Rambling with Russ: Midwest Road Trip and More Midwest

We’ve traveled pretty widely thru the Midwest: Marjorie grew up in Wisconsin and we lived in Madison while I was in grad school; we have family & friends in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Springfield IL; professional conferences have taken me to cities like Chicago, Cincinnati, and Detroit. Following is the account of a driving trip back to Wisconsin for Marjorie’s high school reunion. Our other travels in the Midwest have mostly entailed family visiting or other not so much “trip journal” stuff. But I’ll include some of that after the reunion trip journal.

The Great Reunion Road Trip

Summer 2010

Marjorie has been a regular attendee of her Portage HS class reunions, I’ve joined in a couple of times. When Year 45 was coming up she suggested making a road trip out of it. I was skeptical – nearly 2 weeks with lots of driving! But she put together an itinerary of good friends and family (also good) to see to & fro, and I’ve gotten to be friends with several of her classmates, so I concluded (to get in a Wisconsin mood): “You betcha, Marge!” We could be guided by some MapQuest directions and Penelope (as we call our GPS voice); I’m more a map person, Penelope & I would have a few run-ins along the way, but we learn to accept each other’s quirks and I come to appreciate her soft entreaties (“take the motorway,” or “turn around” if I’ve gone against her wishes). I wasn’t going to bother with a trip journal a la our European and other jaunts, but changed my mind a few days in – we’ll cover a lot of ground, see a lot of folks along the way, so there’s lots to remember (for us anyway; I suppose this has less cachet than my accounts of European travel).

NY to Ohio:

A perfect summer day to start: high 70s, bright sun & clear late afternoon/evening air give especially pretty views of farms & rolling hills, golf courses w/ elongated shadows along the Thruway 240 miles to Rochester and the home of friends Alice & Rick. They’re away, but left their garage door code so we could stay overnight; we’ll see them on our way back. Next our longest driving day: up early, west toward Cleveland, turn left to Cincinnati, over 500 miles. Not much of note along the way, tho we stop at a pretty rest area where I can’t resist taking a couple of photos to get things going.

Our Cincinnati lodging is with Tristan, one of our Albany Symphony regulars for B&B when he’s in town, and his parents. Last summer, when Tristan’s sister Emma was at Tanglewood, we hosted parents Tom and Callae, who own and operate a Chick-fil-A restaurant. We all hit it off well, they were happy to reciprocate for our trip. Their home is in a pretty setting, golf course winding around, a pond out back. Dinner turns out to be a family reunion: Callae’s parents live in the duplex next door, her brother and his wife are in town, and we consider ourselves Tristan’s parents, Albany division. An aviation theme to the evening: Callae was a flight attendant, her father a retired pilot, her brother a pilot and wife a flight attendant with Alaska Air (coincidentally, Rick is a retired pilot).

A nice dinner, good company. Before dinner we arrange for our first native local food of the trip: Graeter’s ice cream. Tom & Callae sent us 6 pints packed in dry ice after their stay last summer, and we think Jim & Susan (coming up) would enjoy the gourmet flavors. After some sampling tastes at the mother ship store, we pack 6 pints of various flavors in dry ice to take in the car. Later Tom plays some YouTube clips of his folksinging (as “Doc Didymus”), some very clever and amusing musical commercials he’s done for the restaurant. Tristan (bass) and Emma (violin) aren’t the only accomplished family musicians.

Ohio to Wisconsin:

Up early, Tom strumming his guitar on the patio overlooking the pond, their terrier Bailey (who’s mostly blind and diabetic, but very attached to Tom) next to him, a heron at the edge of the pond. Such an idyllic scene. But it’s hit the road again for us, 300+ miles today to Springfield IL to visit Marjorie’s cousin Jim & wife Susan. A brief dip into Kentucky crossing a bridge out of Cincinnati.

Lunch stop in Crawfordsville IN, photos in a pretty cemetery w/ colorful plastic flowers (to M’s dismay) outlined against cornfields. Otherwise today is many miles of flat farm country: as Jim would say, “If it ain’t corn, it’s soybeans!”

We’re greeted in Springfield by Jim & Susan and very friendly Lab Fannie Mae – you can’t walk past FM w/o getting your knee licked. The house is beautiful; Susan, a real estate agent, has a flair for selecting paint palettes and decorating.

Pretty flowers on the patio. Jim, a member of a gourmet gastronomical society, employs his grilling prowess for dinner tonight & tomorrow. About 1100 miles so far.

