Spontaneous Saturday Fun

Last Saturday we planned a drive to Aurora, Nebraska to take local apples to Lois and Ron, Marian’s sister and brother-in-law.  They had potatoes, onions, shallots and sweet potatoes for us, which they had grown on their farm.  It was going to be a quick trip with lunch at a coffee house, Espressions, in Aurora.  After making great time on the way out – amazing, since it was a football Saturday in Lincoln – we had lunch and chatted, exchanged produce, and hit the road again.  On the return trip, we reached York, about 20 minutes from Aurora, when we looked at each other and said, “you know, we don’t have to go home right now; let’s just go exploring.”  And so we did.

We pulled out a map and decided  we wanted to be home by dark – that gave us about 6 more hours to drive the beautiful back roads of central Nebraska.  We went north awhile then headed northwest.  We drove through small towns and gorgeous fields and even skirted the edge of Nebraska’s so-called Bohemian Alps – named for the many eastern Europeans who settled the area.

At some point we decided we were close enough to Primrose to stop for a visit at Dublin Cemetery where Marian’s parents are buried.  I think that was the most amazing part of our unplanned day.  We hadn’t been there for a couple of years and really don’t know when we’ll get back.  Dublin Cemetery is a classic small prairie cemetery – very peaceful and quiet.  In all the times we’ve visited, there has never been anyone else there.

After the cemetery visit we headed further north, then east, then south, finally ending up in Omaha 10 hours and 420 miles after we had left early Saturday morning.

One of  things that struck me on this great drive is all the place names that are shared among different states.  Nebraska has Aurora (Colorado), York (Pennsylvania), Oakland (California), Cedar Rapids (Iowa), West Point (New York), Albion (Michigan and California), Madison (Wisconsin), Fremont (California), Columbus (Ohio) and Omaha (Arkansas) – these are just a few of the  towns we drove through and there are many more.  Geography fascinates me.

What a great day we had – scooting along in the Element, enjoying the wonderful sunshine and cloud formations.  We always have fun days when we allow serendipity to guide our path.  This day definitely foreshadowed our future freedom on the road.

-sc