Roadtrip 3 the Midwest
Day 1
Lake Ronkonkoma, NY - Youngstown, OH
We were excited to start Roadtrip 3. The idea was that it would be a trip to relatives, past and present.
Per had made contact with his cousin, Laura, in Chicago, so that was our first destination. Going there meant to put the pedal to the metal along Interstate Hwy 80 West.
This would take two days, so we decided our first stop would be in Youngstown, Ohio. A town with a checkered past. Gangsters and mafia influences. We learned that a 'Youngstown tune-up' is a car bomb. We felt at home here. We loaded our guns and stepped out on town.
Soon enough we realized we were almost the only ones around. We were in the 'rust belt'.
Industry had collapsed, factories closed, and people had left. A city on its knees.
Per had made contact with his cousin, Laura, in Chicago, so that was our first destination. Going there meant to put the pedal to the metal along Interstate Hwy 80 West.
This would take two days, so we decided our first stop would be in Youngstown, Ohio. A town with a checkered past. Gangsters and mafia influences. We learned that a 'Youngstown tune-up' is a car bomb. We felt at home here. We loaded our guns and stepped out on town.
Soon enough we realized we were almost the only ones around. We were in the 'rust belt'.
Industry had collapsed, factories closed, and people had left. A city on its knees.
Day 2
Youngstown, OH - Chicago, IL
We discussed taking a side trip into Michigan to find Lennart's old neighbor from Tåstarp. She had left Sweden in 1958. He didn't know where she lived, but we figured we could ask around since Michigan is not that big.
But we decided not to, and checked our compass to go West, filled up Silver Ghost, and headed for Chicago. Since we were basically following the state border to Michigan, we took a couple of side trips in there, to break up the monotony of I-80/90. Cruising in to Chicago we found a reasonable Hampton Inn, just south of O'Hare airport. We were tired, had a lot of road dust on our bodies to wash off. Our thirst was quenched with FG, Famous Grouse, our favorite beverage. |
Day 3
Chicago, IL
We drove in to downtown Chicago in the morning.
Drove around here and there, up and down the neighborhoods, and then found parking near the Millennial Park area. There was a filmcrew shooting a kind of Asian Fast & Furious style movie, and a lot of the streets were blocked off. As it turned out, they didn't need any extras that day.
Luckily we found a Starbucks nearby, we had coffee and then we went to the Bean instead. A huge bean sculpture in town, shining ever so nicely in the sunshine. This was the area where Obama held his acceptance speech when he first was elected president.
In the afternoon we continued driving to La Grange, to Per's cousin Laura and her family. They were happy and enthusiastic to see us, which was a relief. We spoke about their common bonds, had a few cold ones, with a BBQ, and then Laura made a nice bonfire in her 55 gallon garbage can.
It turned out that Per had yet another relative, Joyce Leander in Eagle River, north Wisconsin. Per's grandmothers grandfathers son, Hjalmar, had once upon a time built cabins up there.
And, oh Yes, we were welcome to visit.
Drove around here and there, up and down the neighborhoods, and then found parking near the Millennial Park area. There was a filmcrew shooting a kind of Asian Fast & Furious style movie, and a lot of the streets were blocked off. As it turned out, they didn't need any extras that day.
Luckily we found a Starbucks nearby, we had coffee and then we went to the Bean instead. A huge bean sculpture in town, shining ever so nicely in the sunshine. This was the area where Obama held his acceptance speech when he first was elected president.
In the afternoon we continued driving to La Grange, to Per's cousin Laura and her family. They were happy and enthusiastic to see us, which was a relief. We spoke about their common bonds, had a few cold ones, with a BBQ, and then Laura made a nice bonfire in her 55 gallon garbage can.
It turned out that Per had yet another relative, Joyce Leander in Eagle River, north Wisconsin. Per's grandmothers grandfathers son, Hjalmar, had once upon a time built cabins up there.
And, oh Yes, we were welcome to visit.
