tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583996510696147362024-03-12T17:09:01.433-07:00Maui Mike's AdventuresI enjoyed keeping a diary of my adventures, and
I hope others get either joy or information from reading these accounts. Now that I have retired, Cheri and I are taking longer vacations together, and I am not touring very often. I will use this blog more for disseminating scheduled activities and other information that might be useful to a larger group of readers. Accounts of previous trips are available upon request.Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-55776334777070779372015-03-16T00:28:00.001-07:002015-03-16T00:28:43.139-07:00Here is our schedule for summer 2015:<br />
<br />
May 29: Cheri and I fly into San Jose, CA. <br />
May 31: Auto touring in Wine country with Michelle. She will drop us in Healdsburg where we have contracted a three day bike tour with Wine Country Bikes.<br />
June 1-3: Bike touring from Camellia Inn in Healdsburg.<br />
June 4-9: San Jose with Michelle.<br />
June 10: Fly into Detroit, rental car to Hemlock, MI.<br />
June 17 or 18: Drive to Mason, MI.<br />
June 24: Drive to Ludington, MI, staying at Aloha House of Ludington.<br />
June 25: Reserved on the SS Badger to Manitowac, WI. Drive to Minneapolis.<br />
June 26-29: Normandy Inn in downtown Mini-Apple.<br />
June 29-July 2: Camping at Baker Reserve Campground near Maple Plain, MN.<br />
July 3,4: Pine Island Lake near Cushing, MN with Brown family.<br />
July 5,6: Parkside Motel in Hazelhurst, WI to ride the Bearskin Creek Trail.<br />
July 7-9: Visiting Uncle George Backes in Michigamme, MI.<br />
July 10-17: Camping at Petoskey State Park, Petoskey, MI.<br />
July 18-31: Open...<br />
August 1-7: Cornish family reunion at rental house on Mullett Lake, MI.<br />
August 8-13: Hemlock.<br />
August 14: Cheri returns to Maui.<br />
August 26: Mike returns to Maui.<br />
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We're always looking for more fun stuff to do, so let us know if you have suggestions for spending time with you. Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-10449214204572624092014-02-26T17:46:00.000-08:002014-02-26T17:46:20.707-08:00The Business of Living Continues We've gotten most of our reservations made so I thought I'd update you on the summer schedule as it now stands.<br />
<br />
May 29: Mike arrives in Hemlock by rental car from Detroit Metro Airport.<br />
June 7: Cheri arrives at Midland-Bay City Airport.<br />
June 11: Road trip to Denver by way of Mason, MI, Gifford IL, and Gothenburg, NE.<br />
June 19-23: Camping in Rocky Mountain National Park at Aspenglen Campground.<br />
June 27: Road trip to Minneapolis where we have reservations at Normandy Inn.<br />
July 3: Brown family celebration at Pine Island Lake.<br />
July 6-10: Camping at Stony Point Campground near Walker, MN.<br />
July 10-14: Camping at Lake Bemidji State Park, Bemidji MN.<br />
July 14: Road Trip to Munising, MI where we have reservations at the Terrace Inn.<br />
July 15: Kayak Pictured Rocks (AM) then drive to Hemlock.<br />
July 19: To Gaylord, MI for Girls Night Out and Mike too Harbor Springs.<br />
July 21: Bike trip; Gaylord, Mackinaw City, Bois Blanc Island, Gaylord.<br />
July 27: Drummond Island.<br />
August 3: Hemlock.<br />
August 6: Cheri returns to the doghouse via Midland-Bat City Airport.<br />
August 27: Mike returns to the doghouse via Detroit Metro Airport.<br />
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Preparations for my retirement are just about complete with the help of a Financial Advisor at Fidelity.com. We think we have a viable plan to pay off the house in Hawaii, and live there with the ability to travel back to the mainland on a regular basis. It will be interesting to see what that's like since I haven't been unemployed for more than a week ever in my whole life. Talk to you later!!Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-77723114713091577732014-01-18T17:31:00.000-08:002014-01-18T17:31:00.744-08:00Back to the Business of Living Cheri went out of the house without a wig for the first time this week. Her hair is coming in really curly, and of course is still quite short so it's reminiscent of a child's. I suggested that she could sport a full afro, but I don't think she will take that advice. She did manage to take her fall vacation trip to see family and friends in Michigan in November, leaving me home to watch the dogs and earn a living. Then we had a wonderful Christmas with Mark and Katie visiting, but all the decorations and presents are put away now and it's back to the business of living.///
Pretty soon the business of living will be all the business I'm doing because if all continues to go well this spring, I'll be retiring from my current role at Monsanto on June first, hoping for a transition to a part-time consulting and mentoring position when I return to Kihei in late August. This winter nursery season will be hard to top anyway, so I'll be getting out while the getting is good. We have a great looking nursery and expect a bumper crop of seed to send back to our research sites on the mainland this spring. Then in June, let the fun begin!
///
We're planning to be on the mainland most of June through August, though I will be going earlier and staying longer because Cheri needs to return to the dogs. We have a lady scheduled to house and dog-sit from early June to early August, but I'll go ahead of Cheri to spend some time with my Mom, and then stay later into August for more visiting and probably a bike trip. Because the kids are in the same locations (Denver and Minneapolis) we're going to reprise the trip we took in 2012 with a road trip from Michigan to Denver, then back through Minnesota and back to Hemlock by way of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We are planning a bicycle tour that Cheri and I will do together, with lower mileage and me carrying most of the freight, staying in hotels or B&Bs in northern Michigan for a week, and we rented a house for another week on Drummond Island . We have a tentative itinerary so far but very few reservations as of yet. The items in <i><b>italics</b></i> are reserved, and so less likely to change:///
* June 1: Mike arrives in Hemlock.///
* June 7: Cheri arrives.///
* June 11: Road trip to Denver.///
* June 18-22: Camping in Rocky Mountain National Park.///
* June 27?: Road trip to Minneapolis.///
* July 3: Brown family celebration at Pine Island Lake.///
* <i><b>July 6: Camping at Stony Point Campground near Walker, MN.///</b></i>
* <i><b>July 10: Camping at Lake Bemidji State Park, Bemidji MN</b>.///</i>
* July 14: Road Trip to Munising, MI.///
* July 15: Kayak Pictured Rocks (AM) then drive to Hemlock.///
* July 19: To Gaylord, MI for Girls Night Out.///
* July 21: Bike trip; Gaylord, Mackinaw City, Bois Blanc Island, Gaylord.///
* July 27: Drummond Island.///
* August 3: Hemlock.///
* August 6: Cheri returns to the doghouse.///
* Late August: Mike returns to Kihei. (This space for rent)///
Again, for now this is the long-range plan and there will be plenty of juggling as we discover other opportunities or roadblocks in our path. We don't even have airline reservations right now, but I wanted to get folks thinking about the fun we might have together this summer, and update the availability of our guest room in Kihei (hint, hint).
Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-36734897229942249932013-09-11T11:13:00.001-07:002013-09-11T11:13:52.456-07:00To My Readers (however few you may be)I apologize for my tardiness in publishing this year's adventure. Because I am now exchanging text messages with my family on a daily basis, I don't feel the emotional urge to communicate with them through this blog, and I find it has become more of a chore. Which is not to say that I will quit any time soon, because I also want to communicate these experiences and feelings to myself and others sometime in the future. It is my intention to return to extended vacations now that Cheri has recovered, and I promise to keep you up to date regarding same. Aloha!Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-83348361833918926482013-09-11T11:05:00.000-07:002013-09-11T11:05:09.222-07:00Separate Vacations - 2013<b>July 24, 2013
</b>Michelle arrived in Kihei the evening before I was to leave, and we all went immediately to Isana’s, our favorite sushi restaurant, and Michelle’s must do anytime she is home on Maui. The next evening we were back at the airport for my departure and everything went according to plan. With a good book in hand and plenty of room on the plane, it was as comfortable as any flight I can recall. In Detroit, I picked up a rental car, just to get to Mason, and then on to Hemlock, to be dropped off at MBS two days from now. My 20 hours, or so, in Mason went well with Mom and Dad (in-law) seeming in good health and spirits, and brother-in-law, Kevin joining us for dinner out. The weather was fine and the drive to Hemlock on Saturday uneventful.
Skip was at the house when I arrived and volunteered to run to the airport with me to drop off the car, saving one day’s rental compared to my plan of driving in with the bike as transport home tomorrow. He and Lenda, Kris, Courtney, and Karen then joined Mom and me at the Farmer’s Home for the best burgers in Michigan. Mom had decided to skip church on Sunday, so we drove to Randy and Mindy’s campsite near Standish. On Monday I rode the bike path to St. Charles and back in the morning, and settled into my role as pool-boy that afternoon, though the weather didn’t warrant using it the entire time I was in Michigan. I got most of it cleaned up that day and Mom and I had a good week together with me riding 3-4 hours each day, and on Wednesday Skip and I paddled the kayaks on the Tittabawassee River north from Midland. They have a dry in and out system on rollers with handrails there by the Tridge that I really enjoyed. That evening I drove to Alma to meet Ron and Lois for a training ride on the bike path there, and dined with them after at a local pub, and finalized plans for transport to Montague on Saturday for the LMB Shoreline West Bicycle Tour. We also had one night out at Olive Garden, and my last evening saw us in the Benchwarmer, where Randy joined us for dinner.
<b>August 3, 2013
</b>Skip picked me up mid-morning for the drive to Ithaca and he enjoyed Ron’s brother, Bob, so much that I almost had to ask him to leave so that we could. We had four bikes and five people (Ron, Lois, Bob, Ruth, and me) in Ron’s van, but they had kept the doors open and inside lights running all morning, which ran down the battery and we had to jump it to get going. We would stop at Stanton later for a new battery that I helped Ron install with borrowed tools, but we got to Montague in plenty of time, and the van was fine all week. We registered for the ride and I set up my tent while the other four went to find their motel (softies). After dinner and the riders meeting, we gathered back at the campground to meet Ron’s Pittsburgh crew; Dan, Bill, Ken, Sue, and Beverly, and chatted until it was time to turn in. I had set up without the rain-fly which turned out to be a mistake as I was damp and cold from the heavy dew the next morning.
<b>August 4, 2013
</b>Breakfast was pretty mediocre by tour standards, and the first twenty miles out of town were rolling back roads before we picked up the Hart Montague Trail near Shelby, I don’t know why they didn’t route us on the trail right out of Montague. We had lunch as a group at Pentwater at Gull’s Inn; we had a good time, but the seared tuna I ordered was overdone. On the other hand, it was good fish and the beer was cold. WE were on open roads after lunch with a bit of a breeze, but there was no hurry on this 50-mile day and I rolled into the school in Ludington about 3:00PM. I set up close to the showers and after cleaning up, I went and found the crew, who had smuggled in some beer and we had a nice pupu hour before dinner. Dinner was only fair, though the rest of the facilities were nicer than last night (or tomorrow). We swapped more stories after, and sent the motel-ers home and found our beds around 9:00PM.
<b>August 5, 2013
</b>I slept better than last night and breakfast was pretty good, but I had a stupid fall off the bike in the parking lot that left me with a bruised knee. I felt good setting out, but the course map and profile didn’t show the short, steep climbs early in the route. I thought the crew would be stopping for lunch in Manistee, but didn’t find them and took a break and had a light lunch at the Burger King north of town. I wasn’t feeling real good, but kept on going through Onekama and on up the first long hill of three big climbs on today’s route called the Three Sisters. I walked a little on the steepest section, but felt better on the long flatter section to come. I was hoping that one of our private SAGs would come by, either Ruth or the Pittsburg van that Beverly was driving most days, but no luck. Then it was through Arcadia and up the steep, steep second Sister, also known as Watermelon Hill, which was a great place for a walk. At the top, I had some watermelon and a rest and both SAGs arrived and the rest of the crew after that. Lois introduced me to Shauna Dock from East Lansing, who was also driving a private SAG for husband, Jim, and she agreed to drive me into Frankfort, skipping the Third Sister. The facilities at Frankfort left something to be desired, especially in table space and we ended up with thirteen people around a standard picnic table for dinner. But the food was good and we went to Ron’s motel afterward for some wine and conversation, which was a lot of fun. We toasted Bill Tye, who was Ron’s original connection to the Pittsburgh crew, now deceased but still beloved by all.
<b>August 6, 2013
</b>I slept not at all because of the bruise on my leg, but I had agreed last night to advance the Dock’s van as far as Sleeping Bear Dune this morning and starting my ride from there. That made this just a 40 mile day for me, and I liked that idea a lot. I made sure Shauna and Jim were good through the first fifteen miles, and then left the van at the appointed place and jumped on the bike just shy of Glen Haven. The crew would probably lunch at Glen Arbor, but I didn’t want to wait around so went on ahead, solo. It was hilly around Maple City, and I got off course once and rode a couple steep hills getting back on course, and then came Philosopher’s Hill. It’s named that because you have plenty of time to contemplate the meaning of the universe as you are turning your lowest gear for four miles. It took me about forty minutes, but it wasn’t very steep, and led to a nice downhill into Traverse City, where we were to camp at the Civic Center. I called Nikki as soon as I got clean and set up and she sent Gail to pick me up and drag me to Heather’s for dinner, but I took a look at what was being served and decided to have a cherry bratwurst which I really enjoyed as an appetizer. Gail and I sat around and talked as I did my laundry, and the girls came later for a meal of prepared chicken and salads, which were good. Gail dropped me off and I slept pretty well, having stopped to buy Advil to quiet my leg pain.
<b>August 7, 2013
</b>I was camped way back by the skateboard park with Ken and Dan and we really hit it off yesterday afternoon and this morning. The tour served a very nice breakfast, but lunch and dinner are on our own today to encourage patronage of the businesses in T.C. Some folks went off to ride up the Old Mission Peninsula, while I just read and then rode downtown and walked around Boardman Park with the fish ladder and then went looking for a nice lunch. I was thinking of a place called Scalawags and headed in that direction on foot but came across the State Street Grill and their special today was planked whitefish. I went in and watched Tiger baseball and had a Labatt’s Blue, and the whitefish was fantastic, the best I ever had, crusted with parmesan and paprika with mashed potatoes. Great lunch! That afternoon I rode to Nikki’s new house at on Indian Trail and chatted with her and Luke as she unpacked knick-knacks and dishes and I got my phone charged. Later, I took Gail out to diner at North Peak, and Nikki joined us after her appointment up in Suttons Bay. We had a very nice time and I got back to the Civic Center about 9:00PM to watch some softball and chat with Ken and Dan. A very satisfactory rest day and I’m looking forward to riding to Charlevoix tomorrow.
<b>August 8, 2014
</b>
Breakfast was about average this chilly morning and the route out of town was familiar to me from past rides in this area. After doing laundry at Heather’s on Tuesday, I was unable to find my headband, and set off without it, but soon regretted its absence so I stopped in Elk Rapids and found a skull cap at the third place I checked. It’s a beautiful route today with just a few hills, but one really steep one just before Torch Lake, where I stopped and had lunch at a beach park. I bought a sandwich and a quart of chocolate milk at a nearby convenience store for my picnic, and enjoyed the mid-70 degree temperatures and this lovely park and lake. It should be an easy two hours or so to Charlevoix, so I took my time, updated my journal and watched the other park go-ers and lake traffic. I went off route by taking US31 instead of Barnhard Road to the school to avoid the hills I know exist there, but probably didn’t save much because of the tough climb up to the school from town.
I got to the school about 4:00PM and got my luggage and went looking for, and found my friends Ken and Dan, and selected a spot to camp near them. As they went in to shower, I called John Diedrich, my buddy in Harbor Springs just to report my whereabouts and make plans to stop and see them on the morrow. John was so excited to hear from me, and asked if he could come pick me up at Charlevoix instead since he is on call tomorrow night, and I agreed, thankful that I had called before setting up my tent, because I would stay in Harbor tonight in a real bed! I went and showered before going out to the front of the school to wait the hour or so it would take John to make the drive. I managed to get the bike mostly in his trunk, and tie the lid down and off we went. We dropped my stuff at his place and had a glass of wine, then exchanged the sedan for his pride and joy Cadillac convertible and we rolled in style to a brew-haus close by for a beer, and then to Bar Harbor pub for a burger and more beer. Bar Harbor is the Farmer’s Home up there with the best burgers for miles around, and we were lucky to get a table and enjoy dinner and catching up with each other. When we got back to the house, Patty and Mary were there with Mary’s daughter Katelyn who thought I was the best toy in the box, and a good time was had by all.
<b>August 9, 2014
</b>
It was great to sleep in a real bed, and have nothing pressing in the morning. I had a blueberry muffin and juice, and then busied myself with a little bike maintenance. It was a pleasant day for a nice rest, and that’s about all I did. When John got home, we drove my luggage into Harbor to put it on the truck for Mackinaw City and then went to visit Amy and Adam and their two kids at their new home (a mile or so from their old one if I’m not mistaken). Patty and I worked together to prepare whitefish for dinner, which turned out well, but not as good as State Street Grill in T.C. and just chatted and watched TV as John worked the phone most of the evening helping their group’s patients with medical advice. And another night in the comfortable bed!
<b>August 10, 2014
</b>
Patty was a sweetheart and cooked breakfast for me in the morning and then I hit the bike path along M119 to Harbor Springs, the first time I’ve ridden that piece. It was pretty flat and very pleasant despite the chill, and took me all the way to the school where I caught up to the rest of the tour. The Pittsburgh crew caught me just before Good Hart, and we all stopped there for a few minutes to chat and say our good-byes and fare-thee-wells. I really enjoyed having a group to hang out with, especially Ken and Dan. I left there ahead of the rest but they caught and passed me again before Cross Village, where I picked up some Gatorade from the tour SAG. It was a pretty easy day of riding, pretty flat and only about 50 miles and I got to Mackinaw City about 12:30PM. I called Skip and found that they were behind schedule, so I indulged myself by riding to the Mackinaw Pastie for a nice lunch (with gravy) before going back to the school to find my bag. It was a pretty tight parking area, and I knew Skip had the fifth wheel and a trailer full of kayaks, so I walked my stuff 200 yards up the road to a parking lot with more room for his vehicle, but then had to wait in isolation. They arrived about 2:15PM, and we loaded up and were off to Munising.
Skip had been planning to get fuel before leaving Mackinaw, but forgot and we were a little worried about running out and might have to go off-route at Newberry, but found a station at Robert’s Corners. We got to tease him about it all the way there and home again. We got to the campground a mile or two west of Munising about 5:00PM; a beautiful spot with wonderful access to the big lake and some nice sites, and got set up. We decided to go scout our potential parking location for tomorrow, and grab dinner out. There is a very nice, rustic visitor center at the Miners Castle area of the park and very adequate facilities for parking at Miners Beach a mile or two away. We stopped at the visitor center and walked out to the viewing platforms and had a really nice time, even saw an eagle close up. It had been perched in a tree but flew close to the path we were on at just the right time. The cliff here is higher than any of the trees at lake level, and is a beautiful spot. Our recon finished, we drove back to town and went to the Dogpatch restaurant for dinner; we passed on the seafood buffet and found the burgers and sandwiches very satisfactory. Then back to the campground for sleep and an early start tomorrow.
<b>August 11, 2014
</b>
We had a quick breakfast of cereal and a banana and headed back to Miners Beach. It’s a bit of a walk to the beach, but the boardwalk makes it easy access for the kayaks with Skip’s unpatented wheels attached. We were on the water by 8:00AM and it was beautiful. Not dead calm, but very nice by Lake Superior standards as we poked our kayaks into small caves and between rocks just feet from two hundred foot cliffs. The colors were amazing and the natural architecture just breath-taking. We got out at Mosquito Beach to eat the lunch Lenda had packed for us, though it was too cold for the mosquitoes to be out yet this morning. We got back on the lake and paddled as far as Portage Point before turning back. Skip and Kris made a beeline from point to point, but I wanted to explore every little bay and crevasse a second time, just totally enjoying this wonderful place. We took another break at Mosquito Beach to rest on the return and watched a couple groups of kayaks go by. There were three or four groups of kayaks that had started an hour or more later than we, and then the commercial tour boats came by from time to time creating wakes for us to enjoy, but nothing could dampen my delight with this day’s adventure. I got back to Miners Beach at about 2:30PM, maybe a half-hour after Skip and Kris, and we pulled the boats out and accepted help from beach go-ers to carry them up the stairs to the boardwalk. Back at the campground we mostly rested and read, and then looked at the pictures Skip had taken with his new little waterproof camera. Lenda fed us well that night, with chocolate caramel fondue for dessert with strawberries, pineapple, pretzels, and pound cake to dip.
<b>August 12-14, 2014
</b>It’s back to Hemlock the next morning after a great breakfast from Lenda’s skillet. We were thinking of another short paddle but the weather looks unpromising and we were all satisfied with the decision to hit the road. We stopped in Mackinaw City for the ladies to do some shopping and got home just in time for supper. I spent the next day doing laundry and packing our possessions back into the space we use in Mom’s basement, having had to dig through just about everything to find the few things I needed this trip. On Wednesday, Skip and Mom drove me to Detroit to catch my flight back to Maui and my girls; Michelle is still there with Cheri until a few hours after I got home, like ships passing in the daylight, we basically got to wave hello and goodbye. It was a good vacation, though shorter than hoped for, I’ll have some vacation left over for the occasional bike ride this fall.
Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-49802369399859138662013-07-23T18:39:00.001-07:002013-07-23T18:39:54.882-07:00The Adventure Called "Life" Intervenes. My usual approach to this blog is to add posts whenever appreciable headway is made toward my next adventure; a plan is developed, reservations made etc. That would have been the case this year again, but life intervened in the form of a malignant cancer of Cheri's breast. I would have liked to blog immediately, but the emotions of a cancer patient are tricky waters to navigate, and Cheri's desire for privacy was foremost up to this point. She had a lumpectomy and has finished the treacherous chemo-therapy treatments and is now undergoing radiation therapy, which is a walk in the park compared to chemo. She seems to be almost fully recovered as of this writing, and while I must still be more careful than is comfortable, about what I write, I want to bring you up to date.<br />
<br />
We were in the introductory stages of planning a bicycle trip together when we were so rudely interupted; in fact I had already made reservations at a B&B on Boblo Island (aka Bois Blanc) in Lake Huron, and a hotel in Indian River that would have been overnight stops on our proposed ride from Gaylord to Boblo Island and back, that would have happened last week, in fact. It would have been thirty miles each day on the North Central State Bike Path in Michigan with a ferry ride to the island from Cheboygan, and a rest day on the island, with two nights of luxury at a place called Insel Haus. I was planning to carry our clothes on my new trailer that performed so admirably last year, and it would have been an epic trip, but now we hope to make it happen next year instead.<br />
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We were also in the process of planning another camping trip out to Maine, including meeting my brother, Skip at Umbagog State Park in New Hampshire, that we loved so much in 2009. Those reservations were also made and later cancelled along with the week at the house on Drummond Island that had been reserved and was scuttled. I would have had a lot to report, and you would have read about most of it by now, had not life interupted us so abruptly.<br />
<br />
As it turned out, it has been a good summer to stay home in Kihei since we have dealt with cancer scares for both of our dogs, one that turned out to be a deep infection in Skittles' leg, and the other an operable tumor on Nani's thigh which was removed yesterday. I guess trouble comes in threes after all, and I hope that means we're done for a while. Now all we have to do is pay for it all, and while there has been no vacation as of yet, the bills are close to those that resulted from other summer's happier pursuits. I have been able to participate in Maui's Summer Master Works Chorus, and have enjoyed the rehearsals immensely. More about that later as the performance won't be until December 2013, so there is a ways to go yet.<br />
<br />
Cheri determined that she would not travel until all treatments were finished, and she had time to recover, perhaps sometime in the fall. This schedule would not work with my professional duties, so we are going on separate vacations this year. I leave tomorrow for Michigan (July 24, 2013) to spend a week with my Mom, and later participate in a week-long bike tour called Michigan Shoreline West that takes us from Montague to Mackinaw City. Brother Skip is going to pick me up there and drive us north with our kayaks to near Munising to kayak the fabled Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for a couple day, before it's back home to Kihei on August 14th and back to work. MY daughter, Michelle is flying in tonight to be with her Mom during my absense. I promise that I will file a full report of this trip upon my return to Kihei. See you then!Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-90495053130705860182012-08-17T16:42:00.000-07:002012-08-17T16:42:03.019-07:00The Road West - 2012<u>Spring 2012:<o:p></o:p></u><br />
The busy winter season is slowly winding down and I seem to have survived with my job intact; even though I've faced over thirty winter seasons, every year I wonder. With another year worth of salary now assured, I can turn my thoughts to the more enjoyable side of life; our summer vacation. This year's version, similar to 2011, will include about ten weeks away from Kihei with visits by automobile to Denver, Colorado and Minneapolis, Minnesota to visit the kids, and a month back in Michigan to visit other family and friends. That last month will again include time on Drummond Island and a bicycle tour for me after Cheri leaves for home two weeks ahead of my return.<br />
<br />
I've decided to give loaded touring another try utilizing a trailer to carry the extra weight that has caused me trouble with rear wheel problems in the past. There is a brand new trailer on the market now, called the Extrawheel trailer that basically attaches a third wheel directly behind the rear wheel with a framework to hold the panniers, taking that weight off the rear wheel, carrying it on the Extrawheel. I haven't purchased it yet, but that's what I'm planning so far. They say it handles more like a regular bicycle than the BOB Yak trailers which are a lot longer.<br />
The route for this year looks like north and east from Hemlock to the sunrise side of the state of Michigan as far north as Alpena where I'll pick up a new rail-trail that goes all the way up to Cheboygan in the northern tip of the mitten. Then, straight south to Gaylord, Grayling, etc. and back to Hemlock. It looks like about nine days of riding and I'll have almost fourteen available if needed so there will be less time pressure and more rest days if I decide to take them. I’m pretty excited, and have started training already, with forty-five miles each of the last two Saturdays.<br />
We still have three months of living to do, including a lot of singing; maybe even a CD recording session with 4-Given in May. We still have yet to find a house/dog sitter to take care of the girls in our absence, so I’ll be working hard on that until we can get someone lined up. Our flight and auto reservations are made, and I’ll order the Extrawheel soon.<br />
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I’ll arrive in Michigan on May 27th if the planes all fly on time with an American Airlines Advantage ticket, then Cheri a few days later on a purchased ticket and a much nicer schedule. We’ll head for Denver a week later, two weeks there and three more in Minnesota, including a camping trip on the Superior shore before heading back to Hemlock, then Drummond etc. That’s all the detail we have as of yet, and any or all of it can be changed if something better comes along (all expense paid trip to see the Tour de France for instance).<br />
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<u>The Plan, for Now:<o:p></o:p></u><br />
This is the schedule so far, reservations for lodging at the W, and camping locations are made, so we're pretty firm for much of this. • May 27- Mike arrives DTW, drives to Hemlock. • May 29- Cheri arrives MBS. • June 1- Drive to Mason. • June 4- Drive toward Denver, CO. • June 6- Michelle's house, Denver, CO. • June 7- Cherry Creek State Park, Denver, CO. • June 14- Chatfield State Park, Denver, CO. • June 21- Drive toward Minneapolis, MN. • June 22- The W hotel, Minneapolis, MN. • June 25- Baker Park Reserve Park, Maple Plain, MN. • June 28- Itasca State Park, MN. • July 2- Temperance River State Park, MN. • July 6- Pine Island Lake, MN, Brown family gathering. • July 9- Drive and ferry to Muskegon State Park, MI. • July 10- Drive to Hemlock, MI. • July 14- Cheri to Gaylord, MI, Mike open. • July 15- Drummond Island, MI. • July 22- Harbor Springs, MI. • July 23- Hemlock, MI. • July 26- Cheri returns to Kihei. • July 27 or 28- Mike bicycle- Alpena-Cheboygan-Gaylord. • August 3- Join Skip and Lenda at Fletcher's Pond, MI. • August 6- Back to Hemlock, MI. • August 10-Mike returns to Kihei via DTW airport, Detroit, MI. Hope to see all of you at one time or another, suggestions for additional activities are welcome.<br />
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<u>Getting Ready to Go:<o:p></o:p></u><br />
Less than two weeks to go and not much has changed for our trip. We've added a stop at Clyde and Skip German's house in Gifford, Illinois the evening of June 4th; they are old and dear friends, and Clyde's health kept them from visiting us in Kihei this winter. We've also signed up for the Denver Century Ride on Father's Day, June 17th. I'll do the metric century (100 Km = 62 miles) and Cheri will tour the 25 mile family course for her first organized bike event. We'll meet our friend Darrell there and get a report of the 100 mile course from him. <br />
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We've tightened up the safety net for dog care for the summer with some local friends house-sitting for a week, and a Monsanto intern named Kori Sakahashi from Kauai for the bulk of the summer. He visited Kihei this past weekend, and he'll make a fine Nani-Nanny.<br />
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I had a pretty wretched flight schedule on the mileage award ticket until sometime in April when they changed a flight on me, and I would have had a virtual overnight in LAX. So I called American to see what could be done to improve it and talked my way into a perfect schedule and first class cabin from here to Chicago; don't ask me how, cause I don't know and I'm not making any waves now! They may have upgraded me automatically because of the terrible schedule after the change, but she didn't question the first class status that was listed in her computer and complete news to me, and I certainly didn't either. I'll have to limit myself on the free booze since I have to drive to Hemlock upon arrival. <br />
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I got the Extrawheel trailer ordered, and when it arrived, Skip got my bike down and put it together for me. I'll be able to test ride it as soon as I get to Hemlock, but the pictures he took look just like the video I've seen online. I think it will be perfect! Ship is also putting together a group of friends with kayaks for a trip to Point Aux Barques in Lake Huron, which is similar to the Pictured Rocks area near Munising in the U.P. I told him his friends better not make any wise cracks about my paddling a two-man kayak, or I'd chase them down and sit on them. <br />
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I guess that's all for now; I'll talk to you next from Michigan, probably after the Lake Huron trip. See you then!<br />
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<u>First Days in Michigan:<o:p></o:p></u><br />
The flights went well, but I still didn’t sleep much, even though the seats in first class recline to a nearly flat position. All the connections were on time, and my bag reached Detroit on the same plane I did. It took Thrifty Car Rental forever to process me and a few other folks, then more time in their poorly marked lot, but I drove away with a Chevy Traverse and it drives very nicely. No luggage rack but we’ll cross the kayak hauling bridge later in the trip, since this was the only model available. My eyelids got heavy before I finally drove into the yard, but I made it in time for supper with Mom.<br />
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Sunday morning I went to church with brother Randy and his family, then got on the bicycle for a short trip to the cemetery to visit my dad and test the Extrawheel and found it to be fine so far. I noticed a couple things on the bike that need attention, but can wait a bit; the middle ring on the crank-set is worn enough that I experienced some chain slip under power, and one pedal feels a bit loose, and looks like its ready for replacement. That evening I took Randy & Mindy along with Mom to Olive Garden for dinner, and we had a nice visit and a good meal.<br />
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Monday Skip and family picked me up for the kayak trip on Lake Huron which was pretty nice, but no friends joined us and it was a long paddle for the first trip of the season. Later I went for a twenty mile round trip on the bike (sans trailer) to the Brant cemetery to visit my maternal grandparents, and further shake it down, then later yet worked on cleaning the pool from the past winter’s inactivity. It’s not too bad, but still plenty of work skimming, vacuuming and babysitting the barracuda (auto-vacuum). It looks almost swim-ready by dark.<br />
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Tuesday morning Cheri came into Tri-City Airport a bit ahead of schedule and Mom and I took her to breakfast at the Riverside and then to Meijer’s and on another errand, before heading back to the farm, where she grabbed a two-hour nap, and I continued with the migrant labor thing; the pool clean-up. I got in to skim and vacuum more completely and it looked really good by the time I finished, but the weather was far from hot and I couldn’t get Cheri to come in with me. We had a great dinner of hamburger patties, sweet corn and some beautiful tomatoes.<br />
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Wednesday saw Cheri and I on the Saginaw Valley Rail-Trail up to St. Charles and back, then on to the bike shop out on Bay Road, where neither of my little problems could be solved yet. I asked him to order the new chain-ring, and I’ll get the pedals on line and have them shipped to Michelle in Denver. It was quite chilly so no pool activity, but I went to the library and got some books that they will allow me to keep until I get back here in July, which is nice of them.<br />
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It was really cold on Thursday, and we visited niece Kelly’s shop for a haircut (me) and a face wax treatment (Cheri) then returned to the farm for a lazy day of reading and then writing in this blog. Later we’ll go out to dinner with Skip & Lenda, Randy & Mindy, and Mom to Harvey’s Bar and Grill. Then I’ll get those pedals ordered and get ready to head out to Mason on Friday. See you later.<u><o:p></o:p></u><br />
