2009-Carol and Dick biking the great lakes, etc.

About to Head off on a New Adventure

cbourne66 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:50:00 +0000

We’re madly working to make the deadline of Friday the 19th as our departure date. Sometimes it seems as if we just returned from our last long trip. Friday we drive to Long Beach to pick up our two oldest grandkids-Sidney age 10 and Ethan age 9 for a pre-biking road/camping trip to the National Parks of the Southwest. I know we may have mentioned to some of you that we’re trying to simplify our lives, but so far we’re not doing a very good job of that. In that light, this year we won’t be “blogging” so often. We’ll be lucky to enter information once a week once we start biking and leave our computer behind. During the first part of the trip, we hope that Sidney and Ethan will put in their two cents worth. For those of you who did not get to see the end of our last trip, we have inserted the rest of the photos and rearranged the order so that the first day now comes before the last day.

First Week on the Road

cbourne66 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:07:21 +0000

Sunday June 28, 2009 (Dick) It is Sunday morning, a week after our departure from Long Beach. Carol and I left Davis a day late after frantic last-minute efforts to get our house and ourselves ready for our 3 month+ trip. Luckily Carol had left a day for us to relax in Long Beach before heading off with Sidney (10) and Ethan (9). That day turned into an evening, but after a fabulous Father’s Day breakfast (incredible waffles and fruit) at the Jenn & Steve Short B&B; and after hugs all around, we hit the road around 9:30 AM on Sunday June 21, headed for Las Vegas. The car was stuffed with bodies and gear.

Sidney and Ethan with bunnies at first picnic spot

We had a picnic lunch at a high windy rest stop east of Barstow, before arriving at the Palms Place where our 37th floor room offered a great Vegas view. Was it wrong to start in the lap of luxury? After enjoying the windy 6th floor pool complex, we taxied to the strip where we OD’d on ocular opulance (well, our dinner was Panda Express and Subway in a food court, so we mostly just looked at the “expensive everything” around us.) We really enjoyed the aquarium at the Mandalay Bay Casino Resort, and the famous fountains at the Bellagio.

Next stop was Hoover Dam, where we toured the generator room and saw the impressive new bridge under construction that will eliminate the drive along the dam. We also watched their movie before cruising on toward the Grand Canyon. “Twenty questions” was getting a bit old by the end of this first long day on the road. Late afternoon views from the South Rim were fabulous! We found our pre-registered campsite, set up or tent, cooked our dinner, and went back to the rim to watch the sunset. Then we drove by the rim lodges and vowed to return in our dotage.

Grand Canyon Afterglow

Our first night in the tent wasn’t the best, as it took us all a few nights to find our “tenting rhythm.” But we packed up relatively smoothly in the morning and headed east, north, and west around the Canyon toward Zion Park. On the way a major tourist suction landed us in a Native American jewelry/pottery shunt that also had great views of the eastern canyon region. On the way north we wandered through a small town that had more Model-T Fords than permanent inhabitants, due to a rally that lured hundreds of tin lizzies, mostly in better shape than anything else their age, and than most new cars as well. The roads were plagued with them, toodling along, many with occupants dressed for their era; and we saw not a one broken down along the road.

Grand View

We entered Zion from the east along an incredibly beautiful route, replete with tunnels and switchbacks that afforded sudden stunning views of red rock walls and gorgeous formations. Deer were everywhere in our campground. With the warm weather, we hunted and found a bathing spot in the rushing river; we also enjoyed the new Visitor Center with it’s unique evaporative “cooling towers” that work nicely in the dry Utah climate. We had our first campfire that night with s’mores, a ritual continued through the next three camping nights. In the morning we took the free shuttle to the Zion sites, and watched the Zion video at their museum. We hated to leave Zion, but headed for Bryce before noon and had another picnic lunch on the road.

Holding against the current

Zion Visitor Center

Since Bryce didn’t take camping reservations, we arrived relatively early, found the perfect campsite, registered it, set up all our gear, and then took a drive to see the magnificent Bryce Canyon views along the dead-end rim road. We had hoped to hike, but decided that we wouldn’t see nearly as much that way. When we returned to camp a single woman who had apparently been there first but didn’t leave anything at the site had moved us out!! We and other neighbors were most upset about it, but luckily a nearby (but much less desirable) site was available and the ranger helped us move our standing tent and camp gear to the new site. We nursed our wounds which were mostly healed after a good campsite dinner and s’more s’mores.

The Amphitheater at Bryce

The ostracized woman was gone by 6 AM, but we didn’t depart until after 9, seeing the last few viewpoints at Bryce before driving east toward Moab. At one point we stopped to see petroglyphs carved a millenium ago low on ten-story red rock walls, and we tried to invade the vanished minds of their creators.

Find the petroglyphs

Every day in southern Utah offered stunning views in all directions, but at times a few un-named passengers were happier giggling, talking nonsense, or playing games and puzzles; in other words, acting like children. Even though the car grew smaller, we generally ended each drive with a sense of togetherness and satisfaction at reaching another destination. Moab was no exception, and the Slickrock Campground where we pre-registered even had a swimming pool and laundry, though the $28 overnight price was “outrageous” compared to the $7.50 to $9 senior rate we paid in the National Parks. We really enjoyed the pool and another campfire dinner.

A huge wind and torrential downpour in the wee-to-dawn hours woke us and soaked our tent and gear, so in the morning we splurged with a Denny’s breakfast, paid $5 to Slickrock for a late departure, and let our belongings dry while we toured Arches National Park-a lovely sunny morning. Here we finally did some hiking. Somehow, the beautiful rock formations were different at each park we visited, and each seemed incredible in its variety, unliklihood, and impression of constant slow change. Other than the uplift that raised these former sea-beds, water, so rare (on our timescale) in this environment, was the major force in creating these astonishing sculptures.