Doctor Jim’s off early to perform surgery. Susan shows us around Springfield, something she’s done many times in her work, so she can give lots of information about neighborhoods, houses, etc. Marjorie was here many times as a girl visiting her Aunt Marge, but didn’t see many of the things we do today. Into the city, a nice area of galleries, shops, restaurants. Marjorie has brought a framed photo of a beautiful rendition of the capitol dome taken on a previous trip, but doesn’t get much interest from galleries – they like it but seem to think it lacks novelty for commercial sales. Susan has good taste, tho, and buys a batch to use as “closing gifts.”

While S & M poke around shops I venture into the nearby Old State House (and find a magnet for my office travel collection) and enjoy costumed singers in the plaza outside. Lunch at a long-time local eating spot, where I continue my quest for native food experiences with a “horseshoe”: local delicacy open-faced hamburger covered w/ French fries and overall slathered w/ cheese sauce. Jim describes it as “a heart attack on a plate,” Marjorie more charitably as a deconstructed cheeseburger plate. I’m sure I’ll regret this (and other dining on the trip) when I get on a scale back home.

Much warmer this PM. On to an art center w/ interesting baseball-themed exhibit, including sculptures and a bench made of bats and balls. Susan takes us thru pretty neighborhoods, then a short drive thru countryside to Petersburg and New Salem, reconstructed settlement where Lincoln first lived in Illinois. You can hardly avoid Lincoln sites around here, but New Salem has closed by the time we get here. We drive and walk thru a pretty cemetery w/ gravesites for Ann Rutledge, allegedly Lincoln’s first love who died at 22, Edgar Lee Masters, author of Spoon River Anthology.

Marjorie remembers the summer heat in Springfield, and it arrives today: oppressive heat & humidity extending from the Ohio Valley into the Deep South. Forecast is 96º w/ “heat index” of 105º or higher. It sounds a bit better “up north” in Madison (about 240 miles).

But first a stop at the Executive Mansion w/ nice gardens (tho mostly not open to the public) and house tour; the guide delicately sidesteps much about deposed Gov. Blagojevich, a favorite Jon Stewart foil on “The Daily Show.”

A “truck stop” lunch as we drive through more incredibly flat countryside surrounded by corn & soybeans. In Madison we meet up w/ friend (and our innkeeper for 2 nights) Kay (also a companion on some of our trips), then out to dinner at lovely La Brioche restaurant w/ my dissertation advisor John & wife Janet (also a prof). Hadn’t gotten together w/ John in years, so we enjoy visiting and trading stories of our percussion offspring (our Matt, his Elizabeth – we pass along Matt’s website for her interest). It’s interesting that John & I have had such similar career stability: he at UW since 1969, me at UAlbany since 1974. And we enjoy the chance to get to know Janet, who we hadn’t met except thru exchanges of Christmas letters over the years.

An after-dinner stop to get something for Kay at Whole Foods (yeah, I even took a picture there); M has shopping envy, but we’re hoping a new Fresh Market near us will be similar. Driving around the city, Madison still seems familiar to us – Octopus Car Wash, Bagels Forever – but there’s also a lot of new buildings and construction along University Ave. and on the UW campus. And condos line the road by Hilldale Shopping Ctr near where we used to live.

Mostly overcast, not so oppressive today (mid-80s). A stop to see M’s cousin Jean and husband Ralph. Onto the UW campus and Union Terrace on Lake Mendota. M is chatted up by a woman in the Alumni Center who gives her coupons for Babcock ice cream (another native food produced on campus). Then on to meet up w/ Duane, long-time organizer of Portage HS reunions, off to lunch at Old Fashioned restaurant on the square around the capitol. It’s next to the YWCA where Marjorie worked as Program Director; now includes a homeless center (we later learn someone fell from a window and died that AM!). More native food for me: Sheboygan brats.

M & D talk reunion plans, I wander along State Street. I find a couple of Wisconsin magnets, including a little Bucky Badger, look into the Catholic Center where we were married. M & I rendezvous, cash in our coupons for yummy ice cream at “The Daily Scoop” in the Union. It’s prettier now, sun & sailboats on the lake.

The nearby old “Red Gym” (was an armory) is now nicely set up as a campus visitor center. A relaxing evening: Kay makes tasty tortellini salad, we introduce her to a new favorite TV show, “Hot in Cleveland.”