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<u>Mason and the Long Drive West<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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We had a nice time in Mason with Bill and Anita, with Uncle Kevin guys, and Bill Jr. & Debbie with us Saturday night for my own recipe of pork loin in mustard and vinegar sauce. Everyone seemed to enjoy and Grandpa even ate a mushroom, though I must say that the sauce for that dish is so flavorful that he probably didn’t taste the mushroom itself. Sunday I took a bike ride while Cheri took her Mom shopping, and we ended the visit with a delicious dinner at Mitchells’s Fish Market.<br />
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Monday was a good day for driving, and we made good time to Gifford, having forgotten the fact that we would gain an hour. Clyde and Skip made us very welcome again, and we asked to go see their church which was being remodeled last year at this time, and they did a fabulous job on the “Cathedral in the Corn Field” as Immanuel Lutheran in Flatville is known. It is a beautiful church that seats about 400 people by my estimate, and Clyde claims that they fill it pretty regularly for special occasions. The night was continued with dinner at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Champaign/Urbana for some good old country cooking that we really enjoyed. We also got a good old country breakfast the next morning in Clyde’s avowed favorite place to eat (Skip’s kitchen) with bacon and pancakes that were very tasty.<br />
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Mapquest had suggested that the southern route through Kansas City would be the shortest, but Garmin disagreed and took us across I-80 again, and the last time we disregarded Garmin on a decision like this, we regretted it. It gave us a chance to stop at a place we’d seen on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (TV) in Omaha. Garmin took us right to the address, but the restaurant there had a different name, Shuck’s Oyster Bar and we decided to give it a try. It was really good and we got to try Oysters Rockefeller that were delicious, if a bit pricey. We drove on well after dinner and ended up in Kearney, NE at a Microtel and had a good night’s sleep.<br />
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Wednesday started with a good breakfast courtesy of the hotel, complete with fresh made waffle, and we were on our way. We were ahead of schedule so we decided to stop in Gothenburg to see Celeste and tour that location, and give me a chance to say hi to some other coworkers. They had a Safety Pause going on, so after our tour and some conversation, we headed for Denver. We were still ahead of schedule, so we took a scenic detour in northeast Colorado and got to Michelle’s about 4:00PM and she let us into her apartment to clean up and we both fell asleep on the couch. Dinner was at a local place called Bonefish, and it was delicious, especially the “Bang-bang shrimp”, and after we had some as an appetizer, I ordered more for my entry with a spinach salad; really good. We walked a dog, Robbie, for Miki’s friend, and then got a good night’s sleep in her very comfortable bed.<br />
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<u>First Days in Cherry Creek State Park, Aurora, CO<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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Thursday Michelle cooked leftovers and eggs and we headed for Cherry Creek and our first 2012 camping site. We set up, including Cheri’s new, larger tent, and found that a mouse had gotten into both of our bag chairs; no damage but they absolutely reeked of mouse odor, so they had to be scrubbed and deodorized. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mice had carried corn kernels into the bags and one poor smelly creature forgot to leave in the spring. It took a full bottle of Fabreeze to make the chairs sitable. We rode our bikes around the campground for orientation and then headed to the store for groceries. We had a light, late, lunch and an afternoon of relaxation, then some salmon and salad for dinner. The wind in the evening was brutal and we went to bed wondering if our tents would be standing in the morning.<br />
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They were, but one plastic fitting had broken causing some leaning which required readjustment, then I discovered that part of the propane stove had been left in Michigan, and I had to heat water for Cheri’s coffee and dishwater (same flavor to my taste) in the electric skillet after the sausage and raspberry pancakes were done. We decided to go for a long bike ride to prepare for next Sunday’s century ride, but Cheri’s bike had a flat front tire to fix first; she had picked up a thorn. Our ride turned out to be three and a half hours, but she made it, so I’m confident she can do her planned 25 miles in the organized event. The trails are great but not well marked, many of the trail maps are too weathered to read. In the afternoon we went off in search of bike stuff and a stove replacement and were successful on all counts, if a bit poorer financially as a result. Miki came out to the campground for a steak and sweet corn, and we enjoyed talking with her until late in the evening.<br />
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Saturday brought some nicer weather our way, so Cheri and I decided to get the kayak wet, and maybe each other. We drove to a picnic area where it was a short portage down a cement path to the water’s edge, and successfully put in and got in; getting out is the hardest part for me. We paddled about an hour to the marina on the far side of the lake, and after looking around pulled out on a nearby beach for a snack and some water; this being a reservoir, even I wouldn’t drink out of the lake. That evening we drove to Westminster to take Miki’s friend Darrell to dinner. Darrell is a bicyclist and will be joining us for the century ride next Sunday, though he plans to do the full 100 miles, while I’m taking the metric approach and doing only 100 kilometers (62 miles). Cheri is being brave enough to try the 25 mile family ride, but there are 1,000 cyclists signed up, so it’s going to be bikes wall-to-wall. We went to “California Pizza Kitchen” and had a very nice meal and great conversation. Afterward, we loaded Miki’s stuff up to take her back to the campground with us and avoid the very steep fee to drive another vehicle into the park.<br />
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Sunday was nice again, though plenty warm and we took a group bicycle ride after I had fixed up the bicycle that Miki had been given by a friend who was moving (just air up the tires and adjust it to fit her physique). We rode a couple hours though not particularly hard or fast, but enjoyed the ride and the company before a leisurely lunch and lazy afternoon. Miki slept in our tent Saturday night because we returned quite late, but we set up her tent today. I grilled BBQ chicken for dinner, after a trip to the market, with sweet corn and salad; it was delicious.<br />
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Monday was a crazy day with Michelle having a couple of appointments and Cheri looking for a Weight-Watchers meeting so she could weigh in. She is a lifetime member which requires that she weigh in once a month within two pounds of her original goal. She has to pay again if she goes over the two pound limit, and resume weekly attendance, which she prefers not to do, and has never had too yet. I decided on a long bicycle ride, so after Cheri and Miki left for Westminster, I finished the dishes and hit the Cherry Creek Bike path. Miki and Cheri found time in their busy day to get Darrell to take them out for sushi, while I ate at a 7-11, but got a salad instead of my favored chilidog. I got back after two visits to REI and eight hours on the bike. We couldn’t agree on a mileage for my day, estimates ranged from 60 (Miki - on her smart phone) and 200 (me - based on how I felt afterwards). Cheri and I prepared hobo dinners, a favorite camping meal where hamburger, potatoes, carrots, and onions are gathered into foil packages and tossed in the campfire; though with the ban on wood fires, I had to cook them on the gas grill. We had some salad too, and a promise of a chocolate desert yet to come.<br />
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<u>Last Days in Cherry Creek State Park<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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The weather Tuesday morning was good and we sort of just played the day away. We had some left-over potatoes from dinner, and some left-over sausages from Saturday which all went into a scramble for breakfast. We read and talked and then as it got warmer, went down to the beach for some sun and water. After an hour, Cheri and I left Miki to her sunbathing in favor of a bike ride and Cheri decided to challenge the hill just outside the campground, and I couldn’t let her do it without me, so we both conquered it. Later that afternoon Miki had physical therapy for her ankle (a result of a car accident three months ago); I had a date with Don Dolin (an old friend) to attend a Rockies game, while Cheri and Jackie Dolin went to dinner. We all met back at Michelle’s in Westminster and said our good-bys before carpooling (Miki, Cheri, and I) back to Cherry Creek and a welcome bed and blankets. There is no fee for entering the park after hours.<br />
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Wednesday was another day for the bicycles, just we three, after some raspberry pancakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rode a couple miles to a bike shop just outside the park and bought Michelle a helmet for safety, and then she and Cheri went into shopping mode and accessorized with gloves, a seat-bag to carry some essentials, and a water bottle. It ended up being $125.00 but it was for our little girl, and she claims her friends will push her to use the bike now that she is set up properly with safe gear. I hope so. We took a long ride after the shopping and she did very well as we rode all the way around the lake, then up the hill to a residential area and one of her favorite places for lunch called Tokeo Joe’s. Cheri had what they call a “Kihei Salad” and all of us had a great lunch before riding back to camp. That evening I tried to grill some Dover sole which was only moderately successful, but the sweet corn, salad, and wine made it an acceptable meal. We said good-by to Michelle for the next few days as she returns to work, and we get ready to move our camp to Chatfield State Park, a bit further south and west of Denver.<br />
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Thursday was devoted to changing camps and I made eggs and potatoes for breakfast before we started in with packing up. We got everything loaded and over to Chatfield about 10:30 and had to wait for our site to be evacuated, so we drove around the park a while. It’s a nice park but there are few trees in the campground, which sits high on a bluff above the lake. Later in the afternoon we went up to Estes Park to visit some friends and really enjoyed touring the area with Gary and Fran Shelley, snow-bird members at Kihei Lutheran, before and after a nice dinner at Mary’s Lake Resort. It was a late night by the time we got back to camp and we dove beneath the sheets ASAP. There was a mild thunderstorm and a little rain that night, but we stayed dry even without the rain-fly in place on the tent (which we had ordered delivered to Michelle’s and picked up on the way to Estes Park).<br />
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Friday dawned windy and cool, so windy that after raspberry pancakes we had to get away, so we went into Denver to reconnoiter the start area of Sunday’s century ride at Stapleton Central Park. The address I had in the Garmin (copied from the web-site) was in the middle of a residential housing development, but we found the park a mile down the street. We decided that we’d better budget more time there prior to our estimated departure because parking is going to be a nightmare. Then we drove to Confluence Park for a visit to the REI store and a bike ride down Cherry Creek Trail that I rode on Monday and felt Cheri would love; she did. We stopped in the Cherry Creek Mall where Jackie Dolin works and invited her to lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen that we enjoyed so much in the Flatiron Mall with Darrell last Saturday. She called us when we got there and canceled her attendence, but we had a nice lunch and stopped back at her shop to say good-by, then braved a bit of a thunder-storm that threatened but didn’t materialize on the ride back. We got back to Chatfield and the weather was beautiful as I grilled gourmet burgers that were the best meal to date. By-by for now.<br />
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<u>Chatfield State Park<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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The wind last night was awful and we were awake half the night listening to the tents flapping and snapping, and feared they wouldn’t last until morning, but somehow they did and we awoke to a beautiful Colorado morning. After naked raspberry pancakes (no meat) for breakfast we put the kayak in the water at the west end of the lake for a paddle. There is very little boat traffic at that end and we had a nice time chasing geese. At first we thought there were two species of birds in the small flock we were near, but the white ones were just Canadian geese upside-down as they looked for food under the water. Later we saw a family of ducks, Mama and at least twelve ducklings who might have been a little old for that title, but I don’t know what to call adolescent ducks. After some turkey sandwiches for lunch, Cheri set about doing laundry while I stood guard at the campsite as there was a storm on the horizon. When it hit, I thought again that we’d lose the dining tent, but it managed to stand through my estimate of 50 MPH gusts with only a drop or two of rain. When Cheri returned from the laundry room, she had no idea what I’d been through having only noticed a few bicyclists taking shelter in the building with her. That night, I outdid myself with a camp spaghetti that was absolutely delicious for our private carbo-loading party. (The next day we would see a sign that said “Carbo-loading is so 2011”.) We got our site ready for an all-day absence as we would be leaving about 5:30AM for the century ride and hit the sack hoping for good weather. Wish us luck!<br />
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We were up an away on time, having purchased some muffins so we could breakfast during the drive. Parking turned out to be no problem as I received an email the previous night with specific instructions that worked perfectly. We were there on time and got checked in okay, except some volunteer had screwed up Cheri’s registration, and the bib she got didn’t have her name printed on it as most others, including mine, did. Darrell was delayed by a ride partner and we ended up beginning our ride a few minutes before he got to the start line, but they passed us soon enough. We had a pretty nice, safe ride right through downtown Denver although they had said something at the start about an aid station about seven miles out that we never found, by the time we got to the 12.5 mile aid station, and Cheri’s turn-around, we were a bit confused, and I think Cheri was a bit thirsty as she had forgotten the water bottle we bought specially for this event, and wasn’t carrying water (and for some reason, didn’t want any of mine). But at the aid station that was all cleared up, and she got a water bottle she could carry on the way back. I guess it was about 9:15AM that we got that all cleared up and Cheri confident of her route and properly prepared, and I went on from there for the other fifty miles in store for me on the metric century, as Cheri rested up before heading back toward the start/finish for her 25 miles.<br />
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We had started out with clear and warm that soon turned into clear and hot and after I left the next aid station at Golden and headed toward Boulder it got hillier and windier, and the five miles after the thirty mile aid station were absolutely devastating for me, and Darrell backed me up on the difficulty of that section later. At about thirty-five miles (probably at least ¾ mile of which I had to walk) we turned downwind and downhill, but the damage to my condition and confidence was done and I was just hoping I could make it to the finish line. During that same time, Cheri was finding that the course markings were not as clear as she would have liked on the return, though I think the tug of a Starbuck’s sign may have helped pull her away from her proper bearings. She ended up walking her bike back toward where she had last seen a sign (on a one-way street) and found her way with the help of another couple. She finished at about 11:30AM and tried to find shade until I struggled home almost four hours later. Darrel later reported having as bad an afternoon as I did, finishing his 100 miles in the 98<span style="font-family: 'Script MT Bold';">°</span> heat a little more than an hour after my paltry 65 miles. Cheri and I didn’t wait for him at the finish because the call of Michelle’s pool was so strong, and that ended up feeling soooooooooo goooooooood! Afterward Michelle took us out to a restaurant called Hacienda to celebrate Father’s Day; what a wonderful daughter. We were so tired that evening, we decided not to drive all the way back to Chatfield and accepted her hospitality and bed for the night.<br />
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Monday morning we headed back to Chatfield by way of King Sooper to shop for dinner, expecting Michelle and Darrell to join us later in the day. After getting back and putting our site in order and stowing the groceries, we decided that a car-trip to nearby Roxborough State Park would be in order (and air-conditioned), just to investigate. It turned out to be a nice park had we had time and energy for a little hiking, and returned to Chatfield intent on getting in the water again to cool our body temperatures, this being another 97<span style="font-family: 'Script MT Bold';">° </span>day in the Denver area. We got word that Michelle’s business meeting had been canceled, so we met her back at camp and then drove to the beach for the cool-down, before showering and preparing for Darrell’s arrival. The salmon and sweet corn were well received and we had a great time chatting and eating with a little wine and a few beers tossed into the mix, it was a lovely evening. We would have liked to have had a campfire that evening, but the state of Colorado is now under a ban on open fires due to extremely dry conditions, and two very serious wildfires currently on-going elsewhere in the state.<br />
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Tuesday morning at 4:20AM our sleep was disturbed by a very public domestic dispute, something about a ”fricking” lighter (maybe for her crystal meth?) shouted for all in the campground to hear. Around 8:00AM we rose for a big breakfast of bacon and blueberry pancakes with juice and coffee, before setting off on a short bike ride as Darrell had stayed over, and had brought his mountain bike along with tent and sleeping bag. We stopped a few places and had a very nice time before getting Darrell off for a return to his office around noon. We three went to the market, and visited “My Favorite Muffin” café for lunch, and returned with gourmet burgers and shrimp cocktail in hand for later. It was another very warm day, so we stayed pretty close to the shade, though I braved the sun for an hour-long bike ride exploring a bike path toward Plum creek which also drains into this reservoir. The burgers were declared excellent, prefacing a gorgeous sunset. Cheri spent two hours looking for her lost eyeglasses (successfully!) while I blah, blah, blogged in your honor. Cheri and Michelle also took a short ride around the campgrounds as the evening cooled to a very pleasant mid-seventies as night fell. Our time in Denver is nearing an end, as all good things must do, and tomorrow we will visit old friends Burt and Elouise Van Engan for lunch before celebrating our family ties again with dinner out. I’m hoping for sushi!<br />
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<u>The Road Back East<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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I got my wish and it was delicious as we returned to Sushi Yume that Michelle, Darrell and Cheri had visited a week ago for lunch. The sushi was great, and the crab cake appetizer was the best I ever had. We awoke at Michelle’s apartment to a breakfast of scrambled eggs, with ham, spinach, and onions that was very good and got on the road by 8:30AM. We stopped there in Westminster for gas and then at a hardware to replace a pin that had been lost from the bike rack with a similar sized bolt, and hit the open road. We stopped in Nebraska at a rest area and decided to give Sonic Drive-in a try in honor of niece, Lani, having worked at a Sonic in Texas. It was okay and we continued on to Council Bluffs where there is a DD&D restaurant called Dixie Quicks and we had a great dinner there. The bow-tie pasta with asparagus and prosciutto was great and the owner, Rene, said it’s just as good with spam. We drove until about 10:00PM to make Des Moines and have a short day tomorrow and stayed at another Microtel.<br />
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Friday we had the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, just edible, and hit the road for the four hours or so we had to the twin cities. After a fuel stop and a light lunch at Jimmy John’s we arrived at the W hotel in Minneapolis at 2:30PM just as a bunch of other cars pulled up, so Mark was busy but a bellboy and friend named Marcus took over and showed us to our beautiful room and Mark came up around 4:00PM. We walked back to their apartment and had a drink waiting for Katie, and later went out for a late Father’s Day to Wakame sushi, and it was fabulous. A sushi chef friend of Mark’s named Yo made us some poke that was great and everything else they brought was too, and then Yo sent us a fruit desert on the house. We went back to the apartment for drinks and conversation before they walked us back to the W, how sweet!<br />
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Saturday we were invited over to breakfast so at about 10:00AM we were having banana pancakes and bacon with them before taking a cab to Loring Park to check out the Gay Pride festivities going on there; it was just crazy with all kinds of people and booths for just about any kind of thing you’re interested in. There was a volleyball tournament going on and lots of other entertainment so Cheri and I stayed there when Mark and Katie had to leave for her Mom’s wedding which was immediate family only. We stayed until about noon and then found the Aussie Kebob food cart on our walk home, and the gyro they made for us was really tasty. After returning to the W we went out for some people watching and another snack so we stopped in at Zelo on the Nicolette Mall for a glass of wine and a flatbread pizza that was a lot bigger than we expected and watched the city go by. Mark returned and we took a cab to the Ten-Twenty-Nine Club and Smack Shack for the best mac and cheese ever and a couple great sandwiches and some beer. Katie joined us later and we caught a ride home with her and promised to meet them for a bike ride on Sunday. Late that evening one of Mark’s friends at the W, Clayton, sent up a brownie desert compliments of the hotel that was fabulous, so instead of breakfast, we had dessert in bed!<br />
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We were up around 8:30 and walked to Hell’s Kitchen for breakfast and I had some great corned beef hash and around 11:00 Mark and Katie came by and we got our bikes and rode up to the river. We caught the bike path there and had a very nice ride north along the river, and the west and south down around Cedar Lake and stopped for a picnic Mark had packed for us with wine, cheese, crackers, salami, and chocolates that Cheri had brought. We rode back to the W to clean up and rest prior to meeting them at the apartment for a swim and dinner on the deck. Mark made delicious teriyaki braised boneless beef ribs with rice and vegetables and Katie added some great bruchetta with some wine. Later Mark said he needed a walk and he marched us all over Minneapolis before we got back to his apartment, and then had to walk back to the W.<br />
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<u>Minnesota Camping<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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Since we extended our stay at the W we only have three days of camping at Maple Plain, and Baker Park Reserve is just beautiful, as we remembered it to be. We arrived Monday and got set up after checking out and taking Mark to lunch at Krawarzcuk’s deli and café with some delicious sausages, and then bought bratwurst, sauerkraut, and buns for dinner tonight and some other things. We had time for a bike ride around the lake (6.2 miles) and some reading before firing up the electric skillet and cooking the delicious stuff we’d brought.<br />
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Tuesday started with a breakfast of pancakes and sausages from Krawarzcuk’s that were good but not as special as I thought the brats were. Mark called and had changed his schedule to allow him to spend the afternoon with us, and we played some disc golf while Cheri caught up with her reading. Back to his apartment for some pizza with Katie and her Uncle Jim and Aunt Sherri before going to a Howard Jones concert with them, meeting Leanne and Jerry there. Jones was one of the pioneers in using a music synthesizer, so his stuff was avant guard in his day, and apparently was a favorite of Leanne’s which explained Mark and Katie’s presence, and we were there to be with them. Afterward we went to a Mexican bar for a snack before heading back to the campground about 12:30AM. <br />
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Good weather allowed us to sleep in before a fruit and cereal breakfast. Cheri wanted to spend some time at Mall of America and get her hair done, so I took my bike along to help pass the time, because she didn’t want to go alone. I struck off trying to find a bike path of some sort and didn’t have much luck in that regard, but did find the Fort Snelling National Cemetery which I enjoyed, and a wildlife refuge with visitor center which I also enjoyed. I was back at the mall and had some lunch before running into…guess who? That’s right, Cheri! We celebrated by going into a shop for pedicures, which was fun, and then I turned her loose again on an unsuspecting mall while finding myself a good place to read for a while. We were planning to go to Mark’s roller-hockey game at 6:00PM but it was pushed back to 7:00PM so we had an extra hour to shop (and read)! After watching the game, which Mark’s team lost, we met Katie at a nice steakhouse called Mancini’s for a good dinner. We thought we were doing good to get back to Maple Plain and in bed by 10:30PM.<br />
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Thursday was a travel day, trading the roomy beautiful site at Baker for a beautiful shady site, albeit somewhat smaller at Itasca State Park four hours northwest, known as the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Itasca is a compound name using parts of two Latin words; “ver<u>itas</u> <u>ca</u>put” meaning "true head". It was a lovely drive ending in a lovely park. We picked up enough groceries on the way for dinner of salad with avocado and ham and we’ll go into Bemidji Friday for the rest of our needs, which are extensive since Mark and Katei will join us Friday night through Sunday afternoon. We ride our bikes along a very hilly path back to the visitor’s center to help us plan our visit and enjoy a quiet evening together. <br />
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Friday morning was cereal and raspberries before putting the kayak in the water for a couple hours of paddling and watching loons that Cheri and I both just love. There is a ten MPH speed limit on all boats, so there is no skiing or wave runners on this large, three armed lake, just a few pontoons and a fishing boat here or there. We head into Bemidji to the hospital for me to get a check of my PT/INR (clotting factor) before lunch at the Ground Round, go ahead and give this a pass if you get to Bemidji, and then did some other errands and grocery shopping. The kids arrived at about 8:30PM and I had the fire going for a try at grilled pizza tonight. I set up a topping bar and grilled the skins just a bit before everyone loads his/her own. I do the grilling for everyone but Cheri, I manage to dump hers in the fire, but we replace it and everyone declares the experiment a success! <br />
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Saturday starts with bacon and blueberry pancakes, and then we hike a mile to a fire tower that allows folks to climb the stairs for a look at the area from 100 feet above the hilltop it was built on. We all made the climb and really enjoy the view from up there. We got back to camp to pack a picnic lunch that I strap on my bike, and we all ride the two miles or so to the headwaters where folks walk across the Mississippi River which is about twenty feet wide and two feet deep here. We find a picnic area for lunch of cheese, crackers, salami, and salmon spread before heading back to the crossing area where we watch a young couple “march down the aisle” to the beat of a bagpipe, and the men were all in kilts. We get back to camp for some quiet time and a nap for most and then pack another picnic, this one of wine and pupus and we rent a pontoon boat for a ride on the lake. We saw a pair of loons in which one individual was swimming in a wide circle, maybe fifty feet, around the other and calling to it; some sort of mating display I imagine, but fun to see. A great time is had by all, even though I moved incautiously forward and nearly swamped the boat, causing three of the four wineglasses to go overboard. I saved the wine though! Back at camp Mark and I conspired to grill Brazilian steaks (crusted with rock salt) that make a wonderful dinner to end a great day.<br />
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Sunday morning I scrambled some eggs with left-over potatoes and asparagus and fried up some sausage patties to fuel the group. We decided to ride our bikes to the beach for a swim after Mark and Katie moved their tent into the sun to dry. We had a very brief shower overnight and they wanted the tent to be packed dry. We just chilled out all morning at the beach and then went back to camp for them to gather their stuff, all dry, and they left about 2:00PM for the Mini-apple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cheri and I took the truck along the Wilderness Drive and saw the biggest white-tail doe I’ve ever seen; I thought it might be an elk, but we didn't get a good enough look at it to know for sure. We drove out of the park to get some gas and a few groceries before getting back to camp for hamburgers that were very good and I sat down to catch up on work and my blogging. I’ll have to stop somewhere tomorrow to upload it, but I wrote for about three hours, trying to remember all the great stuff we’re doing on this trip.<br />
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<u>Temperance River<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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We were awakened at 3:00AM in the morning by a little intruder making noise in our dining tent, and we decided from the amount of stuff consumed, it must have been a raccoon or two, because two full bananas (only the skins were left) along with a sandwich bag full of snack bars, one wrapper for which was found nearby. We’ve had numerous chipmunk intrusions, and some squirrels, one crazy one that attacked Uncle Bill’s trailer, but this is the first raccoon. We had a leisurely morning taking down and packing the truck before showering and we left beautiful Itasca about 11:00AM. It turned out to be a longer drive than we had thought, with a road construction delay during a detour on the way to a Starbucks. We had a late lunch at Fitzgers Inn that Mark had suggested for the wild rice vegetarian burger. We both had one; Cheri was impressed, and I wasn’t. Then we stopped by a DD&D place called the Northern Waters Smokehaus and bought some smoked salmon for dinner which turned out to be excellent on a salad. We got set up at Temperance River just in time to relax with some wine and eat our salad. <br />
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We needed to do laundry today and decided to see Grand Marais in the bargain. We bought some fudge, a t-shirt for Cheri, a “third-eye” mirror for me, and a small frying pan at a camping store that also gave us suggestions for an afternoon paddle in the kayak. We had packed a picnic and ate that down by the beautiful bay in Grand Marais and headed west to find the lake. We got turned around and had to get further directions at the town information kiosk, but soon were on our way up Pincushion Mountain and found the access point for Northern Light Lake. We put the kayak in the water and found ourselves on a long, river-like arm of the lake and thought: “Right around this next bend, we’ll see the lake, or maybe the one after that.” It was about fifteen minutes before we saw it, and it looked big and rough with a pretty good windblown chop, and there was still a point for us to round before we could see the whole lake, so we decided to paddle at least that much further. About half way to the point Cheri saw an animal on the far shore, so we headed that way to get a better look and decided it was the size of a moose, so we got really excited and paddled all the way across the lake, at least half-a-mile and fifteen minutes in a quartering sea for a better look, and when we got about 200 yards away it moved up into the brush, and as it did, we could see the white tail of the biggest deer either of us has ever seen. We explored that shoreline hoping for a repeat appearance but then started the long paddle back to our car. We loaded the kayak back on top of the Chevy and drove about an hour home to Temperance River. We had in mind to take our wine and steaks, and the grill etc. down the short walk to the lakeshore, then decided to drive instead and set up camp away from camp at a picnic table there with a beautiful view of Lake Superior. We had a lovely time and some delicious salt-grilled steak along with campfire potatoes and mushrooms, and hung out there until it was time to get ready for bed.<br />
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Wednesday dawned bright and beautiful and we loaded the bikes for a sight-seeing trip to Gooseberry Falls, again packing a picnic lunch to take along. We toured Tettegouche State Park <br />
on the way, then finally arrived at the most popular park on the north shore and found parking at the picnic area and biked back to the visitor’s center. After a look at the falls, and people doing stupid things in the rushing water, we saw a movie about the north shore parks and picked up a gift for Cheri from the gift shop; a much needed Lake Superior coffee cup and a CD of loon music. We struck out to the north on the Gitchi-Gami bike trail but soon the hills took away Cheri’s will to ride, and the darkening skies replaced it with fear of a thunderstorm, so we turned back and made for the truck as quickly as our muscles could take us. We got back just in time to stay dry, but worried about the weather back at Temperance River where we had left some windows open to air the tent. Then the storm hit, and it was so severe that we started thinking about what we would do about our wet belongings when we got back there, including stopping at a Laundromat to find their hours of operation. But half-way back, we turned off the windshield wipers and saw that the roads were still dry, and hurried home to close up, and again managed to stay dry as the storm reached us ten minutes after our return! Whew! We sat in the dining tent reading for a few hours listening to it rain and then decided to go out for diner tonight rather than tomorrow as we had planned. We got quite a bit of rain, enough so that water was running into the dining tent under the sides, and the temperature was easily twenty degrees cooler than it had been. The sleeping tent was high and dry, as was the restaurant at the Lutsen Resort, where we feasted on whitefish and walleye after a short wait in the bar where we had wine and artichoke dip as a warm-up. Folks were lighting campfires on the beach as we left the restaurant and headed home and to bed.<br />
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Thursday was “clean-out-the-fridge” day for a scrambled breakfast and then break out the hiking sticks to tour the Temperance River Gorge on foot. It is a truly gorgeous place and we hiked about a mile-and-a-half up the gorge toward Carlson Peak,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but turned back and returned the way we’d come to enjoy the river some more. After more “clean-out-the-fridge” for lunch, Cheri hiked to the showers and I took a little bike ride south to Schroder to see Father Baraga’s Cross, and north to Tofte just to see the bike path. I returned just as Cheri was driving out to her appointment at the nearby spa, and I relaxed before hitting the showers myself. Cheri reported a nice facial at Superior Waves Spa in Tofte, and said it was more luxuriant and relaxing than the high-end spas she occasionally visits back home on Maui. On the way home she stopped at the ranger station for ice and wood we needed tonight. We again loaded stuff in the Chevy and set up camp-away-from-camp at a table and fire-pit near the shore and thoroughly enjoyed wood-grilled pizza for dinner. Even without electricity, we’ve really enjoyed Temperance River State Park and the whole north shore area, and we have promised each other future visits here.<br />
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<u>City Life, Again<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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Originally we would have been on our way to Pine Island Lake for the Brown family 4th of July celebration, but our putative host, Grandma Velda, has some medical issues that prevent her from hosting our visit, and we have made alternate plans in the Mini-apple. We got a reservation through Mark at the Comfort Inn in the same building he and Katie live in, so we’re heading there today (Friday, July 6<sup>th</sup>). It was a typical breaking-camp day, though we were up early and so got an earlier start for the five hour drive ahead. We got to the hotel and dealt with the parking situation since we require a special space not in the underground lot with has a seven foot height limit. We freshened up and called Mark about 4:00PM and he asked us to come up to the apartment for a special pupu he had prepared, fresh ahi sashimi that was fantastic. We’ve decided to do a food crawl tonight; guacamole and a drink at Mama Rosa’s, then crab cake and shrimp cocktail at Oceanaire, and then the best burger in Minneapolis at Vincent’s. Everything was delicious and Steve Brown was able to join us for the first two stops, and it was good to see him.<br />
