This flamingo painting is based on photos I took at the fantastic Toledo Zoo. I’ve been going there for more than 20 years. My second trip there was probably the most memorable. I was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the time and was long-distance dating Liesl, who still lived in Cleveland. We agreed to meet in Toledo. I’d ride my bike down, and she would drive over. I left before dawn with a pack full of food, a few water bottles and a map. Taking the scenic route and unexpected detours, avoiding highways and busy roads, and finding places to grab snacks and bathroom breaks meant that the ride would be about 75-80 miles.
I rolled in to the zoo parking lot about 20 minutes later than I anticipated. I was hot, covered in road grime and my clothes had crusty salt stains from evaporated sweat. I searched the parking lot a few times. Liesl was nowhere to be found. This was long before the invention of cell phones. We both had agreed that if anything happened, we’d call Dan, my housemate back in Ann Arbor. The prospect of turning around and riding the whole way back to Ann Arbor wasn’t so appealing. The shortest route possible route was another 65 miles or so.
Fortunately, Liesl rolled in about an hour after I did. Her 80’s era Volvo 240 had been overheating on the highway with a stuck thermostat! She was driving with the heat on full blast to cool the engine a little, occasionally pulling over to let it cool further so it wouldn’t overheat. That makes for slow progress, but she made it! We put my bike in the trunk, had a great visit at the zoo, and then slowly made our way to Ann Arbor. Things sure were less predictable in the days before cell phones, but everything ended up working out.
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