In the news: it appears they’ve finally capped the leaking oil well in the Gulf; Brett Favre is still vacillating about retirement from football. We hear something about displays of Northern Lights, but never spot any. Continued warm & humid, but not too bad. Breakfast at Manna Café and Bakery w/ Nancy & Andy – Nancy worked w/ Marjorie at the Y, Andy & I did some fishing together. It’s beginning to feel like we’re visiting our Christmas letter list, Midwest division. Then 40 miles (“take the motorway” Penelope says) to Portage; about 1500 miles total now. Pretty farms and cornfields, not so flat now!, familiar signs for the Dells, Tommy Bartlett Water Show, lots of places to get fireworks (which we’ve seen ever since leaving NY).

Our first mosquito attack (the unofficial Wisconsin State Bird) this AM. Over the Wisconsin River into Portage (“Where the North Begins”), a first stop to see M’s brother Joe & wife Karen. We then locate Nancy, M’s classmate and our innkeeper here, for lunch and poking around the old hometown. A nice Portage museum in the old Zona Gale home (a local novelist of some note); this was the library when M’s Mom was a librarian. A pretty little farmer’s market downtown. We drive by Marjorie’s childhood home; she’s pleased to see it well-tended by a family w/ young children.

Out to dinner w/ Joe & Karen & Nancy: The Little Village Café in Baraboo, a nice place and good food. Baraboo has developed a more interesting downtown than Portage – it’s the home of Circus World Museum, w/ the Ringling Theater downtown, we enjoy a free jazz concert outside of the courthouse. A beautiful sunset on the drive home: a pretty farm silhouetted against a big orange sun. M and I go for a dessert stop at Culver’s, a burger/ice cream place started as family-run nearby and now franchised. Another native delicacy: M fulfills her quest for a turtle sundae (unheard of in the East). Speaking of localisms, I should note we’re now in the land of the “bubbler” (that’s a water fountain for you easterners).

Some news from back home: son Matt & Anthea & the grandsons will be staying at our house over the weekend, getting away from the NYC heat and having some local fun w/ Willy & Miles. And we later learn the NYS Legislature finally completed the budget, a mere 4+ months late. Nancy checks on things at her real estate office, we have a quiet AM at her apartment before checking e-mail at the library, looking into St. Mary’s church, strolling along the levee on the Wisconsin River; it’s a nice day, a little breeze to keep the mosquitoes away. Krista’s Café is a nice lunch spot. Judy, whose family had the big clothing store back when, is having a garage sale; she & M have a good visit, I relax on the porch w/ pretty views of the river.

What else to do on a Friday night in Wisconsin but a fish fry, which has a whole different culinary and cultural meaning here than anything out East. Marjorie first heads out to an antiques mall and a stop to see Frank, who owned the drug store where M worked in her youth. He has early Alzheimer’s and some confusion, but gives her a very special remembrance to add to my trip magnet collection: a Portage Curling Club bonspiel pin. M then heads out to an informal reunion fish fry at the country club.

But Nancy wants to take me on a date to her favorite fish fry near the Dells. First a stop to see her brother’s garden, photo ops – scarecrows, sunflowers, fences – until we’re chased away by the mosquitoes.

On to Trappers Turn golf course and resort. Beautiful flowers around the golf course (designed by Andy North, accomplished local pro now a TV commentator) on a pretty evening; ducks crossing a bridge of flowers makes for a nice photo. We have our fish fry on the veranda overlooking the course (and no mosquitoes!), not quite the crowded family-style ambience of a true Wisconsin fish fry experience a la the local Owl’s Nest, but it’s good food, finished off w/ shared strawberry shortcake.

Then on to the Ho-Chunk Casino! Free soft drinks, but I lose $5 on the slots in about 2 minutes – and can’t really tell why you win or lose. I watch Nancy play some and wander around the gaming tables and pretty lobby. I’m afraid Nancy’s disappointed at my lack of excitement; guess I won’t be running up to Saratoga Gaming soon. Marjorie had a good time at the reunion activities. “The Roost,” a local watering hole, had been torn down, and bricks were for sale as a cancer fundraiser, so she got one for herself and one for her sister Mary.

It’s Reunion Day! But first a flea market in nearby Princeton! But even more first, a Walgreen’s stop for tissues and antihistamine – my nose reacted as soon as we got to Portage, probably no coincidence that Nancy’s place borders an area of many weeds. A pretty Wisconsin drive thru farmland (corn & soybeans, of course), marshland and a wildlife refuge, campgrounds, a rod & gun club, a “Crimestoppers” billboard (call 1-800-GET-THEM). Marjorie says the Princeton flea market is “the real deal,” lots of different odds & ends. Even I partake: a Daniel Silva thriller (also got one yesterday at a library book sale), a couple of Hot Wheels cars for the grandsons. M passes up “turtle sundae on a stick.” We leave, passing a Piggly Wiggly, gas at Kwik Mart by waterfalls (probably artificial) in Montello. It’s been a real Wisconsin AM, topped off by lunch at Culver’s.