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We really like our room at the Comfort Inn which comes with free breakfast but we’re invited out to Hell’s Kitchen for breakfast and to see Church of Cash perform, but not until 10:30, so I went down to the free breakfast at the Inn to take the edge off. It was great to see Jayder and the CoC, and breakfast was really good. Ben Buckhan is coming up from Des Moines to hang out today and when he arrives, we drive out to Hudson, WI to spend some time at the beach on the St. Croix River. I joked that we had driven all the way to Wisconsin just for the pleasure of walking back to Minnesota because the beach is off a causeway two-thirds of the way to the MN shore. We get back to the city just in time to go to Junior’s dojo for the MMA event on TV and a Brazilian BBQ. We drink too much (except Cheri, the DD) and the food was great and the fights were fun, right down to the main event in which Anderson Silva beat Chael Sonnen to retain his title and thrill the crowd we’re with. Mark and Ben take center stage after the fight with a scrimmage of their own, but eventually they run out of gas and we get home and to bed about midnight.<br />
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Ben came down to crash the free breakfast early to catch his tee-time today at 10:00AM, and Mark and Katie join us later for the same, and it’s declared the best free breakfast ever. After the omelets and waffles are gone, we prepare to leave and get the kids to help us carry everything down to the car and say our tearful good-byes, and we’re off to Milwaukee. The drive is somewhat depressing because of the drought being suffered by all of Wisconsin, and I call my buddy Josh Parcel to commiserate with him when we stop for lunch. We check into the Red Roof Inn near the airport and visit a restaurant called the Branded Steer and had a good steak for dinner.<br />
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We’ve got some extra time before our sailing today on the ferry and visit downtown Milwaukee in the historic third ward where we find a Starbuck’s before some walking around and we get a suggestion from a local couple and visit Benelux for breakfast. I have Pannenkoegen, a cross between a pancake and a crepe and enjoy it while Cheri enjoys an egg-white omelet with spinach and mushrooms that looked really good too. We get to the ferry to find they’ve made a mess of our reservation, and we have a few hours of worry, but they make space for us stand-by and we make the crossing as planned. Never again will we trust an unconfirmed reservation with just a scribbled confirmation number on a scrap of paper. We arrive and get to the campground just in time for a dinner of nachos and then get Skip to take us for a ride in the pontoon boat and see the eagle that rules one end of Muskegon Lake. Later we have a campfire and some wine and retire to our dining tent to sleep, having chosen to go with a single tent these two days.<br />
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I‘m invited to go for a paddle along with Skip but sleep late instead. Skip gets back just as breakfast is being served and we read a while until Kris and her girls go to the beach and Skip and I decide to hike the three miles or more round trip to the eagles’ nest. It’s a beautiful day and we enjoy the woods and the dunes and find the nest and a rather smelly mess under it where they have dropped fish bones, turtle shells and lots of eagle poop. The fledglings have apparently left the nest though since there was no activity in it that we could see, though we thought we heard the fledglings as we approached the area. We got back to a nice dinner of grilled teriyaki chicken with grilled pineapple, green beans, mac & cheese, and asparagus spears baked in phylo that were delicious. Unfortunately, Vickie must leave us this evening as she has applied for a new teaching job in a new city; inner city Detroit. We have another campfire complete with s’mores until Cheri breaks up the party to go watch the ferry leave for Milwaukee after which we get back and head straight to bed.<br />
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Today is a work day as we head back to Hemlock and prepare to store much of our camping gear and take some stuff with us to Drummond Island for the swan-song of this vacation, at least as far as Cheri is concerned. We hung around camp after bacon and waffles that Karen cooked for us and packed up our stuff and headed out about 1:00PM. We had an uneventful drive and started the business of cleaning up and storing our stuff, and cooled off twice in the pool. I also did some work on the stuff I’ll need on my bike tour, contacted the local bike shop about some work I need done, and had an unwelcome call from Thrifty Rental Car that will require a trip to the airport to clear up tomorrow. <br />
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<u>Hemlock to Drummond and Back Again<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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We lost an entire day to the idiots at Thrifty Car Rental on Thursday; they threatened me with charges of car theft if I failed to deliver their car back to DTW as soon as possible. Cheri rode down with me and we turned the car in and walked over to National to get a car for the rest of our time here, and as it happens, we got another Chevy Traverse, though with fewer bells and whistles than the one we had. <br />
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We spent most of Friday getting ready to go north, and lounging n the pool which is perfect right now; refreshing but very pleasant to be in for an hour or two. We went out to dinner at The Farmer’s Home Tavern here in Hemlock, known far and wide for the best hamburger in mid-state Michigan, it’s always a pleasure to come back home again!<br />
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Saturday finds us back on the highway heading for Gaylord and a 24 hour date for Cheri with her high school posse (Gail Robinson, Patty Diedrich, and Ruth Wood) while I grab a bike ride and bunk in at Diedrichs even though John is already visiting up at Drummond, and Patty will then ride up with us to join him there. I had a good ride on the Little Traverse Wheelway with some rain in the middle, and then a downpour just before I finished. I stayed in for dinner after finding fresh bratwurst from Toski Sands that I know John must have selected just for me.<br />
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Sunday we have a pleasant drive with Patty, stopping at Bell’s Fishery in Mackinaw City for whitefish that will be our dinner. I won’t catalog the entire week in the beautiful log cabin that we stay in there, but we alternate kayaking and biking while making a log of the freighters that we can identify from our perch on the St. Mary’s River. We eat good food and drink some wine, read some books and talk story with Cheri’s family. We paddled in Pike Cove, Glen Cove, and Sturgeon Bay; biked and hiked and played with Mom and Dad C’s new mutt Roxie. It was a good week with good weather until Saturday when the wind kicked up, but we spent most of that day getting ready to leave on Sunday. It was a good week.<br />
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Then it’s a day with Pat and John in Harbor Springs that includes the best meal of the trip (escargot, Caesar’s salad; whitefish for Cheri and walleye for me). Then back to Hemlock; drop the bike off in Saginaw for some updates and jump in the pool when the 95 degree weather made unloading the car and cleaning up uncomfortable. Cheri will be on a plane Thursday while I’ll be heading north for a fishing trip and my bike trip. I won’t be blogging during that period, but I’ll tell you about it after it’s over. Aloha until then.<br />
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<u>And North We Go Again<o:p></o:p></u><br />
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I pick up the bike with the new crank and sprockets on Wednesday, and the drought here in central Michigan broke with two inches of rain that night so we listened to thunder and rain as Cheri finishes packing. It was still looking like rain Thursday when I toss the bike in back of the Traverse so I can return the car and the lady to MBS in one trip. We say our good-bys outside the gate and I go off to retrieve the bike and do the paperwork at the rental office. As I’m leaving the airport it is just sprinkling, but it’s raining hard in a few minutes, so I get good and wet on my ride. Getting wet isn’t a big deal, but poor visibility for both myself and the automobile operators around me can be and I change my route to some lesser used roads when I can, and arrive home safely less than two hours after Cheri’s flight. I finished my packing and read and did some business communicating, and rested most of the day.<br />
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On Friday, I rode the loaded bike to Hemlock to get a fishing license, selecting the single-day option for $7.50, almost certainly a waste of money given my history with fishing. About 3:30 Skip and Lenda arrive to pickup the boats and we’re on our way north. We stop for a Subway and arrive around 7:00 leaving plenty of time to set up the trailer and put the pontoon boat in the water before bedtime. I accept the invitation to sleep on the couch rather than setting up my tent, and I sleep very comfortably until Skip wakes me at 6:00 for some fishing.<br />
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I feel about fishing as I’ve heard Ron White talk about hunting: “It’s cold outside and you have to get up early and it’s not worth it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I dutifully roll out at 6:00AM with Skip and fold myself into the kayak and paddle out on the lake. It’s beautiful with the mist on the far shore, loons calling out to us, some deer in a cleaning nearby, and the water smooth as glass (but still not worth it). I’m pitching and retrieving a spinner bait which mimics an injured fish which a pike or bass might want to eat and an hour goes by without much action. Only a nibble here or there until I happen to throw it in exactly the right spot and a monster pike (from my perspective) grabs it and runs. I was so surprised that I probably didn’t take up the line fast enough and he wrapped it around a log down in the water, but it held and he wore himself out and was taking a breather near the surface when Skip was able to get him in the net. Twenty-four inches is the minimum to legally keep and Skip declared him to be twenty-five and onto the stringer he went! Skip later got a large-mouth bass to keep and our morning was a success! We paddled in for breakfast and picture taking and Skip filleted both our fish for a starring role at dinner tonight. We all went out on the pontoon later with little luck, then Skip and I went out after our great fish dinner in the kayaks again. I boated two more pike, but neither that was big enough to keep, one just slightly under, the other what they call a hammer-handle about 18 inches long. Skip got another bass for the freezer and we call it a day just before dark.<br />
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Sunday morning Skip goes out as usual but since my license ran out, I have a perfect excuse to stay in bed, and do. About 9:00AM he’s back in without anything to show for his morning, and I am packed up, breakfasted on Lenda’s bacon and eggs, ready to get on the bike. This promises to be my hilliest day on the road, but it’s not too bad into Atlanta and my first rest stop. Between there and Vienna it is ten really difficult miles, all uphill and down, some really steep and some over a mile long, but there’s a nice store with good fresh pizza and I take a long lunch break. The lady in the store says the hills are behind me, and it turns out to be mostly true and I have an easier ride the eighteen miles left into Gaylord. I didn’t want to overdo this first day, so decided to stay near Gaylord and I ride out to the county park on the west side of Otsego Lake (6 miles) after stopping for groceries to carry. Later I ride back to town to dine and watch the Olympics on TV at Big Buck’s, so I end up with over fifty tough miles for the day.<br />
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I didn’t sleep too well; this being the first night on the Big Agnes mattress in a couple years and roll out around 7:30AM. Packed and breakfasted, I hit Gaylord about 9:00AM and ride past Patty’s old house and hail her father, Bill Hanson, then pass Cheri’s old house and get on the North Central State Trail. It’s a pleasant ride particularly with the five miles or so downhill right from the start and after passing through Vanderbilt, I’m in Wolverine before 11:30 but decide to stop for lunch. There’s a nice bar with a TV tuned to the Olympics and have a very nice BLT; perfect! The thirty miles up to Aloha State Park go pretty well though I’m beginning to tire and I’m set up and cleaned up and read until about 7:00PM when John calls. He and Patty can’t come out for dinner as we had discussed, so I ride up to the little store here and pick up a sandwich and go back to my reading. About 8:30PM the storm clouds are gathering and I am invited to my neighbor’s awning to watch the lightning across the lake and rapidly approaching from the west. I had battened down the hatches and crawled into my tent as the first drops fall. It is a big storm raging on the other side of the thin fabric with thunder, lightning, rain, and winds over 50 MPH. I was surprised that I didn’t blow away but in the morning I was still there, and must have slept because I distinctly remember waking up. Awnings were down all over the campground and my neighbor ended up with his awning pole through the windshield of his van.<br />
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I break my fast on granola bars with peanut butter and Gatorade and head toward Onaway on the North Eastern State Trail now; same crushed limestone surface on an old railway bed. Road crossings are few and far between in general, and of course, the trail is quite flat. I get to Onaway and find the laundromat and some lunch before heading out again. I was thinking about <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>staying at Onaway State Park, but its five miles off the route, and I think I might do better. In Millersburg there’s another local park, but again five miles off route and there’s no place for a decent dinner, so I press on to Hawks where I know there is the Night Hawk Inn. I have dinner, but there are no campgrounds around so I hit the trail again and look for a good place to renegade camp. I find a good spot and while I’m still not particularly at ease, I make do for the night, and get up and out early.<br />
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It’s about 7:00AM after the mile or so to Metz and I have breakfast on a picnic table behind the church. I hadn’t seen much wildlife up to yesterday but riding into the evening last night, and again early this morning changed that in a hurry. I saw an eight-deer herd last night and five more individuals this morning, which sorta justifies the deer blinds you see just about everywhere around the trail in this part of Michigan. Today is cool and overcast and I’m hoping for something warm in the thriving metropolis of Posen where most of the buildings are available for rent, but settle for chocolate milk, and that more to qualify as a customer for rest room use than my desire for a cold drink. Just before Bolton I run into a bicycle tourist from Bay City who is very interested in my trailer, and no wonder as he’s pulling a big old Burley two-wheeler. He said he got rid of his Yak because of poor handling, and I reported the excellent manners of my Extrawheel. I took to the road for the smooth surface from Bolton to Alpena and arrived about noon, found the fairgrounds, set up, cleaned up, and headed to the Maritime Museum. There was a boat tour leaving soon that sounded fun and was okay; lots of good information, but not much to look at. Back to camp to nap and read and then to the Olde Owl for dinner and Olympic TV, and tried the pesto pizza with anchovies and artichoke hearts. Good and salty to require more beer. I am back to camp just before dark and into bed.<br />
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I awoke on my day off to light rain, so I make the campsite safe and head to Micky D’s for breakfast and a warm, dry place to read until the Besser Museum opens at 10:00AM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a nice, eclectic museum/art gallery and I enjoy it until about 1:00PM and head back to the Maritime to catch some of the offerings in the theater there. About 4:00PM I rode back to camp, then explored the bike path a bit and found a nice bench for some reading as the weather had cleared and about 5:30PM I head back to the Olde Owl for a repeat of last night sans beer. I stretch out a BLT and fries with Pepsi and one glass of wine and get back to camp well before dark and turn in.<br />
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I was up early again on Friday and was done with a leisurely breakfast at BK by 8:00AM and hit US23 south for Harrisville. The road was smooth and flat for speed and comfort, and wide for safety, until Ossineke when I run into a few hills, but I’m in Harrisville at 10:45AM. It was cool again and I was disappointed that Subway didn’t have any soup, so had a kid’s sandwich and read a while to warm up. She said they only had soup in the winter, and I didn’t bother pointing out that it was a mere 72 degrees outside. It was flat and fast into Tawas City and I was there by 3:00PM and decided to get off the road to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic, and found the Tawas River RV Park and made that home for the night. It’s on M-55 west which is called Hemlock Road so it feels like home. It’s just over a mile into town where I hit a place called Wing It and they make a good burger to go with my Labatt’s and some TV. Back out at Hemlock Road I text Cheri, call Mom, then leave a voicemail for Randy, who called back and gave me directions to their campground (State road from Omer to Sagatoo road to Foco road).<br />
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I took my time packing with under fifty miles today and left around 8:30AM. My first stop is at a beach park at White Stone Point and I notice that one of my slippers is not where it should be stowed so I call information for the number and call the campground to ask them to ship it (it arrived as I’m writing this a week later). I got a coke in Au Gres and look at the river a while, then onward to Omer; stop at the fruit market at the corner for cherries and follow Randy’s directions with confirmation from a clerk in Pine River and arrive about 1:00PM. We go down to the pool, then play putt-putt and retire to the camp for dinner which are calzones without sauce, just ham, cheese, and onions in the dough and they’re pretty good. The kids went off to watch karaoke, while R&M walked the dogs and I journal-ed and repacked for tomorrow. I’ll let Randy carry my trailer and one pannier, keeping one for essentials.<br />
<br />
I awoke about 7:00AM and had been warned that they sleep late, so I got ready and hit the road without saying good-by. The forecast is for cool and windy which I guess would suggest a northwest wind; it’s west instead but no trouble as I head south to Kawkawlin before I turn into the wind and onto a rough Beaver Road. Things slow down considerably then and I’m tired when I get to Freeland for some lunch. From there its old hat; Freeland-Gleaner-Frost-Raucholz-Ederer-home. I have five days here in Hemlock to play pool-boy and spend quality time with Mom, then it’s an early morning drive to Detroit thanks to big brother and on my way back to Maui. Thanks for coming along for the ride; see you next time. Aloha and Mahalo.<br />
Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-91783549733110560542012-02-07T12:18:00.001-08:002012-02-07T12:18:26.948-08:00Spring 2011Spring 2011 <br />The important winter season is past as well as the adventure that was Mark and Katie's wedding. They were married at a beautiful private beachfront property south of Makena and everything was perfect and wonderful from the party at our house, through the sunset cruise rehearsal dinner, to the weather that afternoon, right down to the gorgeous sunset and mai-tais. Then the earth shook causing a huge tsunami in Japan and a warning and coastal evacuation of low lying areas on Maui from the end of the reception until early the next morning. Mark and Katie had three people with them in their hotel room for the wedding night and we had a house full of wedding guests that couldn't go back to their beachfront condo's. There was little damage on Maui from the six foot tsunami that affected mostly the north shores and things were soon back to normal. All of our many guests have gone home now, and we're focused on our trip this summer. We finally have airline reservations and car rental lined up, so we can start putting together a schedule that is meaningful. Here's how it's going to go and pay attention because there'll be a quiz later: <br /><br />Fly into Detroit May 29th for a week of visiting and packing the car with our toys and camping equipment.<br />Road-trip toward Denver by way of some friends places in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri.<br />Camping etc. near Rocky Mountain National Park and to visit daughter, Michelle.<br />Camping near Yellowstone National Park (Camping in National parks is limited to rustic sites only, and Cheri is an "electric lights and hot shower required" kind of camper.)<br />Road-trip back to Minneapolis to hang with Mark and Katie and to visit friends.<br />Fourth of July with Katie's family at the Brown family lake estate.<br />Ferry ride across Lake Michigan and back to Hemlock for a delayed Beyersdorf wedding reception (7/15) and a Cornish wedding in Lansing (7/16).<br />A week watching freighters and enjoying a house on Drummond Island, Michigan.<br />Send Cheri back to work on Maui (7/26), while i enjoy a bike tour in Michigan.<br />8/6 - Life of leisure is over.<br />None of this is cast in stone as yet, but is a pretty good estimate for right now. If you have suggestions, now is the time. Thnks for tuning in, and I'll talk to you again in a month or so. Aloha.Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-22246151862215652412012-02-06T11:05:00.000-08:002012-02-07T15:39:03.258-08:00The Road West - 2011Air Travel – Avoid at All Costs<br />Thursday, June 2, 2011<br />We had a real bad time in Chicago on the way to Detroit. The flight from Maui to Dallas, and then Dallas to Chicago were the usual, uncomfortable but bearable to get where we wanted to go. Our first choice would have been to skip Chicago all together and fly Dallas-Detroit, but the vagaries of airfare pricing sent us to O'Hare and we got stuck.<br />A huge thunderstorm rolled in an hour after we arrived, two hours before we should have left, and soon planes couldn't get where they were supposed to be and pilots were stuck two hundreds miles, or two hundred yards, from their next assignment, and everything went to hell in a hand-basket. Our flight was cancelled and we were standby on two others ten minutes apart (gate-to-gate) so I sat at one and Cheri the other as they delayed first this one and then the other all through the day and into the night. We finally decided to pack it in and spend our own money on a good night's sleep at the Hilton. Great decision since they cancelled both flights eventually and American didn't give away any vouchers.<br />We had a nice time at the hotel, and the line was out the door thirty minutes after we registered, so one thing went right that day. The next day we thought we were in for more of the same but we finally got on the plane and into Detroit. I hadn't called about the rental car and who knows how much that might cost me at the end of the trip, but they had the vehicle we wanted and we made our get-away to the next night-mare.<br />We were to visit Cheri's parents, and we got there just fine but the power was out; the storm had blown down trees and electric poles and the whole town was without power, and their back yard was littered with tree branches up to six inches in diameter. We ignored it that afternoon and all went to visit Cheri’s brother in Clinton and had a nice evening, but came home to darkness and flashlights. Tuesday we cleaned up the yard and then cleaned out the freezer and refrigerator after the power came back mid-afternoon. Fun, fun, fun. All day the running joke was talking about the migrant labor all the way from Hawaii, but the joke was on us.<br />Wednesday morning we managed to escape Mason and got to the farm about noon. Hamburger gravy and mashed potatoes for lunch, just to remind us we were back home on the farm, then it was back to work for me to get our toys out of storage and set up the tent to sleep in since Mom had two grand-daughters also staying a few days. It’s been a nice time so far though the wind last night kept us awake and in doubt of our safety for a few hours. <br />Today we’ve got errands to run; Cheri needs to visit a weight-watchers meeting and I want to visit a bike shop for some parts. Cheri has reached her goal weight and is a life-time member of weight-watchers now and gets in for free, but she has to weigh in once a month to keep that status. Its okay, the meeting is held close to the bike shop, also close to Olive Garden where we had dinner last night: boy was that yummy!<br />It’s about 7:30AM and I’m the only one up. So I might have to get on that bicycle for a little ride; at least as far as the cemetery to visit Dad. Eighteen years gone and I still miss him. I hope as many people mourn my passing and remember me so fondly when that time comes. See you next time.<br /><br />Another Storm<br />Sunday, June 05, 2011<br />Our errands on Thursday work out well all around and in the evening the families gather at Mom’s house for a celebration of Cheri’s college graduation, which was very nice indeed. We had some wine and talked and laughed just as families should. Friday morning, Mom had a procedure on her eye and is supposed to rest quietly the rest of the day so Cheri and I take the bicycles out to the Saginaw Valley Bike Trail and do the fifteen mile round-trip to St. Charles, with lunch thrown in.<br />Friday afternoon we pack the tent and start packing the Durango for our departure Saturday. Later in the day the bike shop calls and they have finished the cog installation on my new wheel, though I’ll keep the lighter weight wheels on for the first part of the trip, I make the drive to Bay Road yet again. Kari brings her kids over having missed last night’s shindig, and later Skip and I go out for a crop tour.<br />Saturday we get loaded up and leave the farm close to 10:30 and go to Hemlock to visit Kelly to repair Cheri’s manicure, and I get a haircut in the bargain. The trip to Indiana goes well with good weather and we arrive in Greentown to look around about 3:30PM. The apartment where we first lived looks the same as it did, still clean and neat though the courtyard is much nicer with the trees having matured nicely. The house we used to own at 626 Elliott Court also looks good with a new front porch and upgraded siding. It’s pleasant to see the care these properties have received since we left. We stop at Windfall on the way to Mike Floyd’s place and arrive to see him lighting up the grill.<br />After a tour of the house we chat over a beer and watch the hummingbirds congregate around his feeder which seems to support at least four individuals, they are beautiful in flight! Scott Gunning drops by to join the fun and we enjoy wings, brats and steak off the grill with a bottle of Oliver wine, a small winery nearby. As we’re finishing the meal the storm starts with very heavy winds, up to 70 MPH we are to hear later, and we are able to watch from the porch because of the many trees surrounding Mike’s house. The power goes out soon after the first winds came and stay out all night and the next day. As darkness falls the rain starts and we get about an inch before it slows about bedtime. Mike, Scott and I had a great time renewing our friendship and watching the storm.<br />Sunday morning we breakfast on more delicious meat off the grill, steak, bacon and sausage, along with some melon and strawberries, and Cheri reports that the Kona coffee made with Mike’s French press is fabulous, and she drinks three cups. Mike and Scott run off, supposedly to get some water for toilet use and are gone an hour and a half. In the meantime Cheri and I pick up branches all over Mike’s lawn, another bout of migrant labor. We leave about 11:30 and head toward Kokomo just to see how that town has changed, and then it’s off to Gifford, IL, to visit Clyde and Skip German. We get a tour of the house and town, and their beautiful church before a good farm supper of roast beef and all the trimmings including apple cobbler with ice cream. We spend a quiet evening talking and I catch up on the blog and some reservations for later in our trip.<br /><br />How much longer…?<br />Thursday, June 09, 2011<br />We leave for the long road west about 9:00AM after a pleasant visit with Clyde and Skip and set the Garmin for Blair, Nebraska, about halfway to Denver. My old friend Mike Claywell has a very comfortable home in Blair, and we meet his wife, Kathy and one of their two children, Cameron, just out of college. We feast on good Nebraska beef hamburgers and later Cheri scores a ride with Mike on his Honda Gold Wing touring motorcycle. I’m hoping for an offer to drive it, but I’m not surprised that it isn’t offered, it is a beautiful machine and he is right to protect it from a rookie like me. I haven’t ridden a motorcycle in thirty years and it wasn’t anywhere close to the size of this bike. <br />We have a very comfortable night and hit the road about 7:30AM the next morning, find a Starbuck’s for Cheri and head west again, or still. We get to Gothenburg about 12:40PM and meet Celeste Nelms, another old friend from Monsanto, for lunch at Walker’s Steakhouse. We gain another hour at the Nebraska line, not having seen a tree in fifty miles, and enter eastern Colorado where most of the land appears to be used for grazing. We arrive at the Safeway store near Michelle’s place to shop for supper, having received the news that her apartment was a no-food zone until we arrived. She has a cold but we have some wine and pupus before going out to the Noodle Factory for dinner. She has given us her bed, and it is wonderfully comfortable, and we sleep very well indeed.<br />Wednesday is sunny and warm and we have a relaxing morning before going out for a bike ride to Michelle’s workplace a few miles away. She is holding down the fort alone so we wait for her to finish signing up a new resident before we can see the model of the apartment she is going to rent beginning in August. It’s a bit smaller than her current apartment but $100 cheaper and they appreciate that she is willing to move to the property she has been assigned to. She also helps me with some scanning I need to send back to Kihei. That night we go to Baker Street Bar and Grill for dinner where she has many friends, and have a very nice meal, and a free drink.<br />Thursday we find a beautiful bike path along the South Platte River and ride twenty miles on the bicycles before lunch at Gunther Toody’s Diner (I swear that’s the name of the place) and we drive to a winery called Balistreri’s about eight miles away. They are in the middle of a construction process but we have a nice time tasting some wine and talking to the vintner’s granddaughter. We buy only one bottle because it’s a bit pricey but we want to collect a few bottles for Drummond Island later in the trip. Later tonight we’re going to meet Michelle’s workout buddy, Darrell, and go have some sushi. We haven’t met the boyfriend yet, I guess he’s busy. We catch up on laundry getting ready for the cold weather camping we’ll start tomorrow. See you in the mountains.<br /><br />Rocky Mountain High<br />Tuesday, June 14, 2011<br />Michelle has Friday off to attend the wedding of the boyfriend’s friend, so we have a leisurely breakfast with her and pack up the truck. It is a pleasant drive through Boulder and on up to Estes Park and we roll into the KOA in early afternoon to find a tiny campsite, barely able to hold our two tents leaving the truck in overflow parking or in the way of other campers, but nothing else is available so we set up and head into town to lunch and buy provisions. We find some very good, very big sandwiches at a place called Great Shakes and save half for dinner later and get out groceries in Safeway and head back. I reconnoiter on the bike and then Cheri and I ride to the visitor center, which I found to be very commercial, with little information about the park, and much about town and the various businesses. It turns out that this is the visitor center for the town of Estes Park, and not for Rocky Mountain National Park.<br />They didn’t have any blueberries at Safeway so we have raspberry pancakes for our first camping breakfast and they are great. Michelle is supposed to come up this afternoon after work, so we go for a bike ride and go out to the Park visitor center and start planning our visit and use of the park, and buy a couple guides for information on easy hikes and the Trail Ridge Road. Michelle calls and cancels because of her cold, so instead Cheri and I go out for a wine tasting at Snowy Peaks Winery and then out for dinner to a place called The Other Side for Rocky Mountain Trout and have a very nice dinner; they have the best onion soup I’ve ever had. I’ve had trouble sleeping at night, I think, because of the air mattress we use; the little pump doesn’t get it hard enough for me to be comfortable in my favored position.<br />Michelle calls again Sunday morning and now she’s remembered that she had promised to accompany Corey and Logan (boyfriend and his daughter) to the zoo so she won’t be here until just before dinner. We decide to put the kayak into Estes Park Lake, and the gal at the Marina lets us do that for ten bucks and we have a real nice paddle, at one point going through a five foot culvert under the highway to another part of the lake; the views are incredible. Got the kayak back on the truck without much trouble now that I’ve done it once, and all locked down with all the straps secured; they sometimes rattle against the roof at higher speed. Michelle arrives and we have wine and pupus and I cook steak on my little gas grill along with some foil pouch potatoes and veggies and we have a nice meal. Latter we borrow a fire pit at a nearby unoccupied site and have a camp fire.<br />Monday we decide to drive the Trail Ridge Road which goes over twelve thousand feet of altitude and gives a wonderful view of much of the park, not to mention the many different environments represented here including sub-alpine, above the tree-line, seldom accessible by automobile. There is still ten feet of snow in some places and we take a couple short hikes in the cold and wind before hitting the Alpine Visitors Center which is beautiful and has the most shopping of any in the park. We continue on to Grand Lake and in the process come across a baby moose with her mom about fifty feet away from our vantage, and then later, a bull moose who decides to cross the road not ten feet from Cheri’s camera. We continue to see wildlife and grand views of the Never Summer Mountains on the west side of the park, and marvel again at the snow still left high up. They usually hope to open the road and Alpine Visitors Center on Memorial Day, but received snow and drifts up to twenty-two feet in mid-May, so just opened last week. We take Michelle out for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant right on the river here in Estes Park and have a wonderful meal before we send her back to Denver to earn a living, it’s so nice not to have to worry about that for a while.<br />Tuesday was our day for a hike up in the park and the unusual season again gets in the way as many of the better trails are snow covered and impassable still, but lower elevation routes are available and we do two shorter hikes (Bear Lake and Alberta Falls) totaling three point one miles instead of the three mile route I had chosen earlier. We do more site-seeing before returning to the KOA for some work that needs to be done by each of us, not least of which is to update this blog to keep you up to date. We’re going to do the steak and foil wrapped veggies again tonight, so I’m going to close this and get busy with the grill. Aloha for now.<br /><br />Wildlife Galore<br />Sunday, June 19, 2011<br />The nights are chilly up here and I’m still not sleeping all that well on the air mattress. We’ve decided to put the kayak in the water this morning, so we paid the marina’s fees and put in about 11:00AM , and there is already a breeze kicking up a bit of chop. Cheri gets splashed a couple times, but we still get around the lake, including ducking through that five-foot culvert into the south channel. We chase some ducks and geese and have a pretty good time. Later we drive to the Wild River Basin portion of RMNP for a short hike and drop in at the Long’s Peak trailhead for a half-hour hike up that daunting climb before getting back to Estes Park. We pick up some Rocky Mountain Brook Trout and sweet corn at the market and I pan-fry it and it is really good.<br />Thursday was scheduled for a bike ride before heading down to Denver to spend an evening with Michelle, but the weather is just windy and nasty right from the get-go so we just load up and head down the mountain about 11:00AM. We stop at Target for Cheri to get a CD burned with her photos to date, and pick-up a new gas grill since ours wouldn’t accept a new bottle last night. We get into Denver and stop at the supermarket to pick up supplies and I cook seared ahi tacos tonight, and we get to meet the boyfriend, Corey who I find to be a very pleasant dinner guest and we talk about motorcycles mostly; I used to race enduros and he is the retired world record holder in the quarter-mile drag bike, pretty impressive.