Things that go Meow! in the night

Road Trip: I-75 -- Locust Grove, Georgia

Streaming ever further into the Deep South, I rest my head tonight just South of Atlanta,Georgia. One more day until I reach my November retreat in Florida.

Today's adventure 415 miles due South.

Road Trip: I-75

Interstate 75 runs 1786 miles from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan nearly to Miami. Fortunately I am only driving 1100 of those miles over the next several days as I shift my location from the fully autumnal environs of Michigan to the sunny, warm welcoming embrace of The Villages in central Florida.

On the wet and soggy road today -- Ann Arbor thru Ohio to Lexington, Kentucky a mere 330 miles

Road Trip: Book Review -- Anathem

For long road trips, I have become a big fan of audio books. Back in Northern California I launched the first of 28 CDs of Neal Stephenson's Anathem. I have several more audio books ready for the next few phases of my sojourn but for now I give Anathem a big thumbs up.

Audio books tend to shorten the driving experience if they engage you at the level you want, need or desire. For me that means a solid storyline that meanders a bit. Short, fast and direct is not what the long road provides, so the stories need to avoid brevity as well. Trust me when I say 28 CDs is not short. I do take breaks for music and once in awhile some crazy ass right-wing radio commentary. But mostly I go with the audio books.

Anathem is science fiction set on another world, which strangely resembles earth. The characters as a whole have the same social and political failings as do we earthlings but Stephenson knows how to tell a tale. All of the side stories keep you moving towards the big finish but nary a once does the true nature of that finish get revealed. Hints, yes. Distractions, plenty.

A great listen for a lengthy road trip.

More Reunion Photos

The gang at the B&B

 Welcome to campus

Hoben Hall on the Quad

 Kalamazoo House B&B

Tom, Tim & Jim

 Pat & me

Stetson Chapel

photos compliments of Tom Matzell

Early Reunion Photos

Yes, there are more to follow as soon as everyone gets home and  the girls photoshop out the ones they don't like.

The weak backs relax after a long day of reunionizing.






photos from Marci Cameron

Road Trip -- Kalamazoo

This weekend saw the unfolding of one of the ceremonially significant events anchoring this lengthy road trip.

Forty-Fifth College Reunion

Class of '69

pictures to follow . . .

For those not familiar with my Alma Mater - kzoo.edu

Road Trip Total: 3750 miles

Road Trip -- Hinckley, Ohio

 Brother Tim, Brother Jim, Brother Dan

Mini-family reunion in Ohio.

Yes, of course, they have cats.

Adding round trip to Hinckley and back to Ann Arbor -- trip total to date: 3550 miles

Cannabis Dermal Patches

Here is my promised post on a brief experiment with Medical Marijuana Dermal Patches made available from Mary's Medicinals in Colorado.

At the present time these products are only available in Colorado and in some dispensaries in Washington state.

They deliver low dose cannabinoids over 12 hours. This means there is little or no psychoactive effect from using the patches. If pot in any form seems to be helping with your issue, then I recommend trying the patches and associated creams; particularly if you want to avoid the marijuana high.

Be aware before making a trip to Colorado or Washington that you must have a Washington State medical card to purchase there. In Colorado you can obtain the patches at the retail stores but because these are more effective at relieving you of medical issues and not getting you high, the stores seldom carry all 7 or 8 varieties. The Colorado medical dispensaries are better supplied but again you need a Colorado State med card.

Very good information is available on the Mary's Medicinals site. I also recommend this article, despite the attention grabbing, misleading headline.

So, bottomline. Good delivery system. No psycho-active effect on most products. But limited access for non-residents and retail (non-medical) customers.

Here's a link to my previous series: Medical Marijuana -- An Inquiry.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

I have arrived at my first major stop on this year's sojourn. With the exception of two small side trips, I will be here in Ann Arbor for the remainder of the month.

The fall colors have not hit the peak pictured above, but they will while I'm here. Perhaps to share a few. Now where did I pack that camera?

Total Road Trip Day 24 (Oct. 6th) 3200 miles

Shakopee, Minnesota

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Another layover, this time just South of Minneapolis. We played the annual Idoru 99 Fall Poker Classic last night. A really outstanding mix of fun players and several old friends. I got here Thursday night, on Friday I had a really informative tour of where my friend Mike works plus a truly outstanding massage from a local provider. My back is feeling much better after a full week of driving. Much, much better.

The wet storm that has followed me across the country is still around and now with 40 degree daytime temperatures. I am assured by the locals that winter is not here yet, but I seem to remember telling warm weather friends this same pack of lies when I lived here.

Next stop, Ann Arbor in about two days. Then some down time in the old familiar haunts.

For the Poker Boyz -- as soon as I locate the appropriate connector for my camera, I'll post the picture of me, Mike and Joel at the big game. BTW, Mike final tabled and finished 5th, while I (the interloper) loss an all-in fest against the monster stack and finished 2nd.

Pictures as promised:

Road Trip -- A Gary Day

People travel differently. I tend to be a "get there" type. But I am open to change, especially since I altered my driving plan and once again was traversing I-80 across the flat middle of the country.

My friend Gary has always traveled by car, he actually likes to drive. As opposed to me, I drive because I have a wide variety of places to stop and flying to all of them is just not feasible. But I'm not a fan of motoring.

Last night I stopped in North Platte, Nebraska. First thing I did, which is what Gary would have done, I passed all the Days Inn, Holiday, Rodeway, Motel 6, 7 and 8 out there on the big interstate. Instead, I drove the mile into town and stayed at a local "car at your room door" motel.

Then I google-mapped around a bit and discovered I had stopped right at the verge of a different way to get to my next destination. So this morning, again Gary-like, I did not get back on the tarmac thread of I-80 but instead headed North out of North Platte on the two-lane Blue Star Memorial Highway 83. I was going to meander North for all of the morning and a bit of the afternoon until I crossed I-90 up in South Dakota.

The distance was the same and I could skip all of central, flat, farm-silo-farm-silo Nebraska. Yes, I am back on a big Interstate this evening. I'm in Mitchell, South Dakota. But it's new country for me and today wasn't just more of the same.

If you look back to last Friday, you will see some similar wandering in Eastern Oregon, also Gary inspired.

Why the Canada Geese up top you ask?

On my way out of North Platte there is a large park, which early this morning was the feeding ground for about two dozen honkers. I pulled over, another Gary-like move, and dispensed the remaining Yreka granola to the noisy avians. They're too big to be afraid of one man and just slightly moved away until I tossed the first handful of oats and raisins. Then they were all my buddies, even the one who kept trying to untie my shoe.