2004 Tour home

We visited the Wrights' bike shop, the Ford Motor Company, electrical engineer Steinmaker's cottage, two slave quarters from the south, AND the frozen custard stand. Two floats made us feel just a bit more human. i should also mention the silkworm shop. We saw the actual chrysalis and the silk threads they unwind. WOW. (Photos of Greenfield village)

We got back around 8pm and reinstalled the spare tire with a heavy bungie cord and a wire leash with snaphooks on each end. This was after several calls to Tacoma RV for help. These tires are about 60 lbs and it took both of us and a lever-a good joint project.

We watched "Rosa Parks", about the famous civil rights pioneer. Very moving and interesting, and started "The Fifth Element".

June 9

After completing the movie and draining the tanks and taking on propane, we left for the Ludington ferry. It was a fairly easy drive along green highways. I have always wanted to see Ann Arbor, but in asking people what a good, easy route through the town might be, I got a sense they thought I was a bit crazy for wanting to see it at all. By the time we got going around midday, we were both just interested in getting to Ludington. No matter how well we have planned our travels (or not), it seems we never really knew how long any part of our journey would take us.

We got into Ludington around dinner time and looked around. The main street freatured some amazing "painted ladies", Victorian buildings with exquisite paint jobs. We found the ferry dock where we had been told we could spend the night, but decided to go to a state park instead. It was there that we met Scott, who had just ridden his bike all the way around the top of Lake Michigan at an average of 80 miles/day! Because it was raining, he was glad to accept our invitation to spend some of the evening with us. I showed him some of the photos of places we had been. He was going to be taking the ferry home the next day, so we would see each other on board. I asked him if he might wake me in the morning.

June 10

Scott knocked on the window at 7:20am. I was already in the middle of dressing. We got to the ferry right on time at 8am. We had to give the RV up to an employee to back it in. He drew several doggy kisses in the process, but didn't seem to mind.

The ferry reminded me of the Blackball ferry which runs between Port Angeles, WA and Victoria, BC. It had a large hold for the cars, trucks and RVs, motorcycles and bikes and there was no access during the four-hour crossing. With this in mind, we took our Monopoly game, my wallet, my camera and a book. We ate a hot breakfast-standard eggs, sausage and cold english muffin. Rob wanted to spend time in the arcade, of course, and this gave me a chance to relax. I decided to see how much a stateroom was, because I hadn't slept very well the night before. It was less than I thought and so we were able to rest. Rob's second round in the arcade allowed me to nap. (Photos of Lake Michigan)

We didn't see much of Scott, but Rob met a kid named Justin in the arcade and they had a great time goofing around together. I asked Rob if he wanted to stay in touch. Nope.

The four hours went quickly and before we knew it, we were watching our RV drive tentatively off the ferry-due, of course, to more doggy kisses! The roads across Wisconsin were not very clear on the two maps we had, which didn't seem to agree with each other and were less than a perfect match with the road signs. (Photo of Wisconsin Farm)

So, we took wrong turns, found ourselves in the boonies, backtracked and finally got on track, but what appeared to be about a four-hour journey, was much more. Just finding a place to stay was challenging. Our Woodall guide was great in the south, but just about useless in the north, where there must be three times the number of small campsites and almost none in the guide where we needed them.

Often, the little tent symbols on the road maps pointed us in the right direction. In this case, one seemed to be connected to a national park, which we found, but we never found a campsite. On the way to the other side of it, where there was another symbol, we found a private RV park. None of the sites were level, but it was very quiet and we were the only humans in sight. Lucky was finally able to run around without a leash, and he had a great time doing circles and establishing his own pace for a change.

On the way, we were back with John Grisham and The Partner, another spell-binding story which we didn't turn off after our driving was done. We finished it and then induldged in a game of Monopoly. We were getting smarter about how to play and both of us ended up with lots of money, property and houses. We had to stop at midnight and called it basically a draw, although Rob was a bit ahead, financially.

We have both been coughing a lot and dealing with upper respiratory junk and, in my case, indigestion, for the past several days. By midnight, I was really wiped out and my throat was sore. I was even feeling a bit feverish.

I had succeeded in contacting three of my friends in the twin cities and left messages for one more, although the cel coverage in rural Wisconsin was not great. I hope I am in good enough shape to socialize with them.

