Journey to Alaska, part 2: DE to SD
We left from Newark, DE, driving to Cleveland, OH on our first day. I had a cousin in Cleveland, then in her early thirties, who was willing to let us crash at her place. Never mind that this is my most annoying cousin, we were Road Trippin’. We arrived in the evening and wandered around Cleveland a bit. Nice bookstores and cute little indie shops. Annoying Cousin put us all on the floor in her living room in our sleeping bags and went off to bed, farting all the way. The next morning, we all went out to a little coffee house for breakfast before leaving. Annoying Cousin wanted to make sure we had everything we needed (oh, we did – and then some!) and insisted that we take a can opener from her. We already had three can openers but she really seemed to want us to take something, so we took the stupid thing.
We left Cleveland and the next several days were snapshots of places most of us had never been. Our only real plan was to arrive at Yellowstone with most of a day ahead of us, so we’d just drive until we decided to stop and then look for campgrounds. We had picked up maps, camping and accommodations books and a triptik at AAA before we left so we had some resources, but still some of these campgrounds weren’t easy to find. We learned how to put up our tent in the dark and that s’mores truly are a necessity.
Indiana was uneventful. We managed to drive through the center of Chicago at night, admiring the lights and the city and wondering why the streets were thronged with people - it felt like Mardi Gras. (Later we discovered that the Bulls had just won a championship game.) We took the requisite trip on LSD (Lake Shore Drive) and moved on.
We spent a delightful afternoon in Madison, WI, sitting on the green writing postcards. Beautiful sunny day in Madison – our collective snapshot memory of Madison is postcards, cheddahead hats – in fact, cheese everywhere - and a city seemingly populated with big, healthy, corn-fed people. Riding bikes, walking, hiking – a living advertisement for Clean Living. A bit too clean for us, in fact, and we moved on. Minnesota was remarkable only in that the "Land of a Thousand Lakes" means the land of a gazillion bugs. We had to stop frequently to clean the windshield (it's extra gross when you actually hear the splat) and when we stopped to eat we realized that the license plate was completely black with dead bugs. On to South Dakota: the Land of Billboards.
We left Cleveland and the next several days were snapshots of places most of us had never been. Our only real plan was to arrive at Yellowstone with most of a day ahead of us, so we’d just drive until we decided to stop and then look for campgrounds. We had picked up maps, camping and accommodations books and a triptik at AAA before we left so we had some resources, but still some of these campgrounds weren’t easy to find. We learned how to put up our tent in the dark and that s’mores truly are a necessity.
Indiana was uneventful. We managed to drive through the center of Chicago at night, admiring the lights and the city and wondering why the streets were thronged with people - it felt like Mardi Gras. (Later we discovered that the Bulls had just won a championship game.) We took the requisite trip on LSD (Lake Shore Drive) and moved on.
We spent a delightful afternoon in Madison, WI, sitting on the green writing postcards. Beautiful sunny day in Madison – our collective snapshot memory of Madison is postcards, cheddahead hats – in fact, cheese everywhere - and a city seemingly populated with big, healthy, corn-fed people. Riding bikes, walking, hiking – a living advertisement for Clean Living. A bit too clean for us, in fact, and we moved on. Minnesota was remarkable only in that the "Land of a Thousand Lakes" means the land of a gazillion bugs. We had to stop frequently to clean the windshield (it's extra gross when you actually hear the splat) and when we stopped to eat we realized that the license plate was completely black with dead bugs. On to South Dakota: the Land of Billboards.
posted by cjblue at 3:06 PM
1 Comments:
Just for you - the Delaware state song! It was made "official" in 1925 :)
Our Delaware
Written by George B. Hynson
Composed by M. S. Brown
Oh the hills of dear New Castle,
and the smiling vales between,
When the corn is all in tassel,
And the meadowlands are green;
Where the cattle crop the clover,
And its breath is in the air,
While the sun is shining over
Our beloved Delaware.
Chorus:
Oh our Delaware! Our beloved Delaware!
For the sun is shining over our beloved Delaware,
Oh our Delaware! Our beloved Delaware!
Heres the loyal son that pledges,
Faith to good old Delaware.
Where the wheat fields break and billow,
In the peaceful land of Kent,
Where the toiler seeks his pillow,
With the blessings of content;
Where the bloom that tints the peaches,
Cheeks of merry maidens share,
And the woodland chorus preaches
A rejoicing Delaware.
chorus
Dear old Sussex visions linger,
Of the holly and the pine,
Of Henlopens Jeweled finger,
Flashing out across the brine;
Of the gardens and the hedges,
And the welcome waiting there,
For the loyal son that pledges
Faith to good old Delaware.
chorus
From New Castle's rolling meadows,
Through the fair rich fields of Kent,
To the Sussex shores hear echoes,
Of the pledge we now present;
Liberty and Independence,
We will guard with loyal care,
And hold fast to freedom's presence,
In our home state Delaware.
chorus
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