The retreat was to include a "technology fast," which is quite challenging for me! I warned my family that they wouldn't hear from me for a week, and I planned to do my best. However, technology really is a part of my life. For instance, I planned to read. Most of my books are on my iPad. I don't own a watch. Why would I need one, when I can look at my cell phone for the time? Being single and living abroad, most of my communication is via technology. Once I got to the retreat location, some of those challenges took care of themselves. Our location was remote enough that I didn't have a signal for my phone or internet! I chose to still take my iPad, because the reasoning for the fast was to be resting, not working, and since I was using it for rest, that seemed appropriate.
I've gotten ahead of myself. The drive out was pretty nice. We had a lot of rain the days prior to my departure, and I kept thinking, "I do not want to drive 700 miles in the rain!" Thankfully, the rain cleared up and I had a gorgeous day to drive. I love driving through the mountains of Pennsylvania. I drove through four tunnels, over many other mountains, and then I reached Ohio. And it was flat. And then I got to Michigan. And it was flat. It was still pretty, but wow, it was flat.
I drove most of the way on Friday. The retreat started on Saturday, with an arrival between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Once I drove through Detroit, I figured I should start looking for a hotel. I decided to drive to Port Huron, which would leave me with about 80 miles to drive on Saturday. When I stopped for dinner, I called ahead and booked a hotel room in Port Huron. The closer I got to Port Huron, the more nervous I got. I kept seeing signs for Canada, and instructions to use the highway I was using to go across to Canada. And my GPS, the NeverLost, kept telling me to go straight! Three miles before the Canadian border crossing, I reached my exit. And there was construction. And a detour. The detour was taking me even further on the Canadian bound highway!
Now, I was back on the highway, my GPS was telling me I missed my exit, and I was thinking, "I didn't bring my passport. I can't go to Canada." I got off at the next exit, figuring I would just do this the old fashioned way and find a local to ask for directions. Instead I found the hotel, which was great, since it was now 9 p.m. and I was pretty tired!
The next morning, the NeverLost and I began our journey again. I checked out of my Comfort Inn and turned on the GPS. It told me to get back on the same highway. I was muttering to myself at this point. With a big sigh, I turned on the car, got back on the same highway, and headed even closer to Canada. And the NeverLost told me to take exit 2. Fortunately, I was paying very close attention and there wasn't any traffic, because the exit the NeverLost told me to take was marked with a big orange sign stating CANADIAN CUSTOMS ONLY. I did not take that exit. I carried on straight and took the next exit and prayed to God that I wouldn't be crossing any bridges.
I did not cross a bridge or end up in Canada, thank the Lord. Instead, I found M25, which was the highway I needed. Now this made me giggle, because the M25 is also the name of the Motorway around London. However, this is the Michigan version:
There was significantly less traffic than one might find on the London M25.
But before I got too far from Port Huron, I (wisely) thought I should fill up the car with fuel. As Leslie said when looking at the map, "Oh my goodness, Port Huron is the last town before the final frontier!" I stopped at a gas station and began to fill up the car. I used the little clicky latch on the handle so I wouldn't need to hold the handle the entire time, but as regulations state, I stayed with the car. Thank goodness I did! I heard a "glug glug" and thought, "Oh, it's full." But the little clicky latch didn't release! So, I grabbed the handle (leaving it in the fuel tank because fuel is still coming out!) and frantically fiddled with in. After a few tries, it released. Now I had fuel down the side of the car, on the concrete all around me, and on my hands, and I was having visions of gas stations exploding. The practical side of me was also thinking, "Oh man, I had to pay for that fuel!" Clearly I am capable of thinking many things at once! I very calmly closed my fuel tank, printed a receipt, and walked into the gas station to ask for help.
I'm so glad two girls were working. I stated the problem, wanting to tell them more about the handle and that it should be fixed. I suppose my Eastern directness was too direct for her Midwestern-ness because the girl seemed to think I was complaining and she gave me a complimentary voucher to take my car through their carwash and hand sanitizer for my hands. I clarified, but she assured me that she would have someone look at the handle. I took my little Nissan rental through the car wash, and was back on my journey. I was driving north, along the "thumb" of Michigan. There are some really lovely roadside parks which are along Lake Huron, because the M25 runs parallel to the edge of Lake Huron for some distance.
And then there were more detours, which took me away from the coast and further inland.
All in all, it was a very nice (albeit long) trip. I arrived at the retreat around noon and used my barely there signal to text my family that I had arrived safely. After that, I dutifully turned off my phone and took my book down to the lake, prepared to relax. Vicious horseflies interrupted that with their biting, but I did last about an hour. After that, I unpacked, took a nap, and before I knew it, was headed to another lodge for our dinner and first meeting with the other guests.
I'll write more about that later :)
1 comment:
Hope the retreat turned out great!
If only you'd brought that passport...might've been able to cruise thru' Canada (next time, maybe)
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