<br />Friday we want to ride more of the South Platte Bike Trail that we were so taken with last week and we drove into town to Confluence Park, but couldn’t find a parking area and finally after many twists and turns, pull into REI’s huge store downtown that also abuts the path. After some shopping we head out and have a very nice ride, though it tends to be pretty industrial down by the river, then on the way back we get caught in a shower and spend half-an-hour under a bridge before continuing on. We finally got good and wet, but still had a nice ride before coming back to the store for more shopping. That night we met our old friends Don and Jackie Dolin with daughter Ashley for dinner at Lodo’s bar and grill and enjoy renewing our friendship. We were planning to drive back to Estes Park afterwards, but cooler heads prevailed and we accepted another night on Michelle’s wonderful bed where I sleep like a baby.<br />Saturday we return to the park about 11:00am and Cheri wants to shop, so she goes off to town and I head out for a bike ride. Everything is either uphill or down up here and I don’t go too far, but get an hour and a half in before coasting back through town to catch Cheri at the Starbuck’s; surprise, surprise. Afterward we meet back at camp for our usual lunch of turkey sandwiches on diet bread and spend kind of a lazy afternoon before going back into town for some wine tasting at the Colorado Winery and have a very pleasant time for an hour right there on the river which seems to have risen half-a-foot since Wednesday. Michelle comes up for dinner of salad and hamburgers which I had to fry because I couldn’t get the new grill to light, but they were delicious anyway topped with sautéed mushrooms & onions and cheese.<br />Father’s Day was to be a hike and though Father got little sleep, it was primarily due to a cough I picked up, we went through with the plan. We wanted to do the Bear Lake-to-Bierstadt Lake hike that we missed on Tuesday and against the advise of the rangers who claimed lots of snow, we had a wonderful time, even though we were racing a storm toward the end of the hike, we stayed dry. We had a lovely picnic at Sprague’s Lake, watching two elk just across the creek, and on the way home saw some bulls with big racks out in Moraine Meadow. Afterwards I needed a nap and the girls went shopping and I started to catch up on this blog. Tonight will be more wine-tasting at that same place, and dinner out. They just got home and showed me a gift they picked up for Skip, and one for me; a T-shirt with an elk and the inscription: “Here Elky, Elky.” a play on our moose-calling two years ago in New Hampshire. I’ll close now and head of to dinner. Tomorrow we leave Estes Park behind for a few days in Yellowstone National Park area in Wyoming; see you then!<br /><br />Grand Beyond Description<br />Friday, June 24, 2011<br />The winery was closed so we went to a place called Poppy’s Pizza and Grill and had good salads and individual pizzas and each carried away half, while a storm raged outside including small hail, and the forecast is for more tonight. We had a respite from about 8:00 until 9:30 and built a campfire, and were just about out of wood when it started sprinkling again, and we trooped off to bed. It rained steadily through the night but dawned beautiful and warm in the morning. However there was a pond between Cheri and I and Lake Michelle in which floated Michelle’s bed; the old tent leaked pretty badly, so badly that we decided not to pack it up but just roll it up and toss it in the dumpster. We’d been talking about replacing and this will force us to do so.<br />Monday is a travel day and Michelle had to leave early for a doctor’s appointment so she’s gets away and we pack up and head out despite my cold. Last evening I had plotted out the distances and decided we would stay the first night in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, there being little other opportunity for lodging close to Yellowstone, and we could see Grand Tetons the next morning before going on the rest of the way. We had a pretty good driving day, about an hour of bad weather and Cheri did most of the driving due to my illness, We drove through some gorgeous scenery across lower Wyoming, then came into the Jackson Valley (known as Jackson’s Hole) and saw the Tetons for the first time, still dressed in their winter finery and were blown away. Driving the few miles south into Jackson Hole, we also saw a tremendous herd of bison, and another big herd of elk along the road. We stopped and Cheri walked to within fifty feet of one buffalo who strayed close to the road. The town of Jackson Hole and our lodging for the night at the Snow King Resort were lovely as well and we had a great evening.<br />Tuesday morning we started at the Grand Tetons Visitor Center with a nice film introduction, and a ranger talk about the wildlife in the park. There is also a pretty bike trail that we see on the way out and we make the scenic one-way drive on the east side of Jenny Lake which also supports bicycling, so we get the bikes off the truck and take a short ride. Jenny Lake is just magnificent and its sister String Lake is a lovely stop for our picnic lunch. We decide that we want to see more of this park before leaving and forego our plans to see much of Yellowstone. We find a campsite at Colter Bay that is perfect, complete with a bear locker, and make plans for kayaking and biking on Wednesday after a trip up Signal Mountain on our way to camp. There is a nice camp store and not many restaurant choices, so we’ll cook our own dinner despite Cheri’s misgivings about attracting bears, just some soup and a sandwich this evening. We’ll sleep in the screen tent and store everything with any kind of odor in the car or locker.<br />We feast on blueberry pancakes Wednesday morning before driving back to String Lake to put the kayak in. The paddle around String Lake is glorious with a new and more beautiful facet of the Grand Tetons seen at each new angle. We get the kayak loaded just in time for lunch and take it (lunch) with us as we bicycle back toward Jenny Lake again, and we find a flat rock on which to dine with the most beautiful pictures God has ever painted vying for our attention on every side. This day has been what our trip was meant to be; filled with beauty and adventure, and of course, togetherness. We get some good Wyoming beef for hamburgers tonight, cooked over the wood fire, just like the mountain men use to do. The only problem in this park is that there are just four showers for the whole place, (300 sites) so the line to get one is outrageous notwithstanding that they charge $3.75 per shower, so we make do with sponge baths back at camp. Another camp fire concludes our limited time here and we’ll start the arduous trip back east and on to Minneapolis tomorrow morning with just a scant drive-through of the eastern part of Yellowstone National Park.<br />It rained overnight a bit, though we stayed dry and it’s a good day to break camp. We break our fast on cereal, fruit, and yogurt, then we’re on the road again. We had gotten into Grand Teton on a day they were not charging the entrance fee, but we got caught for the week-long pass just to enter Yellowstone on our way out; but Grand Tetons has been worth every penny. We made a poor decision not long after leaving the park as we drove east through the wilds of Wyoming, when we disregarded the Garmin’s instructions to turn north to Billings and I-94 when we both thought the faster way would be to continue east toward I-90 at Buffalo. The topography and road construction on our route cost us three or four hours and will make us half-a-day late to our rendezvous at Minneapolis, but we feel confidant of Mark and Katie’s forgiveness, particularly because we know that Mark has a poker game scheduled that evening too. We found a good meal at an Applebee’s in Gillette, WY. and slept at a Day’s Inn nearby.<br />Friday is another beautiful day though poor Cheri has taken over the cold bug that I got from Michelle, but we are making steady progress eastward, with Cheri driving, and me in the passenger seat with a blanket enclosure so I could see the computer screen to bring the blog up to date. We stopped for lunch at the Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota, a huge combination tourist trap/emporium that was entertaining in and of itself. I think every person in South Dakota was in that place when we were, but we got a sandwich and left only footprints on our way out. See you when we get to Minnesota.<br /><br />Minnesota, eh?<br />Monday, June 27, 2011<br />We made Albert Lea (a city south of Minneapolis) on Friday night and had dinner in a nice place called Trumbles, and got the last room in the city by all accounts because of some “Red Power” thing going on (International tractors, I guess). It was only $50 including breakfast, so not too bad. It was only a few hours up to Mark and Katie’s place and we were there by 11 :00AM and enjoyed catching up with them a bit and watch the wedding video they got less than a week ago. We went for a bike ride all together to Minnehaha Falls in southern Minneapolis and rode back downtown on the train, then went out to dinner at their favorite restaurant called Café Maude and had a really good meal.<br />Cheri and I were up first on Sunday and walked to Caribou Coffee six blocks up the street for an oatmeal breakfast. When we got back, folks were starting to stir and we just hung out until 1:30PM when we were to leave for the graduate party of Katie’s cousin, on her Mom’s side, and Cheri and I had been invited to come along. Her Uncle Rick and Aunt Linda have a lovely house in Coon Rapids and there was good food and drink and conversation until about 6:00PM when we headed back to the city and grilled chicken wings and teriyaki steak for sandwiches, one of our favorites. We had a great time together and slept well on the airbed on their living room floor.<br />Monday was another travel day and by 10:00AM we were on the road again for Bemidji to camp and visit some old friends from church that moved there years ago and we haven’t seen for quite a while, Mark and Vickie Wangberg. We had to stop enroute to shop for a new tent, and found a Gander Mountain in Maple Grove and bought one. It’s only eight by ten and Cheri is accustomed to bigger, but I impressed on her that the problems we encountered with the last one were exacerbated by larger size (difficulty in assembly and rain-proofing). We arrived in the beautiful park about 3:00PM, got set up and went back to town for supplies. I cooked a nice spaghetti dinner here at camp before we called Wangbergs and made plans for the next day. I’ll go for a ride in the morning and we’ll meet them later in the afternoon. I’m disappointed we won’t be able to see the girls, Hannah and Katelyn, but they are both away for the week. It rained much of the time we were setting up and eating, but turned off dry and cool for the night. See you tomorrow.<br /><br />We’ve Been Kicked Out of Better Places Than This!<br />Thursday, June 30, 2011<br />Tuesday was as beautiful a day as it could be with the sun shinning and high seventies for the temperature. After pancakes with both raspberries and blueberries, I set out along the Paul Bunyan trail that runs seventy miles south from the park, all asphalt and beautifully out in the woods most of the time; I rode about twenty miles south before turning around. I saw some of the city of Bemidji in addition to a little red fox, and a good sized white tail deer along the way. It seems amazing to me that they have such a trail this far north, but probably it gets more use in the winter by snowmobiles that by bikes in the summer. When I got back to camp, Cheri was out so I took the opportunity to have a short nap after getting cleaned up and shaving, etc. About four-thirty we drove to the Wangberg’s home, right on Lake Irving, and after catching up a little, we took some cold chicken and salad out in their boat and toured the lakes and had dinner just floating. I didn’t realize that the mighty Mississisip’ flows north from Itasca State Park, through Lakes Irving and Bemidji, before turning southeast toward Grand Rapids, then south through the twin cities and on down. Later we boated up the Mississippi to its northern-most point before coming back to Lake Irving, and we got some wonderful pictures of loons with their young, very close to the boat. I’ve always been fond of loons and it was really great to see them up close as we did. It’s unfortunate that we’re not going to get to Itasca State Park this trip as we had hoped and had even reserved a camp site; more about that later.<br />Wednesday dawned clear and bright again though poor Cheri can’t shake her cold, now thinking it has become a sinus infection, so we take a very short ride out to Bass Lake and then find a medical facility for her to walk into to see about some medicine to help her, and we find a very nice clinic and the doc agrees with her and prescribes Amoxicillin. Later we go back to Wangbergs for a kayak trip with Vickie up the Mississippi and bean soup for dinner, which is very good. They have a beautiful view from their back porch that we enjoy before an early exit so Mark can get back to his office; they are leaving town tomorrow and he needs to prepare. <br />Thursday is the day we got kicked out. The Minnesota legislature and the governor aren’t playing well together right now and they have allowed the state to run out of operating funds, so they are closing the state parks. The one time during the year when the state parks operate at a profit, but the ranger came around today and said everyone had to leave, even Hawaii visitors, which I thought was rather rude, but there it is, and our Itasca trip will have to go by the wayside since that park is also closed, and the gates locked. We arranged with Mark and Vickie to take over their house in their absence, so we have a place to stay, but after we ride the 18-20 mile round trip into town for coffee this morning, we spend the afternoon packing up the truck and we move into the Wangberg home, which is lovely. We’ll get our laundry done and have a very comfortable camping experience indeed, thanks to the generosity of our friends.<br /><br />Fireworks Galore!<br />Thursday, July 07, 2011 <br />We catch up a little on the Women’s World Cup and the Wimbledon Final and get our suitcases repacked for the trip to Cushing and the Brown cottage at Pine Island Lake for the holiday. We really enjoyed the Wangberg’s beautiful house on Lake Irving for the past two days, and ate every available meal on the lanai overlooking the lake. Such good friends!<br />We head out Saturday morning after doing some shopping to make sure we have enough food to contribute to the festivities and arrive at Cushing to find only a post office and a few houses, where we had expected to buy ice, but we go on and close to the lake there is a bar that sells us twenty pounds of cold-in-a-bag, and we find Velda’s cottage without much trouble. We decide that we’ll be more comfortable if we set up the screen porch for our bedroom, and get that task done along with unloading the bikes, refrigerator, and kayak. Mark and Katie are out skiing and when our tasks are done, I catch a ride in the boat to watch the action up close. Katie is successful in dropping a ski to slalom a bit, while Mark still hasn’t mastered that skill.<br />Sunday morning, Cheri and I are up earlier than many in the group and have a nice paddle on a perfectly calm lake before breakfast. Mark and Katie also get a ride in the Freighter Racer before the skiing and tubing create too much wave action. We have a quiet day reading, napping, and watching the skiers until a communal supper in prelude to the fireworks display. There are three or four people at this lake that buy illegal aerial fireworks, one of which is Steve’s Uncle Andy, and Steve helps out with setting things off, so Mark secures the boat for us to go out on the lake for the best view. It’s a heck of a competition and Uncle Andy is crowned the champion but there were five competitors in total and three of them each set off more rockets than we usually see in a community sponsored show, so it was a tremendous show around this little lake in the wilds of Minnesota. <br />Monday morning, I’m out earlier than even Cheri and have a short paddle all by my lonesome on a less-perfect lake surface, and find a little cove full of water-lilies that is accessible via a three foot wide channel through the trees, which is fun, but I wonder if I’ll make it back out, the lilies are so thick. I have no luck finding soccer on the TV, so read until it’s time to take down the tent and load the truck; Cheri is hoping to get back to Minneapolis and stay with the kids one night before we camp outside the city, while I suspect it will be difficult to break away from Curt and Gail Holt’s in time to do anything but bother them tonight, and I turn out right this time. We arrive in Osakis about 3:30 and Curt is just so excited to see us that it is impossible to get away, and poor Cheri finally accepts their offer of a bed for the night rather than the long drive in traffic just to bother the kids. We take a boat tour of this huge lake, over ten miles long covering some 6,000 acres. Curt had a fast boat and we get back to their place right in town, and on the water and have Swedish meatballs for dinner with them before trying our hands at fishing for northern pike or walleye. I told them that taking me out in the boat was the same as conceding that no fish would be caught, and I was right again, unfortunately. That night the town was putting on their fireworks display so we got another helping of last evening’s entertainment, sitting out in their boat for fireworks. It was very pleasant as we went back to the house and watched a video of a concert they had gone to in Branson, MS of six brothers named Knudsen who do acapela music. It was a great show but kept us all up late.<br />Tuesday morning we had a light breakfast before Curt had to get out another favorite video of a comedian they had seen, to show us “just one clip” and we ended up seeing nearly the whole thing. Curt’s enthusiasm was so endearing that we couldn’t disappoint him. We finally got on the road on this gray kind of Tuesday for a couple hours driving to the campsite I had reserved in Carver Park near Victoria, MN but it turned out that “rustic” means no showers here and Cheri gets on the phone and gets them to switch us to Baker Park near Maple Plain where they have showers, matter of fact, they have the nicest showers we’ve ever seen, and the rest of the park is beautiful as well, with big well maintained sites and ice & wood available. We get set up and head into Minneapolis to see Mark and Katie and we go to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory, with Kelsey along for the ride. It’s a very nice evening, and we got to watch some more of the wedding video, including my performance of “This Is the Moment” that I was pretty pleased with overall. We gave Kelsey a ride home and found our way back to Baker Campground for the night.<br />There are really nice bike paths around the campground and around neighboring Lake Katrina (6.2 miles), and we take a ride after apple pancakes for breakfast. Later we read and nap before going shopping for the dinner we’ll make tonight when the kids drive out to visit. Curt gave us a big filet of northern pike from his freezer and we add to that with some steaks, potatoes in foil, and grilled asparagus after fire toasted bruschetta and a couple bottles of wine. Everything is delicious, if I do say so myself, and we have a great time visiting around the campfire. They have work tomorrow so about 9:30 they are on their way and Cheri calls Michelle while I retire early.<br />Cheri wants to spend a day at Mall of America which is about twenty miles away and I prefer to do just about anything but that, so she takes the truck, and I ride my bike into Maple Plain to a diner that has Wi-Fi and hook up the computer to update this blog, and touch base with my team back in Kihei. Things appear to be going fine without me, understanding that this has both good and bad connotations. Mark calls and invites me to join him for disc golf and I look at possible routes to get there by bike, and I’ll probably try to join him for that. I'll talk to you'all later<br /><br />Back home to Michigan<br />Thursday, July 14, 2011<br />I ride back to camp and look at the route to Bryant Park and decide I’d better leave right away. It looks like about 25 miles, but I’m going to use bike paths that tend to be slower and less direct. It’s a lot longer than I had expected and at 5:30, the appointed hour, I’m still a few miles away and I call Mark to let him know, then fifteen minutes later, I can’t find the right place and he has to come find me. His friends Jeremy and Billy are there and the course is packed but we find a hole to start on and things go well after the first couple of holes, especially when I hit a lucky toss that lands a few feet from the pin for the first birdie of the day (all holes are par-3 on this course). We play until about 7:30, not quite a full eighteen holes and Mark drives me back to the campground and we have a sandwich around the fire Cheri has going, another good night, but I’m beat.<br />Friday night we’re going into the city to take Mark and Katie to dinner and we have a paddle in Lake Independence in the morning. It’s nice though the lake is greenish with algae, we do see some loons and enjoy the time on the water, especially as the sun warms up and we take shelter under overhanging trees close to shore. Skip’s kayak cart comes in handy as we had parked a hundred yards from the launch. It’s back to camp for lunch and to clean up a bit before going into town. We arrived about 3:00 and waited in the skyway for Mark to get home. We walk to Target to meet Katie and go to a shop for pedicures for Mark and I, both pedicures and manicures for the girls. They have decided to try a new place for dinner called Chino Latino, which sounds Latin, but is actually based on food from around the world and close to the equator, so there are some Polynesian dishes included. The food is served family style and is great; jerk chicken, Asian ribs, pot stickers etc. We leave pretty early since tomorrow is a long day.<br />The big thing today is the Minnesota Reception in Coon Rapids, and Cheri and I have orders to arrive at 5:00PM to help decorate, but we take a bike ride in the morning on the Luce Line State Trail that I was on for a while Thursday. It’s a gravel surface but still pretty good for bicycling and my wider tires do well on it (Cheri's are wider yet, perfect for this application). We ride about 10 miles which is probably equivalent to 13 or 14 on pavement, and then head back to camp to rest and clean up. We’ll be packing up tomorrow for the trip to Michigan, so we consolidate the coolers into one and throw away some stuff we won’t be using and clean up the back of the truck, then head north and east for the party. Decorating takes only a half hour or so, and we go over to Christi (Katie’s sister)and Bill’s place for pizza and to dress for the occasion. Mark uses his wedding shirt and fedora, while Katie has a white dress and a bird-cage veil to mark them as the happy couple. They have a group playing Hawaiian music the first hour or more and then Mark’s friend Jayder has his band “Church of Cash” which is a Johnny Cash cover band on stage and it turn’s into a real party. They had planned not to serve any food, but Cheri and I counseled against that and agreed to finance meatballs and chicken wings for the latter part of the party and a good time is had by all though I don’t drink anything because of our need to get back to the campground which is a forty minute drive. We help clean up and get everything loaded in Mark’s truck and get them safely to Christi’s house for the night, and head home about 1:00AM.<br />Sunday we load up pretty leisurely after sleeping late; it rained early in the morning, but by the time we got up is was sunny and nice. We used the last of the pancake mix, syrup and fruit for breakfast and headed into Minneapolis one last time and spend some time in the pool which was just what the doctor ordered for all of us. Then about 5:40 we left for the ferry some five hours distant in Manitowac, WI. We tried a Taco John for a bite to eat (just like Taco Bell) and saw a lot of deer, one ran across our path a few seconds before we got there at 60 MPH but the Garmin took us right to the ferry. We had booked a stateroom for the extra fifty dollars and it was well worth it; we were asleep before we were out of the harbor.<br />Monday started early when the steward knocked on the stateroom door twenty minutes before Ludington. Cheri got a picture of our truck being driven off and a half hour later we were in the Big Boy for breakfast on our way to Traverse City to visit friends. We stopped for a catnap as it rained on the truck, then on to find Gail. Not surprisingly Garmin couldn’t find the right house because Gail had handed the phone to ten year old Jordan to repeat the address and there are 17 streets named “Incochee” something or other and that’s all we had been given. We met Gail where she was shopping and followed her to Heather’s place, a gorgeous new home and pool with four kids and we had a nice afternoon. Later we went to Nikki’s for BBQ chicken and sweet corn supper after I’d had a short paddle in her kayak.<br />Tuesday breakfast was bacon and eggs thanks to Gail, then we were on our way to Hemlock with a side trip into Traverse for some shopping. Back in Hemlock we mostly caught up with Grandma and Uncle Rob, then the big deal was dinner at The Farmer’s Home tavern that has been recognized for many years as the best hamburger in Saginaw county, and they are good! We started out with just the four of us, and somebody said “Why don’t we call Uncle Skip, then Kari called and was to meet us, then Kelly and Matt and their kids, so by the end of the night it was fifteen people at dinner together. Uncle Rob had offered to pick up the tab back when it was just four folks, and I think he got stuck for the whole bunch of us, poor guy!<br />Wednesday was a great day for rest and relaxation, and Rob and I watched the Women’s World Cup semifinals with the USA beating France, and Japan over Sweden in two good games. It will be the US and Japan in the finals on Sunday. Tonight was to be dinner out and we chose Sullivan’s, an old family favorite that we hadn’t visited in a while and is under new ownership, and we had a really good time, and good food.<br /><br />Wedding Bells and Island Hopping<br />Tuesday, July 19, 2011 <br />Thursday was devoted to getting the farm ready to host the party tomorrow, so I was on the riding mower all morning, while Rob did the trimming. I came close to dropping it in the ditch but managed to get stopped and had to enlist Rob and his truck for a rescue, but otherwise business as usual. I also set up our tent and air beds for use tomorrow when Mark, Katie, and Michelle would all be here to sleep. I’m sure we must have eaten something, but I don’t remember any of the meals that day.<br />Friday was again devoted to getting ready for the party, and to welcome Mark and Katie about 9:30AM, they having followed our lead, arriving on the overnight ferry into Ludington. When they awoke from napping, Rob and I took them to the Farmer’s Home for lunch and then bought some beer and supplies. Kari, Sam and Charlie were the first to arrive well before time pleading the need to leave early and we were shocked and overjoyed when Leslie came in the door, having been told repeatedly not to expect her. Attendance was excellent with a number of cousins coming to wish the happy couple well and renewing long over-due acquaintances. We counted forty people all told, which surprised me.<br />Saturday morning, Michelle arrived safely at about 2:30AM as expected and later I cooked sausage and pancakes for the crowd. We watched Mark and Katie's wedding video before caravanning to Mason for the wedding of nephew Chris Cornish to long-time girlfriend Aliyah Shusterman, who we know very well from previous camping trips. About 150 people gathered at the Michigan State University chapel, where Cheri and I were married exactly a month short of 38 years ago. It was a nice ceremony including both Christian and Jewish traditions with a swanky reception at the nearby Kellogg’s Center on campus a few miles away. We ate well, drank some, and danced until the wee hours before trooping back to Bill Sr.’s house in Mason.<br />Sunday we’re on the road again having said good by to Michelle and her whirlwind visit at about 2:30AM, and again caravanning with Mark and Katie to Drummond Island where we have rented a house for the Cornish family get-together. I listened to the World Cup Final via satellite radio and hear Team USA lose in a shoot-out to the Japanese women. Bryan and Cheryl catch us in De Tour waiting for the ferry to Drummond and get settled in with a dinner of Texas BBQ brisket.<br />Monday is bacon and blueberry pancakes before heading up to Potagannissing Bay for a day in the kayaks; Bry and Cheryl have their own and we rented a tandem for Mark and Katie. We take a lunch and have a perfect day on the water, just warm enough and calm as can be. Grandma and Grandpa arrive about 6:00PM and we have a nice dinner of whitefish steamed with vegetables in foil packets (similar to fish en papillote). <br />We have a very restful Tuesday watching freighters and reading. Friends; John and Patty show up about 10:30AM and we spend the day talking and enjoying this beautiful place. Bryan brought fajitas for dinner all the way from Texas by way of the freezer, great flavor if a bit chewy. All in all a relaxing day.<br /><br />Yak, Yak, Yak, Bike<br />Monday, July 25, 2011<br />Wednesday dawned breezy and cool and I skipped my bike ride to hang out with John and Patty after a short yak-paddle in the Potagannissing Wildlife Flooding, and to help Cheri with her new pastime; to record freighters seen from the deck, trying to see the names with binoculars and looking in the book for the year they were put in service and the length. We log in a 1,004 foot long ship which is the longest allowed through the Soo Locks just up the river. We talk about driving up river on the de Tour side to Neebish Island where the shipping channel is very narrow, so you can see them closer up and eat in a bar John’s customer owns, but John decides to get back home earlier to be ready for work Thursday. Kevin, Sue, Rachel, Bill and Debby all arrive later and we have spaghetti dinner and good conversation.<br />Thursday we load the bikes on the truck and head to the east end of the island where there are flat roads with no traffic, and a good chance to see some wildlife. We see one deer and after our twelve miles I let Cheri drive back alone while I add another sixteen miles to the bike ride, and feel pretty good on the hilly terrain across the center of the island. Thursday is pastie dinner, and much of the talk is about the proper way to eat these delicious Cornish (from Cornwall) meat and potato pies. Bill claims to be a purist and advocates only a little ketchup on the side while Debbie and I maintain that gravy is required for the most enjoyment.<br />Friday is another day for yakking and we convince Bill, Deb, Rachel, and Sue to rent a couple tandems and join us (Cheri and I with Bryan and Cheryl) for a day on the water and we head to Scammon Cove to see a couple of ship wrecks, and we have a great time, and even I have a bit of a “red opu” (sunburned stomach) after. Back at the house some wine is opened and smoked whitefish dip is passed along with seared ahi before the steak and chicken kabobs that brother (in-law) Bill has prepared.<br />Saturday we are going to lose two families; Bry and Cheryl need to get started back to Texas, and Kevin, Sue and Rachel decide to bail out too. I’m not much for drawn out good-byes, so I head out on the bike for a few hours and return around noon just in time to see Kevin and Sue leaving. Later Cheri and I go for one last yak attack at the county park. Dinner was good grilled burgers and a very pleasant evening.<br />Sunday we load up and hit the ferry at 9:10AM by fiat of Northern Properties (out by 9:00AM). We stop in Mackinaw City at the Hush Puppy store where Cheri buys new shoes every year. We arrive back in Hemlock about 2:30 to unpack and swim in the pool. It’s back to the salt mines for Cheri early Tuesday so that’s the focus for tomorrow as well. On Thursday I’ll begin my short bike trip so I won’t talk to you again until that’s all done. Aloha.<br /><br />The Bike Path North and West and Back<br />Thursday, August 04, 2011<br />Skip volunteered to give me a ride to Midland so he could ride the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail with me for a while, as he hadn’t seen it yet. It was perfect early; the rain had stopped and no wind to impede our progress. We started at the Tridge and rode northwest all the way to Coleman, including a tour of the Arbutus Bog along the way, before Skip turned back and I forged on toward Traverse City. There is a five or six mile gap in the trail at Clare so I have to ride M-115 to the trailhead. Then I stopped in Farwell for a Coney dog, and drop in at the same Rite-Aid store as last year to buy a notebook that I’d forgotten to pack, same as last year. The path after Farwell is great; no highway noise and enough tree cover to blunt the southwest wind that has picked up lately.<br />With the fifteen mile head start, I figured to make Reed City today, and would have, but fate intervened. There were a couple guys just turning around eight miles short of Evart and I rode and talked with them into Evart, particularly about the trail surface of the White Pine Trail north from Reed City. I thought that we might have a beer together in Evart, but they decided to bail and I stopped at O’Malley’s alone for old time’s sake. While I had a Killian’s Red beer, I called ahead to the Reed City Motel to find no vacancy, and no other lodging options close to my route, so I booked a $48 room with the bar-keep, figuring a shorter day might serve me better for the remainder of the tour. I went upstairs to shower and change before heading back to the bar for dinner of potato and leek soup and Irish Boxty which is potato pancakes with cheese, bacon and scallions. It’s a small room and twin bed with a shared bath, but good enough for who it’s for; I take a long walk down to Riverside City Park by the beautiful Muskegon River before I hit the hay.<br />I’m up Friday around 7:15 and start my morning routine, which is to pack up my shit and get out of Dodge. First stop is Foster’s Supermarket for a long john, a peach, and Gatorade for breakfast before I hit the trail. The light west wind is still with us but I enjoy the ride. There is a really nice overlook of the river a few miles out and a minute after that, I see a deer on the trail ahead. I take the advice of the two guys yesterday and turn north at Hersey to take 180th Road, aka the Mackinaw Trail, north and immediately start in the hills. I begin to think that the surface of the trail would have to be really bad to make me choose this route up hill and down dale. At Slaybaugh Corners there is a nice park and I take a break, and just up the road I come across an aid station for a ride out of Traverse City for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and the first riders are just arriving at mile 70 in three hours of riding; awesome!<br />At Leroy I detour to see what the trail surface is like for myself, and find that it is paved, and I ride that into Tustin where the girl in the store tells me it’s paved from Leroy into Cadillac, much nicer than the road I’d been on. The trail is great until it disappears without a trace in Cadillac and I’m on my own. I find my way through town and stop at a Mancino’s for a sandwich and eat only half of the half-size I’d ordered and save the rest. It’s 3:30 and less than forty miles left so I decide to go all the way into Nikki’s tonight. The Garmin wants me to pickup US-131, even though that is limited access, so I take Mitchell Road north to Manton, it’s somewhat hilly but not too bad and then 131 becomes available and I’m in Fife Lake about 5:15. I play phone tag with Nikki and find that she will be out of the house all night celebrating her birthday instead of welcoming me; off I go. Fife Lake Road starts out with some small hills, then levels out, and Supply Road is not as bad as I expected, just a couple big steep ones, but I persevere and arrive at 7:15, after about 12 hours on the road. I clean up, eat my left-over sandwich, and settle down to read with the ball-game on TV.<br />After the long day yesterday, I need one to just rest and relax and I start with a leisurely paddle in the kayak after a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. Gail and Nikki come out for lunch at Peegeo’s, and I decline an invitation to join them at Heather’s to avoid the noise and confusion, so they leave me alone for the rest of the day. I have another half sandwich left over from lunch and I supplement it with a couple brats, sans bun, that I find in the fridge. At sunset I go back out in the kayak to see if any loons show up to feed, but Daisy (the dog) follows me out into the lake, so I turn around to call her back in and leave her and Molly in the entryway of the house. When I return, I find that the dogs jumped against the doors setting the latch which I had left locked, so I was locked out of the house, no phone, no key, just my own ingenuity. I notice one window around back that is unlocked, so I take off the screen and open the window to climb inside. I go on line on Nikki’s computer to reserve a room in Cadillac for Monday evening and fill the evening the same as last night, the Tigers winning again.<br />Sunday I opt for a ride into Traverse City and the TART path that runs all the way up to Sutton’s Bay in the Leelanau Peninsula, and follow it about halfway out; I don’t want to abuse myself too badly, and going back through town, I’m surprised to have Nikki and Heather pull up into a parking lot in front of me, and we chat a while. They suggest a better route to the house and I make it back in one piece and stop at Peegeo’s again for lunch. Later Gail and Nikki take me to the Bayside Tavern between Traverse City and Acme for dinner, which is very enjoyable. Later a young man named Dave, that Nikki is seeing comes out and steals her away for a party, and Gail and I drive into Traverse for the free film showing of “Mrs. Doubtfire” as part of the film festival. We all go separate ways after the movie; Heather to her place, Nikki’s brood to Grandma’s, and Nikki and I to Chandler Lake.