End of August

My time here in Ypsilanti is coming to a close and I'm glad.  I came here to visit some people who then changed their minds and didn't want to, so it has been a month of looking for things to do and I have about run out.  Only 9 more days and I'll be outta here and don't plan to return anytime soon. 

The other day I scooted up to Frankenmuth, a small Bavarian village about 1 1/2 hours north of here to see what it was all about.  It's a shopping mecca, full of little stores, restaurants, motels and a huge Christmas store that took the commercialization of that once fine holiday to a whole new level.  Lunch at the Bavarian Inn consisted of warm potato salad, a variety of brats and flavored lemonade.  All very tasty!

After wandering around the village for a while, I found this tavern called Tiffany's with a somewhat unique trough between the foot rail and the base of the bar where men could relieve themselves without losing their place.  Not sure I could've done that, ever!

One of my favorite places in Ypsi has been a pub called the Corner Brewery.  They make some fine beers, the most recent being an English ale called Jackhammer with an alcohol content of 9%.  Quite a kick!  They sell half gallon jugs called "growlers" at a good price, which I will miss when I leave. 

The cool shade and quiet campground has been nice.  And HOWHEE is clean as a whistle from stem to stern, as is the Burg.  With no cable TV or satellite, I've read a lot and played some cards, but I'm ready for TV once again.  The fall season is about to begin and I don't want to miss it.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Museum Day

The other day I was bitten by the museum bug and went to two in one day:  the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville near here and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.  I'd heard from locals that the Henry Ford was a must see, and they were right.  My only disappointment was the car section was being re-done, so most of them were out of view.  I did get to see a few, like a '56 Chevy convertible and a '55 Thunderbird, which brought back some fine memories.  But honestly, this old McDonald's sign almost made my mouth water!  I don't know its' date, but with only 160 million sold, it had to be in the early days of the franchise. 

Almost immediately upon entering there was a line of limos on the my right that caught my eye.  There were all of the old presidential Lincolns that had been retired and they were awesome.  Among the first was the one Kennedy was killed in. Looking at it made me feel like the event had just happened instead of it being so many years ago.  The car is still here while all the people who rode in it are gone, I think.  The day he died is still one of the saddest days I've ever known. 

There were a lot of things there having to do with Thomas Edison, as he and Henry were good buddies.  There were old generators, among the first, as well as the first light bulbs and other examples of his inventions.  There was a fine portrait of a gathering of 264 leaders in science, literature, government and other fields to celebrate Edison and the 50th anniversary of the invention of the mass produced light bulb.  I stared at it for a long time, but didn't get a good photo of it.  Then there was the Wiener Mobile!  It was the first of its' kind in marketing!

There was an entire section about our nation's road to freedom and it was humbling and inspiring.  It began with pre-revolution events and came up to the present.  There was an excellent video about the pamphlet "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine and what it did to foster the idea of independence from England.  Then there was the rocking chair President Lincoln sat in when he was shot at the theater.  The bus Rosa Parks rode in was also there, completely restored to like-brand-new condition.  Then there were the telephones.  All of them.  From the first until now.  Wow.

There was a lot more there that I didn't show or report on, like the pistols, rifles, wood stoves, furniture, the Civil War, and so much more.  It's an excellent place and I hope to return there sometime, perhaps with my grand kids in tow.  Now that would be an adventure! 

But on this day, there was also the Yankee Air Museum.  Located at Willow Run Airport, it was built by Ford Motor Company in 1941 to build B-17's for WW II.  It was the first aircraft production facility to use Ford's mass production methods.  Between 1942 and the end of WW II, they produced 8,685 bombers, or one every 59 minutes!!!  This is one of the reasons we won the war.  Our ability to mass produce weapons was far superior to our enemy's.  No doubt about it!  Ironically, they don't have a B-17 there, as they are very hard to procure.  However, they do have this F-84, along with many other fine aircraft that I invite you to see. They also offer rides in B-17's and B-25's, and that is an offer that's hard to refuse!

Ah Cabela's!

My days here in Ypsi are lazy ones for the most part.  I read a lot, swim in the cool, clear lake, nap in the afternoon and clean out the storage places in Howhee.  So the other day I took a little trip to Dundee, about 30 minutes away, to visit a Cabela's store for the first time.  It was awesome!  Visitors are greeted by the sight above, giant bears fighting to the death over some moose antlers.  This was only the beginning, as the center piece of the giant outdoor sporting goods store is a display of taxidermy that you would find in a museum.  I went to get some of my favorite lures, Blue Fox spinners, and they had all sizes and types.  It was great!

The other night I went to the local county fair expecting to see a demolition derby and I did, sorta.  Instead of cars, they used little farm tractors!  It was hilarious as the little machines ran head on into each other, climbing up wheels, almost tipping over, then backing up and doing it again.  I didn't take any pictures and I'm not sure why.  After all, it seemed to be a significant cultural event for the locals.  They also had ATV time trials for trophies and some drag races.  One guy flipped over backwards, which was the highlight of the night.  One contestant, when asked by the announcer if there was anyone he would like to thank, said "Yeah, the old lady and the kid!".  Honest.  That's a direct quote. 

The planet Mercury went retrograde on August 3 and as my ruling planet, has caused me numerous problems with transportation and communication, as usual.  A routine oil change and new rear tire for the Burg took two visits and 5 hours of waiting time.  It was discovered new brake pads were needed and the new ones made a scraping sound, sometimes, and the cause was more than hard to find though very easy to fix.  I've also had trouble ordering prescriptions and getting a response from my property manager in Raleigh.

