Around the US in 40 Days

[DonnaR57]

DAY 21 -- MEMORIES

This was the easiest day on the road, so far. We knew we had about 250-275 miles to do, all turnpike, so we didn't set out until after 8 am. Looking at the meager offerings for the Super 8 breakfast, we decided to just get into the truck and drive.

As we traversed the 70 miles of northwestern Ohio, the 150+ miles across Indiana, I was reminded of a game that my brother and I used to play when we were kids crossing this same territory: count the white farmhouses! One of us had the driver side and the other had the passenger side, and we'd count white farmhouses. Well, it kept us busy and not arguing, and looking out the window. (I used to annoy my parents by laying in the back of the station wagon and re-reading a book for the umpteenth time.)

As we passed Elkhart, I took a photo of the Elkhart water tower and immediately sent it to my parents, saying "happy reminiscing". We were among just a few families in the 60s with a travel trailer. Ours was built in Elkhart and, unfortunately, had to go back there on a few occasions to get something fixed. So I knew the service area waiting rooms of the trailer shops, too well, when I was a kid. My mom said later that they laughed when I sent that photo!

One of the service areas along the Indiana Toll Road was selling a really GOOD Chicago map, something I had failed to get from AAA before leaving. So we bought it, and it turned out to be a godsend. The exit we needed to use was closed, and being able to follow what both our GPS and Mapquest had been telling us, on a paper map, was helpful. I also figured that while we were in the south suburban area, I'd be able to use it to go check out childhood haunts, because I've never driven in the area.

My uncle called the entire clan and invited them over in the late afternoon, so they started showing up around 3. Unfortunately, being early summer, not everyone was able to make it. But that evening, I saw three cousins and two cousin-in-laws, with hopes of seeing others while in the area. The weather was quite lovely, until late that night. It decided to give us quite a thunder-and-lightning show.

No pictures this post, sorry! Pat, thanks for the further info about that bird. GLC, that Super 8 was one of 2 motels in the area, and there were 4 truck stops. That was about all that was in the area, and why we decided to eat at the Iron Skillet.



Donna

[DonnaR57]

DAYS 22 to 24 -- MORE MEMORIES, MORE FAMILY

Based in the southern suburbs of Chicago, we mainly spent these days visiting with family, going out to eat with family (Italians love to eat), and touring the suburbs. While there, thunderstorms hit the area and left many without power and many trees were downed. My uncle's place was very fortunate -- power stayed on the whole time, he only lost a few twigs and leaves, and his home was safe as well.

One day we tooled about the suburbs, looking for places that had meant a lot to my life when I was a kid. I took loads of pictures and emailed many of them to my parents. My dad had owned a business that had two locales, and we found both of them (without power, too). We found old family homes and places where we'd played. I tried to deliver a disk full of photos of our neighborhood in the 60s, to the city museum, only to find it had limited open hours and we weren't there at the time. Due to no power in that entire area, it wasn't going to open at all, so I figured I'd have to email the photos. We visited grave-sites, and finally were able to connect with my cousin to plan the next few days of the trip. (We had alternative plans in the event that we were not able to connect with that cousin, but since her brother and sister both live in the area and I'd seen them both, that wasn't likely to happen.)


Donna

[DonnaR57]

DAY 24 CONTINUED - HAVE YOU SEEN MY CHILDHOOD?

After tooling about the suburbs one day, we decided to return to one of them on the final day, for lunch. We invited my uncle along, but he declined. Our destination was Aurelio's Pizza in Homewood. I grew up eating that pizza, and knew the man who started it (in the late '50s) as he was a friend of our family's.

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Of course we went to the flagship location in Homewood. It was NOT the original location, as many younger people think. Aurelio's started on Ridge Road just down from the IC station (Metra). It was a "hole in the wall" back then, with 3 stools next to a bar and a small table-for-two, cafe' style. Now on Harwood just around the corner from its very original location, it is two stories. The 2nd story is also corporate headquarters. There are franchises available, with 50 locations in about 5 or 6 states (including 2 locations in FL).

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Hubby and I each ordered a pizza lunch special, 6" pizzas with soup or salad, and drink, for $6.59, which is quite reasonable. The pizza is about 100% better than most franchise pizzas. I had sausage, hubby had 3 ingredients on his. I'd ordered just the sausage since I wanted to compare it, apples to apples, with what I used to order when I was a kid. Yes, it was delicious -- still better than any other pizza (as I mentioned).

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I had the salad, and hubby had la-sagna soup, which he said was wonderful.

Our other 2 meals out while in the 'burbs were also delicious. On the first day, we ate at The Egg and I, which is in Chicago Heights, on Chicago Road (IL-1). Since it was a noon meal, one had the choice of breakfast or lunch. Hubby had Eggs Benedict and said it was delicious (as did one of my cousins who went along); I had Balsamic Chicken Wrap and it was great. At the breakfast out, we ate in Peotone at Lucky Star Restaurant -- more of a cafe'. Had a kick-y waitress, lots of fun. I ate thin French toast. At the rate of this eating, I am going to lose some of that thin-ness I've been working on.