The Arches Park Avenue

After our morning tour we packed and rolled out toward Mesa Verde. A major T-storm along the way seriously mud-spattered our car but didn’t slow us, as we arrived by mid-afternoon at the last of our National Park campsites. Here we had registered for the “base camp” offer that included a tent cabin with cots, and a pancake breakfast. After some confusion about our site that required three trips back to the camp office, we settled in and celebrated not having to set up our own tent. We drove up to the Visitor Center, which was apparently new since our 1975 visit with Jamie (now Ben) and Jennifer. The views along this drive, mostly along a high ridge, were fantastic, and we marveled at the former civilization that managed to live there so many years without our modern ability to climb and descend at will…

Mesa Verde tent cabin

Ethan and Sidney at Camp Store

The night was the coldest yet, and the cots precluded cuddling, so I think we concluded in the morning that our more primitive camping mode was preferred. The pancake breakfast (perhaps because we didn’t cook it) was also mildly disappointing though quite filling. After packing came the day’s highlight- touring two of the cliff dwellings. On our paid and guided tour we saw Balcony House, the best-preserved of the original structures, where we climbed a 32 foot ladder to enter and then exited through a tiny tunnel that excludes more corpulent tourists. We also took a self-guided tour of Spruce Tree house where we were able to descend into a restored kiva, a round subterranean room used by Pueblo natives as a religious and gathering room. The natives mysterious departure from these homes was apparently due to drought and malnutrition, and like Macchu Pichu which we visited last year in Peru, Mesa Verde lay undiscovered for many centuries before being found with many original features virtually intact.

Balcony House

Climbing Out

We left Mesa Verde Saturday morning hoping to arrive in Glenwood Springs by late afternoon, but the mountain gods had something else in mind! After a picnic lunch in Durango the car overheated on the first climb toward Silverton; we made the first pass but it became clear that we wouldn’t summit the second. We had no cell phone service, so I hitched a ride six miles into Silverton, where I hoped to find AAA service. But the nearest AAA crew was in Telluride, so it was five hours before we arrived in a big car-hauling truck at the Hampton Inn in Montrose, where we now await (probably on Monday morning) the installation of a new $14 thermostat that will once again allow coolant to flow. But at least and at last, the malady has allows us time to blog! And, with better luck Monday we hope still to arrive on schedule in Champaign on Wednesday evening. And the rest of today? If Sidney and Ethan get their way, we’ll be “gone fishin”"!!

Shane and the Roadrunner rescue rig

Additions by Carol–While Dick was working hard on the blog, I was the lifeguard for Sidney and Ethan’s morning swim in the pool/spa. I was amazed at how they could amuse themselves for over an hour in the simple motel pool. Our afternoon plans are still up in the air. I want to mention that one of the highlights for me on the trip was Ethan saying, “roadtrips are really fun. I hope we can do more of them.” The kids have been a big help with setting up and breaking down the camp. I really think they could do it themselves by now. Now here are a few words from each of them.

Making Waves in Montrose

Additions by Sidney: Chris, I cant wait to visit you in Illinois! I am having the 4 of July with you right? What other kinds of things are you doing over break?
C.C., I am having so much fun! Did you hear the car broke down in the middle of the wilderness (phone coverage wasn’t available there so my grandpa flagged some guy down, I was glad when he said that he would take one person, my grandpa decided to go with him instead of my grandma. He was gone for about two stinkin’ hours! (to be continued.)
mom dad and Gavin,
love you

Additions by Ethan: I am having an awesome time. We went to a lot of national parks. My favorites were the Grand Canyon and Zion.

End of Stage 1

cbourne66 — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:17:12 +0000

Friday July 3rd 2009 (Dick) Carol and I are now in Neenah Wisconsin after completing the “grandkids” stage of our trip. At last post we were stuck in Montrose CO with a cooling problem. We hung around that Sunday (what else could we do?) as Carol took the kids to the municipal pool and I blogged. The pool had a great slide so the day was not wasted. Monday morning a local garage replaced our thermostat, checked everything over, and gave our previously-faithful car a clear bill of health. We had a beautiful ride to Denver, with minor remorse that we hadn’t been able to enjoy the pool and hot springs at Glenwood Springs. We found our old friends Mark and Carol Hammer in Lafayette, who took us on a nice walk to a nearby lake and then treated us to a tasty dinner.

Carol Hammer with Sidney, Ethan, Jordan, and Amina

We hit the road at 7:15 expecting to make it into Nebraska before nightfall, but after 15 miles the temperature gauge was pegged again. Mark Hammer came to rescue us, first taking the other three back to their house, then picking me up at the Honda garage where the car was hauled by a local AAA tow team. Thanks Mark!! (Little did we know before this rescue that Mark had to take a 7:15 AM flight to Las Vegas.) After much head-scratching in the AM about where the coolant had gone, they replaced it and the radiator cap and we’ve had smooth sailing thereafter. (Except when I, nervous later that day and thinking I smelled coolant, removed the cap too soon and received a coolant shower for my stupidity. The stuff was pretty hot, but I emerged relatively unscathed. After this adventure I left well-enough alone and the car was fine.)

