Thanks to Erin have more info on this - very interesting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg_project
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Monday, 26 September 2011
Detroit City Michigan......put your right foot in...take your foot out...and run....
When we arrived in Jackson last night - quite late - we unpacked and went to a restaurant for dinner. Came back , did my Blog and then, because it was so late by then we got into bed and turned the telly on and watched a whole string of Saturday Night Mysteries (even though it was Sunday night...hmm) At the same time we were playing Angry Birds on our I Phones. Next thing we knew it was 3.45 am. Lee went off to sleep but I just could not sleep. At 7 am I went to Starbucks next door and had some coffee and a blueberry scone (yum). So with absolutely no sleep we left to continue our trip. We decided to do short hops to make sure I didn't doze off - even thought I still wasn't tired at this stage. Drove to Ann Arbor MI - pretty town so we stopped for lunch at an Indian Restaurant.
Headed off for the next "hop" - to Dearborn on the outskirts of Detroit. Visited the Henry Ford Museum. This is located next to the world HQ of Ford which is quite impressive in itself. The museum was really interesting - they had some amazing stuff there. Was very moved as I stood looking at the car in which President Kennedy was killed. It was an unexpectedly emotional feeling - I guess because I was a child of that era and we all remember his death so well.
Was feeling very tired by now so inhaled a couple of coffees and left for what should have been a 20 minute trip into Detroit and a hotel for the night. Somehow we ended up on Heidelberg Street by accident - most amazing sights - see for yourself. There were clocks on all the trees in the street and the houses were so weird. The whole street was quite scary so we decided to skedaddle but things just got worse. We turned into this 6 lane highway (Gratiot Avenue) that went for miles and it was like being in Beirut. Lots of burned buildings and those that were still there were falling apart. If you removed the cars and sent a few tumbleweeds down the street you would have a perfect setting for the day after the nuclear bomb was dropped. Now I know the whole city isn't like this but it did scare us - especially when Lee saw a man on this busy road with a rifle!! We decided that we would explore the rest of Detroit tomorrow but would spend tonight just over the border in Windsor Canada. It took us ages to find a motel so am typing this with match sticks holding up my drooping eyelids. I really must stay awake till 9 pm or I'll be awake again at 2 am. When you look at Detroit from this side of the lake it look quite beautiful
Bugs # 691 Miles today 161.5 (260 km)
Headed off for the next "hop" - to Dearborn on the outskirts of Detroit. Visited the Henry Ford Museum. This is located next to the world HQ of Ford which is quite impressive in itself. The museum was really interesting - they had some amazing stuff there. Was very moved as I stood looking at the car in which President Kennedy was killed. It was an unexpectedly emotional feeling - I guess because I was a child of that era and we all remember his death so well.
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| What a silly Sausage |
Was feeling very tired by now so inhaled a couple of coffees and left for what should have been a 20 minute trip into Detroit and a hotel for the night. Somehow we ended up on Heidelberg Street by accident - most amazing sights - see for yourself. There were clocks on all the trees in the street and the houses were so weird. The whole street was quite scary so we decided to skedaddle but things just got worse. We turned into this 6 lane highway (Gratiot Avenue) that went for miles and it was like being in Beirut. Lots of burned buildings and those that were still there were falling apart. If you removed the cars and sent a few tumbleweeds down the street you would have a perfect setting for the day after the nuclear bomb was dropped. Now I know the whole city isn't like this but it did scare us - especially when Lee saw a man on this busy road with a rifle!! We decided that we would explore the rest of Detroit tomorrow but would spend tonight just over the border in Windsor Canada. It took us ages to find a motel so am typing this with match sticks holding up my drooping eyelids. I really must stay awake till 9 pm or I'll be awake again at 2 am. When you look at Detroit from this side of the lake it look quite beautiful
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| Heidelberg Street - the whole street was like these |
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Goodbye Chicago.....hello Jackson MI
24th September - after having just a couple of hours sleep over the previous two nights I crashed last night and slept for 9 hours and felt good this morning. Still have a bit of pain and discomfort but am reassured by all the tests done that I'm not having a heart attack. Doctor said I did the right thing in going to the hospital but the wrong thing in waiting 24 hours :( .
