Captain’s Log --- Star Date 07262009Location – Detroit Greenfield RV Park, Ypsilanti, Michigan
Trip Miles -- 4500.9
Diesel Price -- $2.50 per gallon. 30.0 gallons loaded on board.
Weather – Sunny, with night showers; muddy but nice; day temperatures around 79F.
Greetings to you from the Ypsilanti Star Cluster! They don’t say “y’all” up here! Barbara has been getting her clothes-buying fix – at the University of Michigan gift store! She’s an alumna and was happy to find a cool yellow sweatshirt with MICHIGAN written in blue across the front. On a geocache hunt here, we walked the campus and saw a giant steel cube standing on one of its corners. You could easily spin the thing with one hand! The students look very, VERY young! I guess that means we are very … OLD!
We spent a good part of two days wandering in awe through the enormous Henry Ford Center in Dearborn, touring the museum and Greenfield Village, a collection of historic old homes that includes the cottages of poet Robert Frost and electrical pioneer Charles Steinmetz. The Menlo Park development lab of Thomas Edison has been reconstructed here…what a genius he was! The only vehicles allowed in the village are Ford Model T’s, horse-drawn carriages and a vintage steam train. Our village hike was utterly exhausting but fun! The Ford museum has all kinds of vintage mechanical wonders – like old steam-engine-driven power generators, an enormous 130-foot-long black Baldwin Allegheny steam locomotive, and a replica of the Wright Brothers aircraft used on that Kittyhawk sand dune in 1903.
Oh…by the way…at Greenfield Village, we had a GENUINE 1850’s lunch at a GENUINE 1850’s stage coach stop, served by a GENUINE 1850’s-style waitress. The lunch was pan-fried trout served with vegetables fresh from the garden outside!
Urgent Report from Engineering – Dude! Captain, we have a PROBLEM! Our Diesel truck lost its engine coolant at Milepost 79 on I-96, 40 miles east of Grand Rapids! Dang it! Thank God for AAA…we had ourselves towed to Fox Ford in Grand Rapids…spent the night in our trailer in Fox parking lot (not bad, actually)…now awaiting condition report from Fox! Chief Engineer is very fractious!
…And the Lord God said to me, “Chill, Dude! We’ve got you covered!”
With Fractious Affection,
Captain Baldy
Robert Frost, the working man's poet. Three of his poems struck a resonant chord toward the end of my working life as an engineer.
ReplyDelete"The Code," proper relationship between a good boss and a good worker.
"Tuft of Flowers," knowing that one's own efforts are merely a small part of the human continuum.
"The Woodpile," ultimate fate of books on the shelf.
It's so fun reading your journal. Thanks for all the awesome material and photos! I feel like I'm there with you (minus all the exercise!) We just returned home from MN & CO so have lots of catching up to do...and lots of dancing ahead. Because of r-e-a-l-l-y slow internet service at my sister's, we didn't check your journal until a few days ago. Keep having adventures!
ReplyDeleteCarol Heins
Good luck with your truck. We know what it's like to break down in far places. Keep on truckin' and having fun!
ReplyDeletePat & Myrna