After these delaying adventures, we had to bypass Lincoln and didn’t arrive at the Chen house in Omaha (we had forgotten about entering the Central Time Zone) until about 10:30. Our old friends Bing and Georgianna Chen welcomed us to their amazing house, a story in itself- formerly a Japanese house/art museum on the U of Omaha campus, they had it moved down Dodge St. to their current address on 70th Ave., and proceeded to finish out the 7000 sq.ft home but that was only the start! Next came 250 tons of boulders from Minnesota to build a “mountain garden” in the back yard complete with hiking trails and a major waterfall. We enjoyed catching up with them and seeing their 14 year old twin sons- their two older boys were on out-of-town visits.

Four Chens below their mountain waterfall

After a relaxing morning with the Chens (Thanks Bing and Georgianna) we left about 10:30 headed for Champaign IL where Sidney and Ethan are spending their last 3 days with Jill and Dave Hess and their four kids. They are friends of Jenn and Steve and Cristiana who is 10 was Sidney’s best friend in Sacramento. The Hesses moved from Sacramento shortly after Jenn and Steve moved to Long Beach last year. We arrived after dinner on the road; but Jill kindly treated us to ice cream and a wonderful night’s lodging.

Ready to fish with the Hesses

These last two travel days were long, averaging more than 500 miles per day driving across the plains, but the kids were great travelers through it all. We played lots of games in the car, but for many miles they amused themselves. At one point they each wrote their numbers to 1000, which takes more than an hour. Ethan threatened to keep going to a million, but we convinced him he didn’t have time. We did stop briefly at the Amana colonies in Iowa, where we bought fudge and wished we could have stayed longer. Before we arrived in Champaign they wrote out the following comments for this blog:

Sidney- “It has been a very nice trip. Even though we still have four more days until we fly home! Mom/Dad/Gavin- Love ya! See you soon -Sid”

Ethan- “This trip seems to have gone very fast. I had the best time! My favorite part was the whole thing. It was fun riding in a tow truck. I miss everybody. ROAD TRIPS ARE AWSOME!!!! Dear Mom and Dad I love you! Love, Ethan”

Thanks to the Hesses for their hospitality which included a pancake and sausage breakfast! Carol and I headed north before 9 AM yesterday and had a relatively smooth trip to Neenah except that traffic and road repairs around Chicago and Milwaukee made the driving there pretty gruesome. We arrived at Jim Brygger’s home about 4 PM. This is our staging area! We shipped our bikes to Jim’s- some of you will remember that Jim joined us twice on our ride last year, and was the rescuer when we were caught in an endless downpour on a too busy road as we approached Charleston. He will start with us tomorrow and again will join us for several legs of this tour. Jim’s house is also really special, with an incredible array of beautiful custom features designed and built by Jim, an architect (who designed our Cape house), over the last 20 years. This is the first time we have seen it, and what a treat.

Jim Brygger in his kitchen

We had a nice Thai dinner in Neenah with Jim’s ex-wife Gayle, who is responsible for the wonderful gardens at Jim’s place, and then had a brief tour of this beautiful town before retiring. This morning we have assembled the bikes and have just a few tasks on our list before we head toward Lake Michigan tomorrow where we will meet Bill and Linda Bernheim at Two Rivers. The weather is sunny and cool, so we look forward to a perfect start to the bike tour!

Crankin’ the Pedals Again!

cbourne66 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:24:01 +0000

Wednesday July 8 (Dick) We’ve finished five days on the bikes now and it feels like we have just resumed the life of our dreams…We’ve been up and down the Door Peninsula, the Cape Cod of Wisconsin. We started on the 4th of July, riding due east with Jim Brygger from Neenah toward Point Beach State Park, which is on Lake Michigan about five miles north of Two Rivers. Jim headed into the east wind with us almost halfway to the shore before flying home on the wind- he’ll join us for a few full riding days when we depart from Green Bay Friday morning. Soon after he left, my bike developed a major rattle that turned out to be another rear rack bracket failure, a repeat of our major technical difficulty last fall, when Carol and I each had the same failure. Luckily I was able to secure it temporarily with electrical tape- five days later it is still holding well, and today we finally found a good bike shop and bought two replacement brackets that look sturdier than the last (which also looked sturdier than their predecessors). Anyway, we were thrilled to arrive 58 miles east at a beautiful state park, where we were lucky to secure one of two remaining tent sites. Bill and Linda Bernheim rode north from their B and B in Two Rivers to visit and plan the next two weeks riding together. It was great to spend the night in our tent again, even though for the first time in many years (maybe ever?) we didn’t see 4th of July fireworks.

Leaving Neenah

Riding east on Wisconsin farm roads

Carol on Lake Michigan at Two Rivers Campground

Two Rivers Lighthouse

Bill and Linda returned in the morning and we headed north toward Door County, with Sturgeon Bay as our day’s destination. Against the wind again, we fell right into our old “rotating pace line” riding strategy that brought back memories of thousands of Bernheim/Bourne tour miles- we started touring together in 1993 and this is at least our tenth long tour together. Despite the wind, all went smoothly until we were celebrating arrival in Sturgeon Bay with root beer floats. After two sips, I managed to hook my straw and then watched in horror as the full “two scoop” wad of ice cream slid in slow motion out of the paper cup and onto the floor, lubricated with most of the creamy root beer. Hating to waste anything so fundamentally good, I almost scooped the mess back into my cup, but decided not to further embarrass my travelmates. I still enjoyed the replacement RBF.

Riding option in Sturgeon Bay

Carol and I stayed at a nice older B and B (Stroh House) owned and run by a nice older (OK, repetition intended) couple, Jacquey and Bud Stroh. Since they raised their four in the house, they thought nothing of telling us to be “in by nine.” After almost 60 riding miles, that was fine with us! We enjoyed their pool and walking five blocks to a tasty dinner in downtown Sturgeon Bay.

