ones saved on my computer) to convict me. I tell you this because I really could have taken pictures of every corn and soybean field, every meadow, every woods, every cloud along every mile. It's all breathtaking to me.
I determined to take in the entire vista, to look at my Midwest as though I'd never seen it before -- through the eyes of a foreigner. I gawked from window to windshield and prattled on and on all through Illinois, commenting on every sign and sight. There were sets of signs arranged like the Burma-Shave signs of American lore. The subject was gun control.
Here's the one-sided conversation (he's a still-mouth when he's driving. So the voice you hear is mine).....
My chatter went on like this all across Illinois when out of the blue he spoke: "Mississippi River."
I gasped. I didn't even think about my camera. With my wide eyes and gaping but silent mouth, I marveled at this magnificent river. Remember the "Great Flood" of 1993? Memories of news footage of farms being swallowed whole sprang to mind. It looked too tame to have done such a horrendous thing.
As we left the bridge and entered Iowa I said (every 10 seconds or so), "This is the farthest west I've ever been....no, this is the farthest west I've ever been." That statement never ceased to garner a smile from my Cowboy no matter how many times I said it.
Cowboy was impressed with the prosperous farms clustered so near each other amid the rolling Iowa hills. His assessment: Too many people. We couldn't live there. My assessment: Such beauty. It warmed the cockles of my wee farmgirl heart, it did. Could I live in Iowa?....maybe....possibly.
More of my blathering continued through Iowa. I commented on the pink hue of the roads, on the rounded-roof barns with cupulas, the flourishing farms, the gently rolling prairie, how grain terminals and water towers were the tallest structures in every little town. Hey, a pioneer village! New grain bins shining in the morning sun. Are you hungry yet? This all still looks like Indiana.
We got off the interstate to get some lunch. At a stop light, we both looked over to the car ahead of us in the next lane and broke out in laughter. Hawaii plate!!! I thought we'd never get that one! I put his initials next to Hawaii on my page....that's what I did for my marriage that day!....wife of the year.
We pulled into the parking lot of an Arby's to grab lunch. (I know, Arby's again) I continued to blab on and on about how much everything looked like Indiana. I don't remember if he commented....probably stopped listening to me back at the Mississippi. At the table next to us sat 3 young women wearing Lucas Oil Stadium t-shirts. Outside was a car with Ball State plates. Across the street was a man wearing an Indiana University "dad" sweatshirt. Sheesh! What irony (or whatever the word for weird phenomenon or something)!
After lunch, we were back on the road. Northwood, Iowa, here we come! We made it to our hotel with no trouble (because of my incredible organizational skills, maps, gps, cheerful disposition). It was in the proverbial middle-of-nowhere....next to a casino....
The casino looked like it might be interesting. We decided to explore....
We went in, chatted with the security officer, explained how we'd never been in a casino before...how do you do it? He gave us instructions, we half-listened. We weren't going to gamble (we're known for our penny-pinching parsimoniousness), we just wanted to see it....as if it were a museum or a crop circle. Twinkling, sparkling lights filled the dimly lit casino. Very Vegas like (I've never been to Vegas--I have to imagine things like Vegas). Men and women were sitting at slot machines --smoking and gambling. There was a poker table, black jack, roulette. It's an interesting way to spend a Tuesday afternoon -- I'm not judging. The parking lot of the casino was packed while the hotel's was vacant...we didn't make the connection till the next morning. All the chickens came home to roost (the hotel's lot was full; casino's empty at dawn).
We took a little driving tour of the nearby countryside. Beautiful farms, short corn, lots of flooding. hmmm. Early to bed. Lots of TV time. I let him watch a bunch of stupid shows (with minimal commenting--because I can't halt ALL commenting). Confession: I watched and laughed at (to my shame) a skit on Tosh.0. Sorry to have to admit that.
End of day 1.
"Hey, let's play the state game," I blurted. No response from the driver.
"We'll look at license plates and log the state they're from. Haven't you ever played that?"
"No," said he.
"I'll write down all the states. When you see a plate from a state, call it out. I'll put your initial beside the state on the page. Same for me," I explained. He remained uninterested, probably mentally rolling his eyes.
I had to look in the atlas to make sure I got them all (and in alphabetical order). I could have thought of all 50...eventually. But who has time to waste? -- going for fast and efficient!!
So, let the games begin! I'm spottin' states right & left.....I'm smokin' him. I knew that he wasn't playing, but I didn't care. It became a quest of me against the odds.
A few miles into the trip, a truck sped past us -- dog next to driver. We noticed simultaneously. I knew what Cowboy was thinking. I was right...
"See, he has his dog with him," he laughed. I laughed, too.
Because Illinois looks like Indiana, I decided against taking pictures. At heart I'm a zealot when it comes to photographing landscapes and I have more than enough pictures (printed photos and ones saved on my computer) to convict me. I tell you this because I really could have taken pictures of every corn and soybean field, every meadow, every woods, every cloud along every mile. It's all breathtaking to me.
