The Road is Paved with Mezzanites.

Today Cara and I traveled from Evanston, IL (just North of Chicago) to St. Louis, MO. Along the way, we stopped to visit a friend working a summer job in Sullivan, IL - a small small town deep in the heart of Illinois Amish Country. Our friend works for a theatre in Sullivan (or should I say - THE theatre in Sullivan), so her work and social life doesn't allow for much interaction with the Amish, but she did feel the need to warn us of the sheer amount of Mennonites we would find en route. I had never seen an Amish person (apart from movies, books, and TV), so this was very exciting.

Cara and I began to discuss the differences between Amish and Mennonite, but Cara could not remember the word Mennonite and created the Mezzanites - hence the title of this post. Oh those Mezzonites and their lobbies.

It was fascinating to watch the Amish ride by in their buggies or on bicycles. They really look like relics from a bygone time. Seeing them was like looking at a window into the past. I found myself wondering what it would be like to be Amish. Would a life removed from the troubles of modern existence - all the complications like TV, Internet, etc. - truly be a life lived for the better? I do think that we often over-complicate our lives, and perhaps the Amish might have some insight into existence that we as modern Internet users do not. This lead me to wonder what Amish dental care is like. I'm fairly positive they don't get braces, but do they use dentists? What oral hygiene methods are available for the Amish? If you know the answer to this, please let me know...

The road today was simple - no mountains or real hills (until we reached St. Louis) -flat farmland prairie as far as the eye could see. I once had a professor who told me that she hated living on the prairie because it was so open that she felt chronically exposed. There was/is no place to hide; you are out there for the world. She preferred living in the mountains - where the world has clear boundaries - a sense of permanence and place. While the landscape was beautiful, with the corn blowing in the breeze and farm houses and commercial argicultural structures dotting the landscape, I tend to agree with her. The wide open expanse of the prairie is beautiful, but at the same time it is oddly disquieting. I think living on the wide expanses of flat land is best left for people other than myself.

I do think I could live in Chicago, specifically the Evanston suburb. Evanston still feels urban and is connected to downtown via the "L" system, but has a small-town atmosphere, and plenty of things to do within walking distance. Recently, I have been thinking of returning to graduate school - possibly earning a PhD. Nothing is set in stone, and it is only one option on the table at this point, but Chicago really made me long for city living again. I mean real city living - with mass transit trains. I have missed using the Metro since I left DC, and I have even missed using the toy People Mover after living in Detroit. I need to be in a place with a subway or "L" system. Returning to school in a major metropolitan area would allow me that very opportunity...

Here are some photos of Evanston.

Here is the Chicago skyline.

Here are some rural Illinois landscapes.

An Amish woman riding a bike.

Illinois is a state that I had never really considered before this trip. I saw it as home to Chicago, and that was about it, but now the state fascinates me. A place with both the big city and the rural - a place of extremes - corporate executives catching trains while surfing their blackberries and Amish in buggies, thier long beards waving in the breeze.

Once in Sullivan, we toured the theatre, and visited with our friend. We ate at Doug Wilson's (of TLC's Moving Up and Trading Spaces fame) restaurant Jibby's. We did not meet Doug Wilson, and I think that might be for the best. I imagine him as being rather rude, and rude people have a greater probability of meeting my bitchy side.

It was great catching up with our not-Amish friend; here are the three of us in Sullivan. (There was a picture of my hair not in her face, but Cara wasn't looking at the camera in that one.)

The Sullivan Courthouse.

I think I should call it a night. Yesterday I fell asleep while blogging. (I did wake up and finish the blog, as you should know if you have been reading...) I want to make sure I have enough sleep for St. Louis. We are spending the whole morning, and I want to fully experience the city.

Too Ugly to Steal, too Stupid to Prostitute

So the roadtrip has begun! Yesterday was the first official day of the road trip, and it was a doozy. We spent a late evening with some old friends of ours and didn't arrive back to Cara's place until well after midnight, and it was even later before we could go to sleep. While we were with friends, we were mistaken for a married couple. Our friends' relatives assumed we were a couple, and were curious if we were married. Hilarity! We hated to leave, especially after we were offered a room for the evening, but Cara and I needed to be at the U-Haul place at 7am, so her trailer hitch could be attached. I told her I would be a good friend and go with her, so naturally I was a great friend and slept in. Cara was off to the U-Haul by herself. I didn't mean for her to leave without me, but by the time my alarm went off she was already leaving, and she didn't want to wake me.

It turns out it was a good thing that I didn't go with her, however, because once at the U-Haul she was informed that the procedure would take at least 4 hours - something they had neglected to mention during the numerous phone calls Cara made to confirm, reconfirm, and ask questions about her reservation. We had hoped to get the trailer hitch attached, pick up the U-Haul, and have everything loaded by at latest 2 - now our timetable was shot - and Cara and I would have been stranded, if I hadn't slept in.

Instead, we went to I-hop and had breakfast. The waitress was training a newbie and vented to us about the process. After that we hit up a local Meijer (like a Wal-Mart, but not frightening), and Cara received a call saying the trailer hitch was ready (They were about half an hour early - yay!)

