Tuesday, November 8, 2011

There...And Back Again

It's one of my favorite book titles; The Hobbit or There and Back Again. To me, those simple words define the whole of a journey. You go "there", wherever "there" happens to be, and you return. But in that simple event can be a big event, an unexpected event or something very simple. One never knows.

On Saturday past, I headed west.
Interstate 88 westward out of Chicagoland was the choice of travel. This past weekend was the celebration of my mother's husband's 80th birthday. 80 years. That's definitely a reason to pack oneself into a Jeep and drive 5 hours west.

Iowa was playing Michigan and I managed to find the game on the radio about 15 minutes after it started. I knew that I needed to stop somewhere to get out and walk around. I would need gas, too, but it was very important to stretch my legs. Half-time arrived when I got to Clinton, Iowa. It was the perfect time to stop and get lunch.
I stopped again in Marion to get gas and the football game was on the line. Michigan was deep in Iowa territory and we needed a strong goal line stand to win. I left the car door open and the radio cranked up so I could hear, much to the amusement of the guy pumping gas across from me. I was on the road when Iowa won so I couldn't really whoop it up. The win made the drive quite bearable.

Yesterday, I returned.
The day was perfect for driving. It had been really windy on Saturday. Yesterday was calm and clear. I left at noon and stopped to get gas in Maquoketa. I stopped again in Savanna to get food. At about an hour away from home, my right knee was telling me it was time to get to where I was supposed to go. 

I love driving. I like the travel. I like to view the land, to see what there is to see. Driving to Iowa is probably about the limit right now, however. Until this whole knee thing clears up, it's just too painful to drive for longer periods of time, even with stops to get out and walk around, hobble is more like it. 

So, I went there and came back again. It was a great weekend. 

Beverage:  Earl Grey tea

Deb

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