Morning of August 29th, we woke up by the birds chirping. Oogagagak-ogk! Oogagagak-ogk! What sort of bird? Never heard such annoying sound. A crane? A cormorant? Though somewhat imprudent, the idea of waking up by sounds of birds was very graceful and blissful. We drove through the endless cornfields the day before and arrived at Summit Lake State Park in Indiana. It was a beautiful lake.
Pictures below are various landscapes of Summit Lake campground. It was almost Labor Day weekend and there were some people but not crowded, yet. We found a site right by the lake. Sumi said she wanted to come back here at another time.
The picture right above has some shocking elements. Someone did themselves justice and brought the entire refrigerator from home! It is as tall as a full-grown man. Looks like two different families came to camp for the Labor Day weekend and they also have a cooler per person. They get a perfect score for their preparation for eating, drinking and enjoying the weekend. Summit Lake State Park has electricity for all sites.
Ricker's - A convenient store at a gas station in Indiana. Sumi told me to take picture of this building. I asked her why and she said she's never seen that store chain, before. But why? I wondered at first, but after seeing numerous store signs along route 36, I realized, that these chain stores reflect a side of American culture. America is a nation of chain stores. Some brands encompass the entire country. Some are based in Eastern, Western, or Southern region of the country. And some chains only exist in certain states or cities. If you look at these brands not as businesses but as life and cultural aspect, one can understand a lot about the area and people. For example, if you see a certain brand, you may realize what state or region you are in. If someone seem familiar with a certain brand, one can easily assume where they're from or that they are knowledgable about that area in general. Sometimes, certain brands also represent certain area and may provoke pride or affection of the place. Anyways, Ricker's convenient store had pretty store front than any other national chains that I'd seen.
A regional fast-food restaurant chain. I don't know how the food tastes there. I saw the signs mainly in central mid-west states like Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. I actually saw this specific one while passing Indiana on Route 36.
The signs might've reminded her, Sumi said let's eat In & Out burger when we arrive in LA. She excitedly shouted, 'Double!' 'Animal style!', but I had no clue what she was talking about. Animal? What does that mean? It must be something we can only eat in LA. And we must eat in animal style. Okay! In animal style! Whatever that means.
Home of the Popcorn Festival
We hoped for the end of it but the welcome greetings never stopped by the cornstalks on the roadside. And finally, we came across the sign that said "Home of the Popcorn Festival." The home of popcorn festival, eh? It seems rewarding enough after driving through cornfields for three days straight. It was like a revelation that the end is near. What kind of festival is popcorn festival? Kernels of corn thrown up in the air and pop white in the sky like fireworks? Would there be a popcorn-eating contest? Popcorn throwing contest? Popcorn pudding, popcorn juice? A giant sculpture made with popcorn? I was very curious but we have to get on Route 66 first. So we passed. Good-bye, the home of the popcorn festival!
I've heard of the middle aged men that would die to look good in their old classic car in the Midwest. I actually saw many cars like this on the road. It made me feel excited and happy for some unexplainable reason.
In the afternoon, we saw a sight that really seemed to mean the world of corn is coming to an end. A giant dragon that breathes fire. It is trying to blow pop the entire cornfield we saw up until now into popcorns. Boooosh! Bwoom! Boom! Pop! Pop! Just like I imagined, popcorn fireworks dotted the Big Dipper and the Orion's Belt in the sky. You must think I'm crazy, but aside from the popcorn star in the sky, the fire breathing dragon is real and it stands in front of a cornfield right in Illinois. It says on this scary looking metal dragon's thigh, "Danger! Dragon Breathes Fire!"
We again hoped that, beyond this dragon, there would be a different world.
And, this wish for the end of cornfield came true! and then there was Route 66!
Jingoogk's original blog is in Korean. Read it here: http://blog.naver.com/hwangjinkook/220131966153
No comments:
Post a Comment