{"id":4785,"date":"2019-05-16T15:46:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T15:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kelolandblogs.com\/lundatlarge\/?p=4785"},"modified":"2023-07-20T20:59:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T20:59:59","slug":"im-a-travelin-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/im-a-travelin-man\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m A Travelin’ Man"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the last 34 years, Linda and I have made it a point to celebrate our anniversary in June by taking a road trip somewhere. They\u2019ve all been fun\u00a0but some more memorable than others.
\nFor example, in 1987, we managed to talk our bosses into letting us have three whole weeks off at once so we could jump in the car and head south.
\nSoon we were meandering through Dixie..taking the time to stop and see what life was really like in this part of the country.<\/p>\n

After years of watching\u00a0news reports of all the racial hatred and violence in places like\u00a0Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana, I admit to having some apprehensions\u00a0about going there.\u00a0I had visions of being pulled over by one of those\u00a0stereotypical gum-chewing southern cops, like Rod Steiger in “In\u00a0the heat of the night”\u00a0who don\u2019t take kindly to strangers of any color.
\n“Ta hell you think your doin\u2019 boy..don\u2019t they have speed limits upair in South Dakota?”
\n“Yes, sir but I wasn\u2019t speeding.”
\n“Y\u2019all callin\u2019 me a liar boy? We\u2019ll now, we don\u2019t cotton to you northern folks comin\u2019 down here with your Yankee smart ass attitudes.\u00a0A couple nights in the slammer\u00a0just might\u00a0 fix up\u00a0that sassy mouth ah yours real good.”
\nBut it turns out that the people we encountered in the south\u00a0are actually more like Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry than\u00a0Bull Connor of Birmingham.
\nPeople were friendly and outgoing everywhere we went and I really got used to waitresses referring to me as honeychil\u2019 or sugar.\u00a0 “Y\u2019all have a wonderful day now, sweetie pie.”
\nLinda didn\u2019t mind\u00a0it either when men called her ma\u2019am and darlin’.<\/p>\n

Another memorable road trip was the first time we headed up to Mackinac (Pronounced Mack-in-aw) Island in Northern Michigan. We had just gotten our Camaro convertible. The weather was\u00a0perfect for leaving the top down for\u00a0the enjoyable drive through Wisconsin\u2026then, after a three hour ferryboat ride across\u00a0Lake Michigan we headed up the eastern shore to Mackinac City.\"mackanac<\/a> From there we climbed aboard a people ferry over to the\u00a0Island where\u00a0no motorized vehicles are allowed.\u00a0It\u2019s all buggies and wagons that are powered by real horses.<\/p>\n

\"Main<\/a>

Main Street, Mackinac Island, Michigan.<\/p><\/div>\n

Because of those animals, there is a distinct, but not entirely unpleasant aroma\u00a0about the place..especially when mixed with the smells of chocolate fudge and other\u00a0 treats\u00a0from the many shops and restaurants along main street. \"mackanac<\/a>Then there is the intoxicating odor of the lilacs. Lilac bushes and trees are everywhere and so are\u00a0millions of gorgeous flowers.\u00a0I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the reason they\u2019re so abundant and healthy had something to do with\u00a0all of that horse poop collected from the streets and stables.\"mackanac<\/a>
\nThe island\u2019s Grand Hotel truly is grand!\u00a0 This huge wooden structure has somehow survived over a century without having a fire.\u00a0\"mackanac<\/a>\u00a0It\u2019s a magnificent place that still features all the amenities that have attracted\u00a0aristocrats, celebrities, presidents and royalty since the late 19th century.
\nLinda and I spent a memorable afternoon sipping gimlets in the cupola bar on the very top of the Grand Hotel that offered\u00a0an amazing panoramic view of the island and the Straights of Mackinac.
\nWe loved it so much we\u2019ve been back twice.<\/p>\n

And, even though we have a nearly new vehicle (Big Red 2) we still plan to take the rag top on a few road trips during the Summer; just maybe not as far from home as we used to.<\/p>\n

So, if you spot a heavy-set grey-haired guy and his too pretty for him wife driving\u00a0slowly through your town in a 25 year old red Camaro convertible with the top down..wave us on over and maybe show us around. Afterward, perhaps\u00a0we can sit in the shade,\u00a0have a couple vodka gimlets together and watch the sunset.\u00a0Do\u2019ne that soun\u2019\u00a0 like fun sweet pea?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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For the last 34 years, Linda and I have made it a point to celebrate our anniversary in June by taking a road trip somewhere. They\u2019ve all been fun\u00a0but some more memorable than others. For example, in 1987, we managed to talk our bosses into letting us have three whole weeks off at once so…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lund-at-large","category-60","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4785"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11484,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785\/revisions\/11484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}