Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Marcy's Travel Blog- On The Road! The Best Laid Plans Go Astray!



Life is truly an adventure- one that always seems to have a few twists and turns! The first day of my road trip is an excellent example!

My plan was to take secondary roads, heading from Howell, Michigan to Big Rapids, Michigan. I ran that plan by Google, and came up with a road trip that sounded fun!







A few days ago I wandered the roads near home. The colors were beautiful!




This old barn and pasture looked like  a "Norman Rockwell" painting!




And the local grocery certainly was in the "Harvest Decor" mode!

I anxiously looked forward to my "color tour" road trip, knowing that the colors up north would be at their peak this week!







   I left around noon, Google road instructions in hand! As I left, the sky turned a muted grey. Oh well, no bright sunshine today.

An interesting thing I've learned! Google may give you a name for a road- which is really called something else! Twice I searched in vain for a road! The first time I found out it really was called something else. On the second road I couldn't find- I stopped at a little market in the country to ask for help. A fellow customer overheard my question and laughed. "That road sign hasn't been up for about three years! Someone took it, and it's never been replaced!"

The store clerk looked over my directions. She told me that I-69 was just up the road, and suggested I'd better take that, if I really wanted to reach my destination! So- with a deep sigh, I got back into my car, abandoned my idea for secondary roads, and got on the freeway!

I just knew that somewhere along the line I was going to get some good pictures. But now the sky was getting darker and darker! Hmm.

And then, just when I was about 30 minutes from my destination, it began to rain! The colors along the expressway were lovely- a deep crimson, burnt orange, and bright yellow! But do I stop along a busy freeway, teeming with BIG trucks, and try to take pictures- in the rain? .....Nope.

I'm praying for some fair weather for the next few days. I've even talked to my weather angel! (Yes, I'm desperate! Ha!) I've asked for good weather during the day, and let it only rain after dark!

So! We'll see what happens. In the life of every travel blogger, some rain must fall. This hasn't dampened my spirits- yet.

I've arrived in good shape at my dear friend Gail's home. We've gone out for dinner. Originally we were going to grill steaks, but doing that in the rain sounded like a "soggy" idea. Our dinner was seasoned with friendship, laughter, and some "catching up" on the latest.

So lost road signs and rain were a deterrent from my original plans, but with the seasoning of great friendship, all's well that ends well! And tomorrow's another day!

Until then!

P.S.- As I sit this morning, ready to send this out into the Blog Universe, there is no rain! But It's very overcast! I forgot to ask the "weather Angel" for sunshine! Oops!





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