Time zone changes become common when traveling across country or across the world. However, entering the eastern time zone always gives me a surprise, a spark, a comfort zone that I don’t feel in other time zone changes. It is indeed coming home, coming full circle, having lived a long life in the east. Even though I have traveled through time so often, there is always this subtle undercurrent, a low-key pulse of return when I reach the my homeward bound time zone.
Traveling quickly eastward toward Rochester in July we reached our day’s destination; a northern Michigan campground in Cedar River after a stretch of long driving days, The camp ground is set in a rustic, very backwoods area with sand filled sites, rough dirt roads and dead quiet. After the attaching the
usual hook ups I walked to the office to register and looked up at the clock. It read an hour ahead of my watch, taking me by surprise. No road sign marked the zone time change on our way and I had not noted the time zone on the paper map. It was then that I experienced that always surprising and momentary feeling of return, of centering and comfort that I alluded to above. The feeling again took me quite by surprise. A feeling of return, of home and I guess it showed on my face.
usual hook ups I walked to the office to register and looked up at the clock. It read an hour ahead of my watch, taking me by surprise. No road sign marked the zone time change on our way and I had not noted the time zone on the paper map. It was then that I experienced that always surprising and momentary feeling of return, of centering and comfort that I alluded to above. The feeling again took me quite by surprise. A feeling of return, of home and I guess it showed on my face.
The campground owner noticed my reaction after checking her clock. I had to explain what I was feeling and she was quite tuned into my emotions having lived herself in this area for a lifetime and occasionally traveling to other parts of the US to visit family in the northwest. Her life was filled with farm living, growing corn and hay, an obsession with horses and horse back riding and eventually becoming the main long time caregiver for a close family member. Her children live elsewhere. She chose to become a campground owner after years of RV travel with her husband and family. She savors the backwoods, rustic and laid back nature of her property and most sites were filled for the July weekday night.
Strangely lit twilight images from somewhere on our eastward trek
Other travelers were heading toward various destinations as well for the summer season and she enjoys hearing their stories and feeling their emotions as some of them head toward their home territories. So I guess I am not alone in this feeling perhaps of closure. She mentioned the possibility of harmless snakes and flies buzzing our ears and we said goodnight. The evening hours continued to be quiet and restful before we set off for the next days push eastward.