Wilmette, Glad To See Ya'

 

Lunch at Reza's with Michelle and Mark

Michelle would ride from Port Washington to Wilmette Friday, August 19th while Kirk and I busted it from the same Points A and B by car. Michelle would be SAGless today, her last 120 odd miles of the the 2011 Circle Tour.  Kirk needed to get to Toledo, OH that night to pick up his 90 year old Mom and her Octogenarian buddies at the Cleveland Airport mid-day on Saturday. Michelle and I would stay at a friend's house in Wilmette for a week while Kirk was at Chautauqua with the Gracious Ladies who, while at Chautauqua, dress alike. Pretty cute.

Mark and Jeff's garage in Wilmette had served as our staging venue since June 26th as we on and off-loaded various boxes and bags of gear needed for the various legs of our 99 Day Trek To Tucson. The Circle Tour represented Leg Two. Now he needed to clear out bike related stuff to make room for his Mom and her two friends and their related gear for their week in Chautauqua.

My heart went pitter-pat seeing my beloved Camella after three weeks storage in the garage. So at exactly 5 weeks post foot brake I hopped on and rode to our friends' house where Michelle and I would be staying. It was a 1.5 mile achy ride. Most discouraging. 

Saturday Michelle and I went out and tried a 4 mile ride. Good News, it was better than the day before. But, my Sidis were too tight on my broken foot. Keene's Pedal Sandal would answer the call. Sunday we rode 20 miles and Monday Mark, Michelle, and I rode 57. I think I'm back!!!!!!! 279 miles for my first 7 days back on the bike. So good to see my old familiar Chicagoland routes.

Lots of treatment for my foot while in the Wilmette area this week along with showing Michelle some our fave routes and Chicago sites.

Kirk, meanwhile, was at Chautauqua for an outstanding themed week on the Civil War. Even featured some of the African-American dramatic interpretation actors we had met a few weeks before while in Williamsburg!

Bringin It Home

While Michelle rode from Ephraim to Northport Pier, the tippity-top of Door County before heading South to Kewaunee, Kirk took a guided historic walking tour of Ephraim and I hung out at Leroy's Water Street Coffee Shop. For the 2nd day in a row they didn't have any soy milk for my high maintenance tea misto.









Michelle near the Lighthouse in Ephraim

Lunch in Bailey's Harbor for Kirk and me and a last roadside stop for homemade dried cherries and cherry chutney, and then Kewaunee, a humble little town that did, however, have 44 gracious, mid-19th century homes that had made it to the National Historic Registry. Here's an inside glimpse of a room at the Kewaunee Inn where we stayed (for $63.00).

One of the bennies of touring with a SAG vehicle is you can take some little side trips here and there. Thursday, Day 12 of 13 would be such a day. The Brewers were playing at home against the Dodgers, and hey, why not?? So, we busted it from Kewaunee to Milwaukee with Michelle and Toto, her Bacchetta CA2. First lunch at The Palms, an awesome little restaurant in the 3rd Ward which has served as my turn-around point for my Wilmette to Milwaukee rides.




Michelle and me at The Palms.














The "good guys" won 5-1 at Miller Park, the good guys being the Dodgers, since we're Cubby fans.















We capped off the day with a brief visit at the Milwaukee Art Museum to catch their Summer of China Exhibit.


Love Chihuly Glass















Friday August 19th Michelle will ride "home" to Wilmette where she and I'll hang for a week. I will hopefully have received the orthopedist's blessing to launch my bike again, and Kirk will be heading back to Chautauqua for a week with his Mom.

Truly a WOOT couple of weeks.

Random Shots

Hard to take Escanaba too seriously with such inspired signage.

On To Dog Rib

Beverly, my iPhone, got really confused today. Clearly she had never been to Ephraim. First she thought I wanted to go to Dog Rib and later Epitaph. We found Ephraim despite her errant suggestions.

Anyhow, before leaving Green Bay and heading to true Ephraim we cruised Lambeau Field. Seemed quite a traitorous thing to do, but I seriously believe it will be my only shot at catching a glimpse of our arch rival's house.

We hooked up with Michelle in Egg Harbor for lunch at The Village Cafe before the final roll in to Ephraim.

Caught the musical theater production of "Guys and Does" at The American Folklore Theater in Fish Creek. What a lot of fun!

Mainstay, Ed Saba, and Escambia

Apparently Beverly, my iPhone, hasn't been to the UP before cuz she gives me any number of possible spellings for the likes of Manistique and Escanaba. But, Manistique was, indeed, our next stop after leaving Trout Lake. Flat roads, good shoulders, dense woods, and the top of Lake Michigan sightings was the visual fare of the day.
Kitch-iti-kippi, Indian for Big Sprigs, was an amazing glimpse of one of UP's natural wonders.

From there it was on to Escanaba where we were able to catch the movie, The Help, on a vintage screen barely bigger than some people's home-style flat panels.


This sign reminded me of why we're moving to Arizona.

It's Not Fluorescent Orange, It's Tangerine

A farewell dinner with Mark and Jeff at The Galley in St. Ignace after loading their bikes in our van.They would take a bus from St. Ignace to Holland where their car was parked; Michelle would carry on alone from Trout Lake, 30 miles NE of St. Ignace on around the Lake to finish in Wilmette.

We had been looking forward to our night's stay in Trout Lake at the Birch Lodge and Motel. Pre-arrival conversations foreshadowed a memorable night most notably when Bill, the co-proprietor, proudly told us that people from all over the country came to the Motel for its vintage mid-century furnishings and Tangerine colored walls, which should not be mistaken for fluorescent orange.











Bill and Deb had bought the Birch Lodge and Motel not too long ago and were looking forward to turning it into a bed and breakfast.








The mosquitoes were resplendent and very large.

The Lodge looked quite elegant on the outside but on the inside was memorable in a 1940's sense.





The vintage microwave was located in the Lodge's kitchen, which I believe was their personal kitchen, too. It took 3 minutes to heat a 6 ounce cup of soy milk.





Bill had worked in forestry for many years in the UP so knew the area well. Michelle and I were reviewing the next day's routes with him and he brought us to the map on the wall in the great room. It was vintage 1940, parchment brown and featured the best places to hunt and fish. Didn't want to hurt his feelings, but we stuck with the 2011 Cycling Map of the UP. :)

Yooper Land

Ferrying to Mackinac Island--Jeff (standing), Mark and Michelle in the foreground.










Lighthouse entering the Mackinac Island Port












Mark, Jeff, and Michelle found their legs and burned up the road at 18-20 mph; they were excited to enter another country, or so it seemed to us sout-landers: Mackinac Island and finally St. Ignace, the first time for all us to be up in the UP.






Kirk rented a bike and joined the others in a circumavigation of the Island while I patrolled Main Street.