Stroh House in Sturgeon Bay

Bud and Jacquey Stroh

The next morning we met the Bernheims (who had stayed in a Best Western) and headed north again, and also against the wind again. But the sunshine and fabulous scenery easily made up for the inconvenient wind- our whimpers were minimal. We generally followed the east shore of the Door Peninsula up to Bailey’s Harbor, then due north to Sister Bay. Linda and Bill split off to visit a cousin of Linda’s while Carol and I continued to Ellison Bay, near the “thumb” of Door. We had planned to camp at Newport State Park, but learned that it only had backpacker camping, inaccessible to our two-wheeled vehicles. We found a really nice private campground (the only one in the north half of Door County). And, a nearby (walkable!) resort at Rowley’s Bay had a great restaurant that we enjoyed for both dinner and breakfast. Their buffet beakfast was the best we have ever seen; I’ll spare the details but will happily give a summary on request.

Camping on the Door Peninsula

Walking the path to Rowley's Bay

At 10 AM we met Bill and Linda to ride the ferry to Washington Island. We spent Tuesday biking almost the entire Island, which mostly survives on its too-short tourist season, and reminded us of Nantucket and the San Juan Islands- incredibly peaceful-feeling. We again camped at a private campground near the beautiful old Washington Inn, where Bill and Linda stayed. We might have stayed there too except that their restaurant, whose menu had us all salivating, was closed on Tuesdays. We did find the Sailor’s Pub, closeby and right on the water, and had a delicious dinner. Our campground was 2 miles from the Inn, and we enjoyed the scenic ride four times before the evening ended.

Schoolhouse Beach on Washington Island

Rocks and water

The Washington Inn

RBF Closeup

This morning we had breakfast at the Inn, where Wednesday was donut day. We are not donut fans but these were something else. My “maple pecan” variety was absolutely covered with toasted pecans, apparently held in place by thickened maple syrup. Bill and Linda missed these because, as Inn guests, they were served a breakfast that they couldn’t specify! This morning we ferried back to the mainland, and had a glorious ride south. For the first time, the wind was at our backs, and we mostly hugged the west coast of the peninsula.

Bill gets on the ferry back to the Door Peninsula

This may have been one of our best riding days ever. The towns of Ephraim, Fish Creek, and Egg Harbor are particularly memorable, and we all vowed that we would be back. In mid-afternoon we recrossed the “halfway to the North Pole” 45th parallel. We’ve covered about 270 miles in our first five days, and we’ve experienced a wonderful little slice of America. Despite no training due to our frantic schedules the prior two months, and to our road trip with Sidney and Ethan, our aging bodies seem to have fallen fairly happily back into the rigors of “cranking all day in the saddle.” Actually, it hasn’t been continuous riding; for example, in Ephraim today we visited a wonderful little art gallery where we found more than a dozen paintings and photographs that seemed to be speaking directly to us. Maybe it was the endorphins, but so many pieces there just felt very special.

Looking out behind the art gallery

Art gallery wall

The only difficulty so far has been cell phone service. My iPhone, so useful on last year’s tour, can only sporadically make contact. Tonight we and the Bernheims are sharing a 2 BR condo at the Westwood Shores resort, on the water about 3 miles north of Sturgeon Bay. Even here, cell service comes and goes. Luckily they have this computer available for their guests, so we can catch up a bit on communications!

luxurious Westwood Shores

Tomorrow we head for Green Bay to begin our trek around and north to Upper Michigan. We are already a day behind since we hadn’t planned to go to Washington Island. It was worth it!

Green Bay Packers and Beyond

cbourne66 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:59:56 +0000

(Dick) I started this post a few days ago on Mackinac Island, but the internet connection was so flakey that it all disappeared when I thought it was saved! Carol and I are at side-by-side computers in Thessalon, Ontario, about 50 miles east of Sault Ste Marie, where we started today, Friday 7/17. She’s writing up the last three days of our adventure, and I’m filling in the gap, essentially the days we packed and pedaled ourselves, our bikes, and our limited onboard belongings down, over, around, and up Green Bay, the water feature that separates Door County WI from mainland WI up to and past where it meets the MI Upper Peninsula (Where “Youpers” live). The first day of this segment took us from Sturgeon Bay down to the City of Green Bay. The day started eventfully when we arrived to find our bridge out of Sturgeon Bay stuck in the up position.

Are we really going over that?

We four B’s (Bill and Linda Bernheim being the other two) looked at the 70 degree incline and decided it was too steep for pedaling, and even if we could, the drop off the top would have made our start a bit too wet. We detoured to a bigger bridge, adding four milesto our riding day. Another gorgeous day but with some cantankerous winds found us in Green Bay, where we found the Astor House B and B, in the “Astor” neighborhood with big old houses that reminded us of our seven years in the the Near South Neighborhood in Lincoln, NE. After a good dinner on the water we walked the neighborhood before retiring.

Astor House in Green Bay

Jim Brygger joined us the next morning for our ride north to the Michigan border. We had the wind behind us for a change, but wondered how it would play out for the next day, when we would continue north and Jim would retrace our path back to Green Bay. (It turned out luck was with us, not Jim.) It was a pleasant, relatively easy 60 mile riding day. We had a tour guide, briefly, who helped us find a deserted bridge shortcut.

