Nomad Life - Day 311

For some reason, I got another early start this morning; I was up at 0500 and started teleworking immediately.  Because there was no breakfast provided by the Euclid Motel (Bay City), I skipped the morning meal.  At 0845, another aerobics class began just outside my room - it seemed a bit more subdued this time, though.  For most of the morning, I had a series of meetings that required me to request a late checkout.  This was approved by hotel manager but he still called me just after 1100 ("sorry, I forgot").  At noon, I signed off of my computer and left the hotel.  Outside, it was breezy and overcast (temp was 71 F).  Following a precoordinated plan, I drove to Auburn (straight shot on Midland Road) and stopped at O’s Pub & Grill (arrived at 1220).  Within 10 minutes, I met up with Dave A, who was the son of one of the members of the Class of 1950 that I've talked with over the years.  His father passed away several years ago but he has kept me up to date on his (and his twin brother's) activities.  We had a great meal for lunch (I got a filling club sandwich) at the nice restaurant - Dave told me I'd made a good choice - and talked Notre Dame football.  We wrapped up our meal at 1350 and, after saying goodbye, I drove north and west in the direction of a nearby county where I wanted to do some birding.  Using back roads, I made my way just inside Gladwin County and stopped at the corner of Neuman Road & Rhodes Road (1420).  My "detour" worked out well and I encountered a few interesting species during the 10 minutes I was waiting there.  After that, I resumed my drive through large (and burgeoning) farm fields.  My route was a zig zag on the roads that led towards the north and east.  Along the way, I passed through the towns of Rhodes and Bentley - after that, I reached MI-61 and headed east.  Before long, I arrived at the intersection of US-23 and followed it for a short time (to the north) in the town Standish (population of around 1500 people).  By the time I reached my new lodging for the night, the Standish Motel, I was glad to be able to check into my room immediately (1450).  Actually, I got held up by the friendly desk clerk (an older lady named Jan) who told me she had previously been the owner of  the motel but now just works a few days a month "to give the new owners a break."  During this conversation, she told me about some things to see and do in the town and I resolved to try all of them.  As I was departing, Jan expressed her thoughts on life on the farms of Central Michigan - she started listing all of the upcoming harvest milestones for the different crops and I was intrigued to learn about the things I'd just passed while driving in the fields.  Once I got in my room (1500), I spent more than two hours teleworking.  Meanwhile, outside, it started pouring down rain.  After my work day was done, I watched a new streaming service episode (they didn't have one of the VPN blocks I encounter a lot).  During the same timeframe, I also made myself some dinner in my room.  At 1830, I looked outside and noticed that the rain had mostly started - hoping to catch up on some of my steps, I went walking near the motel and ended up covering about two miles of trails and sidewalks in Standish.  Some of the interesting things I found along the way were related to the rural/sportsman nature of the place where I found myself.  For example, I found a freezer-looking box next to the DNR building that had the following text written on it: "deer heads only."  Down the road from there, I found an interesting trail depot area and outdoor entertainment pavilion.  In the latter location, I got to listen to an Elvis impersonator sharing his tunes.  At around the same time, Mollie called and we talked while I was walking.  As I was reaching the motel (1930), I noticed a spectacular (full) double rainbow to the east.  Even better, I noticed a little family marveling at it.  When I was back in my room, I spent the rest of the evening reading and Duolingo.  Just when I thought I was going to wrap up a quiet day, I realized I had a loud neighbor (slamming doors, loud music in car, etc.).  I mostly drowned out the noise by watching movies and finally managed to get to sleep at 2335.  Hope I get some actual rest...