The reunion main event is tonight at the country club. [Side note: By the time we met in 1970 “Marjorie” was clearly preferred – I had to be corrected, but only once! – but at the reunion I hear a lot of “Marge” and even “Margie” from Keno, the class hunk; M says “Keno can call me anything he wants!”).] There’s been concern about reunion attendance: many indicated they’ll wait until the 50^th; 40-some attend, about a quarter of the class. Good food, a fun group. A bit crowded because they booked another reunion for tonight, but the other group pretty much breaks up before our program. M & I eat outside overlooking Silver Lake (and again, remarkably, no mosquitoes). [Another side note: During dinner Dan relates being draft deferred because of a bum knee, I ask if he was sent to the “Group W bench,” an unmistakable (I think) reference to Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant,” but Dan is clueless. A distressing gap in his babyboomer background!] Marjorie & Keno emcee the short program after dinner; well, short until classmate Rodney’s rambling reminiscences. Nancy & I leave after the program (I’m a bit drugged up for my tennis shoulder and stuffy nose), Marjorie stays a little longer to visit with people.

Wisconsin to Michigan:

Thunder, lightning, some heavy rain at night and in the AM. We start heading home, about 150 miles today to Mundelein IL to stay w/ Jamie (Jim & Susan’s son) & Jennie & daughters Rose & Lilly. Thru some heavy rain (tho despite her protestations, M doesn’t always drive when there’s rain or road construction), and whaddaya know: more corn & soybeans! A coffee stop at “The World’s Largest Culver’s,” to go w/ Amish sugar cookies left from yesterday’s flea market. My nose seems to be clearing as we get away from Portage. Marjorie enjoys playing w/ Rose & Lilly & little Yorkie Theo. PM relaxing (and a nap). After the girls dive (quite literally, it seems) into spaghetti, Jamie fixes yummy shrimp scampi, then copies “Alice’s Restaurant” onto a CD to send to Dan (see earlier).

Jamie’s off early, we’re up w/ the girls. About 300 miles today to Ann Arbor MI. More rain during the night and a rainy drive; hope some of this reaches our lawn at home. I go against Penelope’s wishes to take I-294 around Chicago instead of her route more direct thru the city. Our EZ-Pass works here and other states throughout the trip. A big accident on the other side has traffic backed way up, but we’re going in the fortuitous direction. Billboards w/ deals at Krazy Kaplan’s Fireworks, another “wanted” billboard complete w/ mug shot (just before “Welcome to Indiana”). We stop at a Michigan Welcome Ctr w/ lighthouse, playground, dog run, picnic area; near the site of nation’s first highway travel information center in New Buffalo. A couple of photos; hey, it’s not the photogenic sightseeing of Europe, so you take em’ where you can. Back in the car there’s a different male voice on the GPS: M says Penelope left in a snit because I didn’t follow her directions earlier (P & I reconcile later). A last chance for Culver’s: I’ve grown fond of the sourdough melt, M’s been good so she gets a butter burger, we share a turtle sundae. We reach niece Katie & cats Tigger, Sneakers, & Felicity for overnight lodging (note how we’ve avoided hotels on the whole trip).

Katie gives a tour around Ann Arbor, U Michigan campus, and Trader Joe’s – another favorite shopping spot lacking in Albany, M buys some stuff for home, I take a photo to bookend w/ Whole Foods earlier in the trip.

Into The Bead Gallery, where we find 2 of the “fairy doors” scattered thru downtown (tho we’re told 1 of the store’s fairy families had moved out): these fascinating and lovely fairy doors are about 6” tall, tucked unobstrusively into storefronts, walls, or store cupboards, w/ offerings of coins, flowers, etc. left by passersby.

M looks thru the beads, Katie & I stroll around downtown, finding more fairy doors, a steel band performing on one street, old cars on display nearby.

Middle Eastern dinner at The Palm Palace, in what used to be one of the Bill Knapp’s common in this region (but now defunct). Back at Katie’s we play w/ Google Maps and GPS to consider best routes for tomorrow; there’s a big difference between “fastest” and “shortest”! For some reason we hadn’t thought about going thru Canada from here (i.e., didn’t bring passports), so our journey tomorrow will be a bit longer, tho partly counteracted by avoiding 2 bridge/border crossings.

