Picking up where I left off on the last entry ...
* * *
Computer shopping: No developments over the last week. Too busy with the other stuff. Still researching.
Saturday at the fair: That's the night of the demo derby, and I got there late--supper was late, and there was a genuine traffic jam heading to the fair, partly due to the fact that the main street leading to the fair is closed for rebuilding.
So I arrived about 20 minutes late, and wound up sitting on the music stand, as usual. During the demo derby (I should explain), I really don't have a lot to do except keep notes on the races and wait for the end, when we get the picture of the winners.
Anyway, as I was getting water before settling down, a woman and her little kid was nearby, also getting water. She wore a reddish top with a V neck that was cut deep, and when she bent over, you could see a lot of her breasts. The guy who waited on her didn't notice me at first. "Sorry," he said. "I must have fallen asleep." "Yeah," I replied, "about as asleep as I was."
I got my water and didn't expect to see her again, so I walked back to the music stand. But just after getting there, I looked around, and there she was, seated nearby, maybe 15 feet away, watching the demo with her two little kids with various sodas and nachos, etc. Yes, it's the woman with the reddish top.
Here's how that top worked. When she stood upright, it didn't show hardly anything. But it was different when she bent over. The right side of it folds over the left side below the breasts--a surplice style? While she was seated and not sitting up straight, the stiffish fabric would naturally fall away from her chest. Somehow, I happened to be in the perfect position to see inside the right side, which showed a lot of the curve of her breast.
It varied. Sometimes, it was only a little sliver. Most of the time, much of the top of the breast was visible. For a minute or two, the fabric had pulled away from her enough to see the full curve of the breast, right to the bottom (no chance of a nipple, though). A couple of times, she pulled the top together by grabbing the top right side near her shoulder and pulling it to the middle--pulling it away from her shoulder for a second or two, showing off the bare shoulder, and she clearly wasn't wearing a bra,
Ah, yes, it was quite mesmerizing. It obviously distracted me from the races (the long set-up periods between races helped), and I had my camera up enough to take a few pictures of what could be seen. Once I got a full curve photo. But then it got darker and the kids were getting restless, and then she left. And I was able to concentrate more on the demo.
Fortunately, on this night the races ended at a reasonable hour, I got home by 10:30, and wife and I were in bed not long thereafter. It was partly not being able to get together the night before (or in the river). At any rate, I had something to give her, and I gave it to her good. She reported this morning that she had slept very well.
All this is simply what happens when something is unreasonably denied or repressed. There's no question that because I was denied the sight of breasts when I was young, I'm obsessed by them. And since society frowns severely on breasts being shown in public (by women, at least), it is still repressed. And they're beautiful, young or old, big or small.
I could go a lot longer on that line, but I think I'll leave it for a day when I can be more articulate about it.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Catching up on a week
Oh gee, it's been another week since I last wrote.
Well, at least this time, I have a good excuse: It was a very busy week, what with the fall sports kicking in, two meetings and the county fair in town. Lots of work last week. Very tiring.
A couple of highlights:
Friday (I think), my wife and I took a drive to the Rainbow site from last summer, near Trout Creek. The goal was reaching the river for a swim sans suits. We found the site with no problem, drove down the road a ways (over some rough terrain), finally had to park and walk. It was a longer walk that I had planned on a very warm (tho not hot) day, but after 30 to 40 minutes, we reached the river--which was a lot lower than last year, due to the lack of rain. Many more weeds, of course, and the only footprints came from some critters. Wolves?
By the time we got there, we were both hot. We had brought some water along to drink, and had some of that. Then I waded out into the river and felt the water, decided it was right, went back to shore, took off my clothes and returned to the river. I let her decide what she wanted to do in a situation she had never been in before. I waded out into the river--the deepest part was about 3 feet deep--and then turned around to see what she was doing. She had taken off her shoes and socks and was wading in the river. Halfway up her calves. I just splashed around and enjoyed the coolness of the water and let it cool my body, She was wading around, holding up the hem of her dress to keep it dry. But a few minutes she came closer to me (and I got closer), and now she was up to her mid thighs. Her hem was getting wet.
