There and Back Again

   We had so much fun driving to Boston last April on mostly back roads that we did it again in December. We haven't celebrated Christmas with our kids for many years, partly because Teresa's dad is 101 and doesn't travel well. So Teresa's sister Becky, her husband Jack, Teresa and I stay in town and perform the old rituals with Einar or Enar as he now calls himself.
   This year Teresa nd Becky decided it was time for some of the other siblings to come to Roseau so we could get out of town. Becky and Jack would go down to St. Cloud where their kids live and Teresa and I would take the long road to Boston. Of course we would have to keep an eye on the weather. If a blizzard appeared in the forecast, we could duck into the nearest motel and live on continental breakfasts until the plows came by.
   We planned to spend a night in Chicago to visit my sainted aunt Mary, cousin Liz and her friend Ralph. When my sister Mary-Jo learned of this, she bought a one-way ticket to Midway so she could ride to Mass. with us. She's a venerable road tripper.
   We left Wannaska at seven a.m. on Wednesday, December 12, 2018. We were in Duluth by noon and crossed the bridge into Superior. Duluth is hilly and pretty. Superior is flat and industrial. I know there's a pretty part in Superior, but our route winds through a wasteland. Even the houses, even the Santas in front of the houses, look industrial. We started noting the drop in gas prices: $2.49 at home, $2.14 here (I won't bore my readers with further prices: the lowest was $1.70 in Ohio. Illinois and Indiana were also low. Highest in NY and Mass.
    Siri gave us route down to Black River Falls on Hwy 53, a four laner-through towns. At Solon Springs we took a detour around Upper St. Croix Lake, source of the beautiful St Croix River which further south forms the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. This was cabin country with fish houses on the lake.
   We pulled into our motel on the south side of Black River Falls. We were able to walk to the Mocha Mouse across the way. It seems everyplace in Wisconsin sells cheese, even coffee shops. The Mocha Mouse also served sandwiches, local crafts and there was even a used bookstore upstairs. Coffee shops in Wisconsin also sell beer for the over-caffeinated. There was a display from the local vineyards of which it appears there are no end. This was a perfect refuge after almost 500 miles on the road.
     After a passable continental breakfast, we hit the beautiful back roads of woods and farms tucked between steep hills. I saw an Amish wagon being slowly pulled up a steep snow covered road. Patience in motion. We got lunch in Janesville, giving Paul Ryan's hometown a little business.
   Soon after, we were crossing the flat Illinois farmland. We were going to go all the wat to Aunt Mary's house on the far south side of Chicago avoiding freeways. This was something I had never tried before in all my many trips through Chicago. I was curious at what point the urban would take over from the rural.  The answer, on my route at least, was in the city of Geneva, 35 miles from the Loop. Aunt Mary's place was 44 miles from Geneva. Taking the freeway would be two miles longer, but twenty minutes quicker. Those twenty minutes were spent sitting at stop lights. Which gives you a chance to look around. On the other hand, it took several minutes to pass through the Saganashkee Woods. The St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery closer to Aunt Mary's was also a formidable open space.