Raffi and I went for a leafy walk at this rest stop in Minnesota
I’m Brattleboro Bound and by the time I’d said Bye Bye Walla Walla, made it through Big Sky Country and South Dakota (which I discovered was Rainbow Land & Rainbow Sky) the Midwest felt like it was very far indeed from the West Coast. I understand why it was dubbed the Midwest long ago, but perhaps a renaming is in order because it’s certainly to the east of middle. It’s really the Mideast. Or perhaps the Eastern Middle. But that Midwestern hospitality I’d heard about? That’s a real thing.
When I crossed from South Dakota into Minnesota on Thursday morning I was immediately aware of three things: Minnesota has wind turbines (the lack of which struck me as bizarre as I drove through wind-whipped South Dakota), Minnesota was deep in the midst of leaf season (which was apparent because all of the sudden there were sooo many deciduous trees), and in Minnesota people were wearing masks again (which was not true throughout most of South Dakota).
Hello, leaf season! Hello, Minnesota!
I followed those rainbow leaves through Minnesota to Wisconsin where I stopped at Sky-Hi for treats since it had been recommended by a friend. I also discovered when I pulled into one of Minnesota’s damn fine rest stops for a nap that if I tucked myself into the back of my car, feet first, on top of all of my stuff, I could fit there, barely. It reminded me of sleeping in the tiny bunk over the cab of my aunt and uncle’s motor home when I was a kid. I realized that with about half as much stuff in the back it would actually be rather comfy back there. So now I’m contemplating fitting out my Honda Fit for glamping... I’ll let you know if I do.
I arrived in Madison, WI in time for Yestermorrow’s Tiny House Design Online course and got settled in at the studio-above-the-garage of a friend-of-a-friend who greeted me with a big ol’ dose of hospitality, including a warm bowl of curry. The previous owners of the place had traveled the world, raised 48 foster kids in that house, and had a penchant for stained glass, so it’s a really neat space. Sadly, I didn’t get pictures because of the timing of my stay being mostly in the dark.
Breakfast in Chicago with a friend and former colleague - and wish we could have walked all day to explore Chicago’s architecture!
Yesterday morning we hit the road early and caught a beautiful sunrise. We made it to Chicago in time for breakfast with a friend and former colleague from Green Hammer. Nothing like greasy spoon dining outside in the sunshine on one of the first crispy days of fall! Afterwards I caught up with a middle school friend in the park across the street from her apartment and got to meet her fabulous husband. We sat in camp chairs, bundled up in blankets, and marveled at what had changed and what hadn’t in 25 years.
Such fun hanging out in the park with these cats!
Unfortunately, I caught rush hour traffic in Chicago, so I got to Detroit past my bedtime and that of the farmer friend I was staying with. We stayed up and caught up anyhow. She served me up a late dinner while her sweetie offered to help pitch my tent. Then we sat around the fire for beer, popcorn, s’mores, and stories. The last time I’d seen her was when we had a joint going away party in Walla Walla nine years ago, so it was neat to compare notes about our adventures since then. Raffi had never shared a tent with me before, but this, too, he was amenable to and I remain impressed by his adaptability.
A lovely porch sit with my pal Alice on CSA pick up morning
In the morning my urban farmer friend introduced me to Detroit’s Eastern Market, which was fun since she and I spent many weekends of our 20s tabling at the Walla Walla Farmer’s Market for the local food co-op. Afterwards Raffi and I sat with her in the sunshine of her porch for CSA pick up.
Needless to say, it was a late start on the road yesterday. So I caught Niagara Falls for the first time right as it was getting dark-dark. It was neat to see it all lit up and one of these days I’ll time it differently, but even in the dark it was phenomenal. I made it to Rochester tonight (where I discovered that the Red Roof Inn is way nicer than the Super 8 AND doesn’t charge extra for pets!) I’m excited that tomorrow I’ll get to plug Brattleboro into my phone as my next destination!