I assessed the situation this way: She didn't know what to do, or maybe she did but couldn't bring her self to do it. So I finally walked her to shore, unbuttoned her dress, took off her undies and then led her back into the water. She was shy at first, but she finally got into the water, up to about mid-chest level, and got wet to her neck. We were in there for about a half hour, and then sat on the shore for 15 to 20 minutes, drying off. (We took towels, but she decided to leave them in the car. "Why would we need towels?")
Her panties got a little damp before I undressed her, so she left them off, and the bra stayed off, too. She just pulled her dress back on and buttoned a few of the buttons, so her pussy got dried out and her breasts wobbled all the way on the walk back to the car (with a couple rest breaks).
In a perfect world, we would either have fucked in the creek or we would have gone to bed as soon as we got home. But I didn't want to press my luck while we were both naked. I had to leave as soon as I got home for the truck pull at the fair that night, and it lasted well beyond 10:30 p.m. It was close to 11 when I got home, she was too tired, and I was too hot and sticky. She went to bed, and I went to the shower.
More to come ...
Well, at least this time, I have a good excuse: It was a very busy week, what with the fall sports kicking in, two meetings and the county fair in town. Lots of work last week. Very tiring.
A couple of highlights:
Friday (I think), my wife and I took a drive to the Rainbow site from last summer, near Trout Creek. The goal was reaching the river for a swim sans suits. We found the site with no problem, drove down the road a ways (over some rough terrain), finally had to park and walk. It was a longer walk that I had planned on a very warm (tho not hot) day, but after 30 to 40 minutes, we reached the river--which was a lot lower than last year, due to the lack of rain. Many more weeds, of course, and the only footprints came from some critters. Wolves?
By the time we got there, we were both hot. We had brought some water along to drink, and had some of that. Then I waded out into the river and felt the water, decided it was right, went back to shore, took off my clothes and returned to the river. I let her decide what she wanted to do in a situation she had never been in before. I waded out into the river--the deepest part was about 3 feet deep--and then turned around to see what she was doing. She had taken off her shoes and socks and was wading in the river. Halfway up her calves. I just splashed around and enjoyed the coolness of the water and let it cool my body, She was wading around, holding up the hem of her dress to keep it dry. But a few minutes she came closer to me (and I got closer), and now she was up to her mid thighs. Her hem was getting wet.
I assessed the situation this way: She didn't know what to do, or maybe she did but couldn't bring her self to do it. So I finally walked her to shore, unbuttoned her dress, took off her undies and then led her back into the water. She was shy at first, but she finally got into the water, up to about mid-chest level, and got wet to her neck. We were in there for about a half hour, and then sat on the shore for 15 to 20 minutes, drying off. (We took towels, but she decided to leave them in the car. "Why would we need towels?")
Her panties got a little damp before I undressed her, so she left them off, and the bra stayed off, too. She just pulled her dress back on and buttoned a few of the buttons, so her pussy got dried out and her breasts wobbled all the way on the walk back to the car (with a couple rest breaks).
In a perfect world, we would either have fucked in the creek or we would have gone to bed as soon as we got home. But I didn't want to press my luck while we were both naked. I had to leave as soon as I got home for the truck pull at the fair that night, and it lasted well beyond 10:30 p.m. It was close to 11 when I got home, she was too tired, and I was too hot and sticky. She went to bed, and I went to the shower.
More to come ...
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Where is the lust?
Life goes on. I'll spare Mr. Blurty the details. Essentially, it's routine stuff. So I'll skip it, since there is more interestng stuff to write about.
Somehow when my wife is online, she closes the browser in such a way that the pages she has open will reopen when the browser is restarted. On this occasion, she had a bunch of pages from Beliefnet.com reopen. That's a nice site. I check it out myself.
Among the stuff that reopened was the results of a "lust test" she had taken. Possible scores range from 0 to 32. Hers was a 4. It was right in the middle of the range rated "When did your convent get wired?"
