The day before

Yesterday we drove the route we will be riding when we begin our trek tomorrow. Pretty flat with good shoulders, plenty of good spots for rest stops, plenty of little grocery stores, restaurants for food, and good places for lodging.

Jan and I were discussing whether we were glad to see the route before we began or would we rather not have seen it. When we came through yesterday it was overcast and drizzling. We both agreed it was o.k. to have seen it but it will be just as good to get into new country as well.

We did have conversation around contingency plans for severe weather. We came through some pretty tough weather on Sunday afternoon and they are calling for scattered thunderstorms throughout the week. I suppose there is nothing to do but respond as safely as we can as we see the weather arriving.

We feel like we are in a holding pattern at this point. We are both ready to get started but at the same time my intestinal tract is still recovering from Sunday mornings ordeal. I've just been eating because I know that I need to, not because I have had appetite. I've tried to pump the fluids and I believe I can tell.

We are here in Menomonee, MI with my sister and her children along with my parents. The kids have enjoyed the indoor pool and are frolicking in Green Bay as I write. It's great to see them having such a good time together. Sometimes I feel guilty for taking this trip without them. I've talked with them about it and we've had some good conversations.

Tomorrow morning we will try and be on the road by 8am drive up to Manistique where my parents will drop us off and continue on to Goshen. Jan and I will then be on our own.

That familiar verse in Jeremiah just went through my head "I know the plans I have for you...." We are on the cusp of this journey that I have been talking about for a long time. Exciting stuff.


On a more contemplative note I was pondering how my life would have been different had my parents never moved south. If I'd stayed a yooper all this time???? I was talking to dad about how remote the U.P. and even Fairview seems. That's all he knew until he was in his late twenties. I'm a product of suburbia. I grew up with everything close by. My dad spoke of driving the 30 to 40 miles to the hospital for my delivery. And the same distance to the closest shoe store. I sit at my computer in my home and buy shoes online and have them delivered to my door. Not because there aren't a dozen shoe stores within 5 miles of my home(there are) but because I like the selection and price online, not to mention the convenience. If the hospital is more than 10 miles away it feels like a remote location. It's one of those "what once was a luxury is now an expectation." I'm spoiled.


The lilacs are just now blooming up here. I told my dad "you have to appreciate cold weather to live up here year round." The highs are to be in the 6o's today and tomorrow. Harrisonburg is suffering through mid-90's. I don't know where I am going with this except to acknowledge that my life, my experiences and perspective would have been quite different had we never left.

Enough for now.