We went to the top of Sears Tower in Chicago - 103 floors - and stood out on a clear plastic ledge. Felt quite nauseated standing out there and indeed on the trip up. After a certain height the lift starts to shake - as did I. This building is the highest building in America and can be seen from 4 states. Took a nice long healthy heart caring, lung breathing, blood clot melting walk home :)
25 th September - Went for another healthy walk which incorporated a couple of Chicago's landmarks
We went to the top of Sears Tower in Chicago - 103 floors - and stood out on a clear plastic ledge. Felt quite nauseated standing out there and indeed on the trip up. After a certain height the lift starts to shake - as did I. This building is the highest building in America and can be seen from 4 states. Took a nice long healthy heart caring, lung breathing, blood clot melting walk home :)
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103 floors up |
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| Hey Adelaideans - this beats our Rundle Mall Balls - A giant bean lol |
Travelled today through Indiana to Jackson Michigan - on way to Detroit. 218.6 miles (351 miles) and yes we stopped for some breaks :) The pattern set on the road to St Louis continues. Milwaukee to Chicago has a highway speed limit of 55 mph (88 kph) but if you sit on that speed everything including the school bus will overtake you doing speeds up to 80 mph (130 kmh). It seemed I was the only one doing the right speed but no one was getting booked or chased or shot at! It was like they all knew a secret but weren't sharing it with me! Same thing today from Chicago to Jackson. I must be missing something.....weird.
Bugs # 683
Saturday, 24 September 2011
More drama
22nd September to 24 September drove 74 miles (119 kms) from Milwuakee to Chicago. Had lunch at a Greek Restaurant when we arrived and I fancied lamb chops - something you just don't seem to see here. WELL!! Check the price! $41 for 3 chops - needless to say I passed lol
Not feeling the best - have had pains between my shoulder blades, tightness in my chest, hot clammies, very heavy tiredness and dizzy spells, Feeling a bit worried about it all. Didn't use cruise control in the van because if anything happened I didn't want the car just sailing happily on with me "out of it". Booked in to the Hard Rock Hotel and would you believe we got room 1408. For scary movie fans I need say no more. No - the radio hasn't "spoken" to us yet andwe've have had no floods :). Great views and Chicago is really something else. Magnificent buildings. We had a bit of a walkabout and I decided to nap as the tiredness was quite overwhelming and the shoulder pain and tight chest weren't abating. Eventually I decided I just needed to go to a hospital. Well they were very thorough and gave me every test imaginable. The ECG was "irregular" - they didn't say exactly how. I spent the night plugged in to monitors and having blood tests and chest x rays and next morning had dye injected and a treadmill stress test done. All very scary but the staff was great. The short answer is they don't know what is wrong but all my vitals are good and my cardiac fitness is "above normal for a person of my age and gender". All that jogging paid off :) I only had less than an hours doze at the hospital as it was noisy and I kept getting poked and prodded. Back at the hotel I showered and jammied up and got into bed but sleep eluded me still. About 8 pm I went for and hours walk and again about 3 am but still no sleep. Finally about 6am I slept - for about 3 hours! Hopefully tonight I'll crash. I'm typing this in a Starbucks - using their internet -and hoping that my travel insurance will cover all costs or this trip is over for me. I've just been to the hospital to get all my bills etc but being Saturday the billing department is closed till Monday.
Except for the tiredness I am feeling a lot better physically but am emotionally drained.
Not feeling the best - have had pains between my shoulder blades, tightness in my chest, hot clammies, very heavy tiredness and dizzy spells, Feeling a bit worried about it all. Didn't use cruise control in the van because if anything happened I didn't want the car just sailing happily on with me "out of it". Booked in to the Hard Rock Hotel and would you believe we got room 1408. For scary movie fans I need say no more. No - the radio hasn't "spoken" to us yet andwe've have had no floods :). Great views and Chicago is really something else. Magnificent buildings. We had a bit of a walkabout and I decided to nap as the tiredness was quite overwhelming and the shoulder pain and tight chest weren't abating. Eventually I decided I just needed to go to a hospital. Well they were very thorough and gave me every test imaginable. The ECG was "irregular" - they didn't say exactly how. I spent the night plugged in to monitors and having blood tests and chest x rays and next morning had dye injected and a treadmill stress test done. All very scary but the staff was great. The short answer is they don't know what is wrong but all my vitals are good and my cardiac fitness is "above normal for a person of my age and gender". All that jogging paid off :) I only had less than an hours doze at the hospital as it was noisy and I kept getting poked and prodded. Back at the hotel I showered and jammied up and got into bed but sleep eluded me still. About 8 pm I went for and hours walk and again about 3 am but still no sleep. Finally about 6am I slept - for about 3 hours! Hopefully tonight I'll crash. I'm typing this in a Starbucks - using their internet -and hoping that my travel insurance will cover all costs or this trip is over for me. I've just been to the hospital to get all my bills etc but being Saturday the billing department is closed till Monday.