Very interesting. Beliefnet's articles indicate that many religious people (Christian and other faiths) feel that lust is sinful; that's very believable. But why? I sure don't feel that way, and that's one of the things that has me feeling negative about religion. My feeling is that lust is a gift, that it's very natural and that we were meant by our maker to enjoy those wonderfully pleasurable feelings. And especially when we're with our partner, how can it be sinful?
Here is a link to an article by a Beliefnet rabbi about the topic. His enlightened view, unfortunately, seems to be rare in the religious community.
All I can say is that if my wife were even a little bit lustful toward me--something I crave--the marriage would be so much happier and I'd feel better. For one thing, I wouldn't look to satisfy this craving from other women. But it seems that lust is something almost totally absent from her life. And it means to much to me. So why did I have to get unlucky in whom I married?
By the way, I took the test myself, and I got an 18. That was at the upper end of the middle category--my body "isn't a temple, but it isn't a fast food joint, either." So it goes.
Somehow when my wife is online, she closes the browser in such a way that the pages she has open will reopen when the browser is restarted. On this occasion, she had a bunch of pages from Beliefnet.com reopen. That's a nice site. I check it out myself.
Among the stuff that reopened was the results of a "lust test" she had taken. Possible scores range from 0 to 32. Hers was a 4. It was right in the middle of the range rated "When did your convent get wired?"
Very interesting. Beliefnet's articles indicate that many religious people (Christian and other faiths) feel that lust is sinful; that's very believable. But why? I sure don't feel that way, and that's one of the things that has me feeling negative about religion. My feeling is that lust is a gift, that it's very natural and that we were meant by our maker to enjoy those wonderfully pleasurable feelings. And especially when we're with our partner, how can it be sinful?
Here is a link to an article by a Beliefnet rabbi about the topic. His enlightened view, unfortunately, seems to be rare in the religious community.
All I can say is that if my wife were even a little bit lustful toward me--something I crave--the marriage would be so much happier and I'd feel better. For one thing, I wouldn't look to satisfy this craving from other women. But it seems that lust is something almost totally absent from her life. And it means to much to me. So why did I have to get unlucky in whom I married?
By the way, I took the test myself, and I got an 18. That was at the upper end of the middle category--my body "isn't a temple, but it isn't a fast food joint, either." So it goes.
Friday, August 8, 2003
A surprising trip
The other trip--to the inlaws (leaving Sunday morning, returning Tuesday night) had a few surprises. First off, a basic recap of the events.
Sunday morning we left--not at 8 but close to 10, to no great surprise by me. (In fact, I was part of the reason for the delay due to some computer-related work that I can't remember right now--entering UYRL transactions?) The drive went quickly anyway, and we got there about 2:30. The sisters were there, and everyone huddled over the kitchen table and tons of family pictures, which they were dividing up.
They put me to use, too, because of my skills in operating a scanner and a color printer. They had me scan in a number of color pictures--mainly the sisters when they were in high school--and making color prints of them on heavy duty paper. A pair of baby pictures, too. Anyway, lots of scanning, lots of printing. One picture was torn, so I had to do some picky restoration work to get it to look good. They were happy with the results. All that went on well into the evening, about 8 or so. Not much after that--we went to bed fairly early.
Monday, we made a trip to Eau Claire, hitting the bigger places we like to hit, such as Best Buy, Borders, Office Max and so forth. I got a few DVDs and a few other things--nothing major. We had a big grinder for lunch at Mancino's (didn't know they had them in Wisconsin) which served as a combination lunch and dinner for us.
On Tuesday, we left for home in the late morning, making a detour to the Wisconsin Concrete Park near Phillips. It was created by some guy years ago, who made figures of concrete decorated by bits of colored glass--bits and pieces of old bottles of many different colors, electric insulators and the like. It was weird and interesting--I shot a bunch of pictures. We stopped at Pizza Hut in Rhinelander for supper and went home via Laona due to the construction on the M-73 bridge, which will be continuing for a few more months.
