Dark Bilious Vapors

I'm back. And it was a very long, hectic, but ultimately quite enjoyable extended weekend. Now to get the tons of pictures culled, touched up, and posted....

Sunday was a bit longer day than I planned. I should have figured that Karen would never let me leave Chicagoland without coming to see her little corner of Dennis Hastert Country, and ultimately she prevailed on me to make the trip. I'm glad she did though, as I also got to make the acquaintance of her husband, Charlie, and two of her three lovely daughters (the eldest middlest was off Doing Her Own Thing, which kids that age are wont to do. That's cool). And she was a gracious hostess, and plied me with munchies and diet Coke (I'm a reasonably cheap date, at least when I want to be).

The difference in our contexts made for some fun disconnects, though. I'm not used to tollways (even when I lived in Chicago I never had reason (or means) to explore those parts of Chicagoland where tollways are just a part of everyday life. So I was a little discombobulated that I actually had to pay money to use the roadway to get to her little corner of DHC heaven. Because tolls are a part of everyday life for her, she never thought to mention to me that I'd better have money with me (I didn't see any stickers saying that the toll attendants took plastic). Fortunately for my disposition, I had money.

And it was an interesting conversation as I was getting my directions back to the highway:

Karen: Ok you see the county courthouse there? [Well, I saw some building; one of the few that didn't look residential in nature, so there wasn't a big leap to assume that it was a courthouse.] Now over there to the left is the salt dome.

Len: Salt dome?

K: You know, when it snows and they put salt on the roads...

L: Yes; they used to do that in St. Louis. But salt dome?

K: Well, that's where they keep the salt.

L: Silly me; I thought they kept it in big piles out somewhere...

Len on 06.07.05 @ 04:25 PM CST