I Am One Suspicious New Mexican.

Hello Again!

So, it's been a few days, I know, and I'm running out of excuses, but this time I've got a good one.  I've been camping!  And as such, no internet for me. Instead, I was confined to the great outdoors, sitting on a beach watching the sun set, and eating ice cream.  What a shame, right?

Thursday night was my last night at my cousin's house in the country.  The plan was to drive from Houghton to Michigan on Friday.  So Friday morning I'm up and showered, I go to pack my car up, and when I come back in, I see my cousin's husband outside sitting on the porch steps drinking some coffee and feeding chicken feed to their 4 chickens.  Truly, the country is awesome, and completely different from the city!  So before I left, Matt & Mary had made Breakfast Pizza.  It's pretty much just mozzarella cheese pizza but with eggs cracked on top of it so that when you bake the pizza, the eggs cook!  Sounds kinda gross, right?  Nope!  It was awesome.  So very delicious and so the perfect breakfast food.  That & coffee made for an excellent breakfast and Matt & Mary even sent me off with two of their marvelous scones for the road.  And I was off!

breakfast pizza

Now I was going to Michigan to go camping on Lake Huron about 3 hours north of Detroit with my Aunt & Uncle, my cousin & her husband, and their two kids.  The easiest way to go from Houghton to the thumb of Michigan is to drive through Canada.  So that was what I intended to do.  Mary & her friends had already scared me with an interesting story or two about the wonders of crossing the border, so I wasn't exactly excited to do it.  I figured I had nothing to hide so there I was, Friday morning, driving straight toward the Canada border.  It was only about 1 1/2 hours to the border, and when I got there, I was stuck in this line of cars waiting to talk to border patrol.  The line went fairly quickly, but I must say that I was a bit nervous while I was waiting.  Granted, I didn't think they'd really do anything, but it still made me nervous.

So I finally get up to the line and I start to think to myself, "I totally look suspicious!  I'm alone, I've got a TON of stuff in my car, I've got stamps in my passport from Kenya, England, a handful of Europe, and my licence plate is from New Mexico.  I wonder if they'll stop me?"  So I pull up, being careful to be friendly, and the guard immediately starts drilling me.  "Where are you going? Is this your vehicle? What do you do for a living? Where are you going?" and so on.  The most interesting question he asked me was, "Other than food and gas, do you intend to make any other stops in Canada?"  So I answered all his questions and thankfully they let me on my way, but I couldn't help but think that this was probably not the best way to promote tourism in your country.  But who am I to judge?

canada!

The drive through Canada wasn't all that much different from driving in northern USA.  The differences were simple things like the speed limit sign was actually a "maximum speed" sign and it was listed in kilometers instead of mph.  So, not wanting to get pulled over in Canada, I cruised at a healthy 100kph (~60mph) through this little stretch of Canada.  I was a bit nervous driving through Canada, and I'm not entirely sure why, but I just wanted to get through it as quickly as possible.  But I had to make one stop: Tim Horton's Coffee.  I had been told that it didn't get a whole lot more Canadian than that, and as I had yet to have my caffeine fix, I stopped about halfway thru my Canadian drive for some Tim Horton's coffee.

As I'm standing in line, I notice that there's a young girl 2 people in front of me in line trying to buy coffee with her Visa.  The cashier politely informs her that they don't take Visa (Well done, Visa.  You are not everywhere I want to be) and she, somewhat confusedly, pulls out a USD $20 bill which the cashier again politely informs her they don't take either.  So immediately 2 thoughts go through my head: "Hunny, you're in Canada. Put your US dollars away.  And man, that sucks for her!"  So this poor girl, a bit flabbergasted didn't really want to take out money from the Canadian ATM because her coffee was like $2, so she turns to her friend who has no cash and only a visa as well.  So by this time, I'm hoping that they'll take my MasterCard (b/c for everything else there's MasterCard), and so I butt in to this little situation happening in front of me.  So I ask the girl, "I'm sorry, what's the problem?  They just won't take Visa?"  And she looks at me, a little confused, and says, "Yeah?"  So I say, "Are you American?"  and she kind of chuckles and says yes.  So I ask the cashier if she takes MasterCard, she says yes, and so I ask the girl if I can just buy her coffee and just order mine as well while I'm at it.  She looks at me like I've just handed her the moon.  It was awesome.  So I bought some random stranger a cup of coffee in Canada!

canadian coffee

So Canadian coffee purchased, I was back on the road, and it was smooth sailing to the opposite border crossing.  This crossing I was less concerned about.  At least now I was actually a citizen of the country I was trying to enter.  But the line to get into the US was MUCH longer than the one to get into Canada.  And as I'm waiting in line, I notice that there's 2 people on motorcycles from Ontario (according to their licence plates) in the line next to me, a man and a woman.  We've been in line for a while and I just happen to look over at them just as the woman looks at my licence plate, then looks at the man and mouths (with a look of bewilderment) "ALBUQUERQUE!"  Apparently there's not a whole lot of people from NM who make the drive out to Canada.  This is the first of three times in which my licence plate caused sensations.  (Ok, "sensations" might be too strong of a word.  Humor me.)