So I walked a lot around my uncle's neighborhood. We almost walked from his place down to the cemetery where one set of my grandparents are buried, but decided to drive. Too bad, I could have used that exercise.


Donna

[DonnaR57]

DAY 25 - LEAVING THE FREEWAYS BEHIND

Sadly, we left my uncle's home and headed to northern Wisconsin, via the "long route". Though it was suggested that we take I-90/94, neither of us wanted to deal with that route through Chicago, instead going for the long way around via I-80 to I-39. I believe it may have added 80 miles to the trip, but it saved us a lot of traffic *and* allowed me to see the Morris/Peru/LaSalle area where our family settled after emigrating from Europe, 100+ years ago. We did have some issues of traffic because of the impending holiday weekend, particularly in southern Wisconsin.

Hubby chalked another tally on his "have been in" state list: Wisconsin.

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We left freeways for a few days when I-39 ran out just north of Wausau. It became US-51 completely. In the meantime, weather was holding for us, as we only had a spot or two with a few drops of rain. This after the prediction of rain all day.

My cousin was home from work by the time we got to Mercer, which is in the northwoods of Wisconsin. It is a very small town, which relies on the summer tourism for most of its income. She lives there, plus her daughter and family have a small home there as well. We went out to eat that evening together, 8 of us in a place called Cranberry. Food was okay, it was the company that we were enjoying. I hadn't seen my cousin or her daughter in 16 years, and had never met any of her grand-kids.

DAY 26 -- HAPPY 4th HOLIDAY!

My cousin works her buns off, having come off of a 12 hour shift the day we arrived and a 6 hour shift on the holiday itself. She was so pleased to get to take us "into town" for the 4th of July Parade. This was very small-town-ish, with most of the floats being decorated vehicles. Some of these gave me a grin and an education in snow-moving and trail-making equipment:

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My cousin's granddaughters are on this float, sponsored by the local dentist. Most of the people on the various floats tossed candy at kids. However, the dentist's float tossed inflatable toys!

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What's a parade without a clown, even one touting "Learn Not to Burn" (Fire Dept)?

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After the parade, we went down to the local park where they were setting up a little fair. There was food, games for the kids, and it was right next to one of the many lakes in the Mercer area so there was swimming. We only stayed long enough to eat, then we set off to find something else.

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We attempted to find some waterfalls in the area. We did find Lake of the Falls State Park, but did not find the falls themselves. Disappointed, we turned around and headed back to my cousin's apartment, then spent the rest of the day reading and then visiting with her. She needed to work another 12 hour day the following day, so it was early-to-bed for us all as we were departing the next day.


Donna

[DonnaR57]

DAY 27 -- THE UNEXPECTED, LAKE SUPERIOR

With my cousin working long hours, we took our leave a day earlier than we had originally planned, having secured reservations a little further down the road. Though we had seen Lake Superior on the map, it hadn't occurred to us that there might be something to see other than a big lake. Neither of us had seen anything other than Lake Michigan (though I might have seen Ontario and Erie when I was a little girl).

After leaving Mercer, our first venture was into the UP of Michigan -- for a whole 2 miles. This is another place that we would like to explore on a future trip. We ate a lovely breakfast at a AAA-recommended cafe' in Ironwood, then moved on to Ashland where we briefly stopped at Wally World for a few necessities.

We spent an hour or so at the Great Northern Lake Visitor Center just west of Ashland, looking at some of the exhibits about the flora and fauna of the area, and walking up to the third floor observation deck. Then we set out to do the 3/4-mile trek over boardwalks and gravel trail, on the nature trail. It was a beautiful day for a walk. These huge leaves intrigued me, as did the marshlands.

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Back in the truck, we headed north on US-13 towards Washburn. Our goal was to see a bit of the Lake Superior coastline and some of the marinas, and maybe walk through some of the shops in Washburn and Bayfield.

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By Thompson County Park, near Washburn:

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Derelict boat, Bayfield Marina:
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Bayfield Marina
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At that point, hubby dropped his brand new smart phone in the wet sand, so we walked back to the truck to see if we could salvage it. Hallelujah, no damage and the phone is working just fine. Headed back to Ashland to see about the reservations we had made (through either Expedia or Hotels.com), though at our favorite chain Super 8. It was just 1:30 and we didn't dare try to check in, so we headed for a little park in Ashland. Walked a little and then just sat in the truck with the doors open, enjoying a gorgeous breeze and the sunny weather.

The Super 8 in Ashland is located right across Lake Shore Drive from the Lake. Unfortunately, there's a nice view of the big power plant next to said lake, too. The motel offered a small indoor pool and a hot tub, both of which were really nice after a long day of sightseeing and walking. Fast food was on the menu, only because there really was no room to cook, nor enough plugs. (Gotta remember to pack an electric strip instead of just a 3-tap).


Donna

[Mark Sedenquist]

Super-duper photos and report. What is the issue you are seeing with "duping"?

[Southwest Dave]

Mark.

Donna is having problems with each post duplicating itself. I have forwarded the problem to you via PM.

Dave.

