Day 32, Holland, MI to Marshall, MI

Today I rode 91.05 miles from Holland, MI to Marshall, MI.

We started yet another day riding into the blinding sun. My friend J. B. Smith got side-swiped by a car again this morning partly due to the blinding sun impairing the vision of drivers coming up upon us from the back. It shook him up a bit but he is fine and is going to be okay.

The route today was dotted with small ponds and lakes.

On a 90-acre historic campus midway between Detroit and Chicago is the Gilmore Car Museum. Here, visitors shoot the breeze in an old-fashioned gas station. Children stand inches from a 1930 Rolls-Royce that is from a Disney movie. Grandparents share stories about a ’57 Chevy, as their smiles are reflected in the car’s chrome. Walk right up to an amazing collection of over 300 vintage automobiles, motorcycles, and memories. It’s America’s Signature Collection. And the ultimate experience for everyone in your family.

The roadside displays in people’s yards never cease to amaze me. For me the journey has been so much more enjoyable as I take in the sights and smells. I try my best to capture the view through a camera lens. I hope someone will invent a way to capture the smells as well. In my later years, I will delight in ruminating over these memories I am creating now. The collection of stories keeps getting bigger each year. I have memories of my grandfather telling us some of the most fascinating stories, mostly fictional about princes, princesses, dragons, treasures in caves and cobras guarding the caves. My stories will be a narration of the places I have seen, the people I have met, the experiences I have had, the life of adventure I have lived, not one dull moment. I will also have the collection of photos and videos to help jog my memory a bit in my senile years.

My daughter Shamaa volunteered in the Residential Health Care Facility at the Lewis County General Hospital. She came home each day with wonderful stories of her interaction with the residents of the first floor. These are people that suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Some of those stories made me laugh, some made me cry. If you ever want to consider volunteering your precious time for a good cause, may I suggest helping some elderly person? Old age catches up with everyone. Someday it will be my turn. Will the CNA/LPN caring for me want to know what my life was like when I was young and able? Will she even believe me if I told her of the things I did in my life? Will she care? 

Let me end on a lighter note. My rear end is not looking forward to the next two days. We have two long riding days coming up. Tomorrow it is 121 miles from Marshall, MI to Rossford, OH near Toledo. Day after tomorrow it is 127 miles from Rossford to Cleveland. So, if you do not see a blog from me, understand that my brain was willing and able but my butt refused.