<br />When I awoke at 8:00AM, Nikki was up so I started packing and she insisted that she cook my breakfast; a strawberry smoothie and scrambled eggs that were very good. She left to go walk some hill with Heather, and I left to ride some alone. It went well back to Fife Lake the way I’d come, and then to Manton where I had lunch in a Subway. It was almost 1:00 and I wasn’t so much hungry as in need of a rest and to take off my shoes. There were more hills than I had remembered south of Manton, but soon enough I get to Cadillac and used the Garmin to find the road along the north shore of Cadillac Lake, then toured Mitchell State Park. It’s about as I remembered from camping here years ago, not one of my favorites. I used the Garmin to find the Rodeway motel and for a budget room, it’s clean and “good enough for who it’s for”. I grab my book and walk toward town for dinner and go on past the Chico’s Tacos to a park about a mile from the motel and sit down to read a while and look at Lake Mitchell. There is a nice restaurant nearby and I ask someone that had just exited if it was any good, and he said it was their favorite, so I went in to just look at the menu. It looked really good so I went in and ordered bruschetta and a bottle of wine, then the wall-eye with mushroom sauce and corn and potato hash. It was delicious and I stayed until the wine was gone and my book about half. I walked home and enjoyed the book some more, and called a budget motel in Farwell that had a vacancy. We’ll see how the Surrey Motel is tomorrow.<br />I woke up about 7:30, my usual time, and watched the news as I packed and ate two pieces of left over bruschetta (it wasn’t as good as the wall-eye). The forecast is heavy showers and winds from the south gusting to 30MPH, just what I didn’t want to hear. I venture forth anyway and it’s calm and dry along the south shore of Lake Cadillac, then onto the beautiful White Pine Trail. The rain starts, nice and gentle still without wind and I enjoy it into Tustin where I stop for breakfast at Julie’s grill. I eat only half of the half-order of biscuits and gravy, and they are definitely not up to Aunt Debbie’s recipe. The rain has stopped as I return to the trail and continue south, enjoying the cool, overcast conditions. About halfway from Cadillac to Reed City, at Leroy, the pavement ends and I continue on the gravel surface. It’s pretty smooth and my tires handle it okay. I stop for Gatorade in Ashton, and the surface gets looser and less pleasant to ride on as I get closer to Reed City. About three miles out, I notice a road parallel to the trail and transition to that route into town. <br />It sprinkles on and off, mostly off, as I make my way into Evart where I find Mishler’s Drive-In complete with car-hops and frosty mugs of draft root beer. I have a good Coney dog and really good onion rings with two mugs, and I even borrow a hose out back to wash off some of the mud from the trail. The bike path takes me all the way into Farwell and I have to back-track two miles to the Surrey Motel, and I wonder as I’m arriving if I’ll have to go back to town for food, but the girl at the desk calls a place called the Birchwood to make sure they were open, about half-a-mile away. It’s still raining and getting on toward 5:30 so I go down there before cleaning up and have good meatloaf and a surprising BLT soup with bacon and tomatoes in the broth, garnished with lettuce, better than it sounds. Back to the motel for reading, writing and watching the Tigers on TV, a throw back to my past as a Tigers fan.<br />They say that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I’m rolling a bigger gear today, but that may just be the tail-wind for the first time this trip. I’m on the bike path a few miles, then on M-115 into Clare, and back onto the bike path down to Coleman for breakfast about 9:30AM. I get the corned beef hash omelet and it’s good, though the chocolate milk tastes a little funny, not bad but funny. I figure with breakfast at 9:30, I can forego lunch, and Mom likes to eat early. I’m guessing that I’ll be in Hemlock by 2:00 or 2:30 and it’s quarter of when I walk in the house. I get a coke out of the fridge and prepare to jump in the pool. I wish I could figure out why I go on these trips; it can’t be just because it feels so good to come home, but that may be part of it. I’m going to take the bikes into a shop this afternoon for some adjustments and a new chain on mine, and just a check-up for Cheri’s. Then I have to hang everything up in the garage and think about packing for the trip back to Maui. It will be good to get home to Cheri and the dogs, and even the folks at work, but what a great trip this has been. Thanks for coming along. Mahalo.Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-87972011526285563362011-09-20T12:33:00.000-07:002012-02-07T12:21:36.776-08:002010 Hemlock to Minneapolis Solo Bicycle TourTUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2010<br />Anticipation<br /><br />I am getting more and more excited about my next bicycle adventure: 2010 Hemlock to Minneapolis. The question of "Why?" has become something that I am thinking about from time to time. Obviously, people enjoy traveling for a wide variety of reasons; new people and cultures to investigate, new and interesting activities and foods, breaking away from the hum-drum of everyday life, and just seeing new places are all important to me. I think another thing for me is to let my day-to-day responsibilities go for a time and think only about my own very limited needs; which direction to point the bike in, and where to stop for lunch. Throughout the rest of the year, my actions are governed by the interconnected needs of many other people in my hectic existence; co-workers, family and friends, and for a few days it’s nice to reduce life to a simpler formula. There is nothing much simpler than eating, sleeping, and riding the bike, and to leave out the riding part would just be boring.<br /><br />Why by bicycle?<br /> <br />When I mention my plans to friends and acquaintances, they invariably say something like: “I’d need one with a motor” so why not go by motorcycle instead? Two counts; you are treated differently by the people you meet, and you pass through places so quickly and noisily that you get a distorted view of the place. Obviously, traveling by car is similar, and you get even less of a sense of the place because the enclosure of the vehicle limits your senses of smell and hearing. Most other forms of motorized transportation suffer these and similar limitations. Hiking is a good way to see, hear, and feel the places you visit, but your ability to cover distance is so limiting that you can visit far fewer places and again, I think the communities you visit would be somewhat less welcoming to a person on foot. Not every place that you visit will be one in which you wish to spend a lot of time, and on the bike you can make your get-away about five times faster than on foot.<br /> I’ve always enjoyed the conversational opening that is inherent when I come into town on my bicycle; how far, how long, and a host of other questions come from the people I meet, and the answers will often start interesting conversations. I also enjoy the respect (or even occasional ridicule) I am accorded for the physical ability I have acquired to do the things that I’ve done to get to wherever it is that I am. There is something that is deeply satisfying in doing things most other folks can’t or won’t try to do, and thumbing your nose at every car dealership and gas station in town as you pass by gives some pleasure too.<br /> This trip, I’ll have only my blackberry for communication, so the updates won’t come as quickly when I’m on the road; I won’t write more than a few lines on that tiny keyboard with my oversized fingers, but I may find a library with a console for a few hours, and maybe upload a picture or two from the blackberry. I invite you to come along for the ride.<br /><br />Proposed route: Hemlock, MI to Ludington, MI; ferry across the lake and a take northern bearing across Wisconsin and back down to Stillwater from whence I have a map to avoid most of the Twin City traffic.<br /><br />Schedule: Mid-June 2010 through July 1, 2010.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2010<br />Planning<br />Two months to go and my planning is well underway with the route pretty well fixed in my mind. Google Earth has been a great help since I can actually get a look at the road surface and shoulder on my computer right here in Kihei. <br /><br />Leaving Hemlock, I'll head north to Midland and pick up the Pere Marquette Bicycle Trail all the way to Clare where I'll take the direct route west on US-10. That may seem an unlikely choice, but I've looked at that road in many spots and there is a broad shoulder and good surface all the way to Ludington, and I want to get to the ferry in two days riding if possible, so the direct route is needed. I think I'll need eight days of riding after the ferry ride, if all goes well, and I have only twelve days to my target; June 30th, the afternoon before Cheri arrives from Maui. I'd like to have a rest day in northern Wisconsin, and another day in hand for bad weather, so two days is what I'd like to spend on the familiar roads of Michigan.<br /><br />I bought a couple maps from the Adventure Cycling Organization that have helped me from Manitowac up to Eagle River in Wisconsin, and then from Stillwater to Minneapolis, the most dangerous section. I'm taking a very northern route through Wisconsin, turning north just out of Manitowac and not heading west until Eagle River, only about fifteen miles from the Michigan border; then probably going as far as Ojibwa before heading southwest toward Stillwater. There I'll pick up the Adventure Cycling route on back streets and bike paths all the way to where Mark lives in downtown Minneapolis. <br /><br />I hope I'll be in good enough shape for those two long days in Michigan (about 70 miles each) and I'll have a short day after the lake crossing to help recuperate. Then a leisurely stroll north and west at about sixty miles a day and the two extra days as mentioned above.<br /><br />I have dusted off the stationary trainer and took my Trek to the shop today for a tune-up to be sure it's ready for the trip. I have ordered a new sleeping pad and blanket and inspected my racks and panniers so I think I am fully equipped. Of course, the most arduous task is to tune up the engine itself; I'll be working on that day-by-day and I'll let you know how it's going next month. <br /><br />SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2010<br />The Engine - The Beast Lives <br /><br />I took a personal day Tuesday and rode my normal 45 mile Saturday route to Lahaina and back and felt better on the bike than I had in a while. I think having the bike tuned made a difference because I felt a lot faster on the downhills where having those bearings lubed up and rolling properly is most important. Then today I had a perfect weather Saturday and decided to test myself with 60 miles. From Kihei to Napili Plaza and back; go ahead and Google it if you don’t believe me.<br /><br />I felt great all day and it seemed that my cadence felt stronger and more fluid as the day wore on. I left the house around 7:50 and got back at 2:50 including lunch, two stops for cold drinks, two more for some shade, and a nice dip in the ocean at mile 59. And to top it off, a mile and a half walking the dog as usual after dinner! Of course, I'll be hauling more weight on tour, but the terrain will not be as hilly as today, so I feel pretty good. Nothing like a little over-confidence to keep a guy from training too hard, so I'll have to watch out for that in the next nine weeks. <br /><br />SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2010<br />Oh Sh*t! <br /><br />My faithful Trek 520 is faithful no more!<br /><br />I took my usual Saturday ride in perfect weather (no wind) but something wasn't quite right. Climbing the first hill, I was unable to use the standing position to climb, the bike wanted to shift, and I thought that perhaps the shifting mechanism which had just been adjusted may be at fault. I kept riding but all day I tried various adjustments without success. I was in about the forty-eighth mile of the sixty I had planned when I tried once more to push hard up the last steep climb, and I noticed that the crank set was flexing and as I continued to watch it, I saw that the frame is cracked at the juncture of the seat-tube and bottom bracket. I put it in a small gear and pedaled gingerly the rest of the way home. It did faithfully get me home from its last day on the road, but it is the end of the line for my favorite bicycle ever. <br /><br />When the crank set flexed it screwed up the alignment of the chain causing the shifting problems. A broken frame is the worst possible outcome and I have never heard of anyone successfully fixing a major crack like this one. I'm afraid this bicycle will never go out on the highway again!<br /><br />Cheri was upbeat when I told her the news, saying: "Thank God it's today; a few miles from home rather than midway across Wisconsin six weeks from now." And of course, she's right about that part. Do I change my plans or try to get a new bicycle in time to continue this great adventure that I was so looking forward too? I guess the answer is obvious to Cheri that I will immediately get a new bike, but I'm not so sure. The Trek model 520 is by far the best touring bicycle right out of the box for the money. It's in the neighborhood of $1,300 brand new and my accoutrements (racks and panniers etc.) would fit perfectly and bolt right on, but I just broke a ten year old version and maybe I should look at stronger frame materials.<br /><br />The Trek 520 is made of cro-moly steel tubing which soaks up much of the vibration and bumps that can drain your energy, and have you looking for an early end to the day. Aluminum is stronger but lacks the damping properties of steel tubes, and nobody is currently selling a bike set up for touring using aluminum frame members. Cannondale used to, but they recently discontinued that model: Marketing decision or problems with the bike? Hard to guess. Carbon fiber has the properties needed but it prohibitively expensive, and again, is not currently marketed towards folks like me. Other touring bicycles are made of the same materials as the Trek and most of those have other issues, and none have any significant advantage over the Trek.<br /><br />Many people choose a mountain bike and change components to fit the requirements for a touring bicycle. Most of the components might be acceptable, but often the frame geometry gives a riding position that is too upright for the long haul. There is a very fine line between short term comfort (more upright) and body position conducive to the long haul. There has to be enough weight carried on the arms to allow the okole (butt) to endure, but not enough to over-stress the arms. Then almost all mountain bikes come with flat handlebars that lack adequate variety of hand positions to allow the rider to endure those long days in the saddle. Road bikes, on the other hand are built too light to carry the additional weight of your gear, not to mention the weight of a big guy like me. They also usually lack holes for the racks and their geometry is closer to what you need as far as the rider, but the bikes don't steer and handle well with the added weight over each wheel where the touring bike often handles better as you add your gear.<br /><br />I have only six weeks to decide, order, and have the bike delivered to a shop close to Hemlock if I follow Cheri's intuition and get a bike that will allow me to continue with this adventure. Not enough, probably, to choose any option but a real touring bike that can handle what I want it to do straight out of the box. I will spend all day tomorrow researching and deciding so that I can make contact on Monday if I have decided I need a bicycle dealership. Tune in later this week to find out. <br /><br />WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010<br />Warrantee to the Rescue <br /><br />Well at least I hope so. As I got busy shopping for a new bike over the weekend, I wondered if Trek had a frame replacement policy and low and behold, they give a lifetime warrantee to original owners of all Trek bicycle frames. I called the shop here in Kihei where I bought the bike and he confirmed that Trek has been very good to his customers in this regard and he took some pictures of the frame and sent them to his Trek customer service rep, and we fully expect to have a new frame shipped out here in plenty of time to rebuild the bike before I pack it up for the trip to Michigan. I know it seems kind of foolish to ship it here just in time to ship it to Michigan, but the local shop needs to do the rebuild. I've ordered some upgraded parts to make it a little more worth their while, and I'm leaning very heavily toward a new Trek from the same shop when I get back to Kihei in late July. <br /><br />It was fun shopping for a new bike, but what I found in reading all of the reviews and opinions out there about touring bikes is that I already have the best long range touring bike in my price range. To have a brand new one (more or less) is just what I need and I'm very pleased indeed! <br /><br />SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2010<br />Waiting..... <br /><br />I got an email message on Tuesday that the frame should arrive "this week" but its Sunday and no update has come through since then. I am so tired of waiting but there is nothing else for me to do. I've been trying to be patient and not bother the local shop too much since they will be putting the bike back together for me and there is no sense getting under their skin. Tomorrow I might grab my shoes and helmet and go down there on the guise of shopping for a new bike for my return from vacation. I have been shopping on-line some, and I think I know what I want, but maybe I can increase the urgency for them a bit by promising a future pay day. <br /><br /><br />SATURDAY, MAY 29, 2010<br />This is the Moment <br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_1MhZ46TbI&feature=related<br /><br />Paste this into your browser and you'll know how I feel today and you'll be listening to one of my favorite songs by my favorite quartet.<br /><br />Thursday afternoon South Maui Bicycles called and said the frame was finally here, so we agreed on the final instructions for the upgrade, and he needed my okay to add a new head-set and stem because Trek changed the frame and fork so that the original items couldn't be used with this frame and fork (yes, a new fork is included). They had it done on Friday about 11:00AM, and I was bouncing off the walls at work, then finally had a free moment and went to pick everything up. I have the bike and the box with packing materials for the shipment next week to Michigan. I went out to ride this morning and put 60 miles on it; it's perfect. The larger frame fits just right and the upgraded shifting is a huge improvement. I don't know why Trek doesn't add STI shifting (built into the brake levers) to this bike; I guess they figure every potential customer is a retro-grouch, which is the only kind of person I think would want the bar-con shifting controls. I also asked for the next larger frame size because even though I've been comfortable on the old bike, I always felt a larger, roomier cockpit would be better for me, and they were gracious enough to give me the larger size on warrantee.<br /><br />I sent a box of supplies out on Friday that includes my tent, front rack, and panniers (the suitcase-like bags that fit on the racks to haul my stuff.) The rear rack is on the bike and will fit in the box when I send that out next week. I'm a little conservative to ship this soon, but as good as FedEx usually is, there is always a chance for something to go wrong, and I don't have time to wait for the bike to arrive after I get to Hemlock. As I've mentioned, I'll be on a pretty tight schedule if we get any weather disruption and Markie wants me there a day early so we can go to the Twins-Tigers baseball game on the 30th of June. I hope he doesn't mind that I use a diminutive form of his name. He's twenty-nine years old and a man in his own right, but he'll always be Markie-boy to his Mom and I. Sorry Markie!<br /><br />I do hope you were able to open that song on YouTube (search for "This is the Moment" by Acoustix). You'll notice the quality of the bass first; that's Jeff Oxley, one of the best and best known basses in barbershop, and he is undoubtedly fantastic. What you may not notice is that the baritone, Jason January, joins him on the first verse and sings bass under Jeff's second solo later in the song, Jason also sings the high "A" to resolve the last chord. He is far and away the best baritone I have heard. While you're in YouTube, give a listen to their rendition of the "Stars and Stripes" where Jason has the high "A" again, and in that song it is a hanger (the note that stays constant as the ending resolves around it) that he holds for almost twenty seconds, try that at the top of your range sometime. The lead and tenor are great as well and this quartet is fabulous. Good listening!<br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /> <br />SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2010<br />Soon and Very Soon <br /><br />I'm very excited now to get to Michigan and get started on this great adventure. Soon and Very Soon is a song we've done in Kihei Lutheran choir, an old favorite that is the only time I can't help but sing the bass part right there in the middle of the tenor section. I have sung tenor in our choir since the very first year when the only other men couldn't or wouldn't, and even though I am a fairly low bass voice, I can reach most of the tenor. But this song has a bass counterpoint that I can't resist, and since I know it and sing it better than any of the other basses, the director allows me this plum. <br /><br />I got my love of music, and what ability I have from my Mom who was always a fabulous musician and director, and she called today to announce that my bicycle has arrived and awaits my loving ministrations, though she didn't say it quite that way. My kids have always said that their Dad would never use a five-letter word if there was a fifteen-letter word available; and they are mostly correct. I like to educate at the same time as I communicate, or maybe I just like to show off, but my kids have wonderful vocabularies because of that. <br /><br />So it's Sunday afternoon and I leave for the airport on Wednesday, right after work, and I'm listening to barbershop music on YouTube and writing this blog because my bike is in Hemlock and not here for me to ride. I'll leave this bike in Hemlock and replace it when I get home to Maui; and probably reward Trek and South Maui Bicycles with the business for having treated me so well throughout this warranty deal. I can't wait to share some of this music with my Mom, she is not a computer person, so she will have to receive hard copy of this blog, and I'll play the music for her on my computer when we're together in Hemlock for a few days. For those of you that don't know, my beloved father passed away eighteen years ago at age 63. He was the finest man I ever met, and I still miss him.<br /><br />After talking to you folks, I'll probably map out an alternate route that takes less time (more southerly) in case I run into enough bad weather that I fall way behind schedule. Obviously, this will only be of use if that bad weather is early in the trip, before days five and six when I'll be traveling almost due north, but it might be of value. I'll go on Google Earth and look at road surfaces and look for tree-lined roads without many towns if I can. The original more northerly route will take me through the area with lots of lakes and forests, and I'll stick with it unless it is completely impossible. Then there is always the back-up plan of calling Markie to come from Minneapolis to pick me up if I fall short of the mark. He has already offered, particularly because he wants me in town on the evening of June 29th so we can attend a Twins-Tigers baseball game together. Then Cheri will arrive on the 1st of July and the next adventure will begin.<br /><br />I'm bringing my computer with an air-card on vacation, not on the bicycle portion, but I may blog a little on my Blackberry from the road. I probably won't write very much because of my big fingers and the small keyboard, but I'll try to keep you posted, and then I'll write a synopsis when I get back to my computer in Hemlock. This will be the last post until Friday night before the first day of riding. Wish me luck! <br /><br /><br />FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2010<br />The Night Before the Trip.<br /><br />The flights were pleasant enough Wednesday night/Thursday morning and everything went well putting the bike back together and installing the racks and panniers. I inflated the Big Agnes sleeping pad (more difficult than expected) and my sleeping comfort when camping should be fine. This morning (Friday) I loaded most of the stuff I'll be carrying and rode about twenty-five miles as a shake-down cruise, and to visit two cemeteries in honor of my Dad and grandparents. No problems detected, and everything is now adjusted as well as I can do it.<br /><br />Mom was there when I arrived at the airport in Midland/Bay City and we went immediately to the Riverside restaurant (her favorite) and had a nice breakfast before coming back to the home farm to play bike mechanic. Last night we went to a new Genji Tepanyaki Steakhouse where they do the cooking and entertaining on a flat-top right in front of the diners. The food was pretty good, but not in the same league as Kobe in Lahaina, but very nice anyway. After the bike ride this morning I watched part of the Soccer World Cup and caught a short nap. Tonight we met my brother and his wife and a friend at Famous Dave's BBQ and had a great dinner and brought some ribs home for tomorrow’s breakfast before visiting another brother, and more family. A late bedtime after I finish this blog, but I'm not too worried; I have all day tomorrow... <br /><br />SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2010<br />The First Three Days.<br /><br />Saturday dawned gray and breezy but still dry. I had left-over ribs from Famous Dave's from last night's dinner with Skip and Lenda, Mom and Skip's friend, Dave. I was up pretty early and left the house at 8:00AM but Skip was already out weed-whacking in preparation for Courtney's party next week. I stopped and spoke to him a minute then was off on this great adventure.<br /><br />The breeze I mentioned was out of the south, so the miles to Midland slipped by pretty quickly and soon enough, I walked across the Tridge and set off up the Pere Marquette Bike Trail. The wind was now southwesterly and partially in my face, but I rolled along nicely to the first rest stop in Sanford for a coke. I took the bottle back to the trail and stood on a bridge over the river to drink it, and soon was surrounded by bicyclists asking questions and taking pictures. It was a group of about ten people together for a singles/leadership training, or something, but I enjoyed riding with them the ten miles or so to Coleman where they had a designated stop and I went on ahead. It was great all the way to Clare where the path ran out and I was downtown looking for lunch.<br /><br />The little place I found was called the Whitehouse restaurant and it was tiny, maybe 15' wide by 30' long grill and all. They had six tiny booths that would comfortably fit four kids each, and there were four adults in most of them. I sat down in one as someone was leaving and ordered a burger and fries. The food was what you expect, but the service was very homey and it was a good lunch. I headed up M115 that was under construction to Farwell and a pain but I got to Farwell before I saw the bike path running in the same direction, wonder how far back that started. I stopped at a Rite-Aid to get a notepad and pen and talked to the girl there. She said it went all the way to Evart but wasn't paved all the way, which I assumed to mean was gravel or wood chips where the pavement stopped, so I decided to try it.<br /><br />The sign said "Pavement Ends - 2 miles" but I thought it would end at a road I could take back to the highway if the surface wasn't passable...Wrong! They just ran out of asphalt and stopped where they were out in the middle of the woods, just a path graded on through the trees. I hate to ride back over miles I've already put behind me and the surface looked passable so I went around the barrier and continued riding. After a mile of dirt, the surface became sandy and I couldn't ride any more, and I turned stubborn and declared that I would walk to Evart before I'd ride backwards, so I walked a half-mile until the surface firmed up some, the rode another mile, then walked another half until I could see a road up ahead, finally!<br /><br />It spit me out onto Maple Grove road, beautiful pavement and I continued on that for three miles until I ran into a lake and had to jog back north to the highway. I looked at the Garmin, and saw I was only a few miles from the turn-off to Crittenden Park where I had originally thought I might stay, and that another 12 miles would put me in Evart where there was a campground right on the route, so I went on ahead. The wind seemed to be shifting around to the northwest by now and the trees on the roadside helped cut that down, so it was pretty good riding. At about 6:30 I rolled into Evart but didn't find the campground at the address I had entered into the Garmin and as I was riding back toward the center of town I came across a bar called O'Malley's and had to stop in.<br /><br />On the porch were a half dozen guys drinking beer and the questions were flying before I got off the bike and in a minute I was part of the family. These guys were on a golf outing staying there at O'Malley's as guests of the owner who was an old friend that had moved to Evart to open the bar. He told me where the campground was, and said that if they couldn't help me, he would put me up, no charge. So I stayed there, had a great Rueben sandwich for dinner and rolled down to the Riverside Park campground around 9:00 and got set up just before dark and good thing because I found that I didn't bring a flashlight. I was right on the shore with a beautiful view of the moon on the water. The new mattress, blanket and pillow were perfect but I still didn't sleep very well.<br /><br />SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2010<br /><br />Sunday morning I rolled out about 9:00AM and the camp host told me the bike path would take me all the way to Reed City and I took it all the way out to the junction of 10 and 131 before taking to the highway, wind in my face. As soon as I got on US 10 the hills started, nothing too steep, but a lot of climbing in the granny gear and by the time I made Baldwin, I was pretty tired. The last 30 miles into Ludington were not going to be any fun at all. I wasn't too hungry for lunch, so settled for some Mackinaw Island Fudge ice cream instead and headed out. There was a rode due west out of town that I thought would be an alternative to US-10, and I tried it for a mile until it ran out of pavement and I wisely turned around and took the highway, the very hilly highway. I stopped at the first rest area thinking it had been ten miles and it turned out to be four. I was really hurting and having to rest a lot more often, and I secretly wished that Marilyn Fornwall's sister would come by and offer me a ride, but she just honked as she went by (if that was her).<br /><br />I almost cried when I came to Custer, because I thought it was Scottsville and found that was four more miles. At Scottsville I turn south for my own safety, fearing Saturday night traffic on the four lane US-10 and look for Chauvez Road, and it is five miles south, not the three I had expected. It is rolling and rural but I keep on, stopping once for directions since the Garmin is already low on battery power (I used it only an hour or so last night!) and I get good directions but on main highways, no alternatives were available. As I entered Ludington, I saw a seedy looking motel and stopped by, and the young man that helped me wasn't seedy at all and the rooms were cheap, and there was a wake-up service, and easy access to the ferry tomorrow, and food within walking distance. As I'm wheeling the bike into my room I notice the front tire is flat so I'll have something to do when I get back from dinner.<br /><br />I walk past the restaurants and go into a supermarket instead and take a chef's salad, fresh blueberries and a pastry for morning back to my room. I leave it there and hit the hot tub for 30 minutes until the 10:00 curfew, then go eat and fix the flat. I pack up the stuff I want to carry on the ferry because I know I won't have access to the bike and get everything ready to go before I sleep. I'm not in bed until 11:30PM but I sleep well tonight.<br /><br />MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2010<br /><br />Monday morning I'm up ready for the wake-up call and everything goes off like clockwork. The ferry ride is very nice with my book and water bottle at hand, and even some M&Ms and a slice of pizza thrown in. I have a bike shop on my map and on the way there I run across another bike tourist who is heading south. He is from Minneapolis and has been on the road since May 24th. I find the bike shop, get two new tubes and head out of town with very little traffic but more hills and soon I'm hurting again. I stop for water from a nice man out washing his truck, and again at a farm with a bunch of old tractors in the yard and find the lady picking currants to make some jelly. The fruit itself is sour, I find out. Some of the towns in this part of Wisconsin don't have any services at all; in one place I went into a bar to get a coke and got a lesson in "Liar's Dice" (I still don't understand why they like it), and in the next town I see a coke machine and a lady says there's no grocery until Hilbert.<br /><br />At that point my seat was killing me and I was desperate to find someplace closer than High Cliff State Park to stay, so I took the Hilbert turn off and found everything I wanted at a place called Scotty's Bar and Grill. I went in for a beer and to ask for information and pretty soon I'm talking to four different guys and the bar owner tells me I can set up my tent in his yard, so I have some more beer, and then some pizza because despite the name, there is no grill in this bar and grill. I set up in a light sprinkle and sleep in a light rain, and life is good again. <br /><br />TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010<br />Two More Days.<br /><br />I woke up early Tuesday morning, though I didn't know what time it was, and packed up a wet tent and hit the road. I was hoping I would have a better day today, but the pain in my seat was back and continued to worsen throughout the day. Maybe it was the constant head wind, maybe I was gaining a lot of altitude, but it was just not fun to be on the bike today and I couldn't wait to get off. The only thing I remember about the day's ride was that there is a sign below the name of the town called Freedom, telling you things you can't do there. This one happened to prohibit parking on city streets at certain times, and you see that sign often, it just seemed out of place in a town called Freedom.<br /><br />When I arrived in Wrightstown, the only place to eat breakfast was a Subway, and I learned there how early I had gotten up; it was only 8:40 and I was already twelve miles into my day. I had planned almost seventy miles to get to Shawano today, and there was no way I was going to be able to do that. Thirty pain-filled miles and one broken spoke later I pulled into Shiocton and stopped at the hardware store to get a flashlight; amazingly, this was the first hardware I had seen since Manitowac. The owner, Dick Johnson was sitting there just waiting to help me, he knew where everything was and he sent me to the Wolf River Inn just across the street when I asked him about places to stay, and told me where the library was, the laundromat, everything I needed. He even called the Inn to be sure Tim was there and sent me on my way flashlight in hand and my afternoon comfort assured.<br /><br />At Wolf River Inn, Tim gave me a deal on a suite upstairs and invited me to pull my bike into the lobby for security. The suite is fantastic with a kitchenette, balcony, and beautiful view of the river out back. I wish Cheri was here to share it with me; it just seems a waste for only me. I went first to the library to update the blog and got only as far as Monday before they were going to close, then to the laundromat, and managed to get a soda and take a shower because everything was within two blocks of the Inn. I even laid out the tent to dry and went to (you guessed it) Subway to get a sandwich so I could eat in and watch some soccer on the big flat screen TV in my room. Up until 3:30 this was a terrible day, but from 3:30 on, it was great. There is a bike shop in Shawano so I can get that spoke fixed; I brought spokes, but not the wrench needed to get the free-wheel off.<br /><br />WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2010<br /><br /><br />Wednesday morning it was raining, and I was seriously considering staying in to watch the US team play Algeria in the World Cup and take Tim up on his offer to drive me to Shawano (pronounced Schano hereabouts), but the rain stopped and I decided I had accepted enough of Tim's largess (the room was discounted and bike security, etc.) I knew there was a bike shop in Shawano so I can stop and get that wheel fixed this afternoon. I pulled out of Shiocton and wondered what else the day would hold.<br /><br />I felt a lot better today, but part of that was probably the mental knowing that it was only thirty miles to Shawano, and the route was as flat as if they had painted it on the surface of a lake. It was good into Leeman and my only opportunity for a coke, but when I walked out of the store, the rain was starting up again. I put my lights on and my rain jacket and it continued raining lightly about half-way to Shawano. I shed the jacket and enjoyed the rest of the ride, except that a few miles before I got into town I heard another "ping" of a spoke breaking, and I sure hoped the bike shop would be open, and able to fix me up today. I pulled into a Kwick Stop and got the intel on the bike shop. I found they are open and going to get me fixed up, but it won't be cheap. The wheel is shot and almost certainly won't get me to Minneapolis, so I'm going to have to buy a set of wheels ($225) and ship the old ones back to Kihei ($80) so I can pursue a warranty clam on the old wheel. The nice thing is that when I ask about the Library, they offered me a computer to use here at the shop to update this blog. By 7:00 I should be fed and showered and set up at a campground a few miles away, contemplating the rest of my route to Minneapolis. If I'm paying three hundred dollars for the privilege, I'd better, by God, ride instead of catching the bus.<br /><br />Wherever the route goes from here, it's likely the phone service and internet availability will be spotty, so I ask your patience. Now I've got a new frame and new wheels, I wonder if the derailleur and brakes will make it to Minneapolis.