Directly across the Oz Museum was the entrance to the Yellow Brick Road. I am happy to report that it fittingly leads to a bakery and children’s playground. By the way, probably the funniest sign on this trip so far was in the museum. The two lines read:
Dorothy: “I miss Kansas.” Toto: “I miss the rains down in Africa.” It took me a minute to get it, but when I did I smiled, and proceeded to hum the tune for miles. Contents Books Home Hire Stories I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. :-) But thanks to my gracious hosts in Overland Park, KS, you are getting one here. The Rose Garden at Loose Park. is an opulent green garden that is pleasing as far as the eye can see. But what really makes it stand out are the spectacular roses of every kind and variation imaginable.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories As a guy who loves the desert and the mountains, I always questioned how some folks identify as “lake people”. That was until I woke up to these incredibly peaceful waters. Now I get it. And I spend as much time as I can just relishing the many views the lake has to offer.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories One of things I learned in my time at the lake is that families and friends navigate it with every kind of watercraft imaginable. I particularly like this shot of a group having fun in the sun, but am I the only one who sees all that water below and hears the ominous theme music from Jaws? :-)
Contents Books Home Hire Stories When friends learn I am traveling cross country to visit mutual friends, I’m sometimes asked to deliver items to them. In the past I’ve transported albums, dogs, technology, etc.. This trip’s request to take smooth river rocks from Grand Junction, CO to a friend who paints them in Lansing, MI was the most unusual. It left me wondering if there’s a hidden message there? If so, my male ego would like it to say, “Hey, this travelin' guy is literally a…rock…star”. But my skeptical side fears it is more like. “Hey, check this dude out. He’s literally dumber than a box of rocks.” :-)
Contents Books Home Hire Stories The Raven Cafe in Port Huron, MI. is a masterful tribute to Edgar Allen Poe, famed poet and horror author. It offers frighteningly good coffee, food and beverages, a spooky cool second story dining area and patio, and something really near and dear to my Tale Tell Heart, a mysteriously clever second story band stand. And now that I've been there, all I can say is, "I'm just a Poe boy from a Poe family.":-)
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I had the great fortune of being invited to celebrate the Fourth Of July 2021 at a big family gathering in Caseville, MI. And when I say it was a blast, I am talking literally and figuratively. People up and down this gorgeous town at the "tip of the thumb" (a reminder that Michigan is shaped like a mitten) celebrated with fireworks like I had never experienced before. It seemed like everyone went all out because they'd survived the challenges of 2020, and the display - like the gratitude for our great country - was spectacular.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories I saw a sign in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan that said, Michigan Vietnam Vets Memorial Island Park so I went to pay my respects. The Memorial bears the names of those Michigan Veterans who were killed or went MIA in Vietnam. One of them was Patrick Callahan from Wyandotte, MI. He was a neighbor boy full of life and quick with a joke. Until he went to Vietnam. Now he is a name that I traced on a wall that remembers the ultimate sacrifice he made. So I am posting this to honor him - and all those who ever served - and remind them that I will never, ever forget everything they gave.
Contents Books Home Hire Stories Note: Click “Previous ” below to go forward to the next 10 posts. Click "Forward" below to go back 10 posts. |
|