Eventually I make it to the front of the line where now an American border guard will grill me with questions because I'm suspiciously from New Mexico.  He's friendly.  Curt, but friendly.  "Hi Joanna.  Where are you from?"  I tell him New Mexico.  "Do you own the vehicle?" Yes. "What were you doing in Canada?" Driving through.  "From where?" New York.  "How long were you in Canada?" I just look at him.  Did he not hear me?  I just drove from New York!  So I say, "One hour.  Maybe two?"  I don't think he liked that answer.  So then he grills me about what I do for a living.  I tell him I'm a student because I think that being unemployed and on a life adventure might be too much for him.  So then he asks me what I'm doing in Michigan and I tell him I'm going to visit my aunt and uncle.  He asks me what I was doing in NY.  I tell him visiting my cousins.  So then he asks me to open my trunk, and I'm thinking, "Oh great.  Here we go."  So I open the trunk, he looks around for a second and he comes back and just says, "So you're just driving around visiting people?" And I just said, "Yes, sir."  And next thing I know, he hands me my passport, and says, "Have a nice day."  Huh.  I never understand the not-so-pleasant pleasantries at the borders but I suppose they do it so that if you're lying, they'll be able to tell in the small things.  Apparently, despite being from New Mexico, I'm not all that suspicious.

After that, I was on the home stretch.  Just driving along the thumb of Michigan to the Albert E. Sleeper State Park.  And it was more of the same.  Driving through quaint little beach towns and through farm land.  Again, breathtakingly beautiful.  This time I couldn't really see the lake from the road because there were too many beach houses in the way, but the glimpses I got were promising.

Two hours after crossing the border I was arriving at the Albert E. Sleeper State Park Campgrounds.  My aunt had already told me where they'd be, but I had to register my car before going into the camp ground.  So I park and I walk into the little hut where there's 2 women sitting behind the desk.  I walk in and they immediately give me a funny look.  I'm thinking, "Oh great, I knew I shouldn't have parked there." So I figure friendly is my best option, and I say, "Hi!  I'm supposed to meet my aunt & uncle here.  Do I need to register my car or something?"  And the lady looks at me and says, "Yes.  Um, where are you from?"  So now I'm wondering if I can't be here or something; I tentatively say, "Um, New Mexico?"  And big smiles break on both of their faces.  "Oh!  New Mexico!  You *drove* here!?" And I start laughing.  Everyone seems to find it so crazy that I'd drive all this distance!  So we got to talk for a couple minutes, I told them that I had been on the road for 4 weeks and still had another 3 to go, and they found that very interesting.  What was far more interesting was what this lady told me.  She had ridden her HORSE from Michigan to Alaska.  Yeah.  Isn't that awesome?? All of a sudden, I'm not crazy any more!   (This would be the 2nd time in this story that my licence plate caused the sensations.)

cousins

So I find the camp site and its marvelous. I'm thrilled to see my cousin & her husband and her two kids.  Julia is 2 years old and has these fantastic droopy cheeks and is just precious!  Her little brother is 9 months and has the happiest enormous toothless smile!  Both are adorable.  My aunt & uncle had a pop up camper that they were camping in next to my cousins.  The entire set up was perfect.  After getting everyone settled in, we walked across the street to the beach of Lake Huron.  I think I've decided that I like lakes more than I like oceans.  The sun was setting as we walked over there and we got to stick our feet in the warm water while Julia rolled around in the sand, and we got to see a beautiful sunset.

so pretty!

That night, deeming it too hot for a fire, with the kids in bed, the adults (how weird that I'm one of the "adults" now) stayed up playing Monopoly Deal!  Its Monopoly turned into a card game.  Sounds awful, right?  Wrong again!  It's awesome.  But really, it was bed time.  We were all quite tired.  Now here were the sleeping arrangements: I had agreed to sleep in the tent with the kiddos so that my cousin & her husband could sleep in the other tent.  So when I went in to the tent to go to bed, Julia was already fast asleep.  We hadn't told her that I would be sharing the air mattress with her, so I really didn't want to wake her up and freak her out.  So I curl up in bed and try to sleep but I was having trouble.  Little Julia likes to wiggle around & she wasn't too happy when she lost her pacifier in the middle of the night, but I wasn't sure what she was asking for so her mom had to come in to the tent & find it for her.  But in the middle of the night, Julia put her head on my knee and fell asleep like that.  It was absolutely precious.

