Blame it on Gregor!: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Margie's Family Reunion

Margie was reunited today with son John and husband John. She will have to fill in the blanks on her story until her return to the fold. What I do know is the new threesome enjoyed the Lady of the Mist today and made their way to Toronto for some art museums and exploration for two days. Some time on the third day they will find Mike, Ray and I on the road to New Hampshire and our foursome will continue with our adventure.

In the meantime we have had an amazing two days on the roads and in the small but oh so lovely New York towns along the Erie Canal and today along Lake Ontario. I have to constantly remind myself that the winters are brutal (for sure from a San Diego Perspective) as the towns have sooooo much charm and charisma that you would think that Karissa populated them all.....(inside joke but all who know Karissa this really is not a joke....a truism.)

Tonight we are camping in Soltus Point New York. Last night was Brockport along the Erie Canal and the locks. Great place last night. My favorite camping so far. We checked out the welcome center and they gave us beautiful, free camping on the canal with keys to the restrooms and showers. Two great little bars for the country flavor and great steak at one of the bars along with drinks. Then a mile hike down to Abbots for ice cream, home made ice cream sundaes and root beer floats. Early morning coffee and oatmeal (opened early at Colleen's) and off on the road. Found our way to a mall in Rochester and at last found a t-mobile location for a new phone for Ray. Margie, facebook competition in your mist now that Ray is once again connected. He has been without a phone since Oregon.......how long ago that seems.

I have Mike in my mist.....his thoughts of the moment are: "It was like riding an accordion today, up and down, up and down. Beautiful homes along the canal and Mike and the Bike were a uniform grey color......

Monday, July 29, 2013

Last Days Approaching

We finally had a rest day. Felt strange not to be on the bike. Actually left us all feeling a bit guilty and fat!! We have all gotten so used to eating whatever and riding it off. Definitely going to need to change eating habits on the trip home.

Canada has really been a great excursion however I must admit I am looking forward to a change of pace and back on U.S. soil. We have such little time left. About 5 days in our New York crossing and then New Hampshire; Vermont; Maine and back down to Boston. Glad we added biking to Boston as we are not ready to leave the bikes. Finally getting used to the bike seat, the handles, the pedals and the sound of the road as the wheels roll along. You begin to get antsy in any one spot too long. Not to mention, no worry about wardrobes these days....bike clothes all day and for Ray and Mike it seems all night too. I do believe we will be throwing out all our clothes at the end of this trip and buying new. We each have found our bike clothes are getting tattered and our shirts stained beyond recognition.

We had rain last night and fortunately our tents weathered the storm. Probably more rain tonight. Hoping it comes and goes as quickly as last night.

Margie, Mike and I are all sitting in our new favorite Canadian Coffee, donut, ice cream shop. Tim Horton's. Always fresh and always WI-FI! Poor Margie has endured all of Canada without her Facebook working unless we have been able to find Tim Horton's. This is Canada's Dunkin Donuts...Just so you know it is Ray's laundry duty so he is back at the camp taking care of duties and reading his book.

Signing off for now.......

NIAGARA FALLS!

The US side of the Falls

Canadian Falls.....very impressive

The blue jackets heading to the boat ride ..The Lady of the Mist

Just so you know we are really here.

Ray is here also.

Note the pins on my bike bag!

Good Ole US of A

There they go.....

Looks like a horseshoe

Canada again...

More Canada Falls

Thursday, July 25, 2013

WALLEYE

No, not a town, county or ????? This just happens to be the best fish ever and a Wisconsin favorite. Not being a big fish eater I was skeptical however James (nephew of Rachel and John) (Margie's internet friend who hosted us all at their camp and for dinner) at the Elkcreek Lodge, convinced me to give it a try and was it ever delicious! This fish is a Pike and not fishy at all. I highly recommend to try this grilled although they cook it many ways. The fish was fabulous but the whole event was very memorable. Margie met Rachel on her Mafia war games on the internet and became fast friends. Ray adjusted our travel plans so that we could all hook up and what a hook up it was. We were guests of Rachel and John at their fabulous campsite and evening of great food, drink and cars! Elkhart has a yearly antique car race and this little town of 400 swells to thousands for the big event. The cars are loud and fast and fun and the best part is watching about 100 antique cars drive down the road a piece and thru the town for display. Captain was another highlight of the evening. Captain is John's father and a former WWII vet. I had the pleasure of sitting across from him at dinner and along with the drinks which he and I both enjoyed. The conversation was interesting to say the least. Thanks again Rachel, John, Captain and James!

