Michigan tidbits

Alright, after living here for five months, there are several things that still perplex me about this state and many things that I, of course, clearly like. Here is a list of random things before I forget that they strike me as weird or novel:

1) There are very, very few speed limit signs. You can go for miles and miles (like 50 miles) without seeing a speed limit sign. I have no idea what the speed limit is on the main strip to Greg's work. Sometimes I go 35, sometimes I go 58. I do what everyone else is doing and what I'm in the mood to do.

2) No left turns - at about 90% of intersections of the intersections I come to, you can't turn left. You turn right and then you will come to a special left hand lane where you can turn around. It is strange at first and it confuses my TomTom, but it does keep traffic moving.

3) When people talk about their families in the Upper Peninsula (the UP), they sound like they are speaking Norwegian when they start talking about the cities their families live in. Strange little towns with very long names - makes me laugh every time. And they just keep listing cities where they have family.

4) The roads fall apart in the winter. I remember this when I visited Michigan in college to see friends. There fine in the summer, bad after winter - I'm assuming spring must bring a lot of road repair trucks.

5) NORMAL pizza - Only those in AR might understand this, but pizza down there was thin, floppy, pale, and tasteless. Here pizza is normal. If only they would deliver to my house, the situation would be perfect. . . .

6) I have friends here that have moved to other cities for various reasons and they have talked about how they felt "landlocked" in these other cities as they are so used to having the big lake right next to them which really is like a freshwater ocean. . well, more or less.

7) It is VERY flat, especially after living near the winding hills of Arkansas. When I first moved here and was driving at night, I would see headlights coming at an intersection so I would wait. Took me a few times to realize that car was over a mile away and that I had about two minutes where I could turn safely before it was too close.

OK, so those are my random Michigan facts. The snow is melting, but it is supposed to get cold again. Getting excited to continue my landscaping on the once horribly overgrown mess - can't wait to dig in the dirt!!