Day 31: Home!

On the last day, we stopped in Moline, IL, on the Iowa border, at the 100-year-old Lagomarcino’s candy store suggested in Roadfood. Great place. Nice owner lady there, helping us, then working in her open-air office overlooking the store from amidships. We had a fine little lunch with fountain drinks in a wonderful mahogany booth. Patterned tile floor, Tiffany lamps for each booth. Tall tin ceiling. We bought a bunch of handmade gift items. (Roadfood seems way too thin to me, but we’re finding some good places with it. Still, it seems like every good independent outfit should be listed in it. These folks need bigtime help nationwide or they’ll be gone soon.)

We stop for dinner in Hammond, IN, near Chicago. Down by the water, the industry, and the trains. Again, thanks to Roadfood, we find Phil Smidt & Son, noted for perch and froglegs. It’s in a new building but it has industrial heart’n’soul to it. You can’t really tell it’s new. Well, it’s new to them anyway and they’ve been around for many decades. Seems fine to me. Murals, tall ceilings. Older, professional staff. Our kids are OK, but they’re driving M nuts this time. I think that everyone’s hormones are starting to take over. The kids are holding up great in this nonstop crosscountry dash! But we’re all ready to be home. We notice a spread from USA Today posted in the foyer listing them as the quintessential place for Indiana. M notices that Johnnies is the representative place for Nebraska. The food is wonderful. We choose perch whole, not fileted. But I didn’t know M doesn’t know the trick. She struggles a bit which doesn’t help her mood, but she learns. I flick the meat off the spine and enjoy the hot fresh fish, and more of it due to not being fileted. The waitress says that hardly anyone orders whole anymore. My froglegs are heavenly as well. Remember: always eat fish, frogs and fries piping hot. They just suck if allowed to cool even slightly. We roll.

Earlier, the cellphone saved us again. In times of tiresome driving we use some free minutes when we’re in range of the zone or whatever it is. We finally connect with a backhome friend we haven’t been able to catch. It turns out she finally has a car and would happily go pick up my MSU books for me at the printer. We call home and our housesitting guru Roland says he’ll be all cleaned up on our arrival and that another printer has already shipped the other books to me. So two drives don’t have to be made just when I’m done driving.

A few hours later, we’re home. Whew. What a trip!

What a trip!

I hope you enjoyed it. Did you feel anything? Hmmm, how to process it all? We’re back in the hectic rush of things already. The next day I deliver books to MSU and H starts school. Writing this report has helped, but it has been obviously slapdash rushed as well, so I’m back where I started.

We also came home to bad news about our future finances. Well, darn it, I just have to get those OYB books out there into some shops and bookstores! They sell great wherever they go. But everyone wants things they can order robotically. Even in independent businesses. These folks are panicked themselves. Oh well, as the old song maybe goes: “If we make it to Christmas, Mama” Ah, but right NOW, September, will determine that. Yikes! I have twelve projects to do NOW, this month.