Now for the surprises. One came fairly early in the trip when my wife said I can get a laptop computer with David's money. OK, let me explain. Since he is autistic and considered disabled, David gets SSI checks from the government in addition to the work he does through Trico, and it's supposed to be for him to use (minus reimbursing us for his share of household expenses).. Except he hardly buys anything for himself--mainly spending what he gets from his earnings through work--and the funds accumulate near the threshhold they are allowed. At one or two points, I suggested we could use some of the money to get a laptop computer that I can use, since I don't have one. She seemed fairly uninterested in the idea, so I dropped it and hadn't mentioned it for a good six months before this. Meanwhile, David had gotten a laptop of his own earlier this summer and has been using it a lot. But that's his computer, not mine.
Anyway, now I'm starting research on laptops--this came so out of the blue, that I was in no way prepared for shopping during our trip. I've been doing that on and off over the last few days.
The other surprise had to do with my wife's dress. More explanation needed. To be blunt about it, she is a incredible prude in how she dresses. Very uninteresting, out-of-style clothing. She wore a greenish dress during the Sunday trip and opened a few buttons for me during trip. That was nice, and I thought that would be the highlight of the trip--back to the kitty T-shirts for the rest of the weekend.
Not so. For the trip to Eau Claire, she wore a denim dress she had bought recently that has buttons down the front. Apparently her seat belt helped work the second button loose--she will undo one button herself while with me. So now she had two open, and I (and anyone else interested enough to look) could see between her breasts and the part of the bra between the two cups. Besides that, she had on her underwire bra. Singular. She has one, which she was very reluctant to get and wears rarely.
She would occasionally button the second button from time to time, but most of the time she seemed quite satisfied with having it open--even when walking around stores and malls, etc. And I was delighted. Am I going to be seeing more of this in the future? So anyway, this qualifies as a major surprise, and a quite pleasant one, too, because of the way she is and the context (read: frustrations) of some 30+ years of being married. You go, girl!
It made me a lot more willing to invest in the flowers and the steaks yesterday.
Sunday morning we left--not at 8 but close to 10, to no great surprise by me. (In fact, I was part of the reason for the delay due to some computer-related work that I can't remember right now--entering UYRL transactions?) The drive went quickly anyway, and we got there about 2:30. The sisters were there, and everyone huddled over the kitchen table and tons of family pictures, which they were dividing up.
They put me to use, too, because of my skills in operating a scanner and a color printer. They had me scan in a number of color pictures--mainly the sisters when they were in high school--and making color prints of them on heavy duty paper. A pair of baby pictures, too. Anyway, lots of scanning, lots of printing. One picture was torn, so I had to do some picky restoration work to get it to look good. They were happy with the results. All that went on well into the evening, about 8 or so. Not much after that--we went to bed fairly early.
Monday, we made a trip to Eau Claire, hitting the bigger places we like to hit, such as Best Buy, Borders, Office Max and so forth. I got a few DVDs and a few other things--nothing major. We had a big grinder for lunch at Mancino's (didn't know they had them in Wisconsin) which served as a combination lunch and dinner for us.
On Tuesday, we left for home in the late morning, making a detour to the Wisconsin Concrete Park near Phillips. It was created by some guy years ago, who made figures of concrete decorated by bits of colored glass--bits and pieces of old bottles of many different colors, electric insulators and the like. It was weird and interesting--I shot a bunch of pictures. We stopped at Pizza Hut in Rhinelander for supper and went home via Laona due to the construction on the M-73 bridge, which will be continuing for a few more months.
Now for the surprises. One came fairly early in the trip when my wife said I can get a laptop computer with David's money. OK, let me explain. Since he is autistic and considered disabled, David gets SSI checks from the government in addition to the work he does through Trico, and it's supposed to be for him to use (minus reimbursing us for his share of household expenses).. Except he hardly buys anything for himself--mainly spending what he gets from his earnings through work--and the funds accumulate near the threshhold they are allowed. At one or two points, I suggested we could use some of the money to get a laptop computer that I can use, since I don't have one. She seemed fairly uninterested in the idea, so I dropped it and hadn't mentioned it for a good six months before this. Meanwhile, David had gotten a laptop of his own earlier this summer and has been using it a lot. But that's his computer, not mine.