Off-the-beaten-path bridge

Carol and I considered camping in a city park, but in the end we all stayed at an AmericInn right on the water. We walked next door to an excellent restaurant, Schloegal’s (also right on the water), that Jim recommended. Jim was first out in the morning but we would see him three days later when he and his son David met us on Mackinac Island. The Bournes and Bernheims headed east and again found the wind at our backs. Scratch those complaints of last week! We rolled into Escanaba where we explored the old waterfront area, which sadly lacked a B and B or small hotel. We actually failed in our quest for a root beer float this day- one of very few misses. (I forgot to mention the A and W within two blocks of our Green Bay B and B.) While Bill and Linda went to a Comfort Inn, Carol and I found an unbeatable combination- a Subway footlong and a nice campground on the water.

Another lighthouse

Carol drying her shower towel

After an evening walk, we realized we couldn’t stay up late enough to see “Escanaba in da moonlight.” I think this was the night I finished reading “Ruined City” by Nevil Shute- the second of his books I’ve read and enjoyed on this trip. Reading in the tent is much easier this year since I have my own miner’s lamp and it doesn’t get dark until 10pm!

The next morning we met the Bernheims at a breakfast restaurant and headed east again toward Manistique. All these riding days were geometrically designed to be 60 miles long, but of course a few exceeded the target. The prevailing winds stayed with us, and without significant hills we were beginning to feel as superhuman as we did flying down the Florida coast last year. We arrived before 3 PM and considered riding on, but weren’t sure about lodging beyond. So Bill and Linda stayed at a Comfort Inn with a Big Boy restaurant next door, that served excellent RBF’s and had some fantastic wooden art.

Posing with Paul Bunyan

Big Wheels

After this treat Carol and I rode 2 miles further east to a campground that surprised us with a special feature. The night before, Carol had wished for the folding camp chairs in our car (now garaged in Neenah); here in Manistique our campsite came with Adirondack chairs!

Site with gratis Adirondack chairs!

It also had a big indoor pool which we enjoyed before showering and dressing for dinner back at Big Boy. We walked the Manistique boardwalk and then rode back to our campground.

Lighthouse view from the Manistique boardwalk

This was the first night cold enough to stress our tiny “45 degree” sleeping bags but the morning was sunny. We had a filling breakfast at the Three Seasons Cafe where Bill and Linda met us to start our day on the pedals.

Can you believe? The wind was still behind us! But looking at another long day (~70 miles) with no turns and few hills, we fell into the same “rotating pace line” riding pattern that we had used the entire day before. This day, it had a disastrous result. Carol, riding in 4th position, was caught in a sudden crosswind when she was too close to Linda’s wheel. Carol went down hard but Linda managed to keep from falling over. I will spare the blow-by-blow here but Carol has road rash on all corners of her body and more, plus a probable fracture in her hand. We applied all available bandages while hundreds of motorized vehicles sped past without slowing down. About thirty minutes later we were back on the road, and Carol managed the remaining 50 miles to Brevort with barely a whimper. Smarter than Levi Leipheimer (whose broken hand caused him to quit the Tour de France a few days ago), Carol has refused X-rays for fear of a cast that would cancel the remainder of our Tour. We found the Chapel Hill Motel that recommended eating at Jeannie’s Restaurant, where we enjoyed fine food for dinner and breakfast. We took no pictures this day. The big question was, how would Carol feel in the morning?

Post Fall Days

cbourne66 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:57:20 +0000

Having spent the night at the Chapel Hill Motel (no camping tonight due to my bumps and bruises-minimalizing the event)-we headed off toward Mackinac Island 22 miles away. Needless to say I (Carol) was riding very carefully and happy that I could ride at all. We arrived in St Ignace in the late morning and were on the Island before noon, giving us time to start the circumnavigation of Mackinac Island by bike.

Ferrying into the harbor at Mackinac Island

The day was spectacular. After dodging the horses, buggies, people on foot, and people on bikes, we dropped off our panniers and headed off.

Busy streets of Mackinac

Our thought as we rode through town and then on through the picture perfect park was that we were in Disneyland without the rides.

Work horses!

It was nice to ride at a very leisurely pace for awhile, stopping halfway around for lunch on the beach.

Beach at Mackinac

On returning to the town we walked, ate fudge-there are two or three fudge shops per block here-and then relaxed at our hotel-The Island House-until we were joined by Jim Brygger and his son David. This is a wonderful old hotel with plenty of ambience. The places to relax were too numerous to list. We preferred the lounge chairs overlooking the water-both on the porch and on the front lawn. We could watch the horsedrawn carriages pull up to load and unload passengers. It really made us feel as if we had gone back in time. Drinks on the porch and dinner with Jim and David were wonderful. Then after they left we headed out to the front lawn where we roasted marshmallows for s’mores. This was the first time since saying goodbye to Sidney and Ethan that we had the pleasure of this dessert.

The next day we met Bill and Linda after waiting out the rainstorm in our wonderful hotel. We read, ate a full, tasty breakfast and sat for a few minutes in front of the fire. At checkout time-11am-it had stopped raining and we headed out to tour the Mackinac Fort which turned out to be a great tour, including a mock court martial.

View from Fort Mackinac

Mock court martial at the fort

We had lunch in the fort overlooking the bay. Then we headed over to the Grand Hotel hoping to get a look at the place. All the personel there were very unfriendly. Lunch there was forty dollars. Afternoon tea was 25.00 but you also had to pay 10.00 to get into the hotel. Only those staying in the hotel were allowed on the street in front or in the lobby. We had planned to pay 10.00 to get into the hotel but changed our minds as everyone we talked with was rude.

Our glance at the Grande Hotel

So…we headed off for a short riding tour of the interior island were we spied many old “cottages”. This is truly a beautiful spot.