<br /><br /><br /><br />WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON JUNE 23, 2010<br />To the Bitter End<br /><br />I left the shop and headed for Shawano County Campground about five miles northeast of town, and found it, as usual, to be a longer ride than expected. I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way to pick up dinner and breakfast; a salad, strawberries, Gatorade, and a long john. This trip has been unusual for me from a dietary perspective as I'm finding myself choosing salads and fruit at the grocery in place of hardier fare. I'm making these choices based on what sounds good at the time, so my preferences are changing to healthier foods, but I don't really feel too much thinner yet. The park is very much like a MI state park, very clean with a beautiful beach and day-use area. I have a walk-in site up a little hill in a grove of pine trees, very nice.<br /><br />This is the first time I've been in camp in time to meet some of my neighbors, and Mike & Patti offer me a beer as soon as I veer from my path toward their site. The talk is of the weather and their inexperience in dealing with the thunderstorm last evening, and the likelihood of a reoccurrence tonight. I walk over to an unused electrical camp site and charge my Garmin while I start plotting out my route from here forward. I decide to continue north tomorrow to Langlade and finally White Lake, before heading west along WI 64 instead of WI-70 thirty or so miles further north. The bike felt great on the way out here, and I hope that continues throughout the rest of my tour. I was reading and charging the phone battery when the rain started and I made a mad dash to get everything under cover. I read just a bit more, then drifted off to sleep with the rain drumming on the tent above me.<br /><br /><br />THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2010<br /><br /><br />My long john turned into a long john pancake in the rush to cover last evening but still tastes good with the remaining strawberries. I read a little more before embarking for the day; my route north is through the Menominee Native American Reservation. Kenesha is a small town at the edge of the rez (as it is called) and you can see from the schools and other public buildings, our tax and gambling dollars are at work. They are building a newer and bigger casino to continue the harvest of the latter. There were some local folks out selling food in the parking lot of the market so I had a bratwurst with my soda, my $3.00 helping to fund their annual pow-wow. Twenty very pretty, but hilly miles north, I had another one at the Wild Wood Inn for $3.50 with a much better view, and a big screen TV for some soccer viewing, both of which I enjoyed immensely. <br /><br />Later Thursday:<br /><br />Just before I stopped at Wild Wood, the new rear wheel was starting to wobble, and I found a number of spokes were very loose. I tightened them back up, just using tension as a guide and it seemed better on the way to White Lake. It was eight very hilly miles to White Lake where I stopped at the grocery, then another seven hilly miles to Elton and the Glacier Wilderness Campground. I am a little worried about availability of services in the next few days so I pick up some cereal bars and peanut butter, and though I hate to carry the extra weight, I also hate to starve.<br /><br />There is nobody home at the campground and I find a good spot and set up my tent. It's a small campground, only a dozen sites, and empty except for a local neighbor walking his dog. I go back to the office for a shower and the door knob won't turn, so I turn back a little frustrated and as I'm halfway back to my site a lady drives in so I go to confront her with the bad news. She says: "Oh the latch has been broken for years, just push the door open." which works but I'm still a bit miffed. The shower is great and I lose the ire and go into the office to register and try to get some intel on the road tomorrow. The barkeep at Wild Wood said it would flatten out some, and this lady concurs.<br /><br />The sandwich I got back in White Lake is excellent and I finish the M&Ms Cheri bought for me back on Maui before standing the bike on its head and truing the rear wheel. More spokes were loose, but it looks okay when I finish; something I'll keep an eye on the rest of the trip. There is power and while my phone apparently has no service, I top up the batteries for both it and the Garmin. The Garmin doesn't list any campgrounds where I am going tomorrow, but the Wisconsin map shows a county park in Merrill. <br /><br /> <br />FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2010<br />To the Bitter End continued.<br /><br />I forgot to take a picture of my campsite for Cheri; she likes to see them, but since my phone isn't working, I forget to get it out and record the photo. It's a pretty generic site; trees all around, quite private and grassy enough for a comfortable tent site. I didn't have to climb a hill to get to the campground because it was right at the bottom of a really big hill that I have to tackle first thing this morning, no warm-up.<br /><br />After the first, comes another, but then it levels out some and isn't too bad all the way to Antigo and beyond, except for the bloody head wind. For a bicyclist, a head wind is an insidious menace that sucks the spirit right out of you. You can't keep momentum from downhills to help with the next climb and every mile takes a huge effort. It can be really disheartening and it is for me today, so much so that I start asking people in Antigo about a Greyhound terminal, with no luck.<br /><br />The wind is mostly blocked by the trees in the ten-mile section right beside the state forest, so I'm feeling a little better; No wildlife viewing in the state forest today aside from some birds and three deer that have been sacrificed on the alter of the automobile. Then the last six miles into Merrill are really hilly and the wind seems to be picking up, so I decide to stop for the night at Council Grounds State Park just outside of town.<br /><br />At 4:15 I walk into a bar where no one is friendly at all, and I pester the overworked barkeep to get the World Cup TV coverage, but they don't serve any food except pizza. After I've caught up a little I get the name of another bar out near the park that is likely to have the games showing and head out there and get to see most of Switzerland-Honduras game while I feast on the Friday night fish fry; a great evening for me.<br /><br />I get to the park about 8:00PM and it is sprinkling so I rush to set up my tent on one of about sixty sites in this beautiful park. The sites are larger and more wooded than most MI state parks but it is further to water and other facilities. I walk the loop I'm on looking for water to take my nightly pills (haven't missed yet!) and it's at least three-fourths of a mile around. MY phone still isn't working so I again forget to get a picture.<br /><br /><br />SATURDAY, JUNE 26, 2010<br /><br /><br />I waste all morning thinking that the USA-Ghana game will be on at 10:00 and that bar opens at 10:30, but when I get there, the USA game isn't on until 1:00PM. I head out and I'll try to find a place to watch it on the road. It's about forty miles to Medford and the one bar that I find ten miles before town has no TV, so at 2:15 I find Opie and Tammy's Country Corner and I'm alone in the place with the TV tuned to USA-Ghana. I haven't eaten anything all day but again, all they have is pizza which I don't want, so I try a pickled sausage and then a pickled egg with my beer and soccer and enjoy the afternoon. The USA looks the better team but it's tied at full time 1-1 and in the overtime, Ghana scores on a very pretty counter and the USA chases the game for the last twenty-five minutes. It's what the USA team does best, but it's not a good way to win soccer matches and they fall short in this one, 2-1.<br /><br />The barkeep was a lady my age and we talked on and off throughout the game so I get the skinny on camping and everything else in Medford. There is camping at the city park and I get directions, but it is still five miles into town. I stop at a grocery and have a brat and coke from the local football fund-raisers, and leave with another chef's salad, blueberries and Gatorade to take to the park for my picnic. It's a great park with just a few very nice campsites and I think I'll enjoy the evening, although there are no showers and the rest rooms are far away. I'm set up by five o'clock and go wash clothes before my picnic. I true that rear wheel again and it is still loosening up every ten or fifteen miles which is very unusual, so I have to stop and tighten spokes often. I'm worried that because I don't have the training and tools to really true this wheel, this constant tightening and loosening is going to ruin the wheel sooner rather than later. It looks like rain so I choose high ground close to the trees for my tent, and I baton down the hatches before crawling into the sack.<br /><br />SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2010<br /><br />It was good and dark before the storm rolled in with thunder and lightning and plenty of the wet stuff, but no danger because the lightning was some distance away; at least six seconds between flash and rumble. It was muggy and warm before the storm and I slept better after the rain. I spent an hour breaking my fast and trying to dry things out before packing up and rolling out about 9:00AM. The hills moderated a bit and the road surface improved considerably when I hit the national forest but the wind which had started out southerly now shifted to westerly. I'm in Gilman by 12:30PM (27 miles) and nothing is open save one gas station/convenience store where I get a coke and tighten spokes for the third or fourth time. The next ten miles was better, to a bar called Norma's Place where I decide to have a proper lunch for a change, and ordered a chicken wing basket that was pretty good; whole wings not just the pieces that you get in most places. Another seven miles through a stiffening head wind brings me to Cornell and a state park called Brunet's Island with a beautiful site right down on the river.<br /><br />I had stopped in town for a coke and Gatorade for morning but I'll leave the park later to get some dinner for a change (again) and spend a fair amount of time thinking about tomorrow and talking to the very nice staff at the park about campgrounds west of here, etc. The weather is calling for NW winds 10-15MPH which is not good news and there aren't many campgrounds that I'm likely to reach in a day's ride. Add in that a pick-up plan without a working cell phone utilizing my son will require a set destination that I can reach for sure, and that Mark can find. With the problems I'm having with that wheel, I'm leaning toward a Monday pick-up rather than Tuesday, but we'll see how it goes tomorrow morning. I go to a little diner called Sandi's Drive-in and they have decent root beer and pretty lousy food. When I'm truing the wheel tonight, I discover a broken spoke, so I'm really in trouble if I can't find a bike shop in Bloomer about twenty miles from here. I sleep well but have an unusual dream about being appointed to fix the USA World Cup team, and I'm not really sure that my skills as a corn breeder will do the trick.<br /><br />MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2010<br />The Bitter End<br /><br />The plan before the broken spoke was to ride to Colfax today and into Baldwin tomorrow for an easy one-hour pick-up from Mark. But the hills, the new broken spoke, the debilitating west wind, and the constant worry about the wheel have completely demoralized me when I get to Bloomer around 11:30AM and you can stick a fork in me, 'cause I'm done. I stop for a long lunch, then call Mark and ask him to drive to Bloomer to save me, and he seems happy to do so. He's at work and doesn't get off normally until 3:30PM so I settle myself at Hardees right beside the interstate and prepare to wait until 5:30PM or 6:00PM tonight. The folks in the restaurant are very nice to me and one assistant manager lady sets me up in a room with a TV and gets the World Cup game on for me and everything. I feel bad freeloading, so buy a couple orders of their chicken snacks for pupus and they are really quite good. Mark shows up at 4:00PM and sees the bike right out front, then finally spots the back room I inhabit and we're soon on our way to Minneapolis.<br /><br />JULY 9, 2010 <br />Epilogue<br /><br />I apologize for the tardiness of the last week of this report, but when I got to Mark and Katie's house my days were full of activities and I didn't force myself to sit down at the computer to update the blog. In some ways, this was good because my emotional condition changed over time and allowed me to report more dispassionately. In some ways, this was a difficult tour, and at the end turned into a bit of a forced march. But there were many good moments, and I'm happy to recall them now; however I won't take another tour that requires such rigorous time pressure in the future. I’m thinking that I may not take another fully loaded camping trip because of the wheel issues I’ve had in the two most recent tours, but may switch to “credit card touring” sleeping at motels and carrying a lot less weight. The wheel I had so much trouble with during this tour eventually worked fine for day rides (unloaded).<br /><br />Mark and I played Frisbee golf twice and took in a Twins-Tigers baseball game at Target Field, then after Cheri arrived on the first of July; we were busy, busy right up until July 6th when we left for Michigan. We had a couple great days at Pine Island Lake with Katie and the rest of the Brown family, and had the best illegal fireworks show ever, sitting on a pontoon boat in the middle of that beautiful lake. What a wonderful night that was!<br /><br />After an uneventful car trip to Michigan, including four hours sleep in a state room on the USS Badger car ferry, we rode our bikes, played in the pool, visited relatives, and even paddled the kayak on the Cass River with my brother before heading north for the Cornish family gathering on Drummond Island. I'll report more on that adventure later, but take this opportunity to thank you for coming along on this tour. Mahalo and Aloha. <br /><br />JULY 10, 2010 – JULY 28, 2010<br />Drummond Island and Beyond<br /><br />Cheri is a little bit crazy in a couple ways, and one of them is an inordinate love for freighters; she loves to watch them, listen to them, even race them in the kayak (from a very safe distance, of course). Back in 2004 we first rented a cottage on Drummond Island, right on the St. Mary’s River which is the shipping channel between Lake Huron and Lake Superior by way of the Soo locks. We repeated that in 2007 for a few days, and because this was the first year her parents would not be able to camp with us (sold their motor home) we decided to rent a larger cabin and have the Cornish family gathering there instead. It was called St. Mary’s River Retreat and it turned out to be nearly perfect.<br /><br />We rode our bikes, toured by car, kayaked in the river and nearby Sturgeon Bay, enjoyed visits from some friends and spent a day on a rented pontoon boat exploring parts of the island. There seem to be thousands of white tail deer there and we enjoyed seeing those graceful creatures from the car and bicycle. We also enjoyed a lot of good food, and a memorable dinner celebration of Bill and Anita’s sixtieth wedding anniversary. We also saw many, many freighters, from the smaller tug and barge type, to personal sailboats and yachts, to the great thousand foot lake freighters that ply the Great Lakes.<br /><br />We returned to Hemlock and the Beyersdorf family farm to stow our gear and visit some more; had a bicycle ride with Cheri and Skip on the Saginaw Valley Rail Trail that finished in the dark, and a nice dinner in Gladwin at the Riverwalk Grill with Mom. Then we packed out suitcases again for the flight to Denver Colorado to visit our daughter, Michelle, and our friends, the Dolin family that moved to Denver from Maui a few years ago.<br /><br />While there we visited Estes Park, hiked the Bear Lake to Emerald Lake trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, drove to Moab Utah to visit Arches National Park and enjoy the amazing rock formations there, and take another long hike. We visited the Dolins at Dustin and Erin’s beautiful new home, and later in the week Don took me to a Rockies game (pro baseball) at Coor’s field just steps from Michelle’s office downtown at the Premiere Lofts apartment complex. We also met Miki’s coworkers and current beau and his Mom, very nice folks, all. I always hope I don’t embarrass her too badly in those situations, and I think I succeeded this time.<br /><br />On July 27th, more packing in preparation for the tearful good-by the following morning. We had extended the car rental that we got for the long road trip so Michelle was spared the miles on her car and the drive back from the airport after the afore mentioned good-by, and were able to hold the event in the privacy of her apartment. We left in what we thought was plenty of time and ended up with just enough; Denver is a major hub with a lot of traffic, even on this Wednesday in July. The flights took off and arrived on time and we returned to our home on Maui safely, and to the delight of two dogs. Now all we have to do is pay off the credit cards and start planning for next year, which will be a big one; three whole months if it goes as hoped for. Look for it here next year. Aloha.Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-658399651069614736.post-67714503843194526342010-01-26T13:43:00.000-08:002010-01-26T13:50:16.124-08:00Cheri and I Camp in New England<a name="2630069228108902779"></a><a href="http://maui-mike.blogspot.com/2009/05/anticipation.html">Anticipation</a><br />Monday, May 4, 2009<br />Out trip is only two weeks away, and I've set up this blog so folks can keep up with what is happening with us during the trip. This will be my first time uploading content directly from the trip and I am curious to see how that changes things. In the past I have kept my diary on paper and transcribed it, and made it readable, after getting back home. I will try to convince Cheri to take a hand in this blog from time to time as a service to the followers, but she has told me she prefers sticking to old school pen and paper.If you haven't heard the story of this trip yet; it goes something like this. Cheri and I are in our fifties and enjoy many activities during our vacations that we hope to pursue in our retirement, but we're not yet in a financial position to do that. On the other hand, we see that our ability to enjoy many of our favorite activities is declining as we age, so we hit upon a plan to take a little piece of retirement each year (pending financial ability) and this trip is our first little piece. I've been known to steal some time away during vacations for bicycle and kayak trips in the past, mostly on my own, and reporting those diaries; this will be the first with Cheri, and the first by automobile.<br />We're keeping the itinerary pretty open but we do have some concrete plans that I'll record here for you:<br />We depart from our island home of 28 years on Maui on May 16th heading for Michigan and family. We keep our camping gear and bicycles at my boyhood home and farm in Hemlock, MI where my brother farms and my mother still resides, so we'll load the rental car with all of our stuff and hit the road for Annapolis, MD.<br />Thursday, May 21 we should be camped near DC and in place to attend the Commissioning (Graduation) ceremonies for my niece Maile Cornish at the US Naval Academy on Friday, May 22nd. We'll do the tourist thing in DC for a few days after the ceremony and spend Memorial Day in our nation's capitol.<br />Tuesday, May 26th, we'll head for North Carolina, spend a few days camping in and seeing the Outer Banks before visiting my brother and his family in the central part of the state over the weekend.<br />Sometime the week of June 2nd we'll be camped in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western Carolina and/or Virginia before following the Blue Ridge Parkway north through the Shenandoah Valley on our way north.<br />The rest of June we'll hit the city of Boston, eat some lobster in Maine, see the White Mountains in New Hampshire, watch some freighters on the St. Lawrence Seaway (Cheri's favorite diversion), all before crossing Ontario on the way back to Michigan.<br />Back to Hemlock to visit family, kayak with my brother, and another camping trip with Cheri's family in a Michigan State Park before returning home to Maui<a name="2614858741879092497"></a><br /><a name="1076429530525089155"></a><a href="http://maui-mike.blogspot.com/2009/05/anticipation-ii.html">Anticipation II</a><br />Sunday, May 10, 2009<br />It's starting to hit home now, by this time next week we'll be on our way. Cheri asked me to print out our itinerary and preparations are starting to become more urgent. I'm starting to try to think of things that should be done here in person rather than over the phone or via network, and the list is surprisingly small, communication tools being what they are today.I was successful in an eBay auction this morning, and I think I bought a tandem kayak from a guy in Columbus, Ohio. The key is waiting until the last twenty seconds, and then bidding at least twice the minimum. I've been hoping to find a decent kayak in the $600 range, and I bid $680 on a really good boat made by Necky. I'm going through the process of verifying my ability to pay for it through Paypal, eBay’s answer to credit cards. Picking it up in Columbus will add just a few miles to our drive to Annapolis, but it will also bring us close enough to Circleville, OH where we used to live, to stop by and see what has changed in twenty-eight years.<br /><a name="6047934745977215551"></a><a href="http://maui-mike.blogspot.com/2009/05/departure-day.html">Departure Day</a><br />Saturday, May 16, 2009<br />We're off to an inauspicious start with our flight leaving Maui delayed two hours by a medical emergency on the in-bound equipment. I guess it was lucky we had two and a half hours of stop-over in Dallas, and we made our connection and luckily, our luggage did too. It was the first two bags off the plane in Detroit, so it was probably a close call...they were probably throwing it on board just as the doors were closing. But we were on time into Detroit and got to Cheri's brother's place and went out to Famous Dave's BBQ for lunch before heading north to Mason and Cheri’s folks place. We got a very nice Nissan Pathfinder from Alamo so we should be pretty comfortable during our road trip. I put my Garmin on first thing and immediately discovered its deficiencies when confronted with so many ways to get there from here. I guess we'll keep using maps to get close to our destination, and let the Garmin help out with the last few miles. A light dinner and nice visit took us to the point where we couldn't keep our eyes open any more and sleep was welcome.<br />Sunday, May 17, 2009<br />Cheri was up early and went off with her Dad to deliver meals-on-wheels while I slept in. I worked on line for a few hours to catch up with some loose ends and headed north for Hemlock after lunch. Nice to see my Mom again and after some time to catch up, it's out to my brother's shop to get the bicycles in shape. We'll load the Pathfinder with all our camping gear tomorrow and throw the bikes on for an afternoon pedal and shakedown when we go to the store for items we didn't bring, or decided to buy here to save precious luggage room. Now that the airlines are so tight with baggage space, we have to be more aware of those limitations.My brother Skip, and Lenda, and their daughter and grand kids came for dinner so a good time was had by all, and later I helped Skip (mostly moral support) install a new drive belt on Mom's lawnmower. We walked around the barns, inspected the crops close by, visited the hog pen and even got Mom's swing out of winter storage and set it up on the deck so it can be used as the weather warms up. It was really cold overnight, Skip had said a hard frost was coming, and we saw frost on the windshield before the sun cleared it. The corn looks a little brown on the top edges of the first leaf but will likely recover all right. The worst thing about coming here is that Skip is still loyal to his Pioneer seed corn dealer, and I hate seeing their products on the fame.<br /><a name="30329204985124310"></a><a href="http://maui-mike.blogspot.com/2009/05/graduation-commisioning.html">Graduation / Commissioning</a><br />Friday, May 22, 2009<br />Sorry. I've been to busy too blog for a couple days, but now I'm at the house in Annapolis that my brother-in-law rented for the party. It's a very nice place close to the harbor where many visitors are bunking in, and they are hosting a Tex-Mex party to celebrate the Commissioning. The ceremony was very nice, though also very long with more than an hour of speeches and about three and a half hours to call the graduates up to receive their diplomas and shake President Obama's hand. His speech was on point and very moving, and the fly over by the Blue Angels (Navy Precision Flying team) was fabulous. Cheri and I elected to camp nearby instead of adding our number to the group at the house and I'll talk more about that site and our stay there next time. We came here last night for dinner after setting up camp, and then returned after braving the traffic to attend the ceremony at the Navy and Marine Corp Memorial Stadium. But I haven't told the story of our journey from Michigan so let me back up a bit...<br />We had an enjoyable visit with Cheri's Mom and Dad in Mason and made it to my Mom's house Monday afternoon after waking up to frost on the windshield. I was surprised by the lack of farming that has been done up to now throughout lower Michigan. I knew it had been wet, but very little tillage or planting has been done yet. Skip (my brother, the farmer) planted some no-till beans on Tuesday, but he's ahead of most of his peers, due mainly to his no-till equipment. Tuesday was mostly packing up and deciding what to take, and pretty soon we had the Pathfinder full to the roof, not to mention the bikes on their rack on the back.<br />We left first thing Wednesday for Annapolis by way of Columbus to pick up the kayak, and the Garmin put us off course again, so it took forty-five minutes longer than it should have. When we arrived and saw the kayak that is now ours, I was overjoyed! It is basically brand new, and just exactly what I would have wanted. I spent a little more than I was hoping but we got way more than I had expected in terms of quality. We'll see how it is when we get time to put it in the water, but I was really happy leaving Columbus with it on the top of our SUV. We also stopped at a kayak shop Matt (the seller) suggested and bought PFD's and paddles for another two hundred bucks, but now we're ready to go. We left Columbus at rush hour, and later lost a half-hour to someone else’s accident on I-70 East, but ate dinner at the Bridge Tavern and Grill in Wheeling, and made it to Morgantown, West Virginia before retiring for the night at about 10:00PM. Almost every hotel room in the city was taken, but we got a place at Friend's Inn that was barely adequate, and the bed was hard as a rock.<br />Leaving Morgantown, the Garmin was again giving strange directions, but we found an IHOP and had breakfast before finding the freeway. We had some shopping yet to do before we got to the campground, and again the Garmin was little help, but I needed a neck-tie, or so I had been told, for the ceremony, and a lock for the kayak; but we arrived at the Greenbelt National Park just outside the Washington, DC beltway about 1:45PM and set up the tent and our screen-house. While we were busy, a lady came by complaining about ticks she had found under her clothing and asking us if we noticed any, which worried Cheri a bit, but we finished our work and got cleaned up and headed for Annapolis. We had learned to find our way without the Garmin until the last few miles because it couldn't stand to have us driving on the freeway. I finally figured it out the next morning, as again it led us onto rural, but slower routes; there is a setting that tells the Garmin whether you are driving a car, riding a bike, or walking, and I had set it on bicycle, so naturally it didn't route us on any limited access highway! We'll see if that doesn't fix our problems with it.<br />Cornishes are serving a wonderful Tex-Mex dinner as I write; I've sampled a bit, so I'm going to get busy and party and bid you good-by for another day. Congratulations to Maile on her graduation and commissioning as an Ensign, and to the Navy for a wonderful officer.<br /><a href="http://maui-mike.blogspot.com/2009/05/washignton-dc.html">Washington, DC</a><br />We had a great couple days in Washington, DC. On Saturday, we and the Cornish clan all went into the city and we walked our butts off. From the Metro station near the Smithsonian to the Washington Monument, on to the WWII Memorial, to the Lincoln Memorial, to the Viet Nam Memorial which was so choke with people that we just gazed from afar. Then over to the White House, and then back to the Smithsonian American History, then the Natural History, then Kevin wanted the Air and Space, but Cheri and I opted out and went back to Annapolis for one last evening with family. Sunday they are all leaving for West Virginia and some white-water rafting, while we will stay in DC another two days.<br />Sunday we slept in and had a nice breakfast at the Silver Diner before taking the bikes in and parking at Rock Creek Park. There is bike path all the way into the mall area, and we rode to the rear of the Lincoln Memorial before we got stopped by a parade of the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle clubs from all over the US. Thousands of bikes, mostly Harley-Davidson, but all kinds, and more facial hair than any other event in history. We finally walked our bikes down under the bridge and went over to the Korean War Memorial where Cheri's Dad served. There were people wall-to-wall, not to mention the motorcyclists everywhere. We rode back to the truck, probably seven or eight miles, and it was hard on Cheri because of the bike and pedestrian traffic on the path and sidewalks. Back to camp for a nap and some reading before going back to the Silver Diner for dinner. The campground is filling up this afternoon, and its nice here except there are some ticks and chiggers to watch out for, and no electricity for the computer/phone, camera batteries. I had a tick on my hand that Cheri noticed at breakfast, and she had found a few others too.<br />Monday we jumped on the Metro again, we're old hands now, and went into the Smithsonian and spent the day at American History and later a few hours at the Air and Space Museum. Everybody that's been to one of these knows that four or five hours only hits the high spots, so we left a lot unseen, but we got a good taste of each and really enjoyed the day. We hit a laundry to catch up on clothes, and I did some computer work before catching dinner at the TGIFridays across from the park. Great food and I caught up on my work too. Back at the camp it had rained some, but was just dripping off the trees at 10:00PM. Cheri headed off to bed while I hooked up to update this blog. Tomorrow we head for North Carolina and the outer banks. 'Night.<br />The Storm<br />It was raining on and off as we prepared for bed Monday night so we “battened down the hatches” and were so lucky we did, because when we awoke early in the morning, a storm was RAGING. It was raining like it had to get forty days worth in the next hour with thunder and lightning crashing all around us. We were just waiting for the roof of the tent to fall in, or water to run in through the walls, but we stayed dry until morning, though we slept little after the storm began.<br />We got up about 6:30 and had a Spartan breakfast before starting to take down. Everything was soaked completely through with mud splashed up the walls of both tents; we use two tents; one for sleeping and a screened portico for eating and other activities. Packing a wet tent is a major pain, but we got through it and hit the road about 10:00AM after finding a Starbucks for Cheri’s caffeine fix.<br />It rained on and off until we got to Portsmouth, VA but it wasn’t a bad drive. I went on line in the car to scope out places to camp and reserved a site at Cape Woods in Buxton on Hatteras Island, right near the famous lighthouse. One of the memories Cheri will have of this trip is me riding shotgun with a blanket over my head to shut out the light so I can see the computer screen. We stopped on the way for lunch at a southern institution called the Waffle House (Cheri’s first time ever), and after getting into North Carolina, stopped at a farm market and bought beautiful Georgia peaches, fresh sweet corn, tomatoes, and home-made bread. I wished my brother, Skip, had been with us to see the collection of old tractors at this place. There was a steel wheeled John Deere one-cylinder, and the oldest Allis CA I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s still in service.<br />We got to Camp Woods on Cape Hatteras Island about 6:00pm and started the slow process of setting up wet tents and hanging stuff up to dry even though there is a rule prohibiting clotheslines. The campground is nice, clean, and we have a grassy site next to the pond so we get serenaded every night by the creatures that live there. Dinner was vegetarian and delicious, just corn, tomatoes and bread. Simple yet fabulous (We bought a pepper mill and sea salt grinder which helped). It was a good night for sleeping in the tent, a light rain towards morning, but good sleeping weather.<br />We drove up the island a few miles and put the kayak in on the sound-side (versus the ocean-side of the island) for a short paddle. We got stuck a couple times in shallow water, and the boat weathervaned pretty severely in the fresh breeze, but it was fun. It started to rain just as we were getting back to the truck so I was soaked again before getting back to camp. After a great sandwich with that awesome bread and a nap, we rode the bikes two miles to the lighthouse. We didn’t climb the 258 stairs but enjoyed the visit, watched the movie about moving it from its original position which was threatened be shoreline erosion. We had another sandwich for dinner, BLT with the rest of the bread and fresh tomatoes, so yummy!<br />Hatteras, N.C.<br />Thursday, May 28, 2009<br />Pancakes and bacon for breakfast on Wednesday, so it seems like real camping; at home we mostly get ourselves cereal or something, but I like to cook a traditional breakfast when we’re camping. Blueberry pancakes are the favorite, but having come earlier than past years, blueberries are not yet ripe anywhere but California or Florida, and those imports don’t cut it with us. I decided on a solo bicycle ride this morning, to get some cardio in; I love Cheri, but riding with her doesn’t get my heart up to speed. I headed north about fifteen miles and stopped in Avon, what used to be called Kinnakeet, on the way back for a soda and to check out the local bike shop there. After my visit and soda, as I was leaving the shopping center, a spoke in my rear wheel broke, so I turned back and asked the shop mechanic to fix it. He did so, but also warned me that there is a hairline crack in that rim, so I’d better not count on it for too many more miles. That will work for me as long as it lasts out this trip, so we’ll see.<br />After some time to read and lunch, we had a visit from Judy, who Cheri had met earlier in the day at the camp laundry, and we had a nice conversation. They are from north central N.C. and retired, but we seemed to have much in common. We then decided to check out the south end on the island, and found ourselves at the Frisco Native American Museum, which was pretty useless in my book. Too many beads and broken pottery and not much information. We ducked out of the museum and tried their nature trail, which is little more than a maze back in the trees, and couldn’t get out of Frisco fast enough. We went on south to Hatteras but the Shipwreck Museum we were interested in (a tip from Judy) was closed so we settled for a walk on the beach.<br />We had picked up some local fish at the Seafood Market, tilefish, and stopped for some vegetables that I made into a pretty good hash, and I fried it and the fish in leftover bacon grease, and everything was delicious. I also talked to my brother, Rob, by phone and we are all set for our visit to Charlotte tomorrow through Sunday. I tried again without success to hook up to Monsanto. I’m easily able to access this blog site, but I’m having all kinds of trouble with the Monsanto firewall; maybe because the connection here is unstable, but I really need to get that working. Maybe in the next place.<br />North Carolina Beyersdorfs<br />Monday, June 01, 2009<br />We packed up from Cape Woods Campground on Friday and headed south toward Ocracoke Island, simply because we want to see it, and Cheri wants to ride the ferries. There will be two; a free ride from Hatteras to Ocracoke, and a toll ferry from Ocracoke over to Cedar Island which connects to the mainland by bridge. It would only take an hour to drive back north to Nags Head to bridge to the mainland, and we would be closer to brother Rob’s house, our destination tonight, but we don’t do that. It’s a perfect day, and we get packed and down to Hatteras to catch the 10:00 ferry and all is well; we arrive at Ocracoke at 11:00 and find that the next ferry to Cedar Island sails at 2:00PM, so we walk around town, have a nice Spanish mackerel fish sandwich for lunch at The Jolly Roger Bar & Grill, waste some time in the Ocracoke Museum, and were aboard the ferry and away at the appointed hour. Mind you, this two and a half hour ferry ride is actually taking us further away from our destination tonight, but we go blithely on, after all, it was only a fifteen dollar fare.<br />Just as we’re pulling into Cedar Island we see in the distance a herd of feral horses running down the beach, a beautiful sight indeed. We set off for Charlotte about 4:30PM, a mere six hours or more to go, but we won’t need to set up tents, and Rob has been notified of our ETA. We stop at a White Swan BBQ place for dinner, and we don’t recognize it at first because it is housed with a gas station, a situation oft repeated in these parts, but the food is pretty good, and very inexpensive. We finally arrive at Rob’s place, a beautiful old home in Kannapolis, northeast of Charlotte, at about 10:30PM and then have some refreshments and talk on into the night, a very enjoyable time.