Autumn

The huge ash tree that leafed out in May and wonderfully shaded the RV all summer long was also Menominee's favorite spot for sharpening her claws. But then its leaves yellowed and fell. Up and down the block, maple leaves turned bright colors and the lovely aroma of Autumn was in the air. Snow hadn't fallen yet, but it was just a matter of time until it did. We figured we'd better leave town, so we packed up, rolled the scooter aboard its trailer, and headed south.

Southward Bound

It was mid-October and travel was easy, as the weather was sunny, all the kiddies were in school, and we had the roads and RV parks pretty much to ourselves. We headed south across Minnesota, over to southern Wisconsin, and down into north-western Illinois. It was there that I felt a magnetic pull, the pull of Chicago, the really big city with more muscle and reputation than Minnespolis and Saint Paul combined. I didn't want to drive the RV into Chicago, of course, but I was fascinated by the possibility of visiting downtown Chicago again after many years.

By chance I fell into conversation with a friendly proprietor of an RV park. It turned out she had grown up in Chicago and gave good advice on where to catch a commuter train from the far suburbs right into downtown. I had only to drive a few miles to the park-and-ride and catch a train! The night before, I went online and planned it all, mapping out the route to the train station, figuring which train to catch, when I'd arrive downtown, and then which local transportation to use.

Chicago!

The next day, everything went according to plan. The park-and-ride, the modern, comfortable commuter train to downtown, a ride on the elevated train, transferring to a crosstown bus, the bus ride past the University of Chicago, (which brought back memories of my high school buddy who went there as an undergrad). I reached my destination, the Museum of Science and Industry, and strolled around the exhibits. Then I found what I had really come to admire, a most unusual and unlikely exhibit: an actual WWII submarine, nicely restored and displayed indoors.

Leaving the museum, I reversed the bus and elevated rides and got off at the Loop. There I strolled a few blocks back to the train station, people-watching as I went. It seemed to be scarf season, with many folks wearing them around their necks and tucked under their lapels, even though it wasn't that cold or windy that day. I figured it must be more fashion than function. A heavenly aroma sucked me into a popcorn store, where I bought a bag of special Chicago caramel corn (which I munched for days).

I caught the train and rode with a car full of workers commuting to their homes in the far suburbs. A young man in a suit fell fast asleep, and when we arrived at the end of the line he was still asleep. As a Minnesotan, I wanted to do a good deed and nudge him awake, but I decided instead to hold back and watch to see what the Chicagoans did: They ignored him and exited the car, leaving him asleep! By then it was dusk, and as I walked across the parking lot to the RV, I saw Menominee at the window, watching for me to return.

The weather forecast showed the season's first serious cold wave moving down from Minnesota toward Illinois. We hurried south ahead of it, ignoring all the rest of Illinois, fleeing straight south over flat agricultural land. The cold front was right on our tail but we beat it and landed over the border in Kentucky.

City and Country

We spent most of our year far from cities. On the road, we are far more interested in what small towns and the countryside have to offer. Blue highways. Local restaurants. It was only in the spring and fall that we were parked in a Minneapolis suburb and had access to everything a big city has to offer.

I realized something about the amenities a city provides — it's more than parks, restaurants, and entertainment. It's also about the availability of what you want to acquire, whether it's a particular book, a pair of pants, a tech gadget — or a motor scooter.

Contemplate how easy you have it, if you have convenient access to every kind of store. Imagine how different your life would be if you lived far away from all of them. That's the way it is in much of the country, as we had found out on our travels around the US and Canada..

But then, against the city's advantages you have to balance the roar of power mowers, the snarl of weed whackers and power edgers, the sirens of emergency vehicles, the shriek of airplanes right overhead, and barking dogs.