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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...
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The Driveway


The plan was to be about 500 miles from home and on my way to New Mexico by today. Instead, Callie and I are camping next to our pole shed on the hill.  I really can’t complain. I have nearly every convenience of a rustic campground: twenty amp electricity, a water spigot down the hill, and  a bathroom inside the house. The Scamp has a bathroom, but there are no open dump stations to unload so we will let that go unused for awhile.

There is also a fire ring, although the state of Wisconsin suspended burning permits and strongly discourages campfires so as not to place any strain on emergency services responding to grass fires.

Numbers for “the virus” have been climbing in Columbia County, but no deaths so far. Dane County, where Madison is located, is a bit of a hotspot. Milwaukee is the big hotspot here with deaths starting to climb, and hospitals putting up triage tents in parking lots.

Our family is staying relatively healthy. Julia’s dad Gene is out of the hospital. We have scaled back our hiking trips. Mostly, we hike from our front door. There are country roads to our west and trails to our east.




This is actually a pretty good place to ride out the storm. Camping in your driveway is better than not camping at all.



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Bill said…
Driveway camping. Right on. Camping with the conveniences of home and you are staying safe.
April 2, 2020 at 5:26 PM
greg said…
As I write this I am sheltering from a bit of rain by sitting under The Van's awnings and looking out at the pond from the parking pad next to our barn.

When I'm home I spend a bit of pretty much every day "camping" in The Van, unfortunately camping in his pop-up out by his barn is not part of my nephew's ordinary day, but that's his life for the next 14 days - - -
April 3, 2020 at 4:39 PM
Brewed Journey said…
Best night’s sleep that I’ve had in awhile.
April 3, 2020 at 6:25 PM
Brewed Journey said…
I hope everything turns out well for your nephew. Strange times. I wonder how the history books will describe these days.
April 3, 2020 at 6:27 PM
MFH said…
While some fear the presence of vigilantes at the City Limits letting travelers have access only to the gas pumps, I'm continually intrigued by the idea that this has instigated the shift toward Socialism we (Hippies, that is) imagined in the late '60s.

On the other hand, it's been disappointing to see the attitude of EVERY PERSON FOR THEMSELF rather than setting up distribution centers for paper products and reminding everyone to practice safe-sex (There's PLENTY of TIME!)

How're Allie & Justin?

Glad to hear Julia's Dad is back at home.
April 8, 2020 at 12:21 PM
John said…


Allie and Justin are both healthy and will probably be living with us for months to come. Justin's college classes are online for the rest of the semester. Allie is working full time as Justin's caregiver and pitches in on our firewood harvesting project on the hill. Her marketing job search has pretty much dried up; the only offer that she's received turned out to be taking temperatures for $18/hour, but she turned that down for a number of reasons. It was supposed to be for a marketing position. They asked what she would be willing to do. She said anything. When they said take temperatures, she said, well, almost anything but not that.
April 8, 2020 at 9:03 PM
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