Day 4
Chicago, IL - Eagle River, WI
The next morning Lennart couldn't power up his laptop. It was dead in the water. So the first thing we did was to find an Apple store and with McEkelund's words of encouragement, Lennart took the step from Windows to Mac with a happy hop.
We continued north to Eagle River, pop. 1572, where Joyce Leander had a cabin for us, right on a lake. She is a very young 79-year old, almost as spry as her 103 year old mother that she takes care of. Those girls come from good stock! At night we went to Honey Bear Inn, where we enjoyed a cold beer with brats and beans, Wisconsin style. Good food. Since our cabin was out in the boondocks it was not that easy to find in the dark. We had to turn on all of our pathfinding skills to find it again. |
Day 5
Eagle River, WI - Lindstrom, MN - Stillwater/St Croix, MN
Since there are few ordinary restaurants in the sparsely populated areas of Wisconsin, there seems to be local clubs instead that offer food and company. We saw signs for 'supper clubs', and even one we thought we might have a chance of entering...The Swamp Road Sportsmen's Club.
We kept going west towards Minnesota, and found the Moberg Trail soon after crossing Taylor Falls. Wilhelm Moberg wrote three famous books about Swedish immigrants and their life here.
We followed the trail a bit and ended up in Lindstrom. This town is a sister city of Tingsryd in Sweden. And what did Tingsryd send as a memorial to its sister city? A huge rock! Exactly what all those immigrants were trying to avoid by leaving Småland for America.
South of Lindstrom we found a chair and sat down to enjoy the neighborhood.
We kept going west towards Minnesota, and found the Moberg Trail soon after crossing Taylor Falls. Wilhelm Moberg wrote three famous books about Swedish immigrants and their life here.
We followed the trail a bit and ended up in Lindstrom. This town is a sister city of Tingsryd in Sweden. And what did Tingsryd send as a memorial to its sister city? A huge rock! Exactly what all those immigrants were trying to avoid by leaving Småland for America.
South of Lindstrom we found a chair and sat down to enjoy the neighborhood.
Day 6
Stillwater, MN - Mankato, MN - Sioux Falls, SD
One of Lennart's passions is to drive a tank. We had read about a tank place and really wanted to find it. Eventually we did, in Mankato, but it turned out you couldn't shoot live ammo, so we lost a bit of interest. We lost more interest when the instructor told us it would be $700. Instead we talked with the instructor. Turned out she had never been to Barcelona or Kuala Lumpur, and we enlightened her as best we could.
We drove onto Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and at night we took a walk to the famous falls, that no longer had much water, never mind falling water. But it was a nice park there anyway, with or without water.
We drove onto Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and at night we took a walk to the famous falls, that no longer had much water, never mind falling water. But it was a nice park there anyway, with or without water.
Day 7
Sioux Falls, SD - Mitchell, SD - Sioux City, IA
Up to this point we had kept going West. We discussed whether we should continue to Black Hills and Mt Rushmore, since we were in the neighborhood anyway. But as we kept driving we felt it would take too much time, we still had to think of driving back East. We had been driving for a week, and were only halfway thru the US.
Now we were really out on the prairie, the Great Plains. The roads were laid out in a big grid pattern and mostly perfectly straight. No unnecessary curves here! Lennart had heard of a palace in Mitchell, SD, built of corn, and since we have a soft spot for that yellow vegetable we decided to take a look at the palace. Very impressive! The whole outside was covered in corn, and corn of different colors. They looked painted, but they were very natural, just different colors. |
Mitchell was as far as we went going west. Now we turned our Silver Ghost to take us south. We put the speed control on 66 and could have tied the steering wheel in that position for mile after mile. We headed south for Nebraska.
We selected the 'Outlaw trail' in Nebraska, it seemed to suit us. In addition to having a cool name, it also went thru an Indian reservation, Santee Sioux, so we felt at home again. And we even came to a town called Wynot?
After a while we started seeing signs for Sioux City, and we stayed there for the night.
