Day 11

The Bridges of Madison County is cheesier than a bag of Doritos, sure, but I always was smitten with the luscious scenery. The covered brdges are straight out of another, simpler time and even the name of the town, Winterset, conveys an old-time feel. So after stuffing our bellies with barbecue and all the trimmings in Ames, Iowa, and cruising straight through Des Moines, I saw the bridged on the atlas and we made a beeline for the interstate exit.

The air was thick and hot and dusk had nearly arrived, the perfect weather for a walk back in time. One of the bridges fell victim to arson a few years ago and a replica has been rebuilt, but the authentic structures are where it's at. We passed through town, where live music was playing in the courthouse square and a renovated church serves as a bed and breakfast (sadly it was full when we asked), stopped at an old castle-like tower on the side of the road and drove past the most amazing 19th century cemetery and a tiny rodeo before taking in our second and final bridge. I could have curled up and slept inside it all night long.

Iowa is nowhere that I'd take up permanent residence, but it was soothing to my soul for a day.

Just add Meryl Streep with a funny accent.

Days 9 & 10

Minneapolis put on quite the show for me and Jun, flaunting flawless weather and incredible cultural pursuits, architecture and food. It was also nice to lay our heads down in the same spot more than once. But above all, I enjoyed getting some face time with my girl, who was working up a storm and kicking all kinds of butt at it. I am so proud of her.

On Wednesday morning, Jun and I crept out of our deep sleep and went to the coffee shop for a jolt of warm energy, did much-needed laundry and went to the Walker Art Center to be wowed (and more often puzzled) by the exhibits and then the sculpture garden. Then we wandered downtown in search of lunch and people watching (my favorite thing was the "pub on wheels"), and later the bunch of us went to a Twins game at the brand-new stadium. I couldn't get into the game without the Cubbies involved, but we had a grand ol' time anyway and it was a gorgeous night for a ballgame.

The next day, we checked out the mill ruins near the river, which was the world's biggest flour mill in the late 1800s. Now it's a stunning structure in a resurrected area with a museum inside and a sleek concert hall next door. I couldn't help but picture an incredibly romantic wedding in the courtyard. We then traversed the Stone Arch Bridge on foot, which was opened in 1883 and shows off views of the dam and the river.

After all that walking (and then some), we headed south and rewarded ourselves with two Jucy Lucy's at Matt's Bar, which contends to be the original creator of the piping-hot, molten-cheese-stuffed burger. Every bite was divine and I was crestfallen when mine was gone. An hour's walk in the scorching sun later, we were back home and sucking down a 32 oz. Diet Coke like it was the only liquid left on earth. Maris and Seth took us to Psycho Suzi's Motor Lodge for dinner involving pizza and tiki drinks and then Nye's for a dose of old-world chintz. I ordered up a dirty martini and soaked in the place that was deemed the World's Best Bar by Esquire magazine. We snapped a couple old photo-booth strips and listened to live music (piano in the front, folk rock to the side) until the Sandman was calling.

Zzzzz...

Wait, did it take it yet?

Day 8

A big city and a familiar face! After wandering through the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp in Eau Claire and the Crystal Cave in Spring Valley (both were worth the time), we made a beeline for the border and a dinner date in Minneapolis with my beloved Tokyo friend, Marisa. After a rendezvous two years ago in Greece and Turkey and a winter playdate in Chicago a year and half ago, we finally met again this May for my wedding. (In fact, tomorrow is our one-month anniversary {Kisses, Jun-bug!}). 


We sat down for minty cocktails and a meaty dinner with our men and caught up on all the news of the day and the month, which turned out to be a lot for having just spent a long weekend together. The conversation inevitably turned to politics and the environment, both sobering topics that could be turned over all night long. 


Minneapolis is funky, vibrant and green, the perfect urban respite after a few of small towns.

Days 6 & 7

These are the days of cheese. Wisconsin welcomed us with lush hills and sunshine. We floated through a national forest before reaching stretch upon stretch of picture-perfect prairie. And, oh, the sunshine has quenched my soul after so many soggy days in upper and lower Michigan.


Jun and I set our sights on Eau Claire after being unable to find an appealing campground. The downtown was bursting with culture, with theaters, artwork and books at your fingertips. Our concierge recommended a restaurant called Stella Blue, which enthralled my taste buds so thoroughly with fried pickles, beet salad and Cajun-spiced veggie pasta. The local beer was not bad, either. Eau Claire is home to Leinenkugels brewery, and even though my sister adores it, I do not, so we stuck with other fun labels like Spotted Cow.


Instead of heading to a dive bar I was eyeing earlier to celebrate Saturday night and our four-week anniversary, we tucked ourselves into bed before midnight and woke up early to start out for Mondovi, home of an amazing barn renovated into the Barn Again Lodge. We stayed in the Honeymoon Bungalow, a little red cabin. We wanted to stay forever. It had a little bed, couch, table, plus microwave popcorn and DVDs. The wraparound porch held a table and chairs and a gas grill. I was in love.


Then a glance at our atlas taught me that we were less than a half hour away from the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I treasured her nooks as a child, reasons the adventures of Lsura and her family until they almost felt like my own. The TV series was nearly as enchanting. The museum resurrected in her honor was small and a little shabby, but there were a few interesting trinkets and I took home a biography of her captivating life.


And of course, we stopes for cheese curds to snack on. At summertime we utilized the grill and gave our wallets a break, stopping at the supermarket for two sirloin steaks, a red pepper, Vidalia onion and fresh blackberries and raspberries, all for $12. It was divine. If you haven't noticed, we adore food in a big, big way.

Moo. Now leave me alone.

