MY VISIT with AUNT BETTY
I haven't been to Lodi in 25 years and hadn't seen Karl and his wife Sharon in 18 years. Aunt Betty (below with Penny), Karl, Sharon, Michelle, Arthur, Rick and I all had a great dinner together. Aunt Betty is an amazing person. She's 84 years old, is a "master" quilter and has an incredible memory. She shared some interesting stories of my mom, aunts and uncles growing up on the farm in Schenectady. For years when they were young, they didn't have running water at their farm house and had to go to the creek (and the rain barrel) for water. I heard how my mother was able to become an Army nurse during World War 2, even though she was deaf in one ear. Aunt Betty and her husband, Lester, who was in the Navy during WW II, stood up for my mom and dad at their wedding (picture below). My mother and father met in the Phillipines during WW 2--my dad was a Captain in the Rangers.
Susie, the duck. Aunt Betty has lived in Lodi, Wisconsin for over 50 years. Years ago, in the spring, a duck annually nested in a basket on the stream that flows through town. The town held a prediction contest to see who could guess the time that the duck's eggs would hatch. When the nesting turned into an annual event, the duck was named "Susie" by townfolks and Lodi became the home of "Susie the Duck".
After our wonderful time in Lodi (thanks again, Aunt Betts), Rick and I headed north and west on I-90/94 across Wisconsin to Minnesota.
The scenery in Wisconsin was beautiful. We crossed a famous river between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and then a second famous river between Minnesota and South Dakota. 
River #1
River #2
While we were crossing the plains of Minnesota, we drove by the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was easy to picture her stories as we passed the flat land spotted with groves of trees with a house and buildings in the grove. At dusk, each grove of trees was dotted with a spot light on a tall pole or the top of a house. I wondered why the lights were placed so high. I also wondered if the houses were built in existing groves of trees, or if the houses were built first and trees planted around the houses.
Minnesota Plains
Question 1: Both rivers above are named for states. Can you name them? River 1 was frozen and River 2 was not. Can you help me explain that?
Question 2: What is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder and what is she famous for?
Question 3: How would your life be different if you didn't have running water at your house?
ON THE ROAD UPDATE
Yes, I was in Detroit, Michigan. On our first Field Trip, Mary Angela and I went to the Henry Ford Museum (which is actually in Dearborn, Michigan). On our second Field Trip, we went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, the home of the University of Michigan. The website for the fairy doors is www.urban-fairies.com. 
PREDICTIONS UPDATE
Getting lost. I want to thank Don Bavis for his faith in me by predicting I would go 13 days before I got lost, contrasted with the Magic Man's prediction of 13 hours (I'm still trying to figure out why the number "13" popped up so often in predictions). Alas, I didn't even make it 4 hours. I got lost around Cleveland! In my defense, anyone could have missed the sign saying that you had to bear right to stay on I-90. I was well past Cleveland on I-271 before I saw that I was heading south to Columbus, Ohio, not west to Detroit. I got off and checked the Atlas--my mistake wasn't unalterable--I had to keep going south and pick up I-480 west that hooked into I-90.
Of course, then I got lost on my way to Mary Angela's. I took I-75 N to Detroit and missed the I-275 interchange. You can imagine my distress when I saw the sign that said "Bridge to Canada--5 miles"! Not realizing that Windsor, Canada, is just east of Detroit, I had more than a few bad moments until I took an exit and looked at my trusty Atlas again, discovering that I could take I-96 west to Mary Angela's. (I also have to admit that I got a little mixed up on I-96 local and took an exit that I thought was the interstate, but I was able to get right back on, so it was only a .10 mile "detour". ) I guess, though, that I have to admit to being lost 2.1 times the first day of my trip!
If you want to reestimate the total number of times I'll be lost, consider some new information: (1) Rick decided to join me in Indiana to "caravan" with me to the west coast--and he has a GPS; (2) after California, I'll be on my own again with no GPS!
IPOD. I'm only counting travel and exercise days here (there have been 13 of those days) and I'm up to song #1299.
MY TRIP "ESSENTIALS"
I mentioned from the museum trip the 7 items that Lindbergh took with him across the Atlantic. My list of 7 trip essentials included the following: cell phone; Atlas; IPOD; camera; food bag (I had 74 power bars--I wasn't going to starve snowed into some pass in the Rocky mountains!); clothes for cold and warm weather; and a fleece blanket (I wasn't going to freeze to death in that Rocky Mountain pass, either). Penny is showing you the items below (Thanks to my Cobbles, Board of Education and DO friends for several of the items!--I should also mention that I had flares and car emergency info, thanks also to my Cobbles friends!)
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
I left Detroit after a wonderful time (thanks again, Mary Ang and Pete), headed south (I-275 to I-75 to I-475 to I -90 around Toledo) and met up with Rick in Angola, Indiana. We kept west on I-90 around Chicago. Continuing on I-90 past Madison, Wisconsin, we stopped at Lodi, Wisconsin to visit my Aunt Betty and cousins, Karl and Michelle.