Heading back to the hotel from dinner that night we had to stop and wait for the train to pass. This was a train that didn't quit, hundreds of cars. We found out that trains can be no longer than 15 minutes of waiting for it to pass, this felt like a 30 minute train. We were watching a clear violation of train waiting times, but we were in outlaw territory and accepted the situation. You don't want to stir up too much trouble in the west. You also don't want to kick a warm cow pie. These are things we learn on our travels.
We selected the 'Outlaw trail' in Nebraska, it seemed to suit us. In addition to having a cool name, it also went thru an Indian reservation, Santee Sioux, so we felt at home again. And we even came to a town called Wynot?
After a while we started seeing signs for Sioux City, and we stayed there for the night.
Heading back to the hotel from dinner that night we had to stop and wait for the train to pass. This was a train that didn't quit, hundreds of cars. We found out that trains can be no longer than 15 minutes of waiting for it to pass, this felt like a 30 minute train. We were watching a clear violation of train waiting times, but we were in outlaw territory and accepted the situation. You don't want to stir up too much trouble in the west. You also don't want to kick a warm cow pie. These are things we learn on our travels.
Day 8
Sioux City, IA - Omaha, NE
A rodeo has always been an unspoken goal on our roadtrips. They're tough to fit into our plans, since there are few, and where they are, they're not for long. But in Omaha, Nebraska, we found one that we could go to. We got there early, which was good, since there was a big parade down main street. We bought tickets for the rodeo, and headed out to watch the street spectacles. The theme was horses. And with a pretty lady riding, it was nice scenery to watch.
Rodeo time! Today's main event. There was a variety of events, basically to stay on a horse, stay 8 seconds on a bull, rope a calf, bring it down and tie up three legs, speed riding and more.
One thing we learned was that to bring out the fury in the animals, you tie a rope around the balls. So the horse is not so much trying to get of the rider, but more trying to get rid of the rope squeezing his balls. An understandable reaction.
Next up was the Exhibition and Competition, 4H style, an exhibition of farm animals of all kinds. People were washing, cutting, trimming, and spraying their horses and pigs alike. An actual beauty salon for our four legged friends. Almost seemed a bit silly, but they were very serious about it. Apparently there was prize money involved, but mostly it was the pride and prestige.
Day 9
Omaha, NE - Winterset, IO - Des Moines, IO
Winterset is the birthplace of John Wayne. Statue, house museum, and street are named for the cowboy, whose real name was Marion Robert Morrison.
After a coffe break at Francesca's, we went to check on the Roseman Bridge, the covered bridge with a big role in the movie 'The Bridges of Madison County'. Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep made the movie around town, and now people are on their pilgrimages to the little red bridge.
They used to cover the bridges to lengthen their lifespan. A covered bridge could last three times longer than an uncovered one. The Roseman Bridge was closed for vehicle traffic now, after all, it's a celebrity. It was open for graffiti however. It seems lovers from US and the world come here to carve their everlasting quotes of love. Most often quoted was the line 'This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime'. Swampronkers did their addition for their separate loves.
Back on the highway heading east, we were surprised when we all of a sudden came to a 'Swedish' town, in the middle of nowhere. The people in Stanton call it 'the Little White City' and they have really put special efforts in to maintain the swedishness. The coffe bean Mrs Olson came from Stanton. Pulling into town we saw no-one, it looked deserted. But as we closed in on a church we saw that the parking lot was full. Then we realized, it was Sunday and these were god abiding citizens! Everybody was in church. As the people were released back into our world, we met Mr and Mrs Swanson, and they told us about the town. They were pretty stoked about the water tower in town. In the shape of a coffee pot. It was supposedly the worlds largest coffee pot, even bigger than the one in Lindstrom, Minnesota.
We continued onto todays destination, Des Moines. Had some good food at Hessen Haus, down by the railroad tracks, and got a free limo ride back n forth from the hotel.
After a coffe break at Francesca's, we went to check on the Roseman Bridge, the covered bridge with a big role in the movie 'The Bridges of Madison County'. Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep made the movie around town, and now people are on their pilgrimages to the little red bridge.