Cliff edge cottages

After picking up our panniers which we had left in the hotel, we once again relaxed in those great chairs on the porch before heading off to have our goodbye dinner with Bill and Linda.

Last dinner with Bill and Linda

We had a casual dinner at Mary’s Bistro before catching the 7 pm ferry to St Ignace.

Star Ferry roostertail

Since the weather seemed unpredictable, we decided to stay in a hotel again and enjoyed the Harbor Pointe Resort complete with two pools and spas, washers and dryers and a beach fire with s’mores yet again. Our room had a view of the lake and we felt only a few drops of rain.

We had been planning to ride to Drummond Island and then on to Sault Ste Marie the following day but were anxious about not knowing how we were going to get from Sault to Manitoulin Island. Our tour book said the road was busy with no shoulder and that we should consider taking a bus. However, to take the bus, we must find a bike shop with boxes, pack up our bikes and get them to the bus terminal. Then the bus would be dumping us off on the side of the road in Espanola, Canada and it could very well be in the rain. Rental cars did not seem possible. Since we felt we might be biking instead of using the bus we decided to go directly to Sault St Marie. The ride was an easy 61 miles until after we visited the locks on the US side.

Find Saute Ste Marie

Soo locks aerial view

We had to take the International Bridge-no alternative due to the checkpoint to get into Canada. This bridge was the most frightening one we had every been on-long, very windy and no shoulder with lots of heavy traffic. We took no pictures here! We stopped at the Canadian information building as soon as we had crossed and they were a great help in helping us find a place to spend the night. We were in the Sleep Inn in Sault Ste Marie-Canada. The Rotary Club was putting on a festival but the weather that evening was horrible-cold and rainy-what a shame. It is a 3 day festival and I fear they weren’t going to have any beautiful days.

The next morning-Friday- it was cloudy and cool but we decided to head off around 10:45 after watching a stage of the Tour de France. It seemed too difficult to get the bikes boxed up and we had been told that plenty of bicyclists used the road. We had to don our raingear after about 3 miles and rode in the rain for about 15 minutes. After that no more rain for the day, but we also had very little sun. We rode about 51 miles and decided to stop at a Bed and Breakfast-The North Shore B and B as there were no more places to stay for about 20 miles. Camping seemed undesirable due to the black skies. Our hosts were German and Dutch and have been in Thessalon for about two years. They retired here and opened the B and B after living near Algonquin Park for years.

The North Shore B and B

We had a delicious meatball calzone for dinner but have had no rootbeer floats for several days. I am now beginning to wonder if rootbeer floats will be found in Canada. Oh dear! That’s all for now folks. Much love Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa and Carol and Dick. We miss you Sidney and Ethan.

Canadian National Highway 1

cbourne66 — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:13:45 +0000

July 19, Saturday (Dick) We awoke and were served a marvelous large french toast breakfast at Gerd and Ruth’s North Shore B and B, where we enjoyed conversation- before “retirement” they lived very near Algonquin Park north of Toronto, where my brother Tom and I took memorable canoe/camping trips in 1962 and 1992; 2022 is probably a long shot). A great couple- be sure to stay at the North Shore B and B if you’re ever overnighting in Thessalon! We headed east again on the Canada Big Road. It’s two lanes with almost no shoulder, but the lanes are wide enough that it could have been worse. The wind was behind us but sometimes the rain wasn’t! At one memorable point when a drizzle became big drops, we took refuge from the deluge in a “handicap” outhouse at a rest stop. (Wish we had a picture!) We were happy to brave the odor and bugs to escape the major downpour during this 20 minute “huddle/giggle”.

We arrived in Spanish (yes, that’s a town) with rain threatening again. I googled a B and B and called. No one answered, so we went there anyway, and waited out the next major downpour on their front porch. No one ever appeared so when the rain stopped we wandered down to the marina where we expected to find cabins as advertised- to no avail. We looked back toward town and saw the blackest sky imaginable- it was truly scary. We called a motel (Vance’s) who said they would come and pick us up! But that storm drifted south and we managed to ride back to Vance’s, where they gave us a big room with a jacuzzi- and they had a good restaurant on site where we had both dinner and breakfast. And just outside was this original “roach coach.”

Where we didn't dine in Spanish

On Sunday the 20th we finished our “downwind thank goodness” ride on the Canadian National Highway. We rode east to Espanola (we never did learn the source of these Spanish names) where we saw a classy horse sculpture.

Iron horses in Espanola

Lunch at the Roger Rabbit Restaurant was a treat, especially the RBF!

RBF source in Espanola

It rained on us a bit after lunch, and we rode now against a headwind as we headed south to Little Current, the north entry point to Manitoulin Island.

Up into the wind before the rain

But the skies cleared before we rode across the “swing bridge” onto Manitoulin. Addition by Carol-in my imagination while looking at the map, I had envisioned that the route from Espanola to Little Current would be flat-riding among the water and lowland reeds. In fact, we actually had to cross a small mountain range. This was an unpleasant surprise despite the lovely scenery, which included this lighthouse:

Manitoulin lighthouse

We checked out various motels and one B and B (again, nobody home) before settling into a one-bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor at the Anchor Inn in Little Current. It was right on the water with a great view of the marina.

View of the swing bridge from the marina

After a sunny and breezy dinner on their deck, we walked the marina, imagining the fun our sailing friends would have had visiting here!

First Day on Manitoulin

cbourne66 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:14:23 +0000

Monday July 21 (Dick) After a pastry breakfast at a little coffee shop on the harbor in Little Current, we headed west through farm country. We had been seeing these white plastic-wrapped “hay snakes”, but here was our first view (poorly photographed) of one of the machines that stuffs the hay cylinders into the endless plastic tubes.