Day 5

We rolled out of bed this morning in Manistique and ate breakfast at Floyd's Family Restaurant. I had a craving for biscuits and gravy with coffee, and it hit the spot. Floyd himself came out to shake our hands and point us toward the local winery, Mackinac Trail. There we sampled a few tasty varietals with the winemaker and bought two bottles to take with us. It was by far the best of our Michigan wine country jaunt.

Did you know there is a place called Christmas, Michigan? We spied it on the map and had to go. It turned out to be a tiny village with the odd yuledtide shop and a casino, but just sout of it lie gorgeous waterfalls and rock formations that give way to Lake Superior.

From Christmas, we wound up to Marquette for dinner and a surprise dose of live jazz. That alone made Marquette a hit in our view. We cruised our way along the lake, basking in newfound sunshine, until a little lakeside campground caught our eyes and we decided to test out our tent. And potential survival skills. It was a blast, y'all! Our neighbor must have caught me reading How to Start a Campfire and came over to help get is started.

I knew this book would come in handy.

We stayed there to watch it danced until the last flame disappeared, drinking wine and looking up at the sprinkled stars. Jun and I both saw a shooting star and I made a wish. In Japan, you have to catch three falling stars in action before you earn the privilege of opening your heart to it. I thought about how my grandma always told me that the very brightest star in the sky was my mother looking down on me, so I found it and said hello just in case. I told Jun about how my dad made me believe in werewolves and we talked about ghosts and UFOs, just as a sudden light swishes across the sky. A plane.

Oh yeah, we never made it outside Michigan.

Days 3 & 4

I am taken with the wildflowers along the edges of the road. When I was little, my grandma would pull the car over to the side of the road to pick a handful of black-eyed susans or bluebells. Now that I own a car (thanks, sissy and Jared!) for the first time in nearly a decade, I still have the urge to do that.

Michigan is a lovely state, but aside from Grand Rapids we haven't seen many urban landscapes. We were lucky enough yesterday to stop at a little art gallery in the middle of nowhere after getting the stinkeye from a neighbor in a weather-beaten pickup truck. The artwork was wonderful, especially the sculptures made of found and reclaimed objects. We bought a fish made of an old beer can and tires.

Afterward, the waterside towns of Charlevoix and Petoskey wooed us on the way to the northmost tip of Lower Michigan. Suddenly we were fixated on a real estate posting for an abandoned church that could be converted into a house. Alas, the cold winter months are always looming round the corner.

The rain and frigid air this morning nearly convinced us to call off our visit to Mackinac Island, but the fudge was beckoning so we hopped on a ferry in St. Ignac and 15 minutes later were standing in the midst of that timeless wonderland. It really is a magical place, where horse-drawn carriages pass through the streets and cars are forbidden. There were few breaks in the rain, so our -- well, my -- tandem-bike dreams were never realized. Woe. We did get to see how fudge is made and taste test the gooey goods. After the cherry pie and cherry-chocolate malt balls in Traverse City and a handful of sweets along the way, my sugar buzz is going strong.

Good thing we're getting a good dose of exercise and fresh air, like climbing Sleeping Bear Dunes yesterday. A storm dropped down on us a minute after we made it back down...phew. The weather hasn't given us a chance to try out our tent. For now, it's relative luxury in a clean, inexpensive hotel.

With 652 miles under our tires, tomorrow we venture over the border.

I was this close to an escape, I tell ya.

Day 2

Rustic towns abound in Northern Michigan. They seem to be thriving, too. Along the highway, clusters of colorful shops, cafes and general stores still line Main Street, although it often goes by another name. Wood-cloaked saloons are well-patronized by the locals, and strawberry stands attract plenty of attention.

Traverse City is as charming as they come, copied straight from an antique postcard. We wandered through the bustling downtown, headed out to the peninsula sample the goods at two wineries, where unfortunately the views were far superior to the wines, and then took up a perch at a packed microbrewery and pub, Mackinaw Brewing Co. We shared a brisket sandwich and I had the Summer Love wheat beer with a wedge of lemon. Sunshine in a cup.

Next stop: Sleeping Bear Dunes.

For pics of the day's adventures, visit www.twitter.com/wander_love

Day 1

Raging thunderstorms and a long conversation with an Allstate rep in which we were told that our car insurance policy had been terminated (it hadn't exactly) set us off on a belated start, but Jun and I eventually made it out of the driveway and partially up the Michigan mitten.

We drove through scenery from my childhood before taking the two-lane backroads to South Haven, a picturesque town on a stretch of Lake Michigan. We walked past the cute shops toward the lighthouse, and then both looked at each other and said, "Let's live here!" the only problem: terrible, terrifyingly cold winters.

So we settled for a late lunch of salad, fish and local beer, then cruised through Holland, stopped in Grand Rapids for a couple amazing hot dogs from Yesterdog and kept going up to Wolf Lake. Dumpy roadside motels rock.

Along the way, I learned that Jun doesn't so much as caress the brakes for deer. I wonder what would happen if we saw a bear on the side of the road.

For photos, check out our Twitter page at http://www.twitter.com/wander_love

On the road

A little history on us adventure-hungry newlyweds: We were in the midst of planning our wedding, leaving our jobs, packing up our 350-square-foot Tokyo apartment and getting ready for a move overseas when the earthquake struck on March 11 and spun our world around. It was a heartbreaking reminder to tally our blessings, to keep sight of what is important in this delicate life.

We tied the knot three weeks ago yesterday in a cozy little barn set on the edge of an apple orchard while the rain poured down outside and the candle flames flickered indoors. It wasn't the plan, but it was perfect.

Now, before the career reboots, the home, the babies, we are packing a few belongings and traversing the wide open spaces of sweet, strange America. The cuisine, people, panoramas and oddball attractions of the sprawling cities and quaint countryside await.

The journey begins tomorrow.