HELLO CANADA!!!

We arrived yesterday afternoon on our bikes to Port Heron and loaded in the trucks with our passports in hand to drive over beautiful Lake Heron into Canada and the port town of Sarnia. Quickly we found a bank for exchange. Rates are parallel to the U.S. but the bills look totally different. Canada's bills are prettier. Their coin is called Loonies and Toonies. Next stop, the Up and Down Bar and hopefully the locals that can direct us to our next destination....Hotel! Seems every waitress we have anywhere is on the first day of the job however this waitress had a bar tender (girl) who was knowledgable and led us right around the corner to our best/cheapest hotel yet. $59 Canadian money.....Not bad accommodations either. We are starting out on our bikes again shortly and I am only taking advantage of this time as Margie over slept this morning and bought me some blog time. Anyways this will continue later as our adventure continues.

I need to regress a little and mention Wisconsin and Michigan.....Wisconsin was beautiful and very neat and tidy. I personally enjoyed the rides thru their countryside with soft, gentle hills and beautiful farms, and homes and more and more lawns.......Michigan was a little rough at the first. Rough in the sense that it was not neat and tidy and looking more depressed. Hangover from Detroit! As we got further East the last two days were better scenery. Loads and loads of trees all over this state. We managed to avoid Flint Michigan which is the murder capital of the states.....We stayed in a lovely State campground on a lake. This one had decent showers which have been in short supply as of late. For those of you tracking us on the road maps this was East of Davidson, Michigan. Our routes have changed slightly from time to time due to road construction and poor quality roads and traffic. Traffic has really been a bear the last few days with no real bike lanes of any kind and did I mention the Rain Storm that sent Margie, Mike and Ray into hiding under a families shed. Fortunate for me I was driving at the moment.

I can not forget the Ferry Ride leaving Wisconsin heading into Michigan. The entering and leaving Michigan were obviously the highlights. The Ferry was amazing and quite comfortable. I spent most of my time on the lower deck in soft, reclining movie chairs watching a little t.v. and mostly sleeping. Ray and Margie stayed up top for a while and Mike slept in the plastic chairs up top. Margie was thrilled with her up top location until she realized the black coal powering the Ferry was spewing black soot all thru her hair, skin and up her nose.....Sleeping downstairs proved to be a wise decision. This Ferry is the last remaining coal powered Ferry in the nation. It will be transformed sometime next year and will no longer run on coal. It took four hours to cross Lake Michigan. Hardly seems like these are lakes, Oceans is more like it. Again, beautiful and a wonderful experience.

U.S. side looking over to Canada

Take note New Yorker's.....Weiner, Really?

crossing into Canada

over the bridge

loading up from our hotel in Sarnia

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Great Day at World's Largest Water Park

An eventful day today! 50 mile ride with an early start to beat the heat and humidity. Hotel check in and in the water by 2:00pm. Stay until the close of the park at 7:00 pm. Great rides, and not too busy. Felt great to be in water and stay cool. Mike split off from us for a couple of days. He is heading further North to meet up with a friend. We will catch up together at the Ferry ride crossing Lake Michigan on Saturday. Truth be known I think Mike did not want to venture to the water park and co-mingle with all the HUMANS! TOO MANY AND TOO LITTLE.... While Ray, Margie and I were sliding down the Anaconda Mike was peddling away. He had to have gotten in a lot more than 50 miles today. Stay safe Michael! The Wisconsin Dells is a nice excursion.....all of the grandkids would love this place.

Minnesota/Wisconsin

Love this Farm

America is alive and well in the midwest

Actually found this sign just outside of Iowa border where we camped in Iowa for a night.

Wisconsin and Minnesota have Amish residents. A real reminder of living in the past while in the present.

Matching Bike day

Margie back on the rode again! Go girl!

Another day....another state

Ray and Margie in La Crosse, Wi with relatives they met for the first time.

View from the Bluffs in La Crosse

more views....

I could not pass up a reminder from Ray of names for future grandchildren.. Get busy girls!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Iowa????