Except for the tiredness I am feeling a lot better physically but am emotionally drained.
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| From the hotel room |
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Chores Day
21st September - did the washing, washed & vacuumed the car (tried to drive into the car wash from the wrong end lol). Lee went to Miller's Brewery. I had another giant bubble bath and vegged out. Good day :)
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles
20 September - ah!! a quiet day. Drove from Rock Falls to Milwaukee Wisconsin - beautiful day - great roads - no dramas. We decided to spoil ourselves and book into a slightly flasher hotel and we ended up at the Comfort Suites. We got the last room and wonder whether it was designed for more romantic pursuits than mother and daughter. Huge spa bath - shower with 2 nozzles and a King size bed. We tried it all anyway and overdosed the spa bath with bubble bath and when the jets were turned on they nearly overtook the room lol.
Bugs #646 Miles 164.2 miles (264 kms)
Monday, 19 September 2011
Every good movie has a car chase and today we had ours!!!
19 September - started by exploring Mark Twain's boyhood town in Hannibal Missouri. This is where he got all his inspiration for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I first read these books when I was about 10 and have lost count of how many times I have read them since. Mark Twain is a word master!
The plan today was to get as close to Milwaukee Wisconsin as we could and we got off to a smooth start. Good weather and great roads - stopped for lunch at Galesburg and then started off again. We didn't get too far when we noticed a Buick in front of us keep coming out from behind a semi to overtake but then it would go back behind again and it was sitting right up close to the semi. As this was a two lane road with no cars in front we couldn't work out just why he kept going back in behind the truck. It soon became obvious that this guy was either drunk or on drugs - he kept weaving from side to side and if any one else came up the side to get by he would weave out and they would have to swerve to miss him. All this time his arm is hanging out the window - never seen anything like it. After 10 minutes or so with the erratic driving getting worse we called 911 because it was pretty obvious that if he didn't kill himself he would kill someone else. The 911 lady stayed on the phone and asked us to let them know if he took an exit so we followed him and just sat back. At one stage he swerved directly across the road into the grassy area between the roads and then right back over to the other side and off the road there. No cops turned up. I think he realised we were following him because he took an exit off the highway - we followed him keeping 911 informed. He ended up turning back on to the freeway - returning the way he came. He took another exit and we ended up back in Galesburg where he was stopped by a police car - nearly ran the policeman over! Anyway...it was his lucky day that he is still alive and that he didn't kill someone else. We told the police officer the story and left our details and began our journey from Galesburg again. We seem to be collecting a lot of Police Officers on this road trip. Currently in Rock Falls Illinois - our 17 th state - and will continue on to Milwaukee tomorrow. Miles 317.4 ( 511 kms) Bugs #641
The plan today was to get as close to Milwaukee Wisconsin as we could and we got off to a smooth start. Good weather and great roads - stopped for lunch at Galesburg and then started off again. We didn't get too far when we noticed a Buick in front of us keep coming out from behind a semi to overtake but then it would go back behind again and it was sitting right up close to the semi. As this was a two lane road with no cars in front we couldn't work out just why he kept going back in behind the truck. It soon became obvious that this guy was either drunk or on drugs - he kept weaving from side to side and if any one else came up the side to get by he would weave out and they would have to swerve to miss him. All this time his arm is hanging out the window - never seen anything like it. After 10 minutes or so with the erratic driving getting worse we called 911 because it was pretty obvious that if he didn't kill himself he would kill someone else. The 911 lady stayed on the phone and asked us to let them know if he took an exit so we followed him and just sat back. At one stage he swerved directly across the road into the grassy area between the roads and then right back over to the other side and off the road there. No cops turned up. I think he realised we were following him because he took an exit off the highway - we followed him keeping 911 informed. He ended up turning back on to the freeway - returning the way he came. He took another exit and we ended up back in Galesburg where he was stopped by a police car - nearly ran the policeman over! Anyway...it was his lucky day that he is still alive and that he didn't kill someone else. We told the police officer the story and left our details and began our journey from Galesburg again. We seem to be collecting a lot of Police Officers on this road trip. Currently in Rock Falls Illinois - our 17 th state - and will continue on to Milwaukee tomorrow. Miles 317.4 ( 511 kms) Bugs #641
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| This is the crazy driver |
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