2023 Family 350 Day 5 - Home Again

VRBO House to Home:  517.3 Miles

(oddly exactly 1 mile difference than the northbound trip - which is about the same as the extra distance traveled to get gas at one stop on the way up).

I woke up at my usual too-early hour.  I tried to get back to sleep, but it was hopeless.  I thought about making coffee and putzing around, but decided I was already in go-home mode.  I packed up and cleaned up and got ready to leave.

The garage our VRBO host was kind enough to let me use had a light - or at least a light bulb in the ceiling, but I couldn't figure out how to turn it on.  The garage door opener light was inoperable.  So all my packing was done by braille.  This made me a bit nervous that I would leave something behind.

Almost convinced I had everything, I was on the bike making my way through deer-infested roads by 4:00AM.

Temperatures were in the lower 50s which was too cool for my mesh jacket.  I was wearing my rain liner which helped, but it also made everything feel clammy.  Between that, the dark, intermittent fog and not knowing the area very well, the first few miles were uncomfortable.  But I was the only vehicle on the road so I was able to take my time.

Once on the larger roads I settled in much quicker than I had for the ride north.  There was one heinous construction zone in Alanson, but I found a quick way around that and was on my way for the easy routing for the rest of the day.

Because it was dark I missed the best scenery of the moosey, boggy North.  But the pay-off (in addition to getting home earlier) was a beautiful sunrise as I motored on.

I spent a lot of time thinking about siblings and how great it was to see them for a few days.  I suppose we are all getting older, but I still end up feeling like a little kid around them and my mom.  Maybe that is true for everyone?

Traffic hadn't picked up by Lansing yet so it was easy to get around it.  Then a straight shot south.

Once off the interstate in Indiana the Amish were exceedingly busy.  I had never seen so many buggies out buggying around.  No harm though - just slow down and pass on by.  Sometimes rear-facing kids even wave at me.

As I got closer to home, I went past the land I hunt deer on, then onto the roads I bicycle on, then onto my dog-walking roads.  Soon enough, I was home with enough time to get some things done.  It had felt like Sunday all day, so it was good to know I had a day to unwind before returning to ... that other thing.