And so I start the trek from Minneapolis to Seattle.
I left Heren's new condo at 10am. The Subaru dealer didn't have time to give Wapple a once-over before I left, but I just got the oil changed a month ago, and I hardly put miles on it, so I think it's okay. I didn't load up Wapple too much. Just clothes that I would need in the next month, important files, some books, some supplies, and odds and ends. As in my first trip from Seattle to Minneapolis, Hot Fudge (aka "Hottie") in his biker outfit sat on top of the middle console between the two front seats.
But I have a new navigator. I ordered TripTiks from AAA as usual, but I also bought a GPS receiver. It's a Magellan eXplorist 600 for around $300. It doesn't have the voice instructions (units with voice go for about $600), but it has cool features like an electronic compass, thermometer, barometer, and altimeter.
I hit some traffic north of the Twin Cities, where I-94 hits 494. And there were still a lot of cars all the way to Sauk Centre (the halfway point), where I had lunch. But it was a lot less crowded after that.
I called Jon's cousin and his dad yesterday and they're expecting me tomorrow (Saturday). So, I'll be backtracking about 60 miles south to the Pelican Rapids/Fergus Falls area.
Years ago, during one of our visits to Jon's family, I noticed that every town's water tank had a different design. Each had a different shape, a different paint color, a different font for the town name. It seemed as though the water tank is a major historical monument that defined the town somehow. I thought maybe it would be nice to tour all the little towns in Minnesota to take pictures of these water tanks and compile them in a coffee table book. Well, that day hasn't come yet, and that coffee table book idea is still in my to-do list.
