Thurs. 8:45pm
After the side to side bouncing we experienced when we came into the lock this morning, I was expecting the same from the five locks that help river traffic overcome the 100m or so difference in water level created by the Three Gorges Dam. Instead, as we enter the first lock we seem to float exactly where we ought to, between the lock wall and a coal barge, as we wait for the doors to clang closed behind us and for the water to rise. But the doors don't clang shut. I don't even notice that they have shut until I see the water level is changing. And then the unearthly screech of metal on metal begins, calling to mind ghost stories and horror films and ear plugs. But it does not last long - 15 minutes at most - after which the door in front of us opens silently and we glide into the second lock.
When I lived in England, I learned the saying - Start as you mean to go on . I thought about this as the hotel manager explained to me that he was calling because I had left my journal in the hotel room but he would be able to have it shipped back to me if I could provide a pre-paid shipping label. This was the second distressing phone call before lunch. The first distressing phone call was to say that due to high winds expected across Lake Michigan, our ferry to Milwaukee was cancelled. I really like ferries and I had been looking forward to the ferry across Lake Michigan for weeks. We stopped at Panera for lunch and to discuss the situation. My lunch was a disappointing sandwich. And then there was a lot of highway south of Lake Michigan and around Chicago. And Spotify kept slipping weird mellow folk music into my upbeat driving playlist. And then about 20 miles before Oconomowoc, the sky did this, and I think we will consider this the new start of the trip.
Comments
Post a Comment