Road Trip Part 2

   Saturday morning we went down for breakfast. C ordered an omelet with a caramel roll on the side. Cinnamon and caramel rolls are the house specialty. We were expecting a demure pastry on a plate. When the server brought it out it was the size of a small loaf of bread. It was covered in homemade caramel and studded with walnuts. The server had thoughtfully brought an extra plate in case we wanted to share. I had not intended to have any, but it was so large. C served me a slice with some sauce. It was delicious, fresh and warm. We wound up having the rest of it boxed so we could take it with us.
   We went back to our room, got cleaned up and checked out. Next item on the agenda was a trip to downtown Grand Rapids. The first place we went was the pharmacy I used to work at. It has a lot of gift type items and a good selection of greeting cards. While we were looking I saw my former boss. I wasn't sure he would be there. I stepped to the counter and asked the clerk if he was busy. She told me that he would be right out.
   When he came out he stopped for a minute. He recognised me, but didn't remember my name. I said, "I'm Sophie Story, your intern from 20 years ago". He couldn't believe that it was really that long ago, but it was. I had a nice chat with him. His family was doing well and his stepdaughter had just graduated from high school. She'd be starting college in the fall. He had sold the store and was planning on working here and there when he was needed. He still wants to keep busy. I told him that I was teaching interns of my own now. He seemed pleased. He had to get back to work so I shook his hand and said goodbye.
   We toured the museum across the street in the old school building. It was really nice. C liked it because it had a lot of Judy Garland stuff in it. (She was born in Grand Rapids.)
   I wanted to see the park by the river near the paper mill. When I lived in Grand Rapids I used to spend time there reading and studying. The street was torn up,so we had to walk a bit to get there. It was still the same. The buildings nearby had not changed. I walked to the edge of the river and looked upstream. My eyes teared up. Twenty years ago I stood at this same spot looking upstream. Back then I wondered what was in store for me. I saw myself working in a pharmacy and living a quiet,modest,single life with two or three cats and maybe a few close friends. In the summer of 1992, I was wondering if I would pass the pharmacy board exams and what kind of pharmacist I would make.
   It was so long ago. So much had happened since then. I never thought I'd be working in a pharmacy inside a grocery store. I didn't consider those to be "real" pharmacies. I never thought I'd be giving vaccines or working in a large city. I never thought that I'd be married or own a house. I still had the same feeling watching the water of the Mississippi move towards the paper mill and over the dam. What was in store for me?
   It was time to go to the party. We went back to the hotel. There weren't that many people. Anna was sitting with some friends. We signed the large gift card and looked at the pictures and other items that had been set out. I remembered Anna what she was that small. We went to the punch bowl and got something to drink. There was a disc jockey set up. C and I went over to look at the equipment. Someday we hope to have a small recoding studio in our house so we like to look at mixing boards and talk to the people that own them. We had a nice talk with the disc jockey. I met my friend's father. I hadn't seen him in 20 years either. I even talked to Anna's dad. He and my friend had divorced a few years ago. He had changed a lot. I hardly recognised him.
   We stayed for an hour and then went to Duluth. C had not been there before and wanted to see some of it. On the way I talked to my friend Sarah. She and her husband Dean used to got to Duluth a lot. It was 90 degrees when we left Grand Rapids. Duluth was a lot cooler and perfect. We walked around by the lake and watched the lift bridge go up to allow some sailboats to go through.
   After supper we wanted to walk a bit more before we started the drive home. I suggested that we walk on the lift bridge. As we walked onto the bridge I felt my knees turn to jelly. I remembered that I am afraid of bridges. It looked like so much fun that I had forgot about it until I looked down and saw the water beneath us. It's such a silly fear. The bridge was sturdy and would not up up without warning. There was nothing to be afraid of. We walked around  on the other side for a bit and crossed the bridge again. This time I had a handrail to hold and I felt much better.
   There was an Army Corp of Engineers building near the lift bridge. We went inside to look around. I always liked the insignia of the Corps of Engineers. It's a castle with two towers. I like the motto even better, it's Essayons (Let us try.) There are a lot of good displays inside that are maritime related. Well worth seeing if you are ever up that way.
   It was time for us to get going. We wanted to be on our way before dark. It was a good road trip. We'll need to do it again sometime.