Wednesday, August 6; Hats off to Meijer Stores, particularly the one on Westnedge in Kalamazoo, MI. For anyone not fluent in Great Lakes culture, Fredrick Meijer was a contemporary of Sam Walton just upstream several states. Meijer Stores are basically the same dream-come-true as the Walmart Super Stores, just not spread outside the Great Lakes States. I am sitting in a section between the main entrance and the produce where 8 tables for two line the walls and a countertop with half-a-dozen stools. Add to that, electric outlets are plentiful. You won’t find that in any Walmart store I’ve ever been in. The Walton plan is all about shopping carts that are too big and moving customers through the checkout lanes as fast as possible. They certainly don’t want computer hacks like me hanging around with a drink and sandwich while writing or doing research or play games or work at keeping their journal up to date. I even had my choice of large or small push-carts, something else most Walmarts don’t like to see.
I stayed in a $73 motel in Grand Rapids last night. I try not to pay money for time spent unconscious making motels a last resort. Two nights ago my power station (high tech battery pack) either lost its charge or I misread the meter and I woke up in the wee hours without the support of my c-pap machine. So I didn’t get much sleep and had to resort to that last resort last night. The power station took a full charge and looks good so I’ll try camping at the truckstop again in a few days. That will be in Ludington, MI.; have to be there early to board the ferry for a ride across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. I don’t like driving unfamiliar roads in the dark and motels in Ludington are all well over the $100 toll. If I don’t get good rest at the truckstop I can nap on the ride across the lake. That’s my plan. Like any other plan I anticipate the possibility of life throwing me a curve, followed by reboot, adapt and update the new plan.
Tomorrow night the MaRY Chapin Carpenter concert is still on in Grand Rapids. I’ll go back up the road I came down today. The gates open at 4:00 and my good company for this show won’t get there until just before the music starts so I’ll fix food for the cooler and stake out a good spot (lawn chairs) as soon as they let people in. The worst part of this trip is pulling in the driveway. But I’ve got a plan for September.
I stayed in a $73 motel in Grand Rapids last night. I try not to pay money for time spent unconscious making motels a last resort. Two nights ago my power station (high tech battery pack) either lost its charge or I misread the meter and I woke up in the wee hours without the support of my c-pap machine. So I didn’t get much sleep and had to resort to that last resort last night. The power station took a full charge and looks good so I’ll try camping at the truckstop again in a few days. That will be in Ludington, MI.; have to be there early to board the ferry for a ride across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. I don’t like driving unfamiliar roads in the dark and motels in Ludington are all well over the $100 toll. If I don’t get good rest at the truckstop I can nap on the ride across the lake. That’s my plan. Like any other plan I anticipate the possibility of life throwing me a curve, followed by reboot, adapt and update the new plan.
Tomorrow night the MaRY Chapin Carpenter concert is still on in Grand Rapids. I’ll go back up the road I came down today. The gates open at 4:00 and my good company for this show won’t get there until just before the music starts so I’ll fix food for the cooler and stake out a good spot (lawn chairs) as soon as they let people in. The worst part of this trip is pulling in the driveway. But I’ve got a plan for September.
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