Wrap rig and hay snake

It was a gorgeous day and our ride was leisurely, after a series of 60+ mile days. We hear that Manitoulin is the largest freshwater island in the world, and it is part of our shortcut to avoid going all the way around Georgian Bay- a route that would have kept us on the Canadian National Highway, with all its trucks, for way too long. Before lunch we stopped for the “cup and saucer” hike that goes to the top of the Niagara Escarpment, a 600+ mile long geological feature that extends all the way to Niagara Falls.

What a bloomin' day!

Whenever the road climbed to a ridge, we would see bare rock and realize that we were atop the escarpment again.

Atop the Niagara escarpment

Holding on at the top

At our lunch stop our “bicycling costumes” attracted conversation with a couple whose guy had ridden some years before across the CNH from east to west- clearly the wrong way from our experience, and he recalled that west winds had been an issue. By mid-afternoon we arrived at Bridal Veil Falls, where we put on swim suits and I joined some kids diving under the falls- a very powerful cool shower!

Bridal Veil Falls

I couldn't resist!

This was a beautiful spot near Kagawong, where we lodged in our tent at Norm’s Tent and Trailer Park. It was way off the main road, and from the name we had no idea what to expect. It was the best camping yet, and we’ve had some fabulous sites on this trip. Stella, the proprietor who bought from Norm, insisted on driving us in her car to several possible tent sites. The first was incredible, and we said “Stop, we want this one!” She said we might like the others better, but we couldn’t see how- we had a grassy spot on Kagawong Lake, looking out to a long harbor with an island centered on the harbor’s mouth.

After setting up our tent, we walked with our takeout dinner to look at the other two sites Stella had wanted us to see. They were both really special, especially the second, down a tree-lined lane that spread out into a grassy area facing the Kagawong River, completely isolated from the rest of the campground. We wanted to build our “perfect cabin” there! Stella lost her husband a few years back and wanted to sell “Norm’s” but her son talked her into keeping it, with the proviso that he join her in running it. We’re glad to have found them! We settled into our tent tired and happy again.

Sunny Manitoulin and Rainy Mainland

cbourne66 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:15:27 +0000

July 21st (Carol)–After a wonderful night’s sleep under the stars at Norm’s, we awoke to a perfect day-calm and sunny for the rest of our ride around the island. After hunting for breakfast in a lovely little bay near Norm’s, (photo below) we headed west with a very slight headbreeze toward Gore Bay.

nice view but not much breakfast

The island is mildly hilly in contrast to the perfectly flat north shore of Lake Huron. Plenty of farms with occasional views of the water. Our first stop for the day was for lunch in the sweet little town of Gore Bay. Then off toward the south side of the island.

Water all around us

For those of you who have our itinerary, you may notice that we have decided to decrease our daily mileage on the island from 60 mile days to 35-40 mile days. What was I thinking! Naturally we want less time in the saddle and more time enjoying the island treats. By this I mean more than the great food. So, we are not riding out to the end of the island on this visit. Our next stop was Providence Bay where we found yet another lovely campsite right across from the water.

Providence Bay with fashion

After a swim and setting up the tent, we headed off for a lovely special dinner at the Old Schoolhouse restaurant-fine dining in a casual atmosphere. Boy, are we enjoying the clear, warm weather. Our raincoats have again found their way to the bottom of the bags and the swimsuits to the top.

Warm sand and cold water

Schoolhouse for dinner

July 22nd-The next morning we asked the office about a restaurant for breakfast but found nothing was open. As a result, we had candy bars and Cheetos for our first meal of the day. Just to be clear, I have not misspelled Cheerios. Then off toward South Baymouth where we caught the ferry to Tobermory.

Big Ferry to Tobermory

We were directed to park in the front of the ferry along with approximately 40 motorcycles. Imagine the noise as they started up to drive off the boat. Quite exciting.

Cycles in the hold

Tobermory is a beautiful and very active marina town. Our first stop was the Sweet Shoppe where we had some ice cream sitting in the sun overlooking the harbor. We would have loved to spend more time there, but the weather report for the next day was for rain and we decided to get in a few more miles while the sun was shining. By the way, Tobermory is a center for fresh water diving due to the hundreds of shipwrecks in the area.

Looking over the Tobermory harbor

By the time we reached our campsite-Summer House Park on Miller Lake- it was cloudy and threatening rain. This was a marvelous place as the headquarters was an old home and the property has been in the same family for about 60 years. It looked more like a summer camp that a campground. It came complete with ping pong, horseshoes, gardens, restaurant, lake and boats. We really could have enjoyed this area for a week or so.

Main house at Miller Lake campground

July 23rd-We were again spared the overnight rain and headed off for breakfast in the morning, not wanting to wait until 9am for the camp restaurant to open. Mistake-the one down the raod was also closed. We finally found a wonderful and charming bakery complete with sculpture garden down the road where we fueled our bodies with goodies.

Bakery and sculpture garden

We had our raincoats on and off for much of the day between the sun and clouds. Next stop was a small bar-restaurant where we ordered a root-beer float after seeing the sign only to discover that it was an alcoholic drink. The waitress was kind enough to tell us before bringing the order. Now just what was in the drink-rootbeer, cream and rootbeer liqueur of some kind. What a laugh we had over that! Our destination for today was Wiarton and we arrived a little wet-more than damp but much less than soaking. We decided to stay at the Hillcrest B and B-a fascinating old home that looked a bit haunted, but was complete with incredible gardens and filled with much artwork.

