Road Trip!

We are back from our road trip to Chicago and other points west. We had a blast. Here are some things we did and saw.

Most of three days with Andrew, Lur, Claire and Daniel, and Bill, Jen, Miles and Auden. On Friday, we had some of Andrew's patented ribs, although he was obviously too ashamed to cook them on The Grill. On Saturday afternoon and evening Andrew, Lur, Janet and I were guests of Cap'n Bill and First Mate Jen on their pontoon boat; we traveled around several lakes -- did you know about all those lakes? -- tied up at a dock and had dinner at a lakeside restaurant and then watched fireworks from the boat. When the show was over, we then headed home, but I was in the very first boat traffic jam I have ever seen. Claire was kind enough to watch Miles and Auden while the (alleged) grownups partied.

I had a devil of time whenever I talked to Claire or Daniel. Ask one question and they just never stopped talking. I did learn a lot about Hope College and oboes, and about Daniel's college ambitions and athletic prowess. He was at the gym just about the whole time when he wasn't rebuilding the fire pit in their back yard. I also learned that Claire will study in Vienna next year. Lur is taking guitar lessons! They are having their back porch screened in and the whole house repainted. Thank you, all of you, for a fulfilling time together. Andrew's retirement means that my oft-felt daydream of his being promoted and moved to the company's NJ headquarters won't come to pass, but it was plainly the right decision for all sorts of reasons. I do wish we lived more closely together.

Janet has already FB-ed about her conference on the arts and disability in Chicago, and the many dedicated people who do her kind of work. I enjoyed some of them at the evening receptions. While she did her conferencing, I spent two and a half days wandering around the city and enjoying it thoroughly. While it's a troubled city, the lake area and downtown are very walkable and enjoyable, and the mid 20th century architecture -- office skyscrapers decorated like Gothic cathedrals and such -- is stunning. We had a very nice hotel room with great views and extended our stay so that we could spend a day together at Chicago's world class Art Institute. Much to Janet's delight, it has a huge collection of French impressionists including a whole bunch of Monets.

We had great weather, no punishing August heat and almost no rain. Much of the driving was done with the top down. Northern Ohio is FLAT. Indiana is FLAT. Central Illinois is FLAT. Most of southern Ohio is FLAT.

Fracking is for real. Across the northern tier of Pennsylvania the interstate was dominated by trucks, many of them carrying all sorts of fracking equipment. Did you know there is a town in north central Pennsylvania called Jersey Shore? In our motel in Marietta, Ohio -- not far from the W. Va. border -- the parking lot was full of oil service industry trucks and the lobby in the morning was full of oil service industry types. Marietta seems to be a once thriving industrial town that is getting a reprieve from fracking.

Interstate America is organized such that you can get off at just about any exit and find an inexpensive place to stay, no need for reservations. Nice touch. Interstate America is a culinary wasteland. McDonald's, Denny's, Hardee's, KFC, Arby's, Burger King, on and on, over and over, everywhere, ad nauseum. It is very hard to find nutritious food. And this country does have a very serious obesity problem, you see it everywhere.

I thought lady Bird Johnson had gotten rid of all the billboards on the Interstates. Ugly. And quite a few of them were not in use. My favorite was one that pronounced "Recession-proof your business. Rent this billboard." Well, the billboard business itself isn't recession-proof, is it?

We enjoy getting off and exploring. On our way out, we got off the interstate and spent some time, a dinner and one night on the shores of Lake Erie. Nice dinner at Old Prague in Vermillion -- great name, huh? -- and a night in Sandusky, which reminded us a lot of Pittsfield. In a funky old coffeehouse we saw a photo of a crayon factory circa 1930 that employed over 400 people.

And in Sandusky was a nice piece of serendipity: the Merry-Go Round Museum, staffed mostly by volunteers who have rescued and lovingly restored many old horses, giraffes, frogs, carriages and other riding things, and an entire carousel, which you can ride on, accompanied by a magnificent (and loud) Wurlitzer organ. New Jersey still has eight active carousels. A very moving example of that "simpler" time when these were serious entertainments. Janet absolutely loves merry-go-rounds, so you can imagine what a treat this was. We bought a number of chances for a drawing for a newly carved horse. We shall see.

After Chicago we went south to Springfield and enjoyed the Lincoln Museum and the four block area that the National Park Service has restored to its nineteenth century setting around the only house that Abe ever owned. We saw many reasons why he is still revered as a great President.

Driving around Indian Hill is a mixed blessing. It resonates with memories of a happy and meaningful childhood. Much of the village is not changed that much. I was surprised at how uncrowded the memorial grounds of the Indian Hill Church seemed; I would have thought it would be filled after all these years. Some very familiar names: Black, Fullgraf, Hagist, Tucker. I can't believe that we walked down and up that long driveway at Cunningham Road every day for the school bus, and I can't believe that we rode our bikes down that loooong hill and back to Camp Dennison to spend 5 cents on a candy bar. That store is still there. Yet it was a bittersweet time, too. I was reminded that I miss Mom and Pop, a lot; they had built themselves a good life and good lives for us and stayed our friends for life. I was reminded of the enduring sadness of Ann's illness and passing. I was reminded of my first encounter with death, Grammy's. I am not nostalgic, I just wish they were still with us.

And boy, the ugly, tasteless mega-look-how-much-money-not-taste-I-have-mansions are a constant reminder of the cheapening of American life. The high school is bigger than an airport terminal. The big supremely ugly house that replaced the Wrights/Kites house burned down in a spectacular fire in January that made it to Good Morning America, and the cause is still undetermined six months later. I vote arson, not because the owner came to his senses about taste, but he is in the construction business.

The Julius Fleischman estate whose gate house Mom and Pop rented is now an "arts center" -- with a large indoor horse riding ring. The Given Rd. house and the Hagist house across the road are both long gone in favor of big houses.

On our way back, we stopped at Serpent Mound, about an hour east of Indian Hill, which I had seen on a class trip and whose mystery has never left me. They still don't know when it was built or by whom.

All through the trip, we closely followed Donald's progress! Sometimes – well, often – this social media stuff gets old, but at time likes this, it's wonderful.

We had some grand meals and lodgings. Along with Old Prague in Vermillion, there were Chicago steakhouses Shula's and Morton's, the Cincinnati rib house Montgomery Inn surrounded by autographed jerseys of Reds and other players, and a Marietta brewpub. Staying in the Mariemont Inn was a real highlight. The food and staff of The Spa At Roslyn Road were outstanding. Once again, we cherish the bonds of family. Once again, we know how beautiful and seemingly endless this great country of ours is.