Seasoned traveler

We made our annual trip to Grandma Edna's house this week. My son handled the two-day, 1,000-mile drive from Minnesota to West Virginia like a seasoned traveler.

He packed his toys and books a few days ahead of time. The morning we left, he made sure we all had our hats, water bottles and the right assortment of snacks.

At rest stops, he would check the map to see where we had been and where we were headed next. And he practiced the lingo to talk with truckers over his Dad's old CB radio. "Break 1-9, break 1-9." While he could hear an occasional trucker, his radio signal wasn't strong enough to be picked up by them.

Highlights of the journey:

• Lunch and some playtime at the big lakefront playground in Marquette.
• Spotting two sandhill cranes outside the entrance to Seney National Wildlife Refuge.
• Driving across the 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge.
• Swimming with Mom in the hotel pool in Mackinaw City.
• Passing a convoy of Canadian soldiers on Interstate 75.
• Holding Mom's hand and singing John Denver's "Almost Heaven" (three times) from the time we crossed the Ohio River until we reached Grandma Edna's driveway.