Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan… Positively Stacey

Day Three

Destination: Ann Arbor, MichiganOh, what a very, very long day driving. Let me just say right off the bat that we did not make it to our destination of Ann Arbor. Close, but no cigar. We called it quits in a town named Jackson just 30 minutes shy of Ann Arbor, but at 11:30 p.m. with Alyssa at the wheel, I simply said, “I am so tired I could cry.” She said, “Ok, lets stop.” And that was that.

Another quiet day on the road – acres and acres of cornfields spread out across flatlands and rolling hills. Corn so tall you really can get lost in those fields. Our hometown manmade corn mazes in the fall for Halloween entertainment truly do not do them justice! Sitting atop the sentry of corn is a sea of wispy golden tassels. Quite beautiful.

Our day’s highlight was stopping in Des Monies and finding a Starbucks inside a Barnes and Nobles. This was the place we stopped for Alyssa to have a Skype interview with a woman from Little Nell’s Human Resources. Yep, Alyssa got a winter job working for Aspen Mountain in the Sundeck Restaurant! Happy Dance time!So why are we driving to Vermont? Alyssa has an internship starting Saturday at Green Mountain Farm to School. This internship lasts until the middle of November. At which time she will reload her car with all of her belongings and then drive to Aspen, Colorado. She got a job as a cook, so for the winter she will be cooking and boarding – not too bad. Happy dance time indeed. I just try not to think about how long it will be until I see her again. Working a ski resort means she will not be home for the holidays.

Dinner was a stop at a restaurant called Cracker Barrel. This is a chain of Southern Country Style restaurants that we do not have in California. Alyssa had visited them in the past on her school travels, softball and service groups, and thought I would enjoy checking one out. Well what can I say, they are ingenious. I mean you have to walk through a gift store to get to the restaurant! And then again, you pay your bill in the gift shop – standing there amidst all of these really great gift and holiday items. But they didn’t get me! I have zero room to take home any packages. Oh, and the food was delicious! I had some of the best chicken that I have ever had anywhere. It was so moist and tasty – with some great vegetables to boot. The whole meal was served in a foil wrapped tent; it was their campfire chicken.

We also happened upon a Bob’s Big Boy! I didn’t know that the existed anymore. We used to visit one when I was young and lived in Los angels. I have not seen one for decades!