[DonnaR57]

When I catch that it has duped, I go back and "Edit Post", delete all of the stuff and then just type in that it duped again. I don't want to waste the bandwidth.

DAY 28 - END OF WEEK 4, US-2

The final day of our fourth week was spent entirely on US-2 until we got to our destination. We started "late" (for us) at 8:40 am, having partaken of the free breakfast at the Super 8 in Ashland. Like most Super 8's, it wasn't a huge offering -- 2 types of dry cereal, two types of instant oatmeal, cinnamon rolls, toast, fruit cups, yogurt, juice and coffee. I had instant oatmeal and a fruit cup, while we had coffee in our room.

The first part of the trip was done under a massive cloud cover. We fueled up in Superior, WI -- didn't need much, but didn't want to chance the prices up ahead when we'd need more. In Superior and Duluth, we got our last look at Lake Superior before crossing the bridge into Minnesota. Mind you, I haven't been in this state for 35+ years, and it had been at least 10 for my husband, who thinks he crossed it on I-94 when he was driving commercial.

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I almost missed the sign!
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As we drove the 150 miles of Minnesota, it was understandable to us why they call the state, "the land of 10,000 lakes". One lake after another either was at the side of the road, or we saw a sign directing someone to a boat ramp. To try to photograph every lake would be futile, though I started to wonder if someone had tried.

Our lunch was in a small town that boasted only a burger joint (non-chain) and a Subway. The burgers were surprisingly good and the meal, not very expensive.

Just outside of Bemidji was a visitor center and rest area, at Cass Lake. According to literature, it is one of the largest of 3 lakes in the area. Very pretty, and the state used their heads and added a public boat loading dock at the rest area as well.
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GPS story: I loaded the address of our lodging into the GPS, and we proceeded to follow its direction in Bemidji. We took a very "scenic tour" through the east and northern side of Bemidji on County Route 50, only to find our Super 8 right at the intersection of US-2 and US-71. Irritating, because we could have avoided all that town traffic (including going right by a carnival) by staying on US-2.

There was a Wal-Mart right next to the Super 8, so we went over there for a few things. After the last 2 or 3 motels have had few outlets, we went ahead and purchased an electrical outlet strip that will stay with our travel things. Also bought dinner, to cook in the room -- decided to cook one night, eat out on the other.


Donna

[DonnaR57]

DAY 29 - THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN MINNESOTA

After taking breakfast at the motel, we set off early heading for Itasca State Park, which is about 30+ miles from Bemidji. When making plans for this area earlier, I based us in Bemidji rather than Park Rapids, mainly because of motel price and the fact that some of them wanted a minimum 3-night stay. We had even debated park lodge cabins, but because of the 4th of July weekend, that wasn't going to happen.

Came into Itasca park through the east entrance and immediately stopped at the Visitor Center. This is our habit and always gives you a lot of information about what you will be seeing. Then we started the 5-mile drive up to the north end of the park.

At the first viewpoint for Lake Itasca, we took the walk down the steps and were immediately attacked by mosquitoes. Both of us thought the other had grabbed the Off. So up at the Headwaters, we stopped to pick up a small can at the Gift Shop. They were SOLD OUT. Fortunately for us, a young couple heard our predicament and offered to let us use theirs, so we sprayed ourselves (outside of course) and returned the can. How nice of them, there are still nice people in the world.

Off we went towards the Mississippi Headwaters, which was about 850 ft walk from the parking lot and small visitor center/gift shop. There it was, Lake Itasca where it drains out into a small stream.
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First one into the water was my husband. He had been to this place before but had few memories of it.
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After he came out of the water and we exchanged cameras, it was my turn. Being a little shorter, I had to hold my shorts up to keep them dry. My thoughts at the time were, "my goodness, I'm wading across this river that I've seen and crossed for years, that you'd never dare swim around Fort Madison, Keokuk, Quincy, St Louis or Memphis (among places I've crossed it on a bridge.)"
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After drying off and walking back to the truck, we bought a few souvenirs and then headed back. This time we felt a little more comfortable stopping at some of the viewpoints, since we still had a bit of Off on us. Finally, we headed back to Bemidji, with a list of things we needed to do when we got back to the motel.


Donna

[DonnaR57]

DAY 29 CONTINUED - PAUL BUNYAN

After taking care of a few orders of business back at the motel, including a bite of lunch that we'd bought earlier at the store, we headed for downtown Bemidji to Paul Bunyan Park. This place had been a carnival when we rolled in, but we'd seen the carnies and their equipment rolling down US-71 that morning on our return to Bemidji. Back to its normal self, there was Paul Bunyan and his ox, Babe. I guess I expected them to be larger than they were.

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They were right beside Lake Bemidji. Though we have seen many, many lakes this trip, I still couldn't resist another picture of a lake!

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On the shore of the lake was a whole gaggle of geese. I had to try to see how close I could get to them, to photograph.

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Back to the motel to deal with another issue by phone, then it was relaxation and dinner time. We'd eaten "in" the day before -- a rice mix with a can of chicken breast added to it (pretty tasty; don't read the ingredients list). So this was a night "out".


Donna