Our haunt in Wiarton

We had a suite with a large bay window area.

My bay window by the bay window

Hillcrest B and B gardens

Victor, the owner, was quite an expert on many subjects and gave us a full tour of his property. We really enjoyed our stay there. Breakfast the next morning was a delicious assortment of cereals, fresh fruit and yogurt along with our usual juice and toast/bagels.

Down East Huron

cbourne66 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:17:33 +0000

Friday July 24 (Dick) Since Carol has already discussed our breakfast by Victor at the Hillcrest B and B, I’ll get us on the road down to Sarnia at the bottom of Lake Huron. These three days were scenic and difficult, with “winds on the nose” and nearly constant threats of rain. We were frequently helped along the way by kind Canadians. After leaving Wiarton we stopped to view Sauble Falls, site of an old mill, then continued south and had lunch in Southampton, where we picked up Highway 21, a busy, bumpy road on our way to Kincardine.

Sable Falls

We found an alternate route (23) near the end of the day that was closer to the coast.

Skirting the east shore of Huron

In Kincardine we headed for the harbor, looking at various lodging options, and found a trailer park near the water whose proprietor (Bill) found a spot for our little tent and treated us like royalty.

Tight quarters

It was great being right in town, as we could walk to dining at the Hogs Breath Saloon, with “roadhouse” fare, bowl-fuls of peanuts on the tables, and peanut shells littering the floor. We ran for our tent after dinner, slightly damp but making it before a huge downpour and thunderstorm. Our tent fly was still wet in the morning so we figured out a way to pack it separately from the tent.

On Saturday morning we had breakfast at Books and Beans and then followed a smaller road along the coast that was somewhat sheltered from the south wind and took us as far as Amberly, where we rejoined Highway 21.

Breakfast in Kincardine

The road was busy, bumpy, and exposed to the wind, so at Kintail we detoured southeast on Highway 20 to Highway 1 southwest. The roads were good but a downpour began just north of Dungannon. We saw a farm with a barn overhang and headed up the drive. As we came to the house the garage door opened! The owners, George and Mary, saw us on the run and offered us shelter in their garage. After 20 minutes the downpour eased and George offered to show us his Massey tractor collection. He had been a Massey dealer for many years and had a personal museum that was more extensive than the ag museum at UC Davis.

George and Mary Smythe at their Massey museum

Sometime we hope to be able to fully describe this museum- not just tractors but all types of ag equipment and farm appliances as well as a few antique Massey bicycles.

Massey bicycles

This stop was as surprising as that personal jet fighter collection we found years ago at a castle near Beaune in France. George and Mary are quite special people and we thoroughly enjoyed spending an hour with them before forging ahead toward Bayfield.

We grabbed some late sandwiches at a general store in Carlow, then found Highway 31 at Benmiller- we avoided Highway 21 all the way to the Old Homestead Campground just north of Bayfield. This was another gem, unshown in our documentation photo…

Great campground with pool

After a grueling 67 mile day into the wind, we set up in unexpected sunshine at the edge of a large playfield where two local kids sat at our picnic table, made scintillating conversation, and watched our every well-rehearsed move as we deployed our tent, mats, sleeping bags, and pajamas.

Our short term proteges

In fact, it was sunny the entire afternoon. After a swim in the pool, we biked to a nearby restaurant where we dined on a deck overlooking the harbor.

Great dinner at the Docks behind- forgot to photo

It rained in the night, so our fly, dried in the sun before placement the evening before, was wet again. But now we knew how to pack it…

After packing we rode 2 miles south into Bayfield, a really charming New England-like town around a grassy square. Bayfield had two art-cafes, and we chose the busier one for a delicious breakfast, resisting most of the enticing pastries. Carol took many pictures, but only the slide show has them all!

Bayfield Main Street

Carol liked the look of all the quaint shops, but more memorable for me was the Classic T-Bird show that was gathering on the square. I oogled a ’56 like the one we owned for 13 years and foolishly sold.

Bayfield sculpture court

From Bayfield we again found back roads (adding mileage, of course) to avoid Highway 21, until we rejoined again at Grand Bend. An MS charity bike ride was just concluding there, and some of the riders were also at our roadside lunch stop. The diner didn’t offer root beer floats, but on demand admitted they had both root beer and ice cream, so voila! After lunch we found a side road to Port Franks, and finally 21 turned south at Ravenswood and we generally followed Highway 7 to Sarnia. We found a bike path along the shore for a short distance in Brights Grove, where under threatening skies some walkers pointed us toward a park with a pavillion for shelter. We found it just in time, as a torrential downpour and lightening that struck within a few blocks presented an electrifying experience.

Any port in a storm

Just before the heaviest rain we made iPhone contact with Judy at the Twin Lakes B and B, who thankfully had a room for us near the Port Huron Bridge in Sarnia. When the storm passed we rode tree-lined Lakeshore Drive toward the B and B, only to arrive just as another downpour began. Judy had robes and warm towels ready as we docked our bikes in the garage, and we exchanged wet riding clothes for robes in the laundry room on the way in. This was another classic rescue- such a comfortable house and room, with hosts (including Judy’s husband Bill) who essentially gave us the run of their house and fed us pork steaks as part of a five-course meal that also included fresh corn-on-the-cob. Then we used their laundry to get our wardrobes back in shape for our return to the U.S.

Rescuers Judy and Bill at their Twin Lakes B and B

Thanks Judy and Bill! We’ll miss the friendly Canadians, and look forward to returning by auto for our intended tour of Superior’s north shore, after our pedals stop turning…