Anyway, now I'm starting research on laptops--this came so out of the blue, that I was in no way prepared for shopping during our trip. I've been doing that on and off over the last few days.
The other surprise had to do with my wife's dress. More explanation needed. To be blunt about it, she is a incredible prude in how she dresses. Very uninteresting, out-of-style clothing. She wore a greenish dress during the Sunday trip and opened a few buttons for me during trip. That was nice, and I thought that would be the highlight of the trip--back to the kitty T-shirts for the rest of the weekend.
Not so. For the trip to Eau Claire, she wore a denim dress she had bought recently that has buttons down the front. Apparently her seat belt helped work the second button loose--she will undo one button herself while with me. So now she had two open, and I (and anyone else interested enough to look) could see between her breasts and the part of the bra between the two cups. Besides that, she had on her underwire bra. Singular. She has one, which she was very reluctant to get and wears rarely.
She would occasionally button the second button from time to time, but most of the time she seemed quite satisfied with having it open--even when walking around stores and malls, etc. And I was delighted. Am I going to be seeing more of this in the future? So anyway, this qualifies as a major surprise, and a quite pleasant one, too, because of the way she is and the context (read: frustrations) of some 30+ years of being married. You go, girl!
It made me a lot more willing to invest in the flowers and the steaks yesterday.
Back home and busy
Part of the problem of starting something like is is that if you get away from it for a few days (such as an out-of-town trip), you tend to overlook it upon your return. A prime example is right here.
We got back from our trip to the inlaws on Tuesday--more about that later. Since then, my non-work life has been mostly devoted to catching up on things. Tuesday night was spent on catching up on e-mail and news while we were gone. Wednesday night was earmarked for updating the website. Thursday was our anniversary (32 years), so we went out of town and did a couple things. Let's see how well I can remember.
She had to work on Thursday until about 3 p.m., so there went any plans for an extensive trip I wanted to make. During the day I got some flowers for her (not really thinking about it until I was in the car) and put them on the kitchen island so she would see them as she returned home. But when she walked through the door, her eyes first met her kitty, so the flowers went unnoticed for a while.
We went for a drive, mainly heading towards Bartoletti's in Aurora, where we and my mom had a delicious steak a few months ago. We went there, were showed to a booth in the back near the windows and were ignored for the next 20 minutes. It took one of the other diners to point us out to the waitress, because I was on the verge of getting up and finding somewhere else to eat. But to make a long story short, they finally found us, we both ordered tenderloins, and they were as delicious as the last time.
After that we took the long way home, going south to 8, then went to 101, back to Florence and up to Crystal Falls, where we stopped at a drive-in for ice cream (except I got a root beer). Then home again. No fun after she went to bed--she was too tired. It had been a busy day for both of us. (This morning, she seemed sad that she got tired, but I understand ... because I was feeling tired, too.)
Tonight, we'll both be home and I'll pick a movie for us to watch. Then we'll what happens.
To sum it all up, the nights have been real busy since I got home from our trip. More about the trip next time.
We got back from our trip to the inlaws on Tuesday--more about that later. Since then, my non-work life has been mostly devoted to catching up on things. Tuesday night was spent on catching up on e-mail and news while we were gone. Wednesday night was earmarked for updating the website. Thursday was our anniversary (32 years), so we went out of town and did a couple things. Let's see how well I can remember.
She had to work on Thursday until about 3 p.m., so there went any plans for an extensive trip I wanted to make. During the day I got some flowers for her (not really thinking about it until I was in the car) and put them on the kitchen island so she would see them as she returned home. But when she walked through the door, her eyes first met her kitty, so the flowers went unnoticed for a while.
We went for a drive, mainly heading towards Bartoletti's in Aurora, where we and my mom had a delicious steak a few months ago. We went there, were showed to a booth in the back near the windows and were ignored for the next 20 minutes. It took one of the other diners to point us out to the waitress, because I was on the verge of getting up and finding somewhere else to eat. But to make a long story short, they finally found us, we both ordered tenderloins, and they were as delicious as the last time.