They used to cover the bridges to lengthen their lifespan. A covered bridge could last three times longer than an uncovered one. The Roseman Bridge was closed for vehicle traffic now, after all, it's a celebrity. It was open for graffiti however. It seems lovers from US and the world come here to carve their everlasting quotes of love. Most often quoted was the line 'This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime'. Swampronkers did their addition for their separate loves.
Back on the highway heading east, we were surprised when we all of a sudden came to a 'Swedish' town, in the middle of nowhere. The people in Stanton call it 'the Little White City' and they have really put special efforts in to maintain the swedishness. The coffe bean Mrs Olson came from Stanton. Pulling into town we saw no-one, it looked deserted. But as we closed in on a church we saw that the parking lot was full. Then we realized, it was Sunday and these were god abiding citizens! Everybody was in church. As the people were released back into our world, we met Mr and Mrs Swanson, and they told us about the town. They were pretty stoked about the water tower in town. In the shape of a coffee pot. It was supposedly the worlds largest coffee pot, even bigger than the one in Lindstrom, Minnesota.
We continued onto todays destination, Des Moines. Had some good food at Hessen Haus, down by the railroad tracks, and got a free limo ride back n forth from the hotel.
Day 10
Des Moines, IO - St Joseph, MO - Kansas City, MO
Today our goal was Kansas City, Missouri. On the way were a few interesting objects to check out. A couple of museums in St Joseph looked interesting, both in 'wild west style'.
The first one, the Patee muséum, was more of a general wild west character, while the other one was about Jesse James, his home his life and how he was finished off in his house. Bullet hole in wall was nicely framed.
Leaving St Joseph we stayed to the right to ensure we would end up in Kansas. Per wasn't sure he had been in that state before. Checking off States is another of Per's passions.
We passed the famous Leavenworth prison. A high security prison, that didn't look very inviting. Outside the prison walls were grazing bison, probably as good a watchdog as as any. Even Lennart, who is otherwise known for his courage, was hesitant to step too close.
Day 11
Kansas City, MO - Hannibal, MO
Up early, breakfast at the hotel, a cigar on the street, and we ready to head east. First we took a side trip to the Nelson-Atkins museum. It was very nice, they also had a huge badminton cock on the lawn. You don't see that every day.
After a few hours we ended up in Hannibal, Mark Twain's town on the Missouri river. They had the fence that Tom Sawyer had painted, they had the Mark Twain Hotel, Mark Twain Diner, Mark Twain water tower, and not to forget, the Mark Twain Theater where he appears every night, live!
Along the river we saw the old fashioned paddleboats pulling in. We thought about having dinner on one, but then we saw the dinners being delivered in little McDonald like bags and decided to go an old brothel instead. Lulu Belle's is now a restaurant and we were very happy to eat our baby back ribs there.
After a few hours we ended up in Hannibal, Mark Twain's town on the Missouri river. They had the fence that Tom Sawyer had painted, they had the Mark Twain Hotel, Mark Twain Diner, Mark Twain water tower, and not to forget, the Mark Twain Theater where he appears every night, live!
Along the river we saw the old fashioned paddleboats pulling in. We thought about having dinner on one, but then we saw the dinners being delivered in little McDonald like bags and decided to go an old brothel instead. Lulu Belle's is now a restaurant and we were very happy to eat our baby back ribs there.
Day 12
Hannibal, MO - St Louis, MO
We woke up, ready to catch an eagle, with our cameras. They were supposed to be nesting south of Hannibal. We entered a protected area, with guides and maps. After more instructions we were directed to a tree, and we were probably very close to actually seeing one. It felt like it. And that was enough of eagle spotting for us, sometimes you just have to know when to call it quits.
It was flat all around us. Prairie style. And very dry. That made it easy to see oncoming cars, they appeared with a growing cloud behind them. It didn't do much for the the fine polish on the Silver Ghost. But it still has some wax on.
Then a mellow ride south to St Louis. We looked for a hotel using the AAA book, Tripadvisor, or by just shooting from the hip when it felt right. It's all about the feel. There were no bargains in St Louis, one convention after the other had filled up the hotels. Well we can't always find a good price. Here we had pay up.