June 11

I was aware in my early stirring that my sore throat was better. A curious thing was that at the Fatima sanctuary, I had said a prayer to Mary for clearer guidance and the next day, my right ear blocked up. It was still blocked. In fact, that was the first symptom of this malaise, the second being indigestion. Our diets haven't been perfect-that is for sure. Rob's cold is much better. Cold-wise, he is several days ahead of me. I probably got this from him, but obviously, the stress of travel is getting me down or I wouldn't have gotten sick. We are both ready to be home, but still have over 2000 miles to go!

We arrived at my friend Ron Jensen's in Hopkins in the late afternoon. Ron is the one friend I have kept very close contact with since I left Minnesota, because, among other things, he is a life coach and has been very helpful to me. Now and then, the tide has run the other way and I have offered my help to him. It was great to see him! We ate at a local Chinese restaurant and visited until he needed to go to bed. He had an early job driving seniors. (Photos of Rob&Ron and Sunset)

June 12

This would have been Grace's birthday today. No need to call now.

The main goal of today was to get me to the accupuncturist at the school clinic where Ron is studying. We went by way of Perkins for breakfast and the Mall of America in Ron's car. Rob wanted to trade in some games for something new and decided against it. Then Ron decided on a new cel phone with a more reasonable plan.

Traffic made us a bit late for the clinic, but the doc worked on me and I think it helped some. However, I know from the past that these upper respiratory things "gotta work em selves out".

Our dinner with my friend Holly was postponed till the next day. When you have spent 10 pretty good years some where, there are plenty of people to call on, but I just didn't feel up to much. Hopefully, the planned musical session with Max and some time with Holly will still happen tomorrow.

On our way back to Ron's, we stopped by the first home I lived in in Minneapolis. As you can see, it was not a great place for a harp-which I started to play several years after moving in! (Photo of My Old Home)

Ron dressed in his clown costume for the Saturday night gig and played his accordion. He is FANTASTIC on that thing! (Photos of "Happy")

June 13 (4 months on the road!!)

The phone woke me at about 10am after another night of hacking and coughing and an early morning "dead to the world" nap. It was Rob calling from Ron's apartment.

Ron had already left for the color workshop he was signed up for. By the time we left, I had printed out the best of our photos of Happy the Clown, and thrown the rest on a disc. We arranged to pick up Max Swanson, my special friend who has provided all the flute, clarinet and sax for most of my albums, including the most recent. He is without the use of his eyes, but anyone who knows him appreciates his special sensitivities-especially musically.

Holly lives in a magnificent little cottage on a quiet lake where she moved 8 years ago. At 55, she is a contented single "earth mom". On a librarian's salary, she has transformed her place into a real sanctuary, mostly with recycled building materials and hand-me-down furnishings. Her creaitivity and love exuded from every corner, including from a transformed pigeon coop-her guest room. (Photos of Holly's place)

While Holly made lunch and Rob kept Lucky out of the kitchen, Max and I prepared our instruments, which in my case meant reminding "Angela" once again of the tempered scale. The weather was on our side and she tuned up again quite easily, with the exception of the highest E string, which had broken. (I think she is telling me she's tired of traveling too!)

Lunch was nourishing and social. I was reminded that Holly actually sang in a choir of sorts on my album "Golden Wave" way back in 1989. Then, when the strings were ready, we started playing. It was interesting to me that some of the themes Max and I had dreamed up the last time-some 6-7 years ago when he visited us on Vashon were present again. Because that had been the only time we'd ever played them together, it was fun to get a bit deeper with them.

For me, playing with Max ranges from a sense of settling in with an old friend or even family member, to creating an etheric meeting of souls, to making love in the ethers. Do we even know each other that well? Not really in this time-space reality, but somewhere. Something just clicks. I asked him if he'd ever consider touring with me. In the past he had said no, but he seemed a little more interested now. Who knows if that will manifest...?

On the way back, I asked him how his gigs were going. He said they had become mostly corporate parties and weddings, that the night clubs had pretty much dried up. If anything, they were featuring rock- "nothing for the more serious musician". Too bad for their customers.

