Lost in Ruritania

    I fixed the bank problem easily and quickly first thing this morning, so figuring that I had been a good boy and deserved a reward, I set out to visit Congaree National Park for the first time since the flood. Boy did that ever not work out! A mile or two past Eastway Park (a neighborhood, not a park), still 10 miles from the park (a park, not a neighborhood) there was a sign saying "Bridge out ___ miles ahead, local traffic only" and a detour that took us up to Sumter Highway (i.e., a ways). A week ago, the park posted on Facebook that Bluff Road was open all the way from Columbia to them, so I don't know if this is a new thing or if local traffic includes 10 miles. Regardless, I took the detour.
    The detour went so far, I thought I was going all the way to Sumter. We actually passed McEntire Air National Guard base (i.e., really a ways) before there was finally another detour sign routing us off of Sumter Highway. I took that and wound up on Bluff Road on the other side of road closed signs. So I was past the park and couldn't reach it this way either. It was an insanely beautiful day so I wandered around something considerable on back roads, but still couldn't get any closer. I saw some nice cows and horses and a pretty church and played an entire 80-minute CD-R. In other words, I could have gone to Charlotte.
    Still, it was a nice drive and in spite of all the closed roads it was good to see that most people out there seemed to have few problems except for closed roads. And DOT is clearly working on them hard, because I saw activity on the other side of all the road closed signs. So maybe I'll try plan A and trust the park's Facebook page and just keep going out Bluff Road tomorrow and see if I make it. Or maybe I'll put it off until another day.
    Last night, I dreamed that my mom was alive and well and living in a huge mansion with my elder cat Amelia, who was not best pleased with the arrangement, especially litter box maintenance procedures. But that was topped easily when I later dreamed that I had been tapped to run for Galactic Senate. I was puzzled as to how anybody with the Galactic Senate would have known of my existence and more so how to go about running for an office when we don't have the technology to contact any other planet, let alone an entire galaxy. I woke still puzzled, but highly delighted by the idea, which seems like a solid movie or novel plot.