Yes Iowa. We were just too close to miss touching down and saying hello. Unfortunately we are two weeks to early for the Ragride (?) across Iowa in 7 days. Apparently they have 10,000 bikers who join in the fun. Kind of like Minnesota's 10,000 lakes. I sense a bit of competition here. All across the country to date we have been hearing about this ride and told we have to try it out someday. Not sure when but certainly this may be an adventure to partake in. Tomorrow we cross into Wisconsin and I am looking forward to another new state to explore. Wisconsin (Southern Wisconsin) has gorgeous farms, two beautiful campgrounds that we have stayed in and lousy roads, on par with South Dakota, Storms, lightning and thunder and WINDS..... Margi and Mike don't seem to favor the incredibly beautiful green lawns that take up acres and acres. Something to do with too much to mow. I on the other hand am enamored with these gorgeous farm homes and lovely, lovely grass. Hate the hog smell, but the corn is pretty, especially when the wind is blowing gently. That gentle wind.....was only an occasional second or two, but still wonderful to witness. Dark comes late for us but sleep comes earlier. Toni and Dennis you will be happy to know that our bedtime since leaving Idaho has been pushed back a bit to 10 ish however early morning to rise is still in our forecast for our morning routines. Hours and hours on the bike and I am thinking about all of you I know and love so much. Thankfully I have Nolan, Keira and Taelyn with me daily pinned on my bike to keep me peddling along the road, eventually to home.

This corn field is in Minnesota but it could have been Iowa or Wisconsin. They all look the same. Some taller than others!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Night out with Margi & Ray at the Marina

Fairmont Minnesota.....hoping place for a Friday Night. Class of 73 & 78 reunion parties and Kim's 50th.....The Whiskey Plates were playing and I must say we would of enjoyed staying much longer and listening to them, country westernish and all! Not bad for a Friday nite on the road. Best part of the night: Margi showing up at the Marina in her Pajamas for a Friday nite shindig! I think she posted a picture on Facebook as Ray and I left our camera's behind but Margi had her trusty cell phone and sure enough captured and posted herself once again. Have I mentioned how awesome this camp ground is? The best yet of the trip. Well worth a visit to the Flying Goose Camp Ground.

Mike and the Evangelist

Welcome to Minnesota! Mike would call it the land of corn, hogs and tremendous winds.....I would call it the land of not only 10,000 lakes but the most beautiful farms of corn fields and houses and barns and big, spacious green manicured lawns I have ever seen. Oh, yes and the huge 50 ft pine trees that surround the spacious lawns creating a wind break for the ranches. Amazing....Now the winds, that is another story.....I am fortunate enough for the last few days to ride side by side Ray and have Ray block some of the velocity of the wind for me. Without his windbreak I am thrown sideways across the rode to the wrong side of the highway. This is especially challenging since there are no bike lanes at all and a competing force of huge trucks and small trucks and the occasional car. Mike has taken to riding quite a ways behind Ray and I as he feels he can no longer be sure he will announce ahead to me of the upcoming semis in my path. He prefers to witness the potential damage from afar. Some teammate......

Our introduction to Minnesota came nearly 10-15 miles into the state. Since we are traveling on small highways, parallel to interstate 90 we do not get the signage of our traveling into a new state and leaving one behind. Fortunate for us we were at a water stop on the side of the road with Margi in the truck and an unsuspecting car came up and parked behind us. Out jumped this ordinary man with an extraordinary knowledge of the corn and corn fields. This naturally piqued Mike's interest and the conversation began. We were told of the corn fields down the road a piece that we should take our picture in as they were quite tall and would tell a good tale. Photo to follow..... We learned that the farms growing corn make a net profit of $1000 per acre and most of the farms are 600 acres or more. That is quite a profit and a reason for being a corn farmer in my book. Plus the beautiful barns and houses and lawns....Well you get my drift....maybe farming is for me in my next life. Speaking of life, that is the very thing this ultra friendly gentleman from Minnesota wanted to share with us. He was a carpenter by trade and a teacher of the good book to boot. Once he picked up a rock and started his dissertation on the real meaning of life and the creator Mike who had been quite amicable to this point made an abrupt head drop and near run from the man. Ray stood his ground and endured the conversation with little comment and eventually the meaning of the rock and the greater design theory was left with the question.....Who could have created these nasty mosquitos and what was so great about them? Our Minnesota friend soon left us for greener pastures and I was left with my tale of Mike and the Evangelist!!!