Fall road trip

[TC Chris]

Saturday was chores. Sunday was reserved for a pure-recreation activity, a road trip through rural areas NE of me. This would be a season finale for the Mustang. (After all, it is a "GT," Grand Touring). I made a big loop of about 140 miles, heading NE to Bellaire in Antrim County, one of my court locations, and then on to Central Lake, Ellsworth, East Jordan, Boyne City, Boyne Falls, Mancelona, Kalkaska, and back home. Not household names, are they--except one. East Jordan may be familiar to anybody who walks in urban areas. It's the home of the East Jordan Iron Works, which has specialized in storm water drain grates and manhole covers, all with their name cast into the surface. I've seen them all over the country. Look for them in your town. We are past "peak color" but the oaks were still reddish brown and the tamaracks golden yellow.

The Mustang attracted attention whenever I stopped. People come over to say something and make me wish I had washed the summer's bugs off. Back in TC I stopped at a McDonald's for a fish sandwich (next stop: grocery store; never go there when hungry). I parked right next to a very pretty ca. 1967 Mustang, newly restored and gleaming. That one was vintage when mine was built almost 20 years later and now they are both classics. The owner did not come out while I was munching so I could not gather details or sing praises.

Chris Campbell