Being thoughtful, I said I'd go back and start packing up a few things and getting ready for the trailer. What Cara and I neglected to think about, however, was my lack of keys to her apartment. So I drove back to Grosse Pointe Park - eager to get started - but ended up having to sit in my car and wait. I would have waited outside, but Metro Detroit had a record breaking heat wave, and this Southern boy was sweltering. My car has AC; Cara's yard does not. When Cara finally got back, it was very much after noon, and all I had done (all I could have done) was pack the cooler. We then commenced the packing of the trailer.

The trailer was very small. Cara clearly had more stuff than this trailer could hold, but this was the best option available. We packed things as tightly as possible, but left room for pieces of the drafting table we planned on disassembling. Notice I said planned... We tried for an hour to take the drafting table apart, but it was not going anywhere - bolts were stripped and the nuts would not turn. It was nightmarish. We finally decided to move it whole, but we ran into difficultly getting it through the narrow doorways and hallways of Cara's 1940's Post WWII bungalow. (You know - the primary reason we wanted to take it apart in the first place.) Eventually, however, even it was packed.

So there we were - it was 6 o'clock. We had been packing for five hours in record breaking heat. We looked and smelled like ragamuffins, but the car was loaded, the U-Haul was loaded, and we were off, and on our way to Chicago. Here we are ready for the drive:


Here's Cara with the full U-haul:

Here's Trixie (Cara's Cat): Poor thing was practically buried in her carrier.

I wish I could tell you that the next few hours of our lives were spent in blissful contentment, the drive soothing our frazzled bodies. I wish I could tell you that, but it seems the next hours were intricately designed by some masochistic force to frazzle our nerves in addition to our bodies.

My credit card was put on hold for suspicions of fraud.

A bum offered to sell us a kitchen sink.

At least we were driving.

But, then it got dark...

Driving is stressful; it just is. And after hours of towing a U-Haul (with a manual transmission), Cara was exhausted. I was doing my best to lighten the atmosphere - to keep her entertained - and to keep everything positive. Somewhere in Indiana, however - it was very dark by this time, Cara missed an exit. No biggie, things happen. Especially on unfamiliar roads at night. Helen (I named my GPS so I could yell at it) gave us directions to get back on the highway. Helen's directions, however, didn't take into account any road construction, and the ramps onto the Interstate were closed. This happened three times. Three times Helen tried to get us back on route, but each time the new ramp to the highway was closed.

We drove - following Helen's angry voice - through the backroad industrial neighborhoods of Gary, Indiana. If you have never been to Gary, you haven't missed much - except the setting of the next Wes Craven film. Looming, imposing factories twinkling against the black night. Slabs of row houses standing watch. Seedy bars and neon signs. The grime of industry besooting skeletal skyscrapers - the bony hallmarks of a recession. It is a place I never want to visit again - but especially at night.

Finally we made it to Chicago, and then Evanston where we are currently staying. Once in Evanston, however, we had to figure out how and where to park the car. We attempted to park it in the Hotel's parking garage, but the U-Haul wouldn't make it up the steep ramp entrance. We then tried to park it in an adjoining parking garage, but it was too big and too much of a pain in the ass there too. We eventually parked in two spaces on the street. After this, however, we were informed that we would be towed from that area, so one of the employees of the hotel gave us a pass to park in a special zone beside the building.

It was around 1:30am before we finally settled in to the hotel room. The bed and shower felt like Heaven! We decided when we arrived that we should cancel another portion of our roadtrip to make up for the delay... So, farewell Grand Canyon - we will have to catch you another time.


Today was much better; I got to see Chicago for the first time! We both woke up early - wide awake - our brains ready to start the day. Our bodies, however, were soon rebelling... After eating from the continental breakfast and planning out our day, we boarded the train to downtown. We managed to squeeze in the Library, visiting a friend for lunch, Millennium Park and the Bean, the Modern American wing at the Art Institute of Chicago, Navy Pier, a skyline boat tour, and dinner at Buca di Beppo all into one day. We were going to visit the John Hancock tower, but the weather took a turn for the wet.

We were on the skyline boat tour when it began to downpour. We hid below deck until the tour was over, (we could still see out the windows, but pictures were rather impossible). The rain had stopped, but as soon as the boat docked to let us off, the rain hit harder than before, and we were literally soaked upon entry to one of Navy Pier's shopping centers. (We were so wet that I bought a new shirt and changed.)

One of the big highlights of the day must have been the visit to the Art Institute. I got to see American Gothic up close and personal. There is something thrilling about seeing a work of art that has forever been stuck in a book - in real life scale - inches from your eyes. It makes it more real. It gives it a sense of belonging - of permanence - and of fragility. Even with all the replicas, there is still only one. We also saw a great exhibit on Islamic and Indian art, and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks.

I found myself busily taking snapshot after snapshot today. I began to worry that maybe I am too busy worrying about capturing the moment instead of fully embracing it. That's something I need to work on. I need to live fully - embracing the moment - and let go of the fear that I won't be able to preserve the moment. I can preserve the moments with or without my camera - the experience should live in me more than it lives in photographs.

Tomorrow we hit the road again. This time we are headed to St. Louis, via a stop in Sullivan, IL to visit a friend.

Here are a few pictures from our adventures today:

The eye. It's pretty awesome.

The gargoyles on the library are oversized owls!

The bean!

American Gothic.

Chicago streetview with the Bean!