I'm Still Standing

This morning started out with me wondering what and why.  The alarm clock in the room (which I did not set) started making weird sounds around 5am.  Kind of a crackle thing.  I tried to pull on the chord to unplug it, hit it a couple of times and then must have fallen back asleep.  At 7am, it started again and I realized I had no choice but to get up and unplug and start the day.   So, cheap hotel again....they had a way to make coffee, but not a way to have cream and sugar/sweetener so that was not going to work.  Interestingly enough, when I packed my food travel bag with pretzels, nuts, granola bars, peanut butter and veggies I also threw in a couple of packets of instant oatmeal.  That was a life saver since I didn't get coffee, but I could at least put something in my 'wake up' process.   I got on the road fairly early to head to Little Rock and was again, following the speed limits.  When I google mapped it, the speed traps al...

Going to Memphis was going to be  day when I had so much time, that I wasn't sure what I would do with myself.  Yeah right..... It was a pretty easy drive and again, slowing down gave me lots of time to ponder things.  Things that took up some of my energy were:     - There are a ton of breweries on my travels.  Distilleries- which I figured since we were in Kentucky and Tennessee which are whiskey companies.  I then wondered about the type of beer Christopher drinks.  I am clueless on that.  I know what I like, but not what others do.       - I was thinking about my trip 12 years ago.  How the heck did I know where I was going?  I am so thankful for GPS which you can put in a city, place or address and it takes you there.  So fantastic.  While I still like to look at a map, I like to trust that I am on the right road.       - Part of my struggle this trip is deci...

 Another day of taking it slow.  While driving I was 1-2 mph under or over the speed limit.  There really was not that much to see, but the beautiful earth.  I was able to enjoy the moment I crossed into Kentucky and then the moment i crossed into Tennessee.  Not sure why those were just a moment.  :-)  I had packed some peanut butter singles, carrots and celery and had that for the second day in a row.  Not sure why I just don't stop and get some food in a restaurant.   Decided on the way down that I was just going to stay downtown Nashville.  While I have visited it in the past at the CMA Festival, we did not hang out on lower Broadway or do the museums.  I decided I should and the cost of the hotel should not be the factor.  Had I thought more about it, I should have stayed a bit our of town and ubered in.....Oh well. I did enjoy the Museum and learned about Johnny Cash that I did not know.  I remember as a kid tha...

 I had a good day yesterday.  So good that I decided to just enjoy it and not worry too much on capturing it.   The drive itself was interesting.  Road work for at least a 30 mile stretch and then it started all over again.  State roads and I69.  Fun. Along the was I saw some things that I might not have noticed if we were driving faster.  There was a "she shed" or kids play shed make out of stones.  Reminded me of the houses in Charlevoix that I loved.  Maybe one of the kids could build for me.  :-)  I also saw a place that did battle reenactments.  There were wood building, some kind of blocks to stand behind, etc.  Hadn't thought about where all those Civil war crazy people go to act out their fantasies.  There are also some of the walls along the roads that were made out of rock.  Quite a beautiful part of nature.   Road 252 in Indiana is one of the curviest roads I have driving recently. ...

Lucky for me i saw a billboard on the way into Indianapolis that advertised "Beef and Boards".  I checked it out and it was a dinner theater venue.  Never had been to one, so thought I'd give it a try.   I was amazed how packed it was, the type of food they serve in the buffet and actually how good the cast was.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Made for a late night, but worth it.   Once I was back in the room I turned on the news and it was reported that coming into Indianapolis Center would be a traffic nightmare in the morning since there was a marathon going on.  Agonized all night whether I should go or not........then decided that I could probably live without seeing the Eitljung Museum and the 2 floor NCAA museum. The news also reported that the Kentucky Derby was occurring in Louisville.  Probably also not the smartest stop on the trip.  Therefore am heading to Nashville IN - an art community and then probably from there to Ev...

 Again, following my typical tendencies, I was ready to postpone the trip.  It was raining, my knee was acting up, my fingers hurt, and during the night I had dreams that I packed the wrong clothes..  (It is never easy being me.)  I made myself just start moving and was out of the house by 9:10am.  I switched my trip tracker to B, so I will know how many miles I actually get in.  I did some chanting and then took time to listen to the Highway.  I reached the Indiana border at 10:42am but was amazed/reminded that highways in IN are not like those in MI.  Seems like you are on a two lane road with speed limits at 50 or 60 and very few places to pull over and take a break.   I finally decided to stop in Peru, IN since I remember hearing about that town from Mark ? who I worked with at JnJ.  It is circus town Indiana, but I more or less felt that it was just a small town like we have in Michigan.  Old buildings,  small busines...

 If I needed an excuse to talk myself out of doing this........I had plenty of them today.   Was basically nauseous all day, popped Rolaids constantly, packed and tried to be prepared for the warmer weather that is predicted and realize I have few summerish clothes, my knee felt like it was going out again, tried to facetime with the kids to say "goodbye" and those calls were a bit odd.  (Poor Connor has a broken collarbone, Kellan was gone and Skylar was busy but I did get to see her toothless smile.  At the TC Johnston's it was just Elise and I had even asked if I could talk to the parents, but no luck  However I did learn how to use emogis while I am facetiming.)     Obviously my going on the trip is a bigger deal to me.  While I was hoping for a grand send off, I got a "keep in touch".  And yes, this fits with my "I'm still standing" mode.  I  am moving on......... My notes to my friends telling them I was doing this w...