After that we took the long way home, going south to 8, then went to 101, back to Florence and up to Crystal Falls, where we stopped at a drive-in for ice cream (except I got a root beer). Then home again. No fun after she went to bed--she was too tired. It had been a busy day for both of us. (This morning, she seemed sad that she got tired, but I understand ... because I was feeling tired, too.)
Tonight, we'll both be home and I'll pick a movie for us to watch. Then we'll what happens.
To sum it all up, the nights have been real busy since I got home from our trip. More about the trip next time.
Saturday, August 2, 2003
Trip to the Soo, Part 2
Resuming...
...Friday morning:
During past trips to the Soo, we had taken the train ride north to the Agawa Canyon, and as we were heading north, I saw a little tiny place called Searchmont. From what I could see from the train, it looked interesting, and I wanted to see more. I figured I had a little time to explore, so Friday morning I packed everything back into the car and headed north, into damp weather--light rain started as I left and headed north. The map showed me where to go and how to get there. And my gas gauge needle was getting pretty close to E.
As I guessed, it was really out into the dense woods. The roads were all paved and well-marked, but the forest on either side was as dense as I remembered, with occasional rocky bluffs and hills. After about 45 minutes (with a number of breaks to take pictures), I reached my destination and took more shots. The old, old train station. The everything store (diner, grocery, gas station, post office, you name it), where I filled the gas tank. The school, which was boarded up for reasons I don't know. A one-lane wooden bridge just north of town--I put my little Mazda Protege on it, got out to take a picture, and it looked like a Mack truck (so how do those bigass campers and dump trucks get through?). An old Catholic church, in not-so-good shape, with a small cemetery nearby with white crosses and no headstones, also a mystery.
And then, believe it or not, on a newer building in town with big garage doors (fire station), I saw a sign that advertised Internet access--for certain hours a day, anyone can come in and get on line--here, in this tiny place (50 to 100 people, I would guess) in the middle of the forest. I was impressed.
I can only imagine what the winters are like--I saw plug-ins along the wall of the school's parking lot. I imagine it's a way of life. Winter can get savage there, but these people handle it, just like we do with winters that seem really mean to others but that we're used to.
All this time, it was raining lightly at times. When I finally started driving back to the Soo, I hit some really heavy rain. Then I drove out of it.
... Final things in town
I made a couple more stops, got a refund for that wallet (no problem), added a few more Sprite Ices and Halls blueberries, and then it was time to get back home. I decided to leave a little early because I didn't want to be caught in a rush-hour jam-up at that bridge because of U.S. customs and their heavy-duty vigilance. So I cashed in most of the Canadian money (excepting a loony, a twonie and some pocket change) and then headed for the bridge.
The end of the line was not far after I crossed the two flags, which is closer to the Canadian shore than the U.S. It was about 45 minutes of stop and go. Just a long wait. Finally it was my turn. Asked me where I was from, how long I stayed, what I bought, where did I stay, any alcohol or tobacco, where I worked, what stuff I was bringing over. Then they let me go. Two differences from the summer of 2002: No soldiers in fatigues with rifles, and they didn't ask to look into the car's trunk. Just two customs people, doing their job.
...The rest of the trip home
It was uneventful. I stopped in Newberry, hoping to see the old state hospital, but couldn't find it and didn't want to spend that much time sidetracked. So back on the road. The main highlights the rest of the way were running into two heavy bands of rain between Munising and Marquette (both times I thought I'd have to pull over, but suddenly I drove out of it). I got home about 6:30 p.m. And spent the rest of the night catching up with the world. The rain and storms had (predictably) bypassed Iron County again--my wife said they got some rain, but not too much.
Oh, I got a couple things for David while in the Soo: (1) A Canadian edition of TV Guide, the first time I had ever seen one--I knew he'd be interested. (2) An NFL preseason yearbook. (3) An ALF DVD. He was quite pleased and surprised.
