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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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More Parks Along the Creek

The clouds vacated overnight to leave cold, blue, sunny skies.  Yes, that's an improvement.

After getting Justin up and going, Callie and I walked to town with a mission to take a photo of Veteran's Park, the third of Lodi's parks along Spring Creek.  As I walked down Main Street, I saw a fourth park that I forgot about.  Kinda obvious, really.


It's easy to miss between the Spring Creek restaurant and the Chamber of Commerce's small block building.  This time of year, Spring Creek Park is  barred off to prevent public access.  No, that's not a pandemic thing.  The park only gets used during late spring,summer and early fall.  In the winter, the city doesn't shovel or salt the steps or the platform, so the park is closed. 

For a quarter, a dispenser gives you a handful of shelled corn to feed the ducks.  On the far left center, close to the building, you can see some art created and installed by my friend Dean.  The City wanted something loosely representing cranes.  Sandhill cranes have made a big comeback in this area, although they are more likely seen and heard in the marshes outside of Lodi.  

The final park along Spring Creek is Veteran's Memorial Park.  Before going back to college for his MFA degree, Dean was an Air Force master sergeant.  He designed and installed the Veteran's Memorial Park sign.

Veteran's Park doesn't get much use (except on holidays), but it is the only park in Lodi that has the Ice Age Trail going through it.  Lodi is one of the few Ice Age Trail towns.  The trail runs straight down Main Street.  The Ice Age Trail is a national trail.  Others include the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail.    Because it passes through lots of private land, many segments of the Ice Age Trail have yet to be completed.

 

This afternoon, I spent a few hours driving Justin back to college and then returning home.  He wanted to watch the NCAA basketball tournament, and his sports cable package in the dorms is much better than our cable package (Hint:  we don't have a cable package). 




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