Sunday, October 23, 2005

10/2/2005

The morning of Sunday, October 2, we left the beauty of Munising to start the Circle Tour. We drove west (a clockwise trip, for fellow Circle Tourists) through Marquette, Ishpeming and into unfamiliar territory for me. We skipped the Keweenaw Peninsula because I didn't feel like we had enough time for it, and I was right.

It was mid-afternoon when my boyfriend required his daily coffee break, which is essential so he doesn't fall asleep. (I've seen it; he will fall asleep anywhere, doing anything, without that dose of caffeine.) So, we pulled into what seemed like a simple park, and it turned out to be one of Michigan's proud attractions, Lake Michigamme!

Once we were west of Ispeming, the colors started to really pop. I took this picture up a tree trunk while wandering around, desperately looking for a potty.

This is a common problem for me -- always looking for a potty. It's a bitter irony, you see, because I am a germ phobe and am uncomfortable using a toilet anywhere other than my own home. What happens, of course, is I go out to eat for breakfast, hit the road, stop a few hours later, find myself in a state park having to "go", and my choices are the bushes or an outhouse that would give me nightmares for decades to come. On this particular stop, I wandered the park to find all the facilities closed for the season and locked (yes, bathrooms close for the season), and quickly got back into the car to squirm while I drove.

This trip was full of potty issues for both of us, which will unfold.

We found a motel in Bessemer, Michigan and settled in for the night.
It was a cute motel room and we watched reruns of Law and Order until about midnight. It was much like being at home, for me. I do so love Law and Order.

One of us (I won't name names, but it wasn't me) plugged up the toilet in the motel room that night, and the office had closed so we couldn't get a plunger. This was a problem because we couldn't "go" anymore after that. I, literally, stripped, peed in the shower, showered off, and redressed whenever I had to pee. "Number Two" was not permitted!

1 comment:

Travelin' Tracy said...

That's funny! I have learned to go anywhere...you gotta learn that in Alaska. But seriously once I was in Switzerland on a hike with the exboyfriend and I had to pee about four times, just on the way down! It wasn't embrassing, but almost funny that I kept having to strip down on the side of the trail and he was left as the lookout!

And then there was a time when I was a missionary and I ate at somebody's house for dinner and it really upset my stomach. I signaled to my companion that I needed to leave and when we got in the car I suggested we figure out the closest house of a friend. But I couldn't make it! We had to stop the car and I had the runs right in the ditch on the side of the road! So like I said, I have learned to go anywhere!