That wraps up that trip. Now, time to start getting ready for another. We leave for the other one Sunday morning, once we can get everybody organized enough to pack. I'm hoping for 8 a.m., but I've got to be realistic.
...Friday morning:
During past trips to the Soo, we had taken the train ride north to the Agawa Canyon, and as we were heading north, I saw a little tiny place called Searchmont. From what I could see from the train, it looked interesting, and I wanted to see more. I figured I had a little time to explore, so Friday morning I packed everything back into the car and headed north, into damp weather--light rain started as I left and headed north. The map showed me where to go and how to get there. And my gas gauge needle was getting pretty close to E.
As I guessed, it was really out into the dense woods. The roads were all paved and well-marked, but the forest on either side was as dense as I remembered, with occasional rocky bluffs and hills. After about 45 minutes (with a number of breaks to take pictures), I reached my destination and took more shots. The old, old train station. The everything store (diner, grocery, gas station, post office, you name it), where I filled the gas tank. The school, which was boarded up for reasons I don't know. A one-lane wooden bridge just north of town--I put my little Mazda Protege on it, got out to take a picture, and it looked like a Mack truck (so how do those bigass campers and dump trucks get through?). An old Catholic church, in not-so-good shape, with a small cemetery nearby with white crosses and no headstones, also a mystery.
And then, believe it or not, on a newer building in town with big garage doors (fire station), I saw a sign that advertised Internet access--for certain hours a day, anyone can come in and get on line--here, in this tiny place (50 to 100 people, I would guess) in the middle of the forest. I was impressed.
I can only imagine what the winters are like--I saw plug-ins along the wall of the school's parking lot. I imagine it's a way of life. Winter can get savage there, but these people handle it, just like we do with winters that seem really mean to others but that we're used to.
All this time, it was raining lightly at times. When I finally started driving back to the Soo, I hit some really heavy rain. Then I drove out of it.
... Final things in town
I made a couple more stops, got a refund for that wallet (no problem), added a few more Sprite Ices and Halls blueberries, and then it was time to get back home. I decided to leave a little early because I didn't want to be caught in a rush-hour jam-up at that bridge because of U.S. customs and their heavy-duty vigilance. So I cashed in most of the Canadian money (excepting a loony, a twonie and some pocket change) and then headed for the bridge.
The end of the line was not far after I crossed the two flags, which is closer to the Canadian shore than the U.S. It was about 45 minutes of stop and go. Just a long wait. Finally it was my turn. Asked me where I was from, how long I stayed, what I bought, where did I stay, any alcohol or tobacco, where I worked, what stuff I was bringing over. Then they let me go. Two differences from the summer of 2002: No soldiers in fatigues with rifles, and they didn't ask to look into the car's trunk. Just two customs people, doing their job.
...The rest of the trip home
It was uneventful. I stopped in Newberry, hoping to see the old state hospital, but couldn't find it and didn't want to spend that much time sidetracked. So back on the road. The main highlights the rest of the way were running into two heavy bands of rain between Munising and Marquette (both times I thought I'd have to pull over, but suddenly I drove out of it). I got home about 6:30 p.m. And spent the rest of the night catching up with the world. The rain and storms had (predictably) bypassed Iron County again--my wife said they got some rain, but not too much.
Oh, I got a couple things for David while in the Soo: (1) A Canadian edition of TV Guide, the first time I had ever seen one--I knew he'd be interested. (2) An NFL preseason yearbook. (3) An ALF DVD. He was quite pleased and surprised.
That wraps up that trip. Now, time to start getting ready for another. We leave for the other one Sunday morning, once we can get everybody organized enough to pack. I'm hoping for 8 a.m., but I've got to be realistic.
Trip to the Soo, Part 1
Back from one trip, and the countdown to the other one is under way. We leave Sunday morning.
My solo journey took me to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. I had a nice, if quiet, time. Lots to write, and it will be too easy to get bogged down on one topic. So ...