<br />On Saturday we have a leisurely morning before driving the few blocks to the lab that Rob is setting up here in Kannapolis, it is in a beautiful campus being developed here as an industry/academic interactive area. They are one of the first users, and their lab is only partially functional so far, but the campus is really nice, and the central building is gorgeous architecturally with Koa tables direct from Hawaii in the central areas, and Italian marble floors and a frescoed dome ceiling. It is really something. That afternoon we go to a theater nearby in an area adjacent to the campus that is being rejuvenated and see “Night At The Museum II” for three bucks a piece, and then drive to Raleigh to meet Annette and Katie (Rob’s wife and daughter) for dinner at YoHo Japanese Grill. We stay at the townhouse they live in for the night in preparation for a drive to Fayetteville (actually Hope Mills) in the morning to visit our niece, Vickie, who is a teacher there. Janet and Matt, Rob and Annette’s other two kids will meet us there. The movie was apropos because it is set in the Smithsonian where we had visited only a week prior.<br />We get a late start the next morning, first waiting for Katie to wake up, she’s a teenager and can sleep all day if allowed, and later Annette and Cheri were having such a nice conversation, neither Rob nor I wanted to disturb them, since Annette won’t be going with us to Vickie’s. We stop at a Bojangles for lunch so Cheri and I can experience that constant of North Carolina life and reach Vickie’s house early afternoon. Janet and her boyfriend, Richard, are already there with Vickie and her roommate, Becky. Richard’s body is a tattoo artist’s canvas with beads and studs and other accoutrements thrown in for good measure, and he is a bright and engaging guy to talk to, as unconventional as he looks. Vickie and Becky’s house is a cute little ranch in a relatively new neighborhood close to the school where they both work. It is immaculate inside and out, Becky’s handiwork, I am sure. It reminds me of the house we had in Circleville thirty years ago and we spend the afternoon talking of times gone by before finally heading back toward Kannapolis, some two and a half hours distant.<br />We were looking for a spot for dinner during the drive when I remarked that very few of the BBQ places you see here are the bar and grill variety, whereas in Hawaii, that was the only place you could find that style of food. Not twenty minutes later we happen upon a bar and grill called Shooter’s and they have good BBQ; the exception that proves the rule as the saying goes. We get back to Rob’s, have some wine, and prepare for the next day; Rob traveling on business, Cheri and I heading for the North Carolina mountains.<br />North Carolina Mountains<br />Tuesday, June 02, 2009<br />We chose to head toward Lake Lure on the basis of reports Rob had heard and a little internet surfing I was able to do Sunday evening. I got a little over-cautious and reserved a campsite at River Creek even though it was a few miles from the lake itself. We stopped first at a Wal-Mart in Mooresville to deal with some picture printing Cheri wanted to do to send various family members, and then drove to Lake Lure and River Creek Campground. We were pleased with the campground in general, and the tent sites in particular which were down close to the creek and had platforms out over the water a few feet, and 10’ by 30’ awnings over the tent area. But we also were told that there was no public access to Lake Lure, so we decided to stay only one night, and further decided that putting up either of our tents would be wasted effort, and we could sleep under the stars, sort of, so long as we could do that also being under the awning. I had purchased a new gas grill from Wal-Mart and used it to grill some burgers for dinner, with some salad and wine it was a very pleasant evening.<br />It was pretty quick loading up with no tents to take down and we left River Creek and headed back to Lake Lure. We stopped at the Lake Lure Resort and Spa, and then found the visitor center and to find out if we could put the kayak in the water, and were told that we could, provided we paid for a permit. We also found that there was a boat tour of the lake for a few dollars more, and since we didn’t want to spend the time on both, we opted for the tour, and enjoyed it very much. We learned much of the history, and saw more of the lake than we could have managed by kayak in a few hours. Then we headed for the Lake James area that I had heard about on line and got to the town of Marion ready for some lunch. We passed by the usual joints on the outskirts and ended up right downtown without having found anything we liked, so we parked and started walking down the street and came to Bruce’s Catering and Diner and found one of the jewels of the trip. Bruce turned out to be a very upbeat fellow from the Cleveland area who had moved to Marion and opened a catering business, and later succumbed to pressure from his customers to open a lunch spot. We found an eclectic menu with many interesting dishes available and both of us were extremely happy with our choices; BBQ chicken with slaw wrapped in a tortilla and grilled served with ham and bean soup for me, and a spinach and feta pita served with dilled red potato salad for Cheri, and cheesecake, Bruce’s specialty for desert. Everything was great and we really enjoyed the server as well as Bruce himself and his wife, both of whom stopped at our table to be sure we were satisfied with everything.<br />From the restaurant, we called a few places I had found on line, and there didn’t appear to be anything on the water, so we decided on a place way up in the mountains north of Marion, and finally found Bear Den Campground at about 3,000 feet elevation and a very nice, but mostly empty campground. We’ve decided to stay here two nights to do some hiking here tomorrow and move on to Virginia on Thursday. We’ve also decided that with the good weather forecast, we’re going to put up only the screened tent and try sleeping in that instead of putting up the second tent just for sleeping. I’ll let you know how that goes tomorrow if I can hook up.<br />Bear Den Mountain and Blue Ridge Parkway<br />Wednesday, June 3, 2009<br />We decided on a mountain hike this morning, and even though the map from the park was pretty worthless, but we packed some water and jackets and set off. We went down a long and tortuous downhill about a mile later and crossed a small creek and found the park service road as expected, and there was a wooden sign with a trail map engraved, though still minimal, and not in complete agreement with our park’s offering. We went on and almost immediately found that the trail before us matches neither map, but we go on for lack of other trails and after a long tortuous downhill, we crossed a creek (expected from map #1) but on the other side, we can’t identify the trail. There are orange paint marks on trees that lead across another creek, or the other way up a hill, but there have been no orange marks on the trail we’ve been following, so it seems that we are intersecting with a new trail. The map from the park had shown three creek crossings but not two trails, so we opted to cross the creek using a large tree trunk that spanned it. It was slow going, but we got across and found paint leading up a difficult climb, then one mark at the top but no others and no obvious trail. We went back across and tried the other direction which lead us across another creek and up a long slope and finally to a forest service road. We followed that uphill about a quarter-mile before we noticed some familiar things, and then came back to the same engraved sign. Now we knew where we were, but hadn’t reached the overlook we’d been promised; now Cheri was developing a blister and we were both tired, so we went back to camp for lunch and a much needed rest.<br />The afternoon was very restful, a book for me, and picture sorting, etc. for Cheri. We drove to the camp store and bought bacon and a half-dozen eggs which were used with some left over vegetables in a scramble for dinner. As we finished our meal, the rain started, slowly at first, but picking up intensity as the night wore on. By bedtime, it was coming down pretty good, and later the sound on top of the tent was too loud for any sleeping. I guess it let off, or I grew used to the noise, but I do remember waking up, so I must have slept. The rain had stopped, and we were dry and warm, but again had to pack up a wet tent.<br />We got away about 10:30AM and decided to spend our day on the Blue Ridge Parkway; essentially a national park 340 miles long with some of the best scenic views in America. Today started with heavy fog in many areas; later in the day it improved but we never got to what I would call good visibility. It was still beautiful in spots, and we saw a wild turkey up close, a deer, a raccoon, and later Cheri claimed a couple more turkeys, but I don’t believe her, just like that bear in northern Michigan so many years ago.<br />As we approached Roanoke, the rain started in again, and we decided to get on the freeway and put some miles behind us. We also decided to get a reasonable motel to dodge the weather and have a nice evening, a nice dry evening with dinner at a Chiles restaurant and an Econolodge in Staunton with warm showers and dry beds, and no wet tent to pack in the morning. At 11:00PM we are sitting across from each other at the small table; dueling laptops.<br />Travel Day, and Again.<br />Thursday, June 5, 2009<br />So it was still raining when we got up on Thursday, or maybe again, but in any case it wasn’t going to be a good day to see the Shenandoah National Park by driving the Skyline Trail which is what we had planned. Should we tour the caverns and stay here another day, or put some long miles behind us and head northeast? We had breakfast in a Waffle House and decided to put some miles behind us. Perhaps we’ve short-changed the Shenandoah Valley, but it would be hard to top the Blue Ridge Parkway we saw yesterday, even with the bad weather.<br />It rained all day, then east of Scranton, PA it started to let up, but then came back again, so we kept driving until we got to Danbury CT and ran into some heavy traffic, and decided we wouldn’t get much out of continuing, and found another motel, this one called the Microtel, and our suite was great for $75.00. We also found a nice place for dinner called the New Colony Diner, and the food was great, and plentiful. We waddled back to our motel and started talking about things to see and do in Boston, and where to camp nearby. Boston was on our preliminary itinerary because Cheri had mentioned early on that we should see it on the way past, but there wasn’t anything in particular that drew her and in our searching, she came across a campground on Martha’s Vineyard, and we started talking about doing that instead of the city. It would be expensive at $50 a night to camp and $170 for the car ferry from Wood’s Hole, but so would the city, and when would we ever get the chance again?<br />We made reservations and drove about four hours to Wood’s Hole, arrived exactly when the Garmin predicted at the start of the day, and ended up at Martha’s Vineyard Family Camping in Tisdale (aka Vineyard Haven). We’re all set up and comfortable though the temperature can’t be much above 60 degrees at 9:00PM as I’m blogging. We had a great dinner of BLTs and sweet corn and we’ll settle down to read and blog. It will be chilly tonight, but the forecast is for good weather and we plan on a nice morning paddle on the Edgartown Great Pond tomorrow and some bicycling in the afternoon. Happy dreams.<br />Martha’s Vineyard<br />Sunday, June 7, 2009<br />Boy, it was cold last night! We were fine in the tent with the faux down comforter and flannel sheet, but it was cold. We stayed in the warm bed longer than we might otherwise, but the sun was out so we had pancakes and sausage and headed out to have a paddle. We found the boat launch Dan (campground owner) had suggested and had a good time. There were swans, geese, and ducks in abundance and as we were coming back to the launch, we played tag with an otter. Again the breeze was a bit of a problem in controlling the kayak but we managed all right. There is just about a hundred feet separating the pond from the ocean, and it was clear that at high tide with some waves, it had been breached, but for us it was very calm and a good safe place; a few boats out fishing or sightseeing, but no problems at all.<br />We got back to camp for a sandwich and some quiet time. Cheri went off to do some laundry while I read and took a short nap. By bedtime I would finish my current book, The Hunt Club by Lescroart, which had followed Dark Lady by R. N. Patterson, a couple of my favorite authors. Next up is Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. I think I’ve finished six so far in three weeks, but after this one, I have to find a book store, hopefully used to save money.<br />We got on the bikes about 4:00PM and rode into Vineyard Haven and walked around a bit, visited a couple shops, then came back to camp the long way through Oak Bluffs, a total of maybe ten miles, but a little more rolling than Cheri is used too. She did just fine but said her legs felt like rubber when we got back. We had stopped at the shop in Edgarton on the way home from paddling and bought some fresh cod and green beans for dinner. As is our custom, I’m the head chef, and Cheri the dish washer, and the chef prepared good meal with the beans steamed for a while, then sautéed in a little bacon grease while the lightly seasoned and floured fish sautéed as well. We also had a bottle of wine, a New Zealand Pinot Gris from Springback vineyard. We have started a collection of wine labels that Cheri hopes to use to decoupage a pupu table when we return, so now as we look for a wine to drink, we give preference to those with interesting labels. We had a bottle of Three Blind Moose Riesling at Bear Den Mountain, and we bought a couple more already that I’ll mention as we drink them.<br />After dinner, we walked down to the bath house to brush teeth and get rid of the days garbage, a daily task to avoid drawing raccoons and skunks to our site, both of which have been spotted here as with most campgrounds. We sat in the screen porch reading, but there were a good number of large bugs, June bugs I think, that managed to get in under the sides and came buzzing around and drove Cheri a little crazy. I must admit that I wasn’t much help as an exterminator because I was too busy laughing at her antics, dancing around and swinging our little broom at them. She finally called it quits and left the June bugs and I to humor each other.<br />It wasn’t as cold overnight, but still close to 60 degrees for the low. We got up for cereal, fruit, and yogurt this morning and then hung out in camp enjoying the sunshine in the morning and working on our computers; Cheri doing pictures and email, and I caught up on some work. At about 11:00AM we took a drive to a remote corner of the island called Menemsha, a little fishing village where we found a little shack right on the docks that sold fish and had a small lunch counter where we each had a lobster roll and I had a cup of lobster bisque. The rolls were good, and the bisque was fantastic, and not too pricey at about $23.00 total with an iced tea to split. We walked around there and then drove a bit doing the tourist thing; there are some pretty impressive cliffs nearby and a lighthouse, and we inspected another place we’d like to paddle tomorrow called Enmesh Pond. We stopped at another shop next door to the first and bought a couple scallops and two sole fillets stuffed with crab; the folks there were really nice and even gave us some ice to keep it fresh as we toured. We have found mostly very nice people wherever we’ve gone on this trip, the Aloha spirit is alive and well all across America as far as we can tell.<br />Cheri wanted to go shopping again after our little tour, and I wanted to ride the bike, so she drove while I rode into Oak Bluffs to meet her. She had a disappointing coffee drink before I arrived, but we had a nice hour of perfect weather for walking around town, stopped at a wine shop because the grocery stores can’t sell alcohol, and then headed back to camp to open a bottle of Dry Creek Vineyard (CA) Fume Blanc, eat some crackers with lobster spread from that same little shop, then had our scallops and stuffed sole with a salad. Another great meal and healthy too. Cheri spent an hour gathering wood for a campfire later, and another hour trying to barricade the screen tent from our little friends. We’ll see how that goes as we read and blog until our first campfire and then bed.<br />Maine – Finally<br />Tuesday, June 9, 2009<br />We didn’t get around to the campfire last night, we were reading until Cheri got tired and decided to go to bed early. It was, I think, too cold for our little June-bug friends, so we don’t know whether the barricades worked or not, there just weren’t any bugs around at all, and it was cold. It started raining again in the early morning hours and it was still cold, I thought it might snow, but maybe I’m overly sensitive. Our last full day in Martha’s was supposed to start with a paddle, but we didn’t want to risk hypothermia, so hung around camp for a while, and then drove to Edgartown for a museum and some shopping. The museum wasn’t open until mid-June according to the sign and we decided not to wait. We shopped in the rain and found the cutest shop of all things frog, and picked up some gifts to send to Uncle Rob, our favorite frog lover; the coolest one is a sign that says: “Frog Parking Only – All Others Will Be Toad.” We had the perfect lunch table at a little place called MacPhail’s Corner Café where we watched it rain sitting in wing chairs in front of a window eating very tasty Panini sandwiches; turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce for me, and tuna for Cheri. We drove back the long way via Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven and stopped at a fish market called John’s to pick up crab cakes and a small piece of flounder for dinner.<br />We finished off the Fume Blanc and had another good meal with the crab cakes and flounder, and I fried some canned potatoes to have with them. I spent the better part of an hour steaming and scraping the labels off two wine bottles and a root beer bottle from lunch yesterday. The previously laid fire was all wet. So I took out the wettest stuff and got some paper up at the office and laid it again. We had seen our neighbors in town, and again when we returned, young folks that had hiked in with their gear, and had invited them to share our fire, if and when. I managed to get a fire going, and Dave and Jessica came over a little later and we had a very pleasant evening.<br />The day dawned pleasantly enough, not raining, but our tents were not completely dry as we started taking down. We had a 1:30PM reservation on the ferry back to Wood’s Hole so there was plenty of time to get things packed into the Pathfinder, and we took our time and were in the showers by about noon. We got to the ferry office by 12:15 and did some last minute shopping, Cheri wanted a Martha’s Vineyard T-shirt, and I wanted some Mad Martha’s ice cream and we both got our wish, and Cheri got a Beetlebung coffee besides.<br />We still wanted to stop in Boston; we had heard the Freedom Trail mentioned a number of times, so we set the Garmin for Boston Commons. On the way we stopped at a place called “99”, who claimed there were that many reasons to eat there, and we found two, good food, and free popcorn. We took a Cheri-bag of popcorn with us and got into Boston about 4:45PM; exactly the wrong time apparently, because the parking garage charged us $30.00 for three hours, I think they charge by the day until 5:00PM but oh well. We took our bikes thinking that we could make better time between monuments, but wrong again; we ended up walking them 95% of the time, oh well. By the time we got to Paul Revere’s house, we had had enough of the trail, and on the way back we found a cool little shop in little Italy that made pasta, and we bought some lobster raviolis to take with us. We hit the road again and drove as far as Biddeford, Maine where Cheri had found us a motel for $50.00. and we celebrated by eating at Olive Garden.<br />Thursday, June 11, 2009<br />We wanted to visit Kennebunkport, where George Bush Sr. has his summer home, so we back-tracked five miles and found a place to park to walk around town. We stopped at a place called H.P. Provision Company that looked like, and was a grocery, but they had a few tables and a limited menu, but we had the best breakfast of the trip there. Cheri had stuffed lemon French toast with raspberry sauce that was to die for, and I had home made corned beef hash that was excellent. We stopped at a kayak shop in town and Cheri bought a fleece pull-over for paddling, and we got some intel about kayaking where we were headed. We also learned about the severe tide action here in Maine that could have implications on our ability to get in the water at certain times of the tide cycle. We drove by the Bush property on the way out, having received directions from some folks at H.P. Provision and headed north.<br />We had picked out a couple campgrounds on line that looked interesting, but the first, called Recompense was a dive and we made the decision in about three minutes not to stay there. On to the second on our list called Chewonki near Wiscasset, ME which is where we decided to stay. The site we chose has a wooden pavilion big enough to put our sleeping tent under for the rain forecast that night, and sits on a bluff overlooking an estuary with walking access to the water and a beautiful view that just blew us away. We paid way too much for the privilege but we have the best site in Maine for the next week. We got set up and then went down and put the kayak in the water and went for a short paddle. This place is perfect!<br />Friday, June 12, 2009<br />The forecast came true overnight and it was raining in the morning, so after a cereal, fruit, and yogurt breakfast, we headed back to Freeport to visit Cheri’s holy of holies; L.L.Bean. I have to admit, it is one of the cleanest most interesting stores I’ve ever been in and we found the people working there to be cheerful and helpful in every case. I went over to the bike and kayak department and had a fifteen minute conversation with a very knowledgeable salesman about loaded touring bicycles, and drooled over the kayaks upstairs. I ran into Cheri in the home department and she was happy as a kid in the candy store, looking at stuff for the kids, for the dogs, for herself, even checking out stuff for me. She had returned something she had purchased on line that was the wrong size and had $70.00 store credit, but I figured that would be gone long before she was. We walked down the street and found a place called Morrison’s Chowder House for lunch where Cheri had a good lobster roll, and I had excellent lobster stew, yummo.<br />We stopped at a teacher’s store there in Freeport and got back to camp about 3:30PM which gave me time to finish a book and start updating this blog. Later I went for a solo paddle while Cheri caught up on phone calls and it was a beautiful afternoon. Dinner was burgers and sweet corn after the last of the lobster dip and a bottle of wine. What a way to live! Tomorrow is a long day of kayaking and reading if it goes according to plan. Good night!<br />Maine & Rain – Againe<br />Saturday, June 13, 2009<br />Saturday started out with sausages and blueberry pancakes, the way every good camping day ought to. The tide was out, so we had to delay kayaking until later, and much reading and tidying up was accomplished. After lunch we jumped in the kayak and paddled out into the sound with trees and forest everywhere you looked. It was a lovely afternoon and we paddled about two and a half hours, getting better as we went along, and the weathervaning was much less of an issue as our skills have improved. It was great fun!<br />We made spaghetti with some leftover burger and corn in it with a salad for dinner, and another bottle of wine and everything was delicious. A guy could get used to this kind of life. I loaded the bicycles on the truck for the proposed trip to Acadia National Park tomorrow.<br />Sunday, June 14, 2009<br />Sunday started much as Saturday had; a package of sausage is enough for two meals, and we used up our left-overs, except it was raining. One unusual thing about this trip compared to previous camping trips is that Cheri now drinks coffee (actually café latte’) in the morning with breakfast, so in addition to starting the sausage and mixing up pancake batter, I always start a pan of water to boil on the propane stove, the other stuff being cooked in the electric skillet, definitely the best way to cook when you’re camping. I can cook pretty near anything in that skillet from steaming corn to sautéing fish to steaming the labels off wine bottles. It’s a great tool since we need electricity anyway to run all our computers, phone and camera chargers, etc.<br />We hit the road for Acadia and Bar Harbor at about 9:30AM. It turned out to be a longer drive than anticipated, but it was good scenery and we enjoyed it. We arrived at the visitor center at the park entrance a little before noon and watched the short movie they show as an intro and guide to park use. This park is comprised completely of donated land on Desert Island that is reached by bridge and takes up about one third of the area of the island. In the nineteen-twenties, it was summer home to the rich and the list of notables that owned property here rivaled Newport Beach, but in 1947 a forest fire raged out of control for two weeks and burned most of the buildings. Few of the summer “cottages” (more like palaces) were rebuilt.<br />The most influential and generous among the patrons of this park was John D. Rockefeller, who was an avid hiker, and disliked the automobile that was just becoming popular. He financed and personally directed construction of forty-seven miles of roadway with a packed gravel surface that is confined according to his direction, to horse and carriage, bicycles, and hikers; NO automobiles. They also feature gentler grades to allow the horses to pull the carriages, so it is perfect for bicyclists that are uncomfortable with traffic and hills, like Cheri.<br />After a great lunch in Bar Harbor and even though it continued to sprinkle, we went for a bike ride around Eagle Lake, about six miles around, completely on carriage roads, and had a fabulous time with beautiful views of the lake, and mountains. While taking a break we saw a family of mergansers, mom and five chicks swimming not twenty feet from Cheri’s camera lens. It was a wonderful hour of bicycling.<br />We were a bit wet after, but drove the Loop Road through much of the park with stunning scenery at every turn, and toured the Blackwoods Campground and then drove up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. At 1530 feet it is the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard and the first U.S. soil to feel the suns rays every morning. They have a visitor center there with a store and we bought some gifts, and a long-sleeved T-shirt for me and walked around for a while. Cheri’s camera got quite a work-out, with, as I said before, more beautiful vistas at every turn. We left the park about six o’clock, but it was a great six hours. On the way home, we stopped at a little pizza place called the Camden House of Pizza for a light dinner and a little Italian guy and his son served us the best pizza I’ve ever had. We had blown more on lunch than we should have and wanted to keep the cost down, and for fifteen dollars we had a nice salad and a small mushroom pizza that was just delicious. I usually like a lot of toppings and extra cheese, but this simple pizza was really amazingly good. We got home about 9:30PM and went right to bed, still in the light rain that had gone all day long.<br />Last Days at Chewonki<br />Monday, June 15, 2009<br />It started out raining so we did chores, Cheri spent two hours in Wal-Mart (Brunswick) working on her photo album, while I did laundry nearby. Afterwards we toured Booth Bay Harbor, but were not impressed, again most likely because we’re here out of season, they were rolling up the sidewalks at 4:30 when we arrived. It is a pretty big place if you’re walking, and there will be a severe shortage of parking in season. Later we met Tom and Ellen, fellow campers from Massachusetts, because they have a golden Lab that Cheri just had to meet. Nice couple in their sixties, Tom in the upper management of the state fire department, and Ellen a teacher. We had chicken, sautéed zucchini and leftover spaghetti, and read later. It wasn’t as cold as previously, only in the upper fifties for a low.<br />Tuesday, June 16, 2009<br />It dawned a beautiful day and after the proper start, (Remember? That’s right! Sausage and blueberry pancakes!) we went for a bicycle ride. The terrain around here is very hilly and scares Cheri, but I thought I could help her to progress a bit. We rode five or six miles, some of it on Hemlock Road (the Beyersdorf Farms address) though they were repaving the road in front of the park which didn’t help any. I don’t know why they bothered, that road is one of the best we’ve been on; lots of others need it worse. Back at camp we had a sandwich of left-over chicken for lunch and I went out for a paddle while Cheri worked on the photo album and talked to our daughter for two hours. I asked her afterward what was new with Miki, but they apparently didn’t cover that topic. We decided to go out for lobster tonight, and we wanted the real Maine experience, and Tom & Ellen sent us twenty miles away to a place called Five Islands Lobster Company in Georgetown’s Bay Point area on the next peninsula west of here. It was the real thing all right, lobster, corn on the cob, boiled red potatoes and steamers (clams). It was good, (and challenging) to eat right there on the dock at a picnic table, beautiful view of the islands, and we enjoyed it all, even the steamers that neither of us like a whole lot. We came home with some wood and beer to offer visitors and had a camp fire with Tom and Ellen, with a beautiful show of stars above, but no Northern Lights (I looked very carefully).<br />Wednesday, June 17, 2009<br />It dawned perfect again, but cold, 52 degrees when we woke at 6:00, but the sun was out and life was good. I did some work on the computer for a few hours and our other neighbors came to call and introduced themselves as Eric and Kathy from Deer Lake, N.H. and I had a chat with Eric about places to camp west of here and I think we found a likely spot. It’s a good bit north of where we were thinking, but it has everything we want, wildlife and great kayaking and biking.<br />We loaded the kayak on the truck and went to do some touring at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, and it was perfect, Cheri had packed a lunch and we sat in the sun on the granite formations and watched the seagulls, after we had climbed the circular staircase fifty steps up to the light. We drove around trying to find a place to put the kayak in the water but it seemed like every road that promised water, like Black Swan Landing and Prentice Cove Road was private and it took us an hour, but we finally found a public launch site and paddled for an hour and a half. It was breezy, but I think we’re getting the hang of controlling this boat. It was fun.<br />We stopped at the store on the way home and picked up some haddock and sweet corn for dinner. It was late when I started to cook, and after 9:00 before we finished, but that fish was delicious. Later I steamed labels off two wine bottles. The Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling from Saturday night, and tonight’s Cockatoo Riesling (South Australia) and worked on this blog. I also recorded half-a-dozen addresses and phone numbers of alternate sites if Eric’s suggestion of Umbagog Lake doesn’t pan out. It is on the border between Maine and New Hampshire and he has been going there for years. It became a state park (N.H.) in 1998. Cheri hit the sack about 11:00 while I stayed up to finish for you. Hope you appreciate it. ‘Night!<br />Agog over Umbagog!<br />Thursday, June 18, 2009<br />We awoke to cool breezy weather at Chewonki and took our time striking camp after a breakfast of cereal and fruit covered with yogurt. Cheri’s been eating cereal this way since she became lactose intolerant, and I’ve adopted it to avoid keeping milk around just for one person. It was pleasant to pack up dry for a change, and we left Wiscasset about 11:00 heading for the shrine. That’s what I call the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, because for Cheri, shopping there is a spiritual experience. She shopped while I sat in the coffeehouse section and tried to hook up to email and catch up with the guys at work back in Kihei. I finally got that accomplished and we headed out for lunch before leaving town. We stopped at a place called the Lobster Cooker a block away and I had lobster bisque and Cheri a crab salad sandwich.<br />We hit the road, knowing we had a relatively short drive, and it’s a good thing because the road leading out of Freeport was pretty bad. It got more and more scenic as we drove deeper into the wilderness and the first vista of Lake Umbagog confirmed our decision to come up this way. It’s a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains with islands and peninsulas throughout its ten-mile length, forested with the pine/spruce/hemlock/birch/maple mixture so common in northern Michigan. We got to the park at 4:30 or so, but the office was already closed, so we selected a sight that would shed water because the forecast was for more rain, and got set up.<br />We had brought the fixings for BLT’s with us, and heated up a can of green beans to go with it. After dinner, we put the kayak in and went out for a short paddle along the south coast and up to the nearest island. We were slowly moving toward a pair of loons and one of them dove and came up about fifteen feet from the boat, both of them close enough to see the white spots on their backs! We were thrilled to have such a close encounter so soon in our stay. It started raining soon after we went to bed and didn’t let up until about 10:00 the next morning.<br />Friday, June 19, 2009<br />It was raining during breakfast but the pancakes and bacon kept us warm and we stayed dry in the screen-tent. After breakfast I went to the office to register, and got the bad news; someone else had reserved the site we were on for the weekend, beginning Friday afternoon, and we would have to move three sites over, right down on the water. Cheri wasn’t sure she liked that site, but the views of the lake, and our encounter with the loons last evening made the difference, and she acquiesced. There was a break in the weather and we carried some stuff, and put some in the truck, and a couple rangers came by and helped carry the tents, still set up, to their new homes. When people started arriving and setting up where we were and the two sites below, we were glad we had moved because we still had the gorgeous view of the lake. We set up the screen tent closest to the shore with one side up as an awning, and no matter what they do in the rest of the camp; we have our own little corner with the best view in the place.<br />Later on we drove into Errol to shop and try to phone some people because there is no cell-phone service at the park for any of our phones (Nextel, Verizon, or Sprint air-card). Shopping was at a general store along the lines of Hazagawa’s in Hana, lots of different items in a very small space, and very little in the way of fresh vegetables. We picked up rib-eye steaks and some egg-noodles for our dinner along with a bottle of wine, and another of beer that I wanted the label off. It’s called Arrogant Bastard Ale, and the bottom of the label says: “You’re not worthy.”<br />On the way back to Umbagog, Cheri was gazing out at the forest as I drove, and suddenly shouted; “Stop Pickers!” She had seen a moose in the bushes close to the road, and she rolled down the window as I backed up to the place, but we didn’t get another look though we could both hear it moving through the woods to deeper cover. She was so excited, so on the rest of the drive I cut my speed back to about twenty-five MPH to watch and hope. As we got closer to camp, having seen nothing more, we took a dirt road up the west side of Lake Umbagog and she called “Here moose-see, moose-see, moose-see.” Yesterday I had told her the story of the moose call as performed for Maile and me in 2002 on our kayak trip on Lake Superior by our kayak instructor, David Wells. She broke me up when she repeated it there as we were looking for wildlife. That road went all the way into the Umbagog Wildlife Refuge with wonderful scenery but no luck on the wildlife. But less than a mile later we were driving on highway 26 and there at the side of the road was a moose, just standing looking back at us as we stopped. Cheri gave me the camera because it was on my side of the road, and I snapped a picture as he turned into some brush, but then he decided to amble across the road thirty feet in front of the car as we snapped pictures and grinned at each other. It was either a cow or a yearling male, I’m not up on enough moose biology to tell, but they say that May and June are good months to see them because that is when yearlings separate from their mothers and go out on their own. What a fabulous evening this has been and we haven’t even cooked the steaks yet.<br />The ale turned out to be a really heavy dark stout that Mark would have loved, but I’m not particularly fond of, but dinner was great, perfect steaks and the noodles teaming up with olive oil and parmesan cheese and a can of corn. Later, I discovered that the ale label had been painted directly on the glass and we couldn’t harvest that very cool label. I’ll have to go to their website when we get home to see if I can download a replica.<br />Saturday, June 20, 2009<br />We had agreed last night to get up early to be on the lake and when I awoke at 5:25AM, I was surprised; Cheri didn’t hesitate or complain, but got dressed and we were on the water in ten minutes. It was like glass with the sun just coming up as we paddled across Sargent Cove and followed the western shoreline for almost an hour. We rounded what is called the Big Island and headed back, probably two miles or more from camp. We saw a pair of loons and what I think was an immature eagle at a distance but no close encounters except for a few rocks close to the surface of the lake. It was a great paddle, just as I had imagined it long before I even bought the boat; the mirrored surface of the lake and sun rising over the mountains; truly glorious! Wonderful! Stupendous!