The area is full of old Fords, especially from the 50's and 60's.  This beautiful old Fairlane resided just up the lane from me in the RV park and was from Ontario.  What a beauty!  My distant cousin, friend and neighbor in Reeves Cove, Keith Sprinkle, had one a lot like this and he let me drive it a couple of times when I was a young teenager.  What a thrill!  Then his girl friend at the time, Martha Ann Letterman, accidentally let it back into Lake James and it sank.  Yep.  Totally submerged.  It was recovered, the car that is, but nothing was ever quite the same. 

The weather here has been fall-like, 50's at night and low 70's during the day, and very pleasant.  I'm yearning for the mountains and Jubilee! but will have to stay here a while longer.  I plan to visit the Ford Museum, Yankee Air Museum, a little town called Frankenmuth and play some more golf.  I played a round last week and felt like my old game was returning, so I have to go back now.  Thanks for stopping by!

By the Numbers

Approaching Fishing Bridge, Yellowstone NP

I left Ypsilanti, MI on June 27 and headed north to the Upper Peninsula.  From there I went west and eventually passed through 10 states and drove 4, 576 miles by the time I returned to Ypsi on August 1.  The 10 states were:  Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.  Eight different RV parks had the pleasure of my company and I didn't stay in a motel once.  The trip required 414 gallons of diesel fuel which averaged 11.1 miles per gallon.  Not too bad.  During the trip I experienced one flat tire on the trailer, at Yellowstone, and a hailstorm in Cheyenne that broke all my skylights and poked holes in my awning ($700 in damages, which Progressive Insurance promptly paid for when I got back to Michigan.)  The Burgman performed marvelously, only requiring an oil change and new back tire when I returned. 

It was a trip of a lifetime and I'll never forget all the wonderful sights and sounds and smells.  I'm missing Asheville and Jubilee!, but I'm commited to stay here until September 12 due to reservation obligations.  Otherwise, I'd be gone in a heartbeat.  I'll do what I can to make the best of my time here, museums and such, but I long to be home and miss the mountains. 

Closing the Loop

I'm now back in Ypsilanti, MI where my westward travels began and thankfully the weather has cooled off.  It's a nice 80 degrees at 7pm and very comfortable.  The ride from Bethalto, IL to here was very long and tiring, with a 1 hour delay for construction and another 45 minutes for heavy traffic.  In WY, I could drive for an hour and maybe see a half dozen cars.  What a change!

I arrived at sister Nancy's Friday afternoon and that night we went to dinner at a wonderful family style country cooking place.  It was the best meal I'd had in a long time!  I chose frog legs to accompany the mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, green beans and other great veggies.  What a feast!  But that was only the beginning...

The next morning we went to a fine farmer's market to get corn and a few other goodies for the barbecue at their house that afternoon.  Corey, Nancy's son, did the cooking and a very fine job he did!  He wasn't feeling well and still managed to cook up a storm!  There was more barbecued beef than I've ever seen before, fresh green beans and potatoes, broccoli salad, corn on the cob, luscious tomatoes, water melon, cantaloupe, and a "Better Than Sex" cake made by Nancy's daughter, Tasha.  If you know me, you know I'm normally a light eater.  Well, I had 3 full plates of food and a plate full of dessert.  No light eating for me that day!  It was truly the best meal I'd had in a very long time.  (Didn't I just say that a minute ago?)

It was fun being around a large family, as I grew up an only child and didn't get to enjoy rousing family get-togethers until later in life.  I sure enjoy them now!  They're an amateur psychologist's dream and I'm in heaven when I'm around one.  Watching Nancy and her daughter, "Red", interact was a ton of fun! 

Randy, Nancy's husband, had to work on Saturday, the day of the big family gathering and feast.  He arrived home to walk through the smoke from the cooker and was immediately greeted by Red with a big hug.  He has one of best garages I've ever been in and he helped my fix my ailing water pump in the trailer in short order.  He's a class A brother-in-law, that's for sure, right along with Luis Sierra, Barbara's husband.

Corey, Nancy's son, is a quiet one amongst a whole bunch of world class talkers.  He seems to take it all in, however, and when he does speak, his words are few and to the point.  I see him as a good young man with some very tough challenges to face, and he is doing that.  I wish you well on this journey and will gladly help you if I can. 

My mom, Emily, used to say that if we all hung our troubles on a clothesline, we would each go gather our own.  I believe that.  She was a very wise person and being with Nancy and her family reminded me of her many times.  Emily touched everyone she knew in a special way, and Nancy was one of those.  Nancy does that, too.  So when I'm with Nancy or Barbara or William or Tommy or any of my relative who knew mom, it's sorta like I'm with her again for a moment and I'm very grateful for that.

We did some touring of the area on Sunday and saw some fine sights along the river, but none of the pictures turned out well.  It was hot and hazy that day, which made photos more than a little difficult.  But the ride was nice and the visiting with each other even nicer.  That night we had enchiladas with something that made all of us get the giggles and it was a very fine time!  Haven't laughed so hard since granny caught her _ _ _ in the washing machine ringer!  Of course you have to be old enough to visualize that kind of washing machine, but what a visual if you can!!! 

Nancy and family took in Brutus, this huge dog, to help out another family and although he appears to be a brute, he is anything but.  She talks to him and he listens and does what she says.  He slobbers a lot, but he sure is a sweet natured dog that contributes quite a lot to this tribe at this time.  I was glad to meet him. 

My next blog will be about the numbers of my trip, the miles, gallons of diesel and so forth.  I'm closing this loop and looking forward to the next one.  Thanks for stopping by!