...The drive over
It was long, of course, but we kept to driving. I got the pictures in Christmas, including that large Santa, who looks almost scary close-up. I also got pictures of other Christmsay things in town, like a shop with a big Mrs. Claus in front. She almost looked like the Granny in the Tweety Bird cartoons. I also got a picture of the Christmas Auto Repair shop. No Christmas-related jokes on the sign. THe Yule Log Motel had a Santa lying in a bed, snoring with a string of Zs coming out of his mouth.
...Getting across
The southbound (from Canada into the U.S.) traffic was backed up for most of the length of the International Bridge, which is 1.5 miles long--the line started before the Canada and U.S. flags at the actual boundary. The line was about 5 minutes going into Canada. A few questions, stop at the Ontario tourism building to exchange money and get a new map, and I'm in.
... First night:
First, I got a motel. Then I went to the Station Mall downtown. I wound up getting a new wallet and a English (as in English English) dictionary. And some Halls throat drops. I'll explain why later.
Might as well explain now. Halls has several flavors in Canada not available in the States: blueberry and lemon-lime and coolmint. We got a few on our trip last summer, so I made it a point to get more. My theory is that Canada is a more advanced country than the U.S. in many ways. This is one of them.
I got a footlong sub on the way back to the motel and stopped at a gas station for a sode. Discovery #2: They have Sprite Ice in Canada. I was looking for Sprite Remix, which has been in the U.S. this summer, with tropical flavors. Instead I found Sprite Ice, which is like Sprite, with the lemon-lime taste, but with mint added. Cool! Before I headed for home, I bought several more bottles, and they should be safe at home because nobody else in the house likes mint. Their loss.
After all that, back to the motel, watch TV, look at the dictionary, eat half of the sub and try to move things from the old wallet to the new one. After I while, I realize the new one won't cut it--too small. Then to bed. The room's air conditioner was so noisy that I finally shut it off and opened a window. It was a little stuffy, with rain expected during the night. For the most part, I slept well.
... To be continued ...
My solo journey took me to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. I had a nice, if quiet, time. Lots to write, and it will be too easy to get bogged down on one topic. So ...
...The drive over
It was long, of course, but we kept to driving. I got the pictures in Christmas, including that large Santa, who looks almost scary close-up. I also got pictures of other Christmsay things in town, like a shop with a big Mrs. Claus in front. She almost looked like the Granny in the Tweety Bird cartoons. I also got a picture of the Christmas Auto Repair shop. No Christmas-related jokes on the sign. THe Yule Log Motel had a Santa lying in a bed, snoring with a string of Zs coming out of his mouth.
...Getting across
The southbound (from Canada into the U.S.) traffic was backed up for most of the length of the International Bridge, which is 1.5 miles long--the line started before the Canada and U.S. flags at the actual boundary. The line was about 5 minutes going into Canada. A few questions, stop at the Ontario tourism building to exchange money and get a new map, and I'm in.
... First night:
First, I got a motel. Then I went to the Station Mall downtown. I wound up getting a new wallet and a English (as in English English) dictionary. And some Halls throat drops. I'll explain why later.
Might as well explain now. Halls has several flavors in Canada not available in the States: blueberry and lemon-lime and coolmint. We got a few on our trip last summer, so I made it a point to get more. My theory is that Canada is a more advanced country than the U.S. in many ways. This is one of them.
I got a footlong sub on the way back to the motel and stopped at a gas station for a sode. Discovery #2: They have Sprite Ice in Canada. I was looking for Sprite Remix, which has been in the U.S. this summer, with tropical flavors. Instead I found Sprite Ice, which is like Sprite, with the lemon-lime taste, but with mint added. Cool! Before I headed for home, I bought several more bottles, and they should be safe at home because nobody else in the house likes mint. Their loss.
After all that, back to the motel, watch TV, look at the dictionary, eat half of the sub and try to move things from the old wallet to the new one. After I while, I realize the new one won't cut it--too small. Then to bed. The room's air conditioner was so noisy that I finally shut it off and opened a window. It was a little stuffy, with rain expected during the night. For the most part, I slept well.
... To be continued ...
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