The Long Ride Home

It sounds like I am complaining...but not really. I drove home from W Island yesterday.
Yes with a few stops it's about a six hour drive from ferry to home, but ahhhhhh... that silent journey is an oasis sometimes. I was by myself as Dave flew home, but I had to bring the car home for repairs.There is something I like about driving by oneself. I gather my thoughts, write creatively in my head , listen to lots of great music, and of course have a few stops to stretch my back and for treats...like free popcorn at Uncle Tom's and cheese danish and coffee with my gas stop,...hehe.

It was a beautiful sunny, cool, Fall day as I sat in the ferry line eating my sub for lunch from the pizza place at the ferry dock. I was tired as Dave and I had spent a full 12 hrs closing down our island house for the winter the afternoon and evening we arrived and in the morning- part of the maintenance of owning a summer home. Dave winterized the boat, the well, drained all the outside hoses and the inside plumbing pipes in the house, moved all the outside furniture to the garage, and cut back the outside gardens( whew!!). I did about four loads of laundry, vacuumed or moped all the floors,scoured the sinks,removed all the appliances from the electrical outlets, cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer and put all the extra blankets and pillows away in the closets for winter storage. So as I sat there waiting for the next ferry feeling pretty tired, I began to notice the lovely Fall day that as unfolding in front of me, now that I paused to appreciate and enjoy it.

While on the ferry ,the sun was warmly beating through my window and glistened beautifully off the water of Lake Michigan. So I hopped out of my car and sat up on my hood to enjoy the sunshine and the view for most of the ride across the bay to North Port. I could not resist enjoying this lovely fresh air and warm Fall sunshine. The view was so peaceful as the lake was dead calm and all I could hear was the humm of the ferry engine. Most everyone else was sitting snug in their cars or up on the second deck of the ferry, so it was just me enjoying the view in silence. As i sat there, Dave flew overhead and tipped his wings to say hello ,as he knew i must be on that ferry. After a big wave I sent back to him, I watched him fly away till he disappeared in the clouds in the distance over North Port. It was a beautiful day to fly as well. We have taken some of our best photography from the plane, especially in Fall over the upper peninsula of Michigan- just gorgeous with abundant color.

On my drive home I took my two usual short cuts and stayed on 57 to keep traffic to a minimum on the quieter side of Door County. The tree lined road was curvy and pretty with some trees just starting to turn color, field grasses all browning up,the feed corn turning golden on the stalk,and one really beautiful field grass that was feathery white on top and plumed as though a bird feather( not bear grass.. this was much more defined and roadside pretty). I saw roadsigns for plums, apples and pumpkins all at "honor system" farm stands of help yourself and leave your money in the can( in true farm style tradition), as well as the usual roadside stores selling pies, jams and apples. Each small town I had to slow down for seemed less of a nuisance to the drive today, as i enjoyed the less busy Fall side of each one, with only a few walkers and cars now as half of the shops and restaurants are now "closed for the season". "Colorama" is just a few weeks away though, so the stores and restaurants still open will surely get their abundance of "Fall gazer visitors" who come for the color in the forest, apples and fall walks in the woods.This will soon become be one of the busiest times of the year in Door County as the colors take hold in early October.

There was an abundance of interesting music to listen to as I drove along the pretty roadsides and through small towns along the way. I started out with a CD that had been left in the car that was a lovely rendition of traditional hymns done to the sound of Enya. (Dave surprisingly loves her relaxing music, perhaps because of all the time he spends in stressful Chicago traffic, checking job sites for his work.) I listened to it for what seemed like the first few hours without any interest in changing to a radio station. It was so lovely to drive along the tree line roads and be engulfed in the beauty of this world our Creator has given us, humbled by the view and fully appreciating the great blessing this is in our lives. A while later, I found a radio station with traditional Irish music( a special program on WUWM- my alumni radio station), still later some news about the Packers football game, folk music from the 60's, and ending with a country western station. The time flew by until I reached Racine (my last usual hour of driving), where apparently there had been a car accident and the freeway went from 65mph to a slow turtle pace of driving for about 45 min. But then... off to home I go I go.

All in all an enjoyable journey though....a little time spent with myself, we all need that sometimes.