It's 7:3o AM in this cloudy Minneapolis suburb, as I write from our austere Motel 6 hotel room just off of the highway. It has been two days since last we updated this blog (and don't worry, Ricardo and Lok-kin will actually write something soon, so, er, "all" our faithful followers don't just have to deal with me), over which time we have journeyed through the northern wilderness of Ontario, passed by four of the five Great Lakes, traversed the villages and national forests of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and, disappointingly, not encountering a single cheesehead in Wisconsin, though plenty of cows.
Our trip on Monday ended, after a run-in with a gruff border agent who wanted to make sure we weren't on a transnational drug run (it was a mistake to tell him I had prescription drugs in the car), at the former trading post of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Founded in 1662, it is the oldest Midwestern settlement in North America. It is also the location of the Soo Locks, which allow ships to travel between Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Having never heard of the locks myself, my mother harangued me about them as soon as we checked into our budget motel on the outskirts of town. Thankfully, Sault is not exactly a metropolis, and after grabbing our cameras (which are rapidly accumulating photographs of, well, everything) we shortly found ourselves mere feet from towering container ships inching their way through the narrow straits. At sunset, it was quite an impressive sight. Next stop, Panama?
I will leave descriptions of yesterday's travel to Mr. Lok-kin, as I believe he enjoyed the Mall of America far more than I did. I mean, it's cool, but really it's just a gigantic airport shopping center, complete with that funky terrace-like architecture distinctive of a surprising number of airports. I'll conclude with a question: why in gods name would there be a guy waving a confederate flag in WISCONSIN? I ask merely for information.
Today were off to the International SPAM Museum and our first National Park, the Badlands! Take care, wherever you are in the world, and tip your waitresses.
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