Cosy bed in Adrian, MI... Me in it with my favorite partner till now... don't get any ideas, am just referring to my laptop :)
Came visiting a not-so-distant uncle of mine. Took the Friday off from work. Was getting bugged up with the mundane activities at work. Been a long time since I took to the roads. I guess the drives and I have a bonding due to which I always find myself driving down to someplace whenever I need a break. Anyway, called him up. Asked about his program and whether it would be any problem if I drove up to meet him, his family and granny. He called back and said it would be great to meet me...
Packed my stuff. Called the rental car agency to come and me pick me up from my residence. Spoke to a lady by the initials of KP. She's an American staying in downtown Chicago but commutes out of downtown to work. A nice concept. It keeps you close to the action and also always in the opposite side of the traffic ;) Anyway, got talking to her. Let's see whether a friendship blossoms or not...
Finally, the journey began @ approx 4 in the evening. Had to pack my stuff, wash clothes, fill up the gas tank before I could take off... The drive in itself wasn't bad. A pretty scenic one too. Took the I-94 and traveled west for around 200 miles. Had taken a map form Google. Per the map, had to leave the expressway somewhere after entering Ohio and join the US-20 to lead me to the city. I followed the directions to the point ; evening came around fast and the darkness came in at around 1830 hrs.
Being out on the roads in an unexplored territory, in an unknown country where you're still a newcomer in terms of learning the ropes of the game, it became a bit uneasy for me to drive around in the night in the wilderness... No human habitation for miles to go, not even a gas station around, just white/yellow lines illuminated by the lights of your vehicle itself. Signboards were also scarce... For a freshman you never can tell whether you are traveling in the right direction or just driving along. Stopped at the gas station @ 108 / US20 crossing and asked the lady behind the counter about my whereabouts. She gave me a relief by telling me that I was on track and just needed to carry on till I hit the x-ing for 109 and then head north to enter Adrian...
Reached @ 2130 CST... Was informed by my aunt that granny had slept, after waiting for me... I thought that maybe being here she's got the habit of sleeping early. Anyway, had a home-cooked, Indian-style, finger-licking dinner..... Tasted good. Sat down to chat with my uncle and aunt for a while... Time whizzed by. Hit the bunk @ 0030 CST... Woke up in the morning @ 0930 CST. Am saying CST cos when I saw the time as per the clocks in their house it was showing 1030 hrs.. And then it struck me that Adrian is in EST.... No wonder granny slept. It was actually way past her normal bedtime ;)
Freshened up and then went down. Granny was elated to meet me. Feels nice to make people happy. Gives you peace of mind.
Had pakoras for breaker. The lunch was another gourmet's delight for me. Kidney beans, cucumber mixed salted yoghurt, home-cooked rotis, capsicum-paneer curry dish. Awesome. What more can a man ask for?
Met their 2 sweet, adorable kids... ArT and AnT. Spent some quality time with them... Enjoyed some fun games @ Chuck E Cheese (a kids arcade, entertainment outlet). Also, visited the Hands-On museum. Reminded me of the Nehru Science Centre back in Delhi, India. Was one of my favorite hang-outs back as a kid. Both these places are in Ann Arbor, the U-of-M city. Took some snaps of the University campus too..
Came back just a while back. We made the trip to Ann Arbor in my uncle's BMW Z5 SUV. A pretty neat piece of machinery. Would definitely like to own a similar one someday...
Tomorrow I return to reality... to continue life, to continue dreaming :)
