We have stayed in many motels over the years. Most of them leave a pen for us to use and a slender note paper but in years past, they used to supply letterhead of the hotel/motel along with envelopes etc. wonderful. Now we just get a stick pen and 3 or 4 2x3 pieces of note paper.............and they now charge more for the rooms into the bargain. Well, at least we do get the Gideon bible and the phone book to read.
We went down to the hot tub to try to get the kinks out of our muscles but the water was at best luke warm and three young men were already occupying most of it. They were in Joliet, Illinois for a car race. They were most enjoyable as they talked fondly about their jalopy that they were to race for 12 hours Saturday and 12 hours on Sunday. They are from Michigan.
The signage around the highway leaves one wondering what was the springboard these people used to compose the signs. One sign, from a dentist says ,"Don't die with your teeth in a glass - GET DENTAL IMPLANTS".
Another sign announced that we should shop with Johnny Lema. He has the largest selection of Fireworks and Golf carts. We can either buy the golf cart or lease it. I turned it over and over in my mind as to what was the connection between fireworks and golf carts. I suppose there are fireworks if you use the golf cart to go out on the greens and the fireworks start if you do not sink the putt or make a hole in one!!!! On the other hand, one would need celebratory fireworks if you did sink that putt and make that Hole in One.
We passed Toledo, Ohio. When I was a child, I went with my mother to the butcher and he used a large enamel white scale with the word TOLEDO on the front of it. I assumed that the company that made the scale was called TOLEDO. Don't know if that was a correct assumption. My next contact with the word Toledo is from the TV show Mash. Corporal Klinger, who always wore dresses in an attempt to get out of the military, always spoke about his home town of Toledo and his home town baseball team was the Toledo Mud Hens. It is amazing what things are brought to mind when one is not even thinking about it. As we approached South Bend, Indiana, the flashing sign warned us of heavy traffic. Apparently it is game day at Notre Dame, the fighting Irish football team. Saw homes along the highway decked out with Notre Dame flags - they do the same thing in Lincoln when the Cornhuskers play - Go Big Red!
The architecture of the buildings along I-80 need to be commented on. There are many Salt Box houses nestled in groves of trees. They are generally white and I suspect that they are well over 100 years old. As I thought of them, I wondered if they were still in their original form inside as they were when they were first built or had the current owner added a TV, Carpeting, Central heating etc.etc. The thought of the modern mixed with the original structure - i.e. 100 yr old wood structure, was a fascinating thought for me as I drove along the highway.
I was thrilled to see the fall foliage along the highway. Many of the trees have changed completely, some are just beginning but the most brilliant reds are found with the Sumac trees. I wondered how many of the trees we were seeing were sugar maples? I am looking forward to going to Maine to buy local Maple Syrup. We got used to having locally produced Maple Syrup.........read that we got spoiled with local syrup and we just cannot enjoy the fake stuff you get in the supermarket (Mrs. Butterworth, Log Cabin, or the store brand.)
Along the highway there are many notable buildings. On one plot there stood a field stone church. It was a beautiful little church and I could only think of the countless persons who have assembled there over the years to worship on Sunday. I wondered if there was a churchyard cemetery and who and how many were buried there. We saw a small white church a few miles further along and it was really charming.
Some barns have stood the test of time and others have succumbed to the ravages of many snow storms and are crumbling. Make a good subject for painting.,,,,or photographing, but I do not have time to do either. The land around us is still flat as a pancake.
And then there are the ever present cell phone towers. I remembered what my father used to tell me about tall structures - he told me that they used 'sky hooks' to get them up there. He told me that big chains with hooks on them were let down from the sky to help hold things up. To a child it makes good sense and even now, I look at the sky, the tall towers, and I imagine sky hooks aiding the building of the towers. Who is there that will argue this point with me? My dad said it, so it is true!
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