Recently Lois and I discussed a trip to Lower Michigan to visit family and maybe do a side trip to Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We have a window for doing this since my wife is no longer tethered to a job and I only work part-time. We haven't visited Evelyn and Jack for sixteen years, and that's ridiculous.
We also haven't had a summer trip since 2014 when we stayed at a bed-and-breakfast which I had suggested. Imagine that!
We hadn't discussed this for a while then this morning Lois asked, point blank, "How do you feel about going to Cleveland?"
"It scares the hell out of me."
She received my response in a matter - of -fact way, making me feel that I was talking to an psychoanalyst trying to draw me out.
"How much extra travel and expense would be involved?" I asked.
"Why don't you get the atlas and we can look it up. "
Lois's sister Evelyn and husband Jack live in Lapeer, near Flint so we thought of visiting them for a couple of days and then take the road to Cleveland which doesn't seem formidable on the map in the atlas yet I had qualms of driving in uncharted territory among cars speeding 80-90 miles per hour. We can use our cell phones as GPS guides as we have before and that worked out well. Jack has also traveled extensively in that area so he would probably give us pointers for which routes to take and which to avoid.
If you've read The Hobbit I'm somewhat like Bilbo Baggins. The trip would be an egregious violation of my routine and lifestyle. I like routine and the slow life pace of the sleepy town of Ironwood. Lois is the adventurous one. She loves to go to uncharted waters. She makes it fun. She knows how to smooth my ire when another driver has transgressed the traffic laws or the bounds of courteous driving. Nevertheless I'll probably have to make a dental appointment to have my teeth unclenched.
Lois knows how I think and what appeals to me so she mentioned that we could visit the Museum of Science, also in Cleveland. I love Rock and Roll and I'm a geek. Science and math always had a spell on me so I won't decline the Cleveland trip (I wouldn't anyway.) Instead I'll rely on Lois' traveling wisdom, her knack for finding the right route when the traffic signs and the GPS guidance are misleading.
Lois suggested I search the Web and find out about these places. She knows how to get me hooked. I bet I'll be able to finagle a stop at Ann Arbor and take photos of 'The Big House.' Maybe take a tour of the hallowed grounds of the Michigan Wolverines. Can't wait!
