October 1, 2012 May, in Reverse

2012-10-01, Here we go again, this time, in reverse.  Where are you going, you ask?  I answer, we are doing some of the same trip we did in May, this time, backwards.  We are going to Door County, Wisconsin and Mackinac Island, that much we know.  We also know that we will be at West Point, the US Military Academy, on October 18.  Beyond that, we're not sure.  Tentatively, we may take in Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia.  We will see New England, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.  The perfect trip - one without an agenda.  There will be days when we don't know where we'll be that night.  No deadlines, no calendar, no hard plans - the perfect trip.

After a couple of hectic weeks, Annie insisted that we have no departure time today.  As she is want to do, she carried that to the extreme.  We  were up at 6:00 AM and finally drove down the drive way - the second time - at 2:00 PM.  By my count, we set the alarm five different times, thought we were ready to leave when she thought of something else that was indispensable to the trip.  We closed the garage door three times before she recalled something we could not live four weeks without.  After the first trip down the drive while watching the security gate close - we have to be sure it closes despite its history of perfect performance - she remembered the ice packs, just in case her knees swell.  Swell, I say, and reopen the security gate to go back to reopen the garage door the third time so she could reset the alarm the fifth time.

This morning, I expected to get to Palisades-Kepler State Park just outside Cedar Rapids, IA.  By the time we finally got under way, my target was Kirksville, MO.  However, in route, we changed our destination again to Palisades-Kepler.  The change was caused by our appetites.  We wanted to eat dinner at the Amana Colonies.   The Colonies cook up some really good German food.  So, after dark tonight, we finally made our destination.  We are about six hours from Door County. 

We brought our bikes this trip.  We have ridden them in Door County and Mackinac Island before and enjoyed it.  I have no idea whether we'll find another place to ride.  The prime requirement is no hills.  Recumbent bikes are tough on hills because you can't stand on the pedals and use your body weight to pump.  The pedals are in front of the seat rather than below it.  The power is generated by the thighs only with no help from your body weight. 

So, the moon is up and I am down.  Goodnight.