Feels so good to stop banging your head against the wall

drivingLast winter when I was stuck up in the yooperland while The Commander made her mostly horrific journey toward her exit, I had a little dream, which was that when she either recovered or not, the GG and I would take a nice, leisurely drive down the old highways to home. We had been making rocket trips for the last couple years and often, when we were driving up or down, I would look to the sides of the freeway and think how nice it would be to be moseying along one of the old gravel roads. There was never any time to do that and when I eventually made my very ungraceful exit from the yooperland, it was a fast trip alone in the Ninja on the [thankfully dry] I75 SUV Speedway.

I worked a half a day today, published two specs (400 pages total) and skedaddled outta there at noon. First vacay hours taken this year. Yay! We scrambled the Frog Hopper (and a whole bunch of junk) and were blasting up the bumpity-clunkity I75 SUV Speedway in true rocket trip mode. I took over driving at the rest area above Bay City. I was flying along thinking how sick and tired I was of making rocket trips up and down the I75 SUV Speedway and it was GORGEOUS out for once and all of a sudden, I thought something like, “Why in the hell are we in such a hurry?” Today’s destination was the Uncly Uncle’s house in Gaylord and at the rate we were going, we knew we’d arrive long before he got home from work. That was okay but…

I pulled off the I75 SUV Speedway at West Branch and drove the old highways the rest of the way, making a little pit stop at the Houghton Lake Group Home on the way. And guess what? The Group Home was occupied and the occupants were engaged in one of the old Houghton Lake cabin traditions known as paint-by-number. So cool.

So we are here at the Uncly Uncle’s house after a fantabulous dinner at Benethum’s Northern Inn and off to Siberia in the morning. Gorgeous duck breast (for me) and chicken cordon bleu for the Twinz of Terror and very good cocktails! We will definitely go back to Benethum’s!

Good night! Seeya from somewhere else in the Great White North tomorrow,
Kayak Woman

P.S. Some people might think I look unhappy in the photo. I’m not, I’m just somewhere in the zen of driving, a thing I *love* to do.

7 Responses to “Feels so good to stop banging your head against the wall”

  1. l4827 Says:

    The northern trails beckon.

  2. Margaret Says:

    I do the same thing–stay in my rush rush mode when I don’t have to. Glad that you slowed it down and went the scenic route. Have fun! Your photo is great; you look SO YOUNG.

  3. Paulette Says:

    Will you talk about “paint by number” in a future post? Have a great weekend.

  4. GG Says:

    I took the photo. (If you see a picture, take it.). Anyway, we were near West Branch – she was quite happy.

  5. Tonya Watkins Says:

    Ahhh, envious. Today here in WA (after a godawful rainy commute to work) evolved into a true spring-like afternoon and I wanted to climb in my car and drive far far away. The (few) times that John and I can both take off early on a Friday to head down to Harstine Is. are the best. It’s not dark, traffic isn’t terrible, and it feels leisurely and almost naughty. (I desperately need a “naughty” vacation day! Or more…)

  6. Sam Says:

    Thoughtful. Or concentrating. Definitely not unhappy. IMHO. Happy Siberia!

  7. kayak woman Says:

    I kept wondering about the thing where my right arm crosses over and grabs my left. Did I really do that? Yes. I know, because I caught myself doing it again today, on the way back to Siberia from the moominbeach. A comfort thing, I think… Or maybe it’s because, since the Frog Hopper is not a stick shift, I don’t have anything to do with my right hand? Hmmm…