Our Second Long Road and Bicycle Trip

Days 1 to 3: our drive took us from Cambridge through Pittsfield, MA, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo and today to DeKalb, Il. We have made visits along the way to son Brendan, to old friends and friends newly made. We entered a heat wave today and drove through cornfields which will produce ethanol (we pray this product does not get shipped by rail behind our condo as has been proposed). We do not think growing corn for ethanol is the way this land should be used. Please see the recent article, “More Corn Ethanol In 2013 Means Environment, Consumers Lose Out” at this link:

http://www.ewg.org/agmag/2013/08/more-corn-ethanol-2013-means-environment-consumers-lose-out

Cornfields in Ohio

Anderson Japanese Garden

Coming into Rockford, Illinois from I-90 along a strip of motels and big box stores, one would not imagines that a few miles further one will come to a magic spot near the Rock River - a Japanese garden said to be the finest in North America. We sipped sake at the Garden's Seasons restaurant as we watched a fierce but brief thunder storm. We also enjoyed an excellent dinner as the sun set.

In daylight, we shall take a meditative walk in the Garden. Will it please us as does the Japanese garden in Portland Oregon? The answer is that our memories are failing us and we cannot make the comparison. They were both designed by Hoichi Kurisu. This Japanese Garden is beautiful and induces one to enter a meditative state of mind. We recommend it to all who travel through this part of the country. We also got some exercise riding our Marin bikes along the Rock River bike path.

Tonight, September 22, we ate at Brio, a small plate restaurant in an antique 1879 building in downtown Rockford. Highlights of the dinner were Roast Elk and Tempura Asparagus. All six plates were delicious.