Back to Albany:

Off we go after early IHOP breakfast w/ Katie. It’s good to be headed into the homestretch: about 360 miles to Toledo to Cleveland to Erie to N. Tonawanda and my Mom, then on to Rochester. Sunny AM, but thick hazy air. Road sign: “Prison Nearby – Don’t Pick Up Hitchhikers.” OK. A nice service area on the Ohio Turnpike: like a mall, including a Panera’s (but no photo here, got to draw the line somewhere). Hazy view of Cleveland skyline. Overall the most boring drive of the trip. But seeking a quick and good lunch around Erie, look . . . it’s a Chick-fil-A! Good food, it brings us sort of full circle (see Day 2). Billboards for fireworks plus knives & swords plus stun guns & pepper spray liven things up a bit, vineyards have replaced corn & soybeans. A short visit and dinner with Mom, then on to Rochester to stay at our regular way-station along the Thruway w/ Alice & Rick and their so-friendly Morkie Scooter.

The last leg! About 240 miles to Albany. Nuthin’ new along the Thruway, except we stop at Turning Stone Casino, which we’ve passed many times looming just off the highway. It’s more than expected: pretty flowers and grounds, fancy shops, convention center, concert venues, a 19-story hotel, a number of restaurants plus fast-food court, acres of slots and separate bingo & poker rooms, etc., etc. Sorry Nancy, this dwarfs Ho-Chunk. We get a snack, but no gambling.

Whew!: 13 days, 8 states, 2783 miles. And we’re still speaking to each other. As John Denver said: “Hey, it’s good to be back home again!” 164 photos, a quite small number for me, but there’s an unusually high proportion of people pics. And after all, seeing people was the point. It was a good road trip!

Other Midwest Excursions

Here are some notes & photos from some of our travels to & thru the Midwest.Of course, there's Marjorie's hometown of Portage: pretty Paquette Park

and rivers for fishing.

One summer we enjoyed a balloon festival in the area.

Our time in Wisconsin has also included a variety of sites: Milwaukee's Mitchell Domes & Zoo,

the Wisconsin Dells

with some fun for little Matt,

& nearby Durward's Glen, a favorite "retreat,"

some weekend jaunts to Door County on Lake Michigan,

and the intriguing House on the Rock,

Circus World in nearby Baraboo,

New Glarus (aka "Little Switzerland"),

and lovely countryside.

Our home in Madison included the lovely state capitol.

and campus views

There have been various jaunts to Chicago

with its interesting streets & museums, including the Field Museum of Natural History

and one of Marjorie's favorites: Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle at the Museum of Science & Industry.

Marjorie also enjoys Chicago at Christmas, bring back childhood memories.

We also had an early trip to Minneapolis.

One early trip from NY to Wisconsin entailed a rather circuitous route. First up north across a bridge over the Thousand Islands to Ottawa. Interesting views in and around Rideau Canal and the Parliament complex.

Then west across Ontario, with a stop to see the "Big Nickel" in the nickel mining area.

Continuing on thru Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Tahquamenon ("rootbeer") Falls Peninsula,

to Pictured Rocks along Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin.

We also added a visit to Kentucky onto one of our Wisconsin jaunts.

Other trips have taken us to Michigan.

Charlevoix & Midland MI (2009):

This is Marjorie’s 1^st chance to visit my brother Doug & Ann’s vacation home in Charlevoix in northern MI (I was there w/ my Mom a couple of years earlier). Charlevoix has a pretty harbor w/ some tall ships in port.

Their home has a pretty location, set up high overlooking fields and woods w/ L Michigan in the distance, eagles often circling overhead, lovely sunsets.

We enjoy walks on the beach w/ their friendly poodle Sundance.

Doug joins us for a jaunt to MacKinac Island (via ferry). Nice views coming in.

A pretty harbor, main street lined w/ shops plus many bikes and horse-drawn carriages (no motorized vehicles here except emergency uses), lovely homes and gardens.

The famous Grand Hotel, lots of flowers.

And famous fudge shops where you can watch them make it (and we eat some too!). Back to Charlevoix, out into the countryside for a wonderful gourmet dinner.

Down to their home in Midland. A pretty downtown area, flowers and painted frog sculptures, Ann’s coop store (including her fabulous doll creations). We stop into the beautiful public library. Pretty gardens and a park along the river.