Our day in Milwaukee

Today David and I started the day with a wonderful breakfast at the same restaurant we went to for lunch yesterday - Genesis. It is just a short walk away and the menu has a lot of choices with a Mediterranean theme. I had an Italian omelet that was hard to finish as it also came with hash browns and toast. After we told Ted and Wanda about our breakfast, they decided to go also - and they don't often eat breakfast.

As soon as we felt rush hour might be over, we headed downtown to the Harley-Davidson Museum. The ride downtown was hectic - apparently rush hour never ends. The museum wasn't difficult to find and we really enjoyed all the displays and the history associated with the Motor Company. While most everything was geared to the motorcycle enthusiast, and particularly Harley fans, there was something for everyone. One of my favorite exhibits was the display on Harley-Davidson and the War Effort. A bike we had never seen before was a Shore Patrol Harley designed and built for the Navy. The entire museum is very well done and definitely worth the trip to Milwaukee.

Tomorrow we head to Illinois to visit Aunt Jane.

Will this rain ever stop?

Yesterday we put all the rain gear on, loaded up the five bikes and trailer, said good-bye to Carol and the Tradewinds Motel, and headed out of St. Ignace. We were disappointed that our three days there lead to very little sightseeing; the weather just would not cooperate. We did not make it to the Soo and the locks and I did not get to climb Castle Rock. About the only thing accomplished was eating and some of that was done in our rooms.

We stuck pretty much to schedule early on. Our first stop was the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point (11 miles north of Paradise). The grounds are a former Coast Guard station and the exhibits were very well done. This is the location where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down during a storm in November 1975 and made famous in a 1976 song by Gordon Lightfoot. The museum has on display the recovered ship bell from the Fitzgerald. David and I met a Mr. William Maki who was on the crew of the Anderson, the ship right behind the Fitzgerald and the last ship to have contact with Fitz before it disappeared from radar.

After our tour there the skies were threatening once again so a decision was made to skip the Tahquamenon Falls and head to Newberry for lunch and on to Munising. Our lunch at Timber Charlies in Newberry was fun. They are famous for a 10 pound ox burger but we all passed on that. Coffee, hot tea, and soup were the favorites from our group as we tried to warm up some. (The temps for the day maxed out at 59.)

After a gas stop in Newberry, we were ready to book it to Munising. About 30 miles east of Munising, it started to rain. It was a miserable, cold rain and the temperature dropped to 50. We pushed on and arrived here cold and ready for some heat. I think all of us cranked our room heaters on full blast. Last night we walked to the restaurant next door.

I'm not sure what is on the agenda for today. Currently we are just waiting for the rain to stop so we can do SOMETHING. David and I are wanting to take the boat trip out on Lake Superior to see Pictured Rocks National Park. I'm not sure the others are going. There are several waterfalls in the area. Perhaps some of us will get a chance to see them - if the rain ever stops.

Threats of Rain

I started out the day with my rain gear on. It didn't rain. By Verona, Kentucky we were ready for a break so we stopped at a gas station and topped off the tanks. I used the opportunity to take off the gear.

The ride through Cincinnati was surprisingly easy. The stupid people must have stayed home today. Near Washington Court House, Ohio, the skies started looking very dark. We stopped at an interstate rest area and put the gear on. It didn't rain. We stopped for lunch at Grove City, just south of Columbus and went into the restaurant with the gear on. We were playing the odds that if we stayed dressed for rain, it wouldn't rain.

After lunch we drove through Columbus. All the crazies that weren't out in Cinci had driven to Columbus. In addition, road construction was ugly. After Columbus, we took US-23 (our first non-interstate since leaving Taylorsville Road). I think we hit every traffic light red from Columbus to the turn off at Waldo, about 35 miles.

We are at Ted and Wanda's tonight and head for Michigan tomorrow. Our only big cities tomorrow are Toledo, Ann Arbor, and Flint.

First Day on Vacation

Today is the first day of our Superior Summer vacation. So how do we start the day? The plans were to get up early (without the alarm clock, though) and put our toiletries into the trailer and head out for breakfast. Around 3:00 a.m. we were awakened by storms - thunder, lightning, hail, and rain. It is 7:00 a.m. and we are still home. We ate breakfast here and are just chilling on the computer waiting for the rain to stop. We are flexible today as our stop tonight is Ted and Wanda's house near Marion, Ohio. The Weather Channel shows most of the rain heading off to the south in the next hour. Ohio weather looks good.

Keeping our fingers crossed that this is the only bad weather we encounter for the next two weeks.