We left Max off and headed for downtown, just to show it to Rob and possibly to try out Cafe Brenda, if open on this Sunday evening. When I lived here (1982-1992), the cafe was one of the top choices of all the restaurant critics for years, even though it was vegetarian. It was closed. Downtown had changed quite a bit, but I found my way fairly well.

Next we went to St. Paul. I wanted to show Rob the capitol, where Jesse was Gov.(Photos of St. Paul Capitol) One of the more interesting things on the green in front was a sculpture of Charles Lindbergh, as a child dreaming of flight and as the man. His project on Jesse seems to be headed for another Eye on the Truth, a movie he made last December where he was all the characters in a TV talk show. One thing is clear: the librarians were embarassed by the man. I think we can assume, they were not alone. My more flamboyant friends appreciated what he stood for.

Then we went up to W.A. Frost, the restaurant where I had first met our cousin, Lucy. We had only about a half hour for dinner (The KOA wouldn't accept us after 10pm), but they obliged. Great ambience, although practically deserted. Good but not great food.

We found the KOA where I had been assured there would be no highway noise. Who were they kidding???

June 14

After another night of coughing and not much sleep, this morning was a marathon of 4 laundry loads, sewer dumping, cleaning and getting out before KOA kicked us out at 11. I tried calling Steve Smith, but never heard back from him. So, we headed to Mall of America for a couple of hours.

Rob turned in 3-4 games and got a new one in return. This critical business accomplished, we launched him onto the roller coaster (the wilder of two) and I went looking for an ATM. I happened by a Barnes and Noble and looked for books on Jesse Ventura. Of course, it is nigh on impossible to leave B&N without something-a book on Jesse by a rival politician and some Christmas presents for Rob-if I can wait that long.

OK, so the Mall of America, that mid-America tourist destination, has all the chain stores (Express, Radio Shack, AT&T, Gamestop, not to mention the four major cornerstone outfits: Sears, Bloomingdale's, Norstrom's and Penney's, and lots of other littlier shops. Besides its generally massive scale, the thing which distinguishes it is a huge entertainment/amusement park with dozens of rides. When Minnesotans (and those visiting tourists) need to get out from under their winter rocks, they can come to this "tropical paradise" with natural light and trees-sure cures for cabin fever.

The shear scale of the place means that there is this sort of roar which I found on the edge of oppressive-especially in the amusement area. While looking down from the top of the ferris wheel, I saw a restaurant called Stampede-not much for peace and digestion.

We reconvened after Rob's two runs on the rolller coaster and went to a creperie for lunch. Yummy fast food, by Luis!

I picked up a new earpeice for my phone and we left for Dunnell. (Photos of Mall of America)

Never heard of Dunnell, Minnesota? It is WAY out there in the SW corner of the state, in the corn fields. My friend, Heidi Scott lives there with Homer, her husband. We had met during my time in Minneapolis and had stayed loosely in touch. She loves to use my music for her massages and had set up a livingroom gig in their lovely farmhouse.

We got there around 6pm and by 7, the folks started arriving. They included Heidi's parents, another couple, and Kathy, a hospice social worker and newer harp player. It turned out that Heidi's mom volunteers for "11th hour" hospice. Years ago, I got to tend a dying man, so we had a lot in common.

I played the harp on and off, with stories in between and general chit-chat. We had a wonderful time! When I wanted to perform "You've got the Heart of an Angel", I asked Rob if he wanted to leave and it appeared that he was delighted to go try out his new game. (This song is a bit personal and right after I wrote it (2001), he gave me permission to share it-as long as he was out of the room.)

Even though I hadn't played much for the last months, things went very well. I was troubled by my right ear, the one next to the strings. It made things sound "low tinny". But, everyone assured me that things were sounding great. I played for about an hour and then it was time to just be social.

The last to leave was Kathy, so we shared our stories about dying people and music. I ended up singing Linda Allen's "October Roses" (about the beauty of older women) to her when she was trying to decide which records to buy. "Oh that is for my mother!", she exclaimed.

When everyone had gone and the guys were asleep, Heidi and I enjoyed a long visit, which included my sharing John McCutcheon's song, "Christmas in the Trenches" about World War I, as we were both bemoaning the current Iraq situation. She loved it! Then, we took a dip in the outdoor hottub. Oh did that feel great! (Photos of Dunnell)

2004 Tour Home