In return we got a good hotel with a good view of the park where the Arch is standing so wide. It's a big one with elevators inside, nice and shiny, lots of polishing going on there.
It was flat all around us. Prairie style. And very dry. That made it easy to see oncoming cars, they appeared with a growing cloud behind them. It didn't do much for the the fine polish on the Silver Ghost. But it still has some wax on.
Then a mellow ride south to St Louis. We looked for a hotel using the AAA book, Tripadvisor, or by just shooting from the hip when it felt right. It's all about the feel. There were no bargains in St Louis, one convention after the other had filled up the hotels. Well we can't always find a good price. Here we had pay up.
In return we got a good hotel with a good view of the park where the Arch is standing so wide. It's a big one with elevators inside, nice and shiny, lots of polishing going on there.
Day 13
St Louis, MO - Springfield, IL - Danville, IL
After taking the required photos of the Arch, and swallowing the rather steep hotel bill, we just wanted out of that town.
We found our way onto the classic Route 66 and followed it a good way into Illinois. Allong the way there's tons of Americana. From the old gas stations to Twisty Treat and crazy ladies.
Towards the late afternoon we arrived in Springfield, Illinois. We figured that we might just as well check out where Lincoln lived. His house is in a well preserved area, surrounded by a rough neighborhood with hungry predators in baseball caps looking for their next victim. With hesitation we found a spot and parked, we pulled the black blanket over our luggage, locked the Silver Ghost a couple of times and crossed our fingers. hoping that none of the 20 or so dudes would do anything bad. They didn't.
We took a look at an American wild west town from 1860. Not unlike Hjo. Lincoln's house was in good shape, its fence being painted that day. They had also saved Lincoln's old campaign wagon that he used for going around town fishing votes. A few houses had a big stone in front showing the owners name.
Back on the road, we headed north, and towards evening the rain was pouring down. We had enough of driving in the rain around Danville, so we said Goodnight there.
We found our way onto the classic Route 66 and followed it a good way into Illinois. Allong the way there's tons of Americana. From the old gas stations to Twisty Treat and crazy ladies.
Towards the late afternoon we arrived in Springfield, Illinois. We figured that we might just as well check out where Lincoln lived. His house is in a well preserved area, surrounded by a rough neighborhood with hungry predators in baseball caps looking for their next victim. With hesitation we found a spot and parked, we pulled the black blanket over our luggage, locked the Silver Ghost a couple of times and crossed our fingers. hoping that none of the 20 or so dudes would do anything bad. They didn't.
We took a look at an American wild west town from 1860. Not unlike Hjo. Lincoln's house was in good shape, its fence being painted that day. They had also saved Lincoln's old campaign wagon that he used for going around town fishing votes. A few houses had a big stone in front showing the owners name.
Back on the road, we headed north, and towards evening the rain was pouring down. We had enough of driving in the rain around Danville, so we said Goodnight there.
Day 14
Danville, IL - Detroit, MI
Next day the rain kept pouring and we kept driving north and crossed into Michigan. The previous night we had found Lennart's playmate from Tåstarp, and her address. We hadn't found her phone number, so we thought we'd surprise her by just going there and ask her if she had any Danish pastry. When we got to her town we stopped at a gas station and asked the owner if he knew where she lived. He did, and he gave us directions. Ann was home, and amazingly enough she recognized Lennart right away. The last time they saw each other was in 1969! She was a bit surprised, but recovered and invited us for coffee. It was nice to see Ann, even if she scared us with her conservative outlook. Ann told us how she keeps her garden under control with her rifle. She can shoot anything from her balcony, she said. Even illegal immigrants if needed. Ann invited us for dinner but our schedule was tight now so we thanked her, and got back on the road.
We found a hotel just outside Detroit. Next day we wanted to go south again, to friendly Pennsylvania.
We found a hotel just outside Detroit. Next day we wanted to go south again, to friendly Pennsylvania.