So the next morning, Julia wakes up before I do and promptly starts jumping on the air mattress.  Naturally, despite Julia being all of about 25 pounds, I'm bobbing up and down on that air mattress too.  Her dad comes in to get her and the first thing she tells him, completely matter-of-fact-ly, is, "I was staring at two spiders in the tent, and someone's sleeping with me."  So I didn't freak her out, but she did notice!

That morning, we all ate breakfast together, scrambled eggs and potatoes, and we were intending to go out and explore the town a bit, but after our trek to the playground (where Julia conquered the slide and met a crazy friend), it started to rain!  It had rained during the night & we were hoping that that was all, but sadly it wasn't.  It rained pretty good for an hour or so and when it let up a bit, we decided to take our chances and head into the town where there was supposed to be an art show.  In all reality, it was more of a craft fair, but it was fun to walk around at least. Julia made friends with a puppet named Bo the Crow and was in tears to leave him.  After that we walked along a pier, got some delicious ice cream, and bought firewood before heading back to camp.  The rain had finally quit, and back at camp it was nap/reading time.

camping

Dinner time followed that, and I took it upon myself to chop the wood and make the fire.  It may have taken me a bit longer to get that fire started than I would have liked, but when all was said and done, I had a nice roaring fire.  We then cooked hot dogs on that fire in this grate thing.  And I managed to (barely) not burn them.  But there's nothing quite as awesome (or thoroughly American) as a flame cooked all-beef hot dog.  And that was the general consensus.   And that night it was s'mores time.  Which, by the way, I've perfected the art.  I got my graham all toasted, my chocolate all melted, and my marshmallows perfectly toasted.  Oh man, you've not had s'mores until you've had the ones that I partook of last night.  (Yeah, they were so good, they warranted the language of that last sentence.  Boom.)

i love fire

But s'mores aside, last night was great because I got to actually talk to my aunt and then after that, I got to talk to my cousin.  And I know that these blogs basically sound the same every time, me excited about seeing someone I haven't in years and then getting to talk to them, but it really is really really cool for me.  Normally, I don't see these people, and I'm directly related to over 100 people who I just don't really know.  And when we see each other, its in the context of the other 98 people! So to get to actually have a one on one talk with them is awesome.  Its moments like these (among a vast array of others) that are making this trip worth it in ways that I could never have planned.

But the fire died down and it was bed time again.  I opted to sleep in the camper tonight, & let Julia sleep with her mama.  This morning we did pancakes!  And if you know me at all, you know that I'm a complete sucker for pancakes.  They were, like pretty much all the food I've been eating on this trip, delicious.  And after breakfast it was time to clean up, take a shower, and start to pack up.  Today, my cousin & her family and I were all to drive back to Detroit.  I figured that since I've got to drive to Chicago tomorrow, it'd be easier to make the drive from Detroit rather than 3 hours north of Detroit.

Sack lunches made, we packed up the cars.  Whilst packing, my licence plate struck for a 3rd time.  The lady at the campsite next to us randomly said, "Are you driving back there?"  And, slightly taken off guard, I just chuckled and said, "Yeah, I am."  She asked how long it had taken me to drive there and I had to say 4 weeks and explain the whole situation.  She thought it was funny that I was alone but then she went off on a tangent about how if you're alone you don't have to check with anyone about stopping when and where.  It was funny.  I couldn't help but agree with her slightly.  She wished me a safe trip, and that was that.

Cars finally packed, we all drove down to a different beach where we sat and ate lunch together.  Julia and her brother loved playing in the sand, but we didn't stay for long as we were burning precious kid energy the longer we took to get on the road. (Did that sentence make any sense?)  Driving whilst tired is difficult.  Even if its only 3 hours.  And we made one stop in Romeo, Michigan (yep, Romeo, Michigan) where there's an orchard that Sarah wanted to stop at to get apples.  But guess what Romeo, Michigan does every Labor Day Weekend?  A Peach Festival!  Completely with parade!  On the road we were driving on!  But we were there before the parade had actually started so we made it through, but had we been about an hour later, I reckon we would have been part of the annual Peach Festival Parade.

Apples acquired, 1 hour later we were in Detroit at my cousin's house.  My cousin & her husband got the kids fed & bathed, got them in bed, and I went to go pick up dinner.  Pad Thai in front of an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition makes for a pretty good night.  And that's where I am now, sitting on the couch while TMZ plays on the tv in the background.

And I'm beat.  So so so tired.  But happy.  I have no complaints about this trip (well, no *big* ones anyway!), and my fatigue is a very normal part of it.  Tomorrow I'm driving to Chicago where I pick up a comrade!  After tomorrow, it will be the adventures of Joanna and BRIE for the next 2 weeks.  I'm looking forward to having a companion in the car, even if she can't drive a standard.  But not to worry, if I've already driven 4500 miles, what's another 3,000?

TALLY:
miles driven: ~4,500 miles
time spent in my car: 73 hours
cities visited: 23
cities slept in: 12
states driven in/through: 18


PS: this is my tan line... from my TOMS!