My fingers relaxed. My phone dropped on the painted wood floor beside the bed. The noise woke me up and I looked around. Painted walls, dark wood trim framing the window and the door, different furniture . . . I had the same feeling long ago when I woke up at Grandpa Martin's house on the first morning of vacation. I had not a clue where I was.
Back then I would stare at wall paper on the walls and wonder at the dormitory sized room with two or maybe three beds scattered around. Windows poked our here and there and little nooks and crannies invited a game of hide and seek. Each room had a wooden dresser with a mirror and there was even a huge wardrobe in one of the rooms. When I dared get out of bed and tiptoe across the room the linoleum crackled under my feet. Creeping down the stairs, I'd peer over the railing, as quiet as a mouse. Yes, everyone was at the dining room table eating breakfast. And they let me sleep in! Now there was a dilemma . . . I didn't really want to march down there because there were people I didn't know at that table. Uncle Nelson and my cousin, Alvin, who was staying with Grandpa and Grandma.
By that time Mom would hear the floor creaking and see me peeking and call me down for breakfast . . . Soft boiled eggs still in the shell. Mom would slice one open with a table knife and scoop out the soft insides with a spoon. Add salt and pepper and try to eat it. I think my choice was a bowl of oatmeal instead with natural sugar (not white or brown - a texture completely different from what we had at home.)
Funny -- I have not thought about the top story of Grandpa's house for ages. Now all those memories flooded back when I woke up from a nap in the east bedroom of the old home place in Montana. It was Saturday, May 25th. I was trying to catch up on my sleep after driving all night.
The last few years we have stayed home and our young people traveled to Michigan camp out for Memorial Day weekend. Those of us left at home mowed lawn, went camping at our hillside camping spot, cooked over an open flame, went fishing, stopped at garage sales, got rained on and sun burned.
This time Jorgan and Krysta shooed us out of the house. They both told me, "You should go with dad and have a great time." The great time began on Friday getting ready for the trip! We both worked all day. Ellis unloaded the store truck at 2:30 AM. He came home for breakfast and a nap then back to work again. Krysta stayed home and did laundry -- I went off to clean a very big house and then drive bus and then hurried home to pack and finish up my stuff while Ellis finished up his.
I think we started about 8:00 PM with a few more delays thrown in for good measure. Rain and more rain all the way through the cities. I wonder how many times we have driven this road to the north east corner of MONTANA? Our plan was to drive straight through and get to Ivan and Karla's place for breakfast. Then Ellis would jump in with Ivan and they were going to an auction sale.
Ellis came up with a different plan in the morning. He saw we were not going to make it in time so we went to plan B. Look at a map of North Dakota. Where 52 starts slanting up towards Minot you come to a place where 52 joins Hwy 200 and goes west for a stretch. We kept going on 200 through McClusky and Mercer over to Hwy 83. We followed that just a stone's throw and then caught 1806. We stayed on the south side of Lake Sakakawea and saw signs along the way telling us we were following Lewis and Clark's trail. It would have been beautiful except it was foggy. Every now and then the fog would lift showing us a peek at all the country side we were missing as we barreled along. We drove through towns like Pick City and Halliday and Killdeer on over to Hwy 85 where we drove north to Watford City. Ellis kept saying, "You are going to drive when we get to Watford City." By that time we were in oil country with huge semis everywhere and Ivan's words ringing in our ears. "There is a serious wreck on those roads every week." So I kept reading our book out loud and Ellis kept driving. At Watford City we turned west and drove to Fairview. We met Ivan and Karla at Loaf n Jug . . . a restaurant in that small town. Karla jumped in with me and we drove to Dagmar. Ellis jumped in with Ivan and they went to their auction sale.
There is nothing more beautiful than North Dakota in the spring. There was green grass, blue sky and white puffy clouds after the fog lifted. Then we drove through some bluffs. Off to the west there were rolling clouds and what looked like a mountain range on the horizon but it was not mountains at all. Just more clouds shaped like mountains. I guess it is kind of a mirage.
Well, it was a wonderful week end with visits all around and even a graduation Sunday afternoon. I heard my yearly "Pomp and Circumstance." This time it was a bit different -- not played by a band but played on the piano. I did not need the usual Kleenexes so that tells me I cry only when it's played by a band. =) Curious and Curiouser!
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