Day 25 of ALAA,Tues, June 7th, 2011-From Flint, MI to Erie, PA

Today has a lot of pretty boring middles with a good lunchtime and a great evening. From Flint, MI down to the Detroit area was run of the mill, getting a new front tire on the bike and a new helmet for me in Warren, MI was a pretty good. There was more middling through Detroit, Toledo, and Cleveland to a great end in Erie, PA. Some of the Cascadians out there remember Charles Strange-aka Chuck, Chuckles, or Back Row Charlie. Well, he lives in Erie and we hooked up for dinner, some good conversation , and a bed to sleep in for me. BRC moved back here after he graduated from Cascade and bought a perfect home in a wonderful neighborhood of Erie, PA. The streets look like where every kid should grow up!


Today was Lake Erie, the coast of Ohio and halfway across the NW corner of PA. Tomorrow is the rest of the NW corner of PA and into Western New York. It was almost sad to go through cities like Flint, Detroit, Toledo, and Cleveland because they were some of the most powerful industrial cities in the US in the 50's and 60's but now they are declining rust-belt ghost towns waiting for the day when heavy union manufacturing returns . . . . . but I'm afraid those days are gone forever.