Second, they actually traveled the USA along the now forgotten, highly romanticized Rt. 66, one of America's original east-west highways.You'll see Amarillo...Gallup, New Mexico, as the great Nat King Cole/Bobby Troupe song goes. We're doing most of our journey on Interstate 65, which heads north-south from Alabama to Chicago. The only vaguely romantic thing about I 65 is that it goes through Louisville, Kentucky.
Given enough bourbon, I suppose romance is possible.
Finally, every Friday night from about 1960 until 1964, those two guys found some kind of adventure or intrigue right there on good ol' Route 66. Never a dull moment for Maharis, Millner, or the Corvette.
At the first sign of adventure or intrigue along I 65, Nancy and I are turning back.
What follows are the high and low lites of the first portion of our 4,000 mile journey from Miramar Beach Florida to Michigan, New England, Asheville, and back again. Not that it matters but some of what you are about to read is true.
Day One-Ten Hours in the Confederacy
This will have been the longest driving day of the trip. We headed north from Miramar Beach at 5 am and called it a day at 3 pm in a Best Western in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Along the way we drove through a Civil Rights era all-star roster of famous and infamous locales: Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama. The recent decision on voting rights by our sad Supreme Court will probably put these places on the map again, and not in a good way. We drove past Nashville and stopped just short of Louisville. Elizabethtown is of course famous for being named after a woman named Town. Our motel was nicely situated just off the highway, surrounded by a smorgasbord of American corporate eateries: Ruby Tuesday, Texas Roadhouse, Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, etc. etc. etc.We made a bad restaurant choice ethically, financially, and especially calorically. I'll leave it at that.
Just a brief word about our room at the Best Western. There was a deep dish whirlpool tub in the bathroom. Nice touch, and my back was in need of such amenities after a day of driving. The real noteworthy aspect of all this is that there was no wall separating the bedroom from the bathroom. There was half a wall with a huge open window with only a flimsy curtain as a separation.
Awkward, right? And I am left with the following impression: There is a lot more going on in Elizabethtown, Kentucky than meets the eye!
Days Two through Six-Pure Michigan
An uneventful day's drive brought us from Kentucky to Michigan via Indiana. During the course of this pleasant journey, Nancy and I decided we would knock off one of our bucket list items by attempting to scale Indiana's highest mountain. We rented gear from a local mountaineering establishment just outside of Ft. Wayne, carefully checked our oxygen tanks, and sought out the services of a local Sherpa. This grizzled veteran of many a successful expedition was incredibly knowledgeable. He cleverly pointed out the proper trail system we should use to assail the 32 foot peak just outside a rest stop along Interstate 69 and 38 seconds later Nancy and I triumphantly stood atop Mt. Hoosier. The glorious view we enjoyed atop that majestic peak will stay with both of us for a long time. The photo below does not do it justice.
The next six days were spent in the company of Nancy's sister, Margie, and brother-in-law, Terry. They have lived in E. Lansing for many years in a beautiful craftsman-style home whose walls are decorated with many loving family memories. A beautiful American home. One of the finer features of this visit was the screened-in front porch. There was magic on that porch. Anyone who sits on that porch on a lovely summer's evening, plied with Terry's special popcorn and an adult beverage or two, will instantly become some kind of modern version of Mark Twain, spinning yarns, telling tales, watching the fireflies do their dance, reminiscing about youthful transgressions...such a special porch. Margie and Terry should charge admission.
I attended a lovely 4th of July barbeque where I met Sue and Bob, two more of Nancy's 72 siblings. We filled the following days with short trips to destinations in that region of Michigan such as Ann Arbor and Saugatuck. Our day trip to Saugatuck was lovely. Saugatuck is one of those scenic, old, artsy, Kilwins-filled towns, similar to Ogunquit in Maine or Woodstock in Vermont. On the day we visited a local craft fair was in progress. You might not believe this, but I swear every legal citizen of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula, was in Saugatuck on that day. The narrow, quaint, Norman Rockwell streets were lined with parked cars on both sides. Parking was at such a premium, we were forced to leave the Malibu in Wisconsin and take two ferries and a wagon train to get back to the gift shops and, most importantly, the Kilwins.
The next day was spent about an hour away in Ann Arbor, where Nancy's nephew Philip Stead and his wife Erin reside. Some of you may know this pair since they are award winning children's book authors and illustrators. I'm talking Caldecott Medal people, which Erin won for her incredible illustrations in Philip's wonderful story A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Check them out on Amazon and you will be delighted with their work. What a thrill it was to meet these two young geniuses and share a lunch with them at Zingerman's, Ann Arbor's answer to New York's Stage Deli. One memorable corned beef on rye with coleslaw and Russian dressing and a pickle to die for, and I was transported back to Blue Hill Avenue or Coolidge Corner or Beacon Street. Most of the great delicatessens are gone now sad to say, but Zingerman's of Ann Arbor, Michigan, lives on.
Oh, there was a pretty big university in town also.
As memorable and wonderful as anything I did during this part of the trip was a long-awaited reunion with an old Temple University chum, Joel Weiss. Joel has lived in Lansing for many years. We hadn't seen each other since 1974, life getting in the way and all that. We re-connected a few years ago on Facebook and have been trying to figure out a way to get together since then. Breakfast at FlapJacks provided the perfect setting for our reunion. I won't go into much of what we talked about. A lot of it was deeply personal, each of us having lost a spouse to a devastating illness, so we had that going for us. To see someone who was such an important part of my life when I was figuring out who I was, someone who made me laugh every day, someone who (very predictably) devoted his life and career to helping other people as Joel did, was as refreshing and uplifting as...sorry, but this is exactly where I wish I were an actual writer because all I can think of is a tall glass of cold lemonade and I just instinctively know that doesn't work at all! I hope you can fill in the simile with an appropriate image. I'll leave it at this: seeing Joel again after all these years was something I will treasure. We will see each other again soon. There are many more memories to plumb.
More on this journey to follow in the coming days.
Ain't life grand?
J
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