I determined to take in the entire vista, to look at my Midwest as though I'd never seen it before -- through the eyes of a foreigner. I gawked from window to windshield and prattled on and on all through Illinois, commenting on every sign and sight. There were sets of signs arranged like the Burma-Shave signs of American lore. The subject was gun control.
Here's the one-sided conversation (he's a still-mouth when he's driving. So the voice you hear is mine).....
Well that's humorous. Someone went to a lot of trouble. I think Illinois is pretty strict on gun control.
Look! Wind gust area.
The corn looks great.
Illinois used to be known as the prairie state. I wonder if it still is.
Iowa plate!
Look! Clouds at the horizon....360 degrees of clouds. A ring of clouds.
Their plates say "Land of Lincoln" though.
This really looks so much like Indiana.
Oh! The wildflowers.
I never get tired of looking at farms.
The traffic isn't bad.
Wind farms. Some of the windmills look broken.
Texas plate!
The plates on semis count. Minnesota!
I'm writing our initials beside the states we see. You haven't scored any yet.
Peoria. Didn't you go to some shindig for Caterpillar there?
Oh! A field of sunflowers! Aren't they so happy looking?
My chatter went on like this all across Illinois when out of the blue he spoke: "Mississippi River."
I gasped. I didn't even think about my camera. With my wide eyes and gaping but silent mouth, I marveled at this magnificent river. Remember the "Great Flood" of 1993? Memories of news footage of farms being swallowed whole sprang to mind. It looked too tame to have done such a horrendous thing.
As we left the bridge and entered Iowa I said (every 10 seconds or so), "This is the farthest west I've ever been....no, this is the farthest west I've ever been." That statement never ceased to garner a smile from my Cowboy no matter how many times I said it.
Cowboy was impressed with the prosperous farms clustered so near each other amid the rolling Iowa hills. His assessment: Too many people. We couldn't live there. My assessment: Such beauty. It warmed the cockles of my wee farmgirl heart, it did. Could I live in Iowa?....maybe....possibly.
More of my blathering continued through Iowa. I commented on the pink hue of the roads, on the rounded-roof barns with cupulas, the flourishing farms, the gently rolling prairie, how grain terminals and water towers were the tallest structures in every little town. Hey, a pioneer village! New grain bins shining in the morning sun. Are you hungry yet? This all still looks like Indiana.
We got off the interstate to get some lunch. At a stop light, we both looked over to the car ahead of us in the next lane and broke out in laughter. Hawaii plate!!! I thought we'd never get that one! I put his initials next to Hawaii on my page....that's what I did for my marriage that day!....wife of the year.
We pulled into the parking lot of an Arby's to grab lunch. (I know, Arby's again) I continued to blab on and on about how much everything looked like Indiana. I don't remember if he commented....probably stopped listening to me back at the Mississippi. At the table next to us sat 3 young women wearing Lucas Oil Stadium t-shirts. Outside was a car with Ball State plates. Across the street was a man wearing an Indiana University "dad" sweatshirt. Sheesh! What irony (or whatever the word for weird phenomenon or something)!
After lunch, we were back on the road. Northwood, Iowa, here we come! We made it to our hotel with no trouble (because of my incredible organizational skills, maps, gps, cheerful disposition). It was in the proverbial middle-of-nowhere....next to a casino....
The casino looked like it might be interesting. We decided to explore....
We went in, chatted with the security officer, explained how we'd never been in a casino before...how do you do it? He gave us instructions, we half-listened. We weren't going to gamble (we're known for our penny-pinching parsimoniousness), we just wanted to see it....as if it were a museum or a crop circle. Twinkling, sparkling lights filled the dimly lit casino. Very Vegas like (I've never been to Vegas--I have to imagine things like Vegas). Men and women were sitting at slot machines --smoking and gambling. There was a poker table, black jack, roulette. It's an interesting way to spend a Tuesday afternoon -- I'm not judging. The parking lot of the casino was packed while the hotel's was vacant...we didn't make the connection till the next morning. All the chickens came home to roost (the hotel's lot was full; casino's empty at dawn).
 |
| Western vista from our hotel room....see, it looks like Indiana. |
 |
| and here's the propane tank...looks just like ours. |
We took a little driving tour of the nearby countryside. Beautiful farms, short corn, lots of flooding. hmmm. Early to bed. Lots of TV time. I let him watch a bunch of stupid shows (with minimal commenting--because I can't halt ALL commenting). Confession: I watched and laughed at (to my shame) a skit on Tosh.0. Sorry to have to admit that.
End of day 1.
you're a hoot! Happy travels on Day 2--- looking forward to more stimulating conversations, plates, landscape, and whatever else appears! Be Safe!
ReplyDelete