<br />We got back to camp for sausage and blueberry pancakes, and then I read as Cheri cleaned up, and some more as she putzed around before finally heading out for our hike on the Appalachian Trail that passes through this area about ten miles from camp. There is a parking area and signs talking about the trail, and an off-shoot to a place called Tablerock from which you can look down at the valley floor from some eight hundred feet above, not to mention out at all the other mountains nearby. It was a total of two point six miles up and back with an amazing, though scary, vista from the top. It was a difficult hike with numerous stream crossings and an average grade of twelve percent. I was challenged by it, and very proud of Cheri for doing it. This is exactly the kind of thing we may not be physically able to do in our retirement years and the very reason for this trip. It was great and another high-light!<br />Back to the parking area we ate the lunch Cheri had packed and talked to a thru-hiker named Troy, someone hiking a portion of the trail and carrying his tent, etc. on his back. Troy turned out to be a thirty-something math teacher from Kansas who had started in southern New Hampshire ten days ago and he asked for a ride to nearby Andover, ME where he had sent his mail-drop. It was starting to rain so I would have felt bad turning him away, so we reorganized the chaos in the back seat area enough to fold one up and took him to Andover, which turned out to be more like fifteen miles than the five we had envisioned, but it was for the best since Cheri and I wanted nothing but to sit down after our efforts anyway. He had heard of a hostel there and way planning to slack-pack tomorrow. He would get a ride back to the trail sans pack and cover more mileage than he could otherwise, and return to the hostel for his pack tomorrow night, and sleep in a real bed and eat real food for two days. Our good deed for the year.<br />After we dropped him off, we went into Bethel to do our shopping and we bought enough to get us through our time at Umbagog (all the way up to Tuesday breakfast). We got some fresh-caught Atlantic salmon and some wine for dinner tonight, and burgers and spaghetti for the next two. On the thirty mile drive back to camp, we stopped at one of the home-bakeries we’d noticed and bought a raspberry pie. Also on the drive back, we saw a small black bear, probably quite young. It was going to cross the road when we drove up, but quickly turned back into the forest when we came closer. We both got a clear look, but the camera wasn’t ready in time to record it. Then a little further along, now that Cheri had her camera at the ready, a fox was standing beside the road, and didn’t seem to mind terribly that we were there, because it posed for a few pictures before sneaking back into the woods.<br />I cooked the salmon on the grill, wrapped in tin foil with some wine and seasonings for most of the time, then turning it out skin-side down to finish. It was delicious with salad and a can of potatoes fried with onion; yummo! The lake looked so nice after dinner that I went out for a solo paddle around the small island close to the campground. I didn’t see anything outstanding, but enjoyed it for an hour just before and during sunset. I really like the way the kayak handles solo, which either means it’s a good kayak, or that I’m big enough to count as two. We were both (all three counting Cheri) tired after our long and energetic day and hit the sack early.<br />Sunday, June 21, 2009<br />It rained overnight, but it was just gray and a little warmer than we’d come to expect in the morning. We stayed late in bed and ate the last of the homemade sausage we got in Errol with our blueberry pancakes today. I spent most of the morning on this blog since I hadn’t written anything since leaving Chewonki, and even though I can’t upload it, I need to get it down while the memory is fresh. Cheri suddenly remembered that it was Father’s Day about mid-morning and broke out the gift she and Mark had bought in Kihei, and she has carried ever since. It is a handsome, green long-sleeved T-shirt with Maui Built running down the sleeves and front and back. I really like it, and put it on immediately so it will be there for pictures this afternoon at the waterfalls.<br />After a snack a little after noon, we decided to do some more sight seeing over at Grafton Notch in Maine, the State Park where we had hiked to Tablerock has some other attractions, waterfalls and granite formations that we wanted to see, and on the way there, it happened again: Of course Cheri had the camera ready this time when we rolled up close to a white-tail deer, it looked like an adult doe to me, eating grass along the highway. We stopped but another car passed us and went on by and the deer just looked up and went on with her lunch. I took four or five pictures and we left her still grazing on the roadside. We went on and had our sight-seeing and returned about 5:00 so I could finish recording this blog.<br />We decided on grilled hamburgers and baked beans for dinner, and I mentioned during the beautiful sunset that I had been thinking of going out on the bike to see if there were more moose out there; Cheri said it was too dark for the bike, but she would go with me in the truck and so we started doing laps of “moose flats”, a two-mile long stretch where the terrain seems to suit them, and includes the spot we saw the one on Friday night. On about the third lap Cheri stopped me a hundred yards from what she thought might be a black bear because it was darker than the previous moose had been, but it turned out to be another moose. I put my flashers on to warn a car coming up behind as we slowly approached, and he passed and then stopped twenty feet short of our moose and it walked across the road right in front of him, and we had to sit second chair! We did one more lap after that, and saw what we surmised was the same animal again crossing in the other direction, and we stopped and stared as he stared back at us from thirty feet off in the brush, but by then it was too dark to get a picture. Cheri also reported seeing a deer in a clearing, but you know how she is about animals in the wild, always seeing things. Back to camp and a warm bed.<br />Monday, June 22, 2009<br />The day broke gloomy and windy; looking like it might rain any minute, and the wind quelling any thoughts of venturing forth in the kayak. We decided that laundry might be a worthwhile occupation for such a day, and would ease packing up tomorrow, so after a breakfast of strawberries, cereal, and yogurt I walked to the ranger station for a bag of ice and the skinny on laundramats. He didn’t know for sure if there is one in Bethel, but he knew there was in Colebrook, only a few miles further away, and not a town we might visit otherwise, so we gathered our stuff and set off.<br />We passed through Dixville Notch, who get their five minutes of fame reporting the first completed precinct since they open the polls at midnight and all 39 voters are there. There is also a beautiful resort called The Balsams in Dixville Notch with a grand hotel overlooking a lake with mountains all around, even a culinary school. We got to Colebrook and found the laundry thanks to Cheri’s sharp eyes. I tried to hook up the computer, but even though Cheri’s Verizon had service neither Sprint, nor my Nextel could find anything. After she got the washing machines going we walked Main Street, and then later got some incidentals at the Dollar Store next door.<br />Back to Umbagog we put things in order, had a bite of lunch (sandwiches again) and watched the cold wind blow. I decided to go for a bike ride, and did two laps of “moose flats” but didn’t see any moose, and it isn’t flat; matter of fact, it is very hilly, but it was a nice ten-mile ride and the forest blocked most of the wind. I showered and shaved when I got home, and by then it was time to open the wine and put out the carrots and dip, our usual pupus. We had a nice conversation before Cheri got a bit maudlin about our son’s approaching change of address (Maui to Minneapolis), so I consoled her and assured her of his continued presence in our life regardless of address. The spaghetti turned out very well, and we finished the wine, so it was a good evening all around. The weather is still cool and windy but not as bad as earlier and we made plans for the morning before reading and finally turning in on those nice clean sheets.<br />Tuesday, June 23, 2009<br />We were up at 6:00AM for a last paddle on Lake Umbagog, then we packed up and headed west at about 10:00AM. We had picked out a couple of parks on Lake Champlain in Vermont as the next destination and it would be a pretty drive, only about twenty miles of freeway, and the other seventy-five on two lane highways, mostly forested and crammed with mountain vistas.<br />We stopped at a Pizza Hut in Waterbury and hit Burlington about three in the afternoon, having stopped at one rest center, two overlooks, and a cheese and wine shop. We looked at the Burlington North Beach Campground, and weren’t too impressed, so we went on to our second choice; Skyland Campground in South Hero on Grand Isle, an island on Lake Champlain across the lake from Burlington. We found this more to our liking, and got a site right on the water with good access for the kayak, but no shade at all. If the weather holds as it has been, we won’t have any problem with that.<br />We were set up by 6:00PM and had already met one of the seasonal campers close by, a man named Hobby. He may be part busybody, but I think the friendly atmosphere in this park suggests we’ll have a good stay here. We went to the local market-gas-everything emporium and found a nice steak for dinner, and headed back to catch up on communications before dinner; we haven’t had internet access since going to Umbagog. Tomorrow we’ll find a mega-mart and do our shopping for the four or five days we’ll be here.<br />Camp Skyland, Vermont<br />Wednesday, June 24, 2009<br />Finally we found some summer weather here in northern Vermont, and it was pleasant to be out of the tent by 7:30, and after breakfast we got out for a paddle. There is a breakwater a quarter-mile south of the camp so calm water should be the rule here, and today is gorgeous. We venture just outside the breakwater into the big lake and are glad when we get back to smooth water, and we play around the bay at the south end of Grand Isle. In the afternoon, we drive into Colchester, a suburb of Burlington for groceries and start to get acquainted with the area; it is a beautiful place for bicycling with lots of trails and signs reminding auto drivers to share the roads.<br />We had a bottle of wine and some Vermont aged cheese for pupus, though I was hoping for a stronger cheddar flavor from the cheese, and then fresh haddock with fried potatoes and salad, a delicious repast. They have a significant library here at the camp, so I went in to exchange a book and found two good ones, one of which (Angels and Demons) will be a reread. That one would be done by Friday night with a good start on Grisham’s “The Testament.”<br />The weather started to turn later in the evening and we slept with wind-driven waves pounding the shore thirty feet from our tent.<br />Thursday, June 25, 2009<br />The waves kept at it all night and into Thursday with a partly sunny sky, but it didn’t look like a good day for the water so we loaded the bikes and went into Burlington to hit the bike path. It was nice in town and we had a pretty ride into downtown and stopped to walk around, and get lunch at the Vermont Pub and Brewery. This is a real beer lover’s pub and Mark would have enjoyed it. I had a corned beef sandwich and a raspberry beer, while Cheri had a veggie wrap, yummo.<br />After lunch Cheri went off to shop and I went back to a barbershop I’d noticed on the walk downtown and got my ears lowered. I stopped by Northstar Sports to check out the bicycles and met Cheri at the appointed place just a bit early. We walked back to the waterfront and picked up the bike path south to Oakledge Park before heading back north to Leddy Park where we had left the truck. It was a lovely day in town though it was still windy and rough water back in South Hero. Cheri made some phone calls and got reservations for the rest of our camping this trip. It’s been fun winging it up to now, but we’re afraid that the busy season is about to catch up with us. We had picked up some marinated chicken breasts to grill with sweet corn for dinner, and finished off the bottle of Pine & Post Riesling we had started the night before, and the label came off without steaming!<br />Friday, June 26, 2009<br />It was still blustery but nice and warm this morning as we had our blueberry pancakes naked (without sausage) for breakfast. We read throughout the morning and didn’t bestir ourselves until after lunch when we decided to ride the bikes to a nearby winery to see if they offered tasting. We started out and got no more than a mile before we saw lightning ahead. Cheri is petrified of thunder and lightning (and yet she camps!) so we turned around and went back. The storm blew over with little effect, and we decided to try our luck again a little later.<br />We missed the turnoff to the winery and ended up in town when another storm blew in. We waited it out in the store for a half-hour before getting back out in a light rain, and we hadn’t gone three hundred yards when Cheri noticed she had a flat tire. She had picked up a tack and I don’t carry spares for her tire size, so I rode hard all the way back to camp to get the truck and drive back to pick her up. Another set of storms rolled in while I was driving, and she had sought shelter in a nearby store; when we returned we had some water in the tent where we hadn’t closed up tight enough.<br />Tonight was left-over spaghetti night plus some fresh green beans, and it turned out to be a nice meal; there was a little rain, but we were safe inside and it turned sunny just before sunset. Hopefully we’ll have good weather tomorrow for our last day in Vermont.<br />Good Weather<br />Saturday, June 27, 2009<br />We awoke early to warm weather and a calm lake and broke our fast with fruit and cereal. The crew of seasonal campers here were busy all morning moving shore stations and boat docks out into the water from the lawn above where they had been stored for the winter and later we snuck the kayak out into the water. It was a perfect day for a paddle and we enjoyed it, heading up the north shoreline a couple miles about halfway to the bridge from the mainland. There were some really nice places, some past their prime, and some wetlands where nothing was built. We saw a few families of ducks, the chicks dutifully following their Mom, most of the time.<br />Cheri had an appointment to get her hair done in Burlington, so at noon we headed into town, parked in the town center lot and walked through the mall to the Church Street Market where pedestrians rule the streets and businesses move out onto the sidewalks. There were a lot of folks there and a party atmosphere with street musicians and other happenings. We walked to the south end and sat down outside a bar and grill for a nice lunch, and the food was excellent all around. Cheri went off to her appointment while I took her flat tire in to have the tube replaced (and slimed against future flats) and then got my bike off the truck rack and headed north on the Burlington Bikeway all the way past the Winooski River Bridge and out onto the levee on the graveled multi-use path. It was great fun and I returned to town and met Cheri at the appointed place and time. Burlington is a very nice bike-friendly city and we both enjoyed the day.<br />We stopped in Colchester for gas and groceries (we’re heading into the mountains tomorrow) and got home about 6:30PM. Neither of us was too hungry yet, so after a glass of wine we bathed and got things ready for the morrow before a late dinner of halibut and salad, a real crowd pleaser at our tent.<br />Sunday, June 28, 2009<br />We’re sorry to be leaving Camp Skyland and our beautiful grassy site right on the lake, and the friendly bunch of folks that frequent this place. But more adventure awaits and we have reservations just a hop, skip, and a jump away near Lake Placid, New York and a ferry ride and some wine tasting too, so we pack our stuff and say a fond farewell to South Hero stopping at Snow Farms Winery on our way out of town to taste a few and buy a bottle of Snow White, a light mix of grape varieties that we found to our liking. Then a stop for some gift shopping, then on to the ferry to Plattsburg in the Empire State.<br />We stopped in another “99”, a chain here in New England, and had another good experience as I went for the burger, and Cheri the lobster roll that she declared the best she’s had; on a good toasted roll rather than the traditional hotdog bun. It wasn’t more than an hour later that we rolled into the Whiteface Mountain KOA in Wilmington and set up camp, but only the screen house. We’ll sleep in it since it’s only for two nights, and save having to set up and take down the sleeping tent. The park is quite nice, but it is a big park with a lot of little kids, so it’s a bit noisier than we prefer. It was only three o’clock and we decided to take the gondola ride to the top of Whiteface for the view.<br />It was great!!! Whiteface Mountain is huge and steep, the ride goes from awesome to scary and back again, and you get to the first peak only to find that you’re not even halfway yet and then you get to the top of the lower peak with the higher one still towering above. We even bought a photo from the guy at the top, something we almost never do, but this was an awesome place, and he took a good picture of us with the Olympic Downhill in the background. We found the A & W afterward and had a root beer in a frosty mug and went back to camp with some intel for tomorrow’s trip to Lake Placid. I cooked some sockeye salmon that the Colchester store had flown in for us fresh from Alaska, and Cheri proclaimed it the best fish she’d ever had. Lot’s of firsts today, but I’m still looking forward to tomorrow.<br /><a name="5506501750944479430"></a><a href="http://maui-mike.blogspot.com/2009/07/beautiful-rivers_01.html">Beautiful Rivers</a><br />Monday, June 29, 2009<br />We breakfasted on naked blueberry pancakes on this gray sort of day with the temperature comfortable but looking like it might rain anytime. We set off for our planned day in Lake Placid and soon enough it started to rain, and we kept on following the beautiful Ausable River into town. It’s a bigger place than either of us remembers, though admittedly it would have grown since we were here almost thirty years ago (1980). We didn’t visit Whiteface that time so yesterday was all new for us both. We drove through town and all the way around Mirror Lake, having decided that Lake Placid was a bigger lake than we wanted o paddle, and finally found a park that would give us an easy entry and there were a half-dozen people swimming in buoyed lanes up the middle of the lake. We later learned that there is an Ironman Triathlon here in a few weeks, and all of the activity we’ve seen in bicycling and running is folks training for that race. We put the kayak in with the rain having slowed to a light sprinkle and paddled for almost two hours with the rain coming and going, but never getting too hard, or ever quitting completely, and it was a very pleasant paddle indeed. There wasn’t any covered picnic area in the park and it was raining harder when we came in and wanted lunch, so we just ate in the truck, then drove downtown to visit the Winter Olympic Museum and with the rain, came also many open parking spots that hadn’t been there before.<br />We had a nice visit to the museum and revisited the Miracle on Ice (USA 4 – Soviets 3) for which the original TV coverage was playing continuously. There are two full size rinks in that building, and both had figure skaters practicing while we were there. It was fun, and instructive, and we headed for our camp about three o’clock, following the beautiful Ausable back to the KOA. We went for a short bike ride around the campground and then I left the park and rode the loop into Wilmington and returned the back way (about 8 miles total, with lots of hills). We had a half-bottle of wine and some cheese, then went into the A & W for dinner to relive a boyhood memory; the Coney dog wasn’t as good as I remember, but at least the rain had quit so things could dry out for tomorrow.<br />Tuesday, June 30, 2009<br />We packed up and Cheri spent an hour talking to the folks at MasterCard, who had canceled our existing card because of someone else’s actions, but we weren’t at home to receive the new card, and we needed the credit card to finish the trip. It finally came down that the best we could do was have the new card shipped to Hemlock, and when it arrived, we could ask Mom to give us the number to use for phone reservations and the car rental renewals. The rental car doesn’t go under a single invoice and charge transaction for the whole ten weeks, they write a new contract every thirty days, and the card had been canceled before they charged us for the second thirty days, and Alamo was not pleased. I should have a new card number to give them on Thursday if all goes well.<br />It was a beautiful drive and a couple beautiful rivers to Watertown by which time we’d left the Adirondacks behind and headed for Clayton on the next beautiful river; the St. Lawrence, and Merry Knoll campground. Our site is just large enough to hold the two tents but the view is very nice, and down at the shoreline there is a deck for everyone’s use that is absolutely Cheri’s favorite place. After setting up in the rain, the sun came out and we took our bottle of wine and pupus down there and saw three freighters tonight, and met some of the seasonal campers and really had a nice time. Back at camp, Cheri hit the sack early while I dealt with a reluctant computer in opening an email from Mark, and writing a letter he needs to ship his truck to Minneapolis, since my name is still on the title. I was up ‘til about midnight, but I’d make up for that in the morning.<br />Wednesday, July 1, 2009<br />We had bacon and eggs this morning, splurging (calorie-wise) for a change, and our campground hosts agreed to print the letter I’d written last night; when the advertised notary public in Alexandria didn’t pan out. I took it to an insurance firm in Clayton called the Cerow Agency, and the nice young lady notarized it, then faxed it, then scanned it and emailed it to me for no charge at all.<br />Cheri and I then headed for Alexandria for the Uncle Sam’s boat tour we’d been told was good, and got there just in time to walk on the 12:30 trip. We have a wonderful time on this beautiful day seeing this amazing place up close, and hearing many of the stories of the area. I was surprised to hear the Seaway has only been open to traffic for fifty years, and that they had to raise the level of the water and allow it to flood thousands of acres and even whole towns in Canada to make the passage navigable. After the boat trip we had a bite to eat in a bar in town and headed off to do some wine tasting, and probably use a coupon in the tourist paper for a free wine glass. It’s called the Thousand Island Winery and we enjoy the tasting and buy two bottles, qualifying for two free glasses. We then go across the International Bridge into Canada to go up to the Skydeck, 400 feet above Hill Island just on the Canadian side and go up for a look at this beautiful river from above.<br />We got back to camp about 6:00 and head down to the deck immediately for our evening wine and pupus and Jim’s wife, Ann is soon out to greet us, and later we have a full-on party going. Jim gets out some old maps and we see the changes they made to make the river navigable. We stay until sunset about 8:45 before going back to our tent for chicken breast sautéed with mixed veggies, which was awesome if I do say so myself, and then walk back down to the deck to see if we can see any fireworks going off on the Canadian side for Canada Day. We saw some but they were too far away to be worth much, so back up to camp and soon into bed.<br />More Rivers and Freighters.<br />Thursday, July 2, 2009<br />We had planned to put the kayak in the water, and since Merry Knoll would have been a difficult carry, we were going to Cedar Point State Park a few miles down the road. Of course we hadn’t planned on the rain, though for this trip we probably should have come to expect it. Anyway, we decided to go in spite of the weather and found a very suitable boat launch in this scenic park, and the rain was now light enough as to not be a hindrance. We paddled south and west toward Lake Ontario, and though the river widens considerably here, it is still not part of the Great Lake. There is a small island there that we went around and that put us in the shipping channel for a bit anyhow. We followed a duck and a pair of mergansers for a while then headed back down-river when in the distance we thought we saw a freighter, so we had to stay out in the water to see, and sure enough, here came a ship called Dutch Runner. Cheri was afraid to go out in the channel to get a closer look, and yet we had to stay there and watch it pass fifty yards away, and we even paddled parallel, racing, but it was too fast and soon passed out of sight. However, the kayak had just been renamed from “Bearly A Lime” to “Freighter Racer”. The rain had stopped for a time, and we went back to shore quite pleased with the morning.<br />The afternoon plan had been for Cheri to do a few errands in town while I rode somewhere on the bicycle, and I wanted to follow through even though it was raining lightly again after lunch. I had decided to ride back up to the International Bridge near Alexandria, and walk out to the middle to take in the view. I went to the campground office for a bag of ice, and then intrepidly set off in the rain. It was fun, enough terrain to keep it interesting, and yet not brutally hard, and I arrived at the bridge (9 miles) in about forty minutes. It wasn’t raining at all then, and the walk out to the middle of the span was about ten minutes. It was still gray and overcast so the view wasn’t what it might have been, but it was nice. I had hoped to see a freighter heading up-river so I could bear the glad news to Cheri by telephone, but none were visible. It was starting to sprinkle again as I started back down, and it was raining for real when I got on the bike to head for camp. I had only ridden about two miles when Cheri drove up to “save” me, and I think she was a little surprised when I opted to continue on the bike rather than accepting the ride she offered. I really enjoy riding in the rain when it’s warm enough, and I didn’t want the hassle of taking the wheels off the bike and rearranging everything in the back of our SUV in order to fit the bike in, not to mention that I would then be liable for anything that was found to be damaged or wet, so as a good corporate employee should, I chose to minimize my potential liability and kept riding. It stopped raining again by the time I was back in Clayton, and the sun even came out briefly after I’d showered and was getting ready to go down to the deck for our evening glass of wine. Jim Webster had stopped up in my absence and invited Cheri and I to come down regardless of the weather, but it was nice again, so our last night on the river would be as the first; except we didn’t see a single ship!<br />Jim and Ann brought even more stuff than we did, so the party lasted until dark, and then they invited us to stay for dinner, and we happily accepted. We talked and cooked Speedie chicken (a marinade brand) on their pot-bellied stove-turned-grill and drank some more wine and it was a very pleasant evening indeed. They suggested that we should stop in Rochester during the drive to Niagara tomorrow at Wegman’s Supermarket, and at about eleven o’clock we took our leave and crawled into the tent for sleep. Did I mention that it was raining yet again? Well, it was so we were going to have to take down another wet tent.<br />Friday, July 3, 2009<br />It rained on and off all night, but it was off when we got up to start the day. Packing went pretty well, and we kept the screen tent up to have a dry spot to keep stuff until we could pack it into the truck, and that worked well. We finished loading and left the park in a gentle rain and headed for Niagara, about five hours drive from here. It wasn’t going to be as easy this time because our Garmin came without the Canadian roadmap, so Cheri was going to have to navigate for real this time, and of course, her suggestion was to: cross the bridge and look for a sign to the Jellystone campground. That’s a real navigator for you… looking for fricking signs!<br />We made it to Wegman’s in Rochester at about 2:00 and we were both impressed, wish Safeway in Kihei could take a page or two out of their book. We had pizza for lunch that was very good, and then did our shopping, and as instructed, included some Zweigle Whites (hot dogs) in our cart. We didn’t want to grab too much with the truck full, and the cooler buried deep, and two hours or more left to drive to the campground tonight. We made it to Niagara about 4:30 and it was 5:30 before we were though customs and in a kiosk to change money, and get a map with the Jellystone Park listed and easy to find. We knew what to expect at this park, where they rack ‘em & stack ‘em as a substitute for a hotel and the campers spend their days somewhere else, and we were not disappointed, but the people working seemed very nice and we got registered and set up, and put the planked salmon I had bought at Wegman’s on the grill. It was good if not great, and afterward we decided to get down to the river for the fireworks over the falls. We drove in not knowing any better and had to pay $14.00 for the privilege, but the falls were beautiful and the fireworks were fun, and we got back to camp ready for bed.<br />Saturday, July 4, 2009<br />We relaxed most of the morning and I tried to whittle a wooden branch to use as a replacement for a tent pole we apparently left at Merry Knoll. It worked, sort of. Later we rode our bicycles down a back road over to the Factory Outlet Mall about three miles away, had a coke and returned to the campground without doing any shopping; Cheri just wanted to get the lay of the land before attacking in force. This was going to be our day at the falls, and the weather was perfect, and we caught the shuttle from the campground into downtown at 6:00PM and went first to the IMAX theater and got tickets for the 7:00 show and spent a half-hour in their “Over the Falls” Museum with barrels and boats that have been used to go over the falls, mostly successfully. The first person was actually a retired lady school teacher from New York who went over in a wooden barrel and lived to tell about it. In 1951 they made it a crime to stunt at the falls, but people still can’t resist with the last guy doing his fourth trip over in 1995. The movie was unspectacular but still enjoyable, though we wanted to see the “Mysteries of the Great Lakes”, which we might try to order on line in the future, it only shows a couple times a day, and we missed it that day.<br />After the movie we thought about going over to the Tablerock Center where they have a movie experience that they bill as 4-D, but it’s a really short film and they charge fifteen bucks a head, so it didn’t sound like a good value. We ate the dinner that Cheri had packed, and more of the popcorn we got in the theater and watched people and the falls until the fireworks started a little after 10:00PM. Before these started, we could see a couple sets going off in nearby towns, and we ended up watching three far-off sets and the ones over the falls which were very good, but not especially long. Afterward we waited for the bus back to camp, and there were too many folks waiting, and we ended up sitting there until 11:30PM before we got picked up, and it was cold; 59 degrees Fahrenheit according to the building next door.<br />Sunday, July 5, 2009<br />We had decided that Cheri would go to the Factory Outlet Mall while I went for a bike ride, and after the last of the blueberries and pancake mix were done away with; we got ready and went our separate ways. It was a good weather day for a change, and my ride started out well heading away from Niagara, toward the town of Thorold and the Welland Canal which raises ships 350 feet from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. When I got to the canal, the road I was on ended, but there was a gravel path along the canal that I took down stream toward Lundy’s Lane where I knew there was a bridge. As I traveled, I noticed quite a few bikes on the other side of the canal and supposed there might be a paved path on that side which would be among Cheri’s all-time favorite bike paths, one with freighters alongside. I arrived at the bridge just as it was raising to let one go through and I knew then that I had to bring Cheri back in the afternoon, and when I got across and saw the path, I knew we would bring the bikes back, but I still rode down the path to the closest lock, and there was a visitor center there that listed the arrivals expected; quite a few, so I got back on my bike and hurried toward camp, hoping to get there before Cheri started something else, but got caught by another raised bridge at Lundy’s that cost me fifteen minutes.<br />I busted my butt all the way back, and arrived just after Cheri had started the laundry, so we couldn’t go right away, but we would later and we had so much fun. We parked there at Lundy’s Lane and rode downstream toward the lock, and met a barge going upstream. Cheri was enthralled and we turned around and raced it back to the bridge, winning since they have a limit of eight knots in the canal, and watched them do the bridge again; it’s an unusual bridge where the whole road bed is raised by counter-weights to a height that allows the ships to go under, about 50 feet above the bridge base. Then we turned around and rode to the lock down-stream and there was a ship called English River just entering the lock, so we stayed there to watch that whole process. As it was leaving a Canadian Coast Guard cutter called Limnos was entering the lock to go up-stream also, so we had to stay and watch her finish and steam toward the bridge. We finally left the lock and rode back to the truck and went home, too late to do any wine tasting that we had thought we might get to today. But it was worth it.<br />There were more fireworks scheduled down at the falls, but we decided to do a campfire instead, so we bought wood and had our wine and pupus sitting around the fire before grilling our White-Hots like they serve them in Rochester thanks to the Webster’s. It was a great end to a great day, the final one of our camping adventure. Tomorrow we’ll drive back to Hemlock, MI through Ontario and Port Huron and will spend a week with my Mom, and then another with Cheri’s family before returning to Maui July 23rd. I will add some information about those two weeks sometime in the future along with an epilogue, but it’s hard to say when or how often.<br />Epilogue<br />July 6th-17th, 2009<br />The trip back to Hemlock, and reality as represented by more usual people and places, was uneventful with six hours on the road from Niagara through Port Huron, Michigan, back to my permanent home in Hemlock. I’ll always think of the farm this way, even though I have spent more years living in Kihei than anywhere else. We spent a short week in Hemlock that passed quite peacefully: I helped Randy with yard work and beer with a burger at The Farmer’s Home tavern one evening. Cheri and I rode bicycles on the St. Charles rail-trail and Skip and I kayaked on the Tittabawassee River in Midland one afternoon. We took Mom to dinner at Applebee’s in Saginaw and breakfast at The Riverside in Freeland. We hung all of our stuff out to dry and air out because there had been a shower overnight before we packed up, so that took a day, and Cheri scrubbed the dining tent because she had detected what she called a fishy odor inside. I read some and Cheri finished her picture album with labels, and of course, I visited Dad’s grave to say hi and wish I could trade something for a few minutes more with him. We visited with all of Skip’s family except Vickie, and all of Randy’s at one time or another, and Rob’s daughters Kate, Leslie, and wife Annette who happened to be back in Michigan. We had breakfast with Ron and Lois Fanslow in Ithaca with Tour de France TV coverage and a dip in the hot-tub. We even drove to Standish to visit Randy at their campsite and found them there! (In previous years we have made such attempts twice without having found them in camp.)<br />On Sunday, we packed up again for the last camping of this trip in Petoskey State Park, about three hours north of Hemlock with the remnants of Cheri’s family; whoever still had time available after the graduation ceremonies in Annapolis. This used to be a huge affair with up to twenty relatives and assorted hangers-on but this year was to be only six; Bill Sr. and Anita, Bill Jr. and Debbie, and we two. Our nephew, Chris, did join us for one night but had to get back for a friend’s wedding. We rode bikes on the Little Traverse Bay Wheel-way one day and kayaked on Round Lake next door to the park. We drove to Lark’s Lake but decided that the weather wasn’t conducive to paddling and might even turn dangerous, so just drove back to camp. All in all the weather was pretty bad with only moments of sunshine and cool to cold temperatures all week. The usual very enjoyable traditions were upheld with Jon and Patty bringing wood for our fires and having Cheri and I over for BBQ ribs. We had pasties at the Bridgeview Park and shopping in Mackinaw City, campfires and good food and more wine to drink and labels to steam off. I had one long ride on the old bicycle I’ve had here in Michigan for twenty years that I fear will be its last. The wheels are bad at both ends among other deficiencies, so a replacement of some sort will be required next year. Cheri attended her fortieth high school class reunion with her oldest friends; Patty, Gail, and Ruth, while Jon and I had a night out together and made Jambalaya. It was a pleasant week but would have improved with warmer weather.<br />I’ve discovered that this journal; has been less central to my trip than it had been during my bike trips; I think because I was sharing it daily with Cheri, and communicating things to her that I would have been anxious to communicate through my journal, so it has been harder to sit down and write during this trip. The change to having the computer available also made it somewhat more of an effort to update than the pen and paper method used in the past; when using the computer you worry about power and connectivity, and will put off writing if one or more is problematic for some reason. In any case, it is my hope that this journal will be inspirational in some ways for others who might not otherwise take the step to make their own dreams become reality. It may not turn out as you dreamed it would, but the real life experience will be far superior to a “safe” lifestyle. See you again soon and thank you for joining us.Maui Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12332607586133686313noreply@blogger.com0