Yesterday we finally succeeded in leaving Ashland. We had been trying to get out of town for a few days prior, but the place and its people seemed to have cast a spell on us. In the end it took a fully booked motel and a blizzard warning to get us out of there. So now we are back on the road, working our way from Lake Superior to the East Coast. It is going to be a good 1000 miles getting there, so we will probably throw in a rest day or two - and maybe even do some couchsurfing.

We spent last night at a Super 8 Motel somewhere along Highway 75 going south through Michigan. After driving through heavy fog all day, we were simply too knackered to find out exactly where. All we could manage was to drag our butts across the parking lot, and treat ourselves to one of the worst fast food meals yet. Arby's specialize in roastbeef sandwiches and corkscrew fries, but unfortunately their specialties do not even meet the standards of the non-specialties of the competition. And as if that were not bad enough in itself, the three-person staff serving us seemed to have trouble figuring out the chain of command, resulting in a shouting match, and two cups of lukewarm coffee to top it all off.

Today has been more sun and less hassle. We took a sharp turn east at the Michigan border just as the NFL Draft began on the radio around 3 pm, and we have been following the broadcast and the southern shore of Lake Erie ever since. Now the first day of the draft is over, and the teams have each chosen their fist batch of college players before the upcoming season, and we are stuck in a nice little motel room in Ashtabula, Ohio. The lady at the front desk has thin white hair and a parrot in a cage. Behind the motel, a little cedar grove spreads out, hopefully all the way down to the lake. We will find that out later tonight, or in the morning when we take our laptops down there, and do a final write-up of our portrait from Ashland and the Bad River reservation. So be sure to check back Monday for our take on native small-town America.

Jacob has been thinking about The Beautiful Bastards.

Kristian was researching and got kinda upset.

We’re almost ready to continue our travels. Ashland and the view of Lake Superior still holds a spell on us, and we have a little unfinished business, but by wednesday morning we should be on the road again. We haven’t really decided on a route yet, but we’re either heading for Chicago, which would take us south or we could chose to go north around Lake Michigan - it really is intriguing traveling like we do.

We spent the weekend in a dorm house called ‘Gaia’s Cradle’. A nice and comfortable that even provided us with separate bedrooms. The residents (usually more but they just finished their finals so everyone has gone home), Calvin and Maggie took great care of us. every night they would hold potlucks and people from around town - both students and others would come and join in. Everyone would bring a little food or a bottle of wine, and we would just sit the table and tell stories of past and present.

On sunday we went on a road trip to the town of Bayfield just 25 miles north of Ashland. Bayfield lives of tourists in the summer, so it was very quiet - bordering on deserted. It is a beautiful town with a lovely harbor and nice wooden houses. We ate in a little diner and had lovely pumpernickel sandwiches. Word of advice though: their homemade spicy mayonnaise is really, really, spicy. Kristian nearly blew a fuse trying to put out the fire in his mouth with scolding hot coffee.

We spent the night from monday to tuesday at the Wilmarth, and old school currently owned by three brothers and sisters who have converted it into a residential building, but also have their respective design and production studios in the building. A very nice and warm place.

We have uploaded pictures from the city of Ashland, Wisconsin.

Kristian has been Contemplating the Clarity.