Day 15
Detroit, MI - Uniontown, PA
Frank Lloyd Wright is a very famous architect. One of his most famous projects is a house called the Falling Water, in Mill Run, SE Pennsylvania. A house built straddling a river. On the way we stopped in Ohiopyle, a little town in the mountains, with a river, bike and canoe rentals. We stretched our legs walking the bridge, both sides looked good and green.
The closest hotel we could find was in Uniontown, about half an hour from Falling Water. On the way there we saw signs warning about the steep hill coming up, and trucks were advised to take a different road. We thought it was just another hill, but it wasn't. It was really steep, and long. Silver Ghost gritted its teeth and pulled us up. At the hotel we found a Denny's Restaurant across the street. Finer dining is hard to find! With all the healthy and wholesome nature people all around, we conformed with a healthy chicken salad, and felt pretty pleased with ourselves.
The closest hotel we could find was in Uniontown, about half an hour from Falling Water. On the way there we saw signs warning about the steep hill coming up, and trucks were advised to take a different road. We thought it was just another hill, but it wasn't. It was really steep, and long. Silver Ghost gritted its teeth and pulled us up. At the hotel we found a Denny's Restaurant across the street. Finer dining is hard to find! With all the healthy and wholesome nature people all around, we conformed with a healthy chicken salad, and felt pretty pleased with ourselves.
Day 16
Uniontown, PA - Buffalo, NY
It turned out be a drizzly day when we started for Falling Water, and why not? We got a discount when we admitted we worked for NST, we didn't even have to show our cameras. To actually enter the interior of the house you had to pay extra, and we thought that was not necessary anyway. We walked around and admired the exterior, marveling at the clever architect that let a river run thru the house. Seemed a bit Jenga like, but flatter, and looked very stylish out there in the hills of Pennsylvania. |
We continued north thru Pennsylvania, on scenic little roads with lots of signs for one fantastic deal after the other, saw huge orange pumpkins and inviting little green byroads.
Day 17
Buffalo, NY - Niagara - Syracuse, NY
Lennart wanted to see his daughter up in Syracuse, so we combined that with a trip to Niagara Falls. There's tons of water. Wouldn't be surprised if there was 70,000 gallons per second. We took the boat Maid of the Mist, put on the blue rain jackets and bowed before the mighty Niagara.
Another big draw here is a gigantic casino towering over the church in front of it.
Then we turned Silver Ghost towards Syracuse and a cup of coffee with Chelsea.
The city of Syracuse is a bit frightening, a bit like Youngstown, Ohio, both belonging to the rust belt. Big areas are deserted, inhabited by people who don't like daylight. We saw people walking around with a baseball bat in their hands.
Another big draw here is a gigantic casino towering over the church in front of it.
Then we turned Silver Ghost towards Syracuse and a cup of coffee with Chelsea.
The city of Syracuse is a bit frightening, a bit like Youngstown, Ohio, both belonging to the rust belt. Big areas are deserted, inhabited by people who don't like daylight. We saw people walking around with a baseball bat in their hands.
Day 18
Syracuse, NY - Lake Ronkonkoma, NY
Next day was easy. Go south. Pass Marathon, continue to Long Island and Lake Ronkonkoma.
After 18 days, 8145 kilometers of asphalt, some gravel, a lot of laughing, a few Fanta Gul and lots of bullsheeet, we had arrived at the goal line.
Now we had time to learn napkin folding.
After 18 days, 8145 kilometers of asphalt, some gravel, a lot of laughing, a few Fanta Gul and lots of bullsheeet, we had arrived at the goal line.
Now we had time to learn napkin folding.
Summa sumarium: Swamp Ronkers on Roadtrip 3, 5063 miles/8145 km...Youngstown OH, Chicago, Eagle River, WI, Stillwater, MN, Sioux Falls SD, Sioux City NE, Omaha NE, Des Moines IO, Kansas City MO, Hannibal MO, St Louis MO, Danville IL, Detroit MI, Uniontown PA, Buffalo NY, Syracuse NY.
Beware - here's a whopping 33 minutes of slideshow with music. |
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