Arrival in Muskegon

June 30 – It was kinda mixed feelings this morning, knowing we’d now be in one spot for 2 months and could settle versus, travelling and seeing so many new things and places.  Working was also going to be a downer.  The weather has gotten considerably warmer and I’m not sure how well Bill is going to do out in all that heat.  Maybe it’s a wave that will pass! 

We left about 10 and it took about the 3 hours we expected.  We ran into one lane back up that slowed us down a while and the first roads we were on were a little dicey.  The GPS and the Google Maps did not agree on the route so we’d do one‘s preference and then the other’s preference.  The tiny roads were not on the map and once we hit roads that were, Bill felt more comfortable as did I. 

View right outside our door

Lake She-Nepp-A- Ho is  little north of Muskegon off a 4 lane highway.  The lake was originally a spring but when the road was being built they kept digging up the area to use the sand/dirt for the road and it became a spring fed lake 29’ deep.  It is really nice with 3 aerators, a peninsular for beach use, trees dotted around, and distinct swimming and fishing areas.  There are sites that back up to the lake most of the way around and others 1 or 2 rows back.  The lakeside ones are on the

Two of the aerators

short side so not for us, plus the seasonal guests have first choice.  We’re about as far as you can get from the office but we wanted a site where we could get a clear satellite signal.  We can clearly see the lake from our yard.  We have 50 amp and water as they have no full hook up sites.  They pump you out twice a week.   The campground was bought by this couple, Jean and Shawn, in December and they sold their home in California and moved in here and spent the winter working on upgrading and changing things.  They’ve done a great job and have plans for gradually putting in some full hook ups.

We arrived a day early and had let them know so we had to go a site 2 spaces down from our assigned site for the night.  We met the other volunteer couple who live in The Villages.  It’s a small world!  They are from this area and were looking for a seasonal spot in the area to be closer to their kids and grandkids than they’ve had the last few years.  Jean asked it they’d like to work camp and they said they’ve give it a try.  I think they could use 3 couples, as least for the peak times!  Everyone we’ve met have bee very nice and welcoming.

Since Bill does the local driving, I agreed to go in to Grandville to Cabela’s as I wanted to get a new rain jacket and we had a gift card for there.  It’s about 45 minutes but it was OK, and we did find a jacket that I might keep, and then we used another gift card at TGI Friday’s.  The food was better than I expected and we left full!  On the way home we stopped at a Meijer’s (like Wal-mart) for half and half and they had a good produce sale so I picked up a few things.

At least I didn’t have to cook dinner!  I did a load of laundry and Bill was happy to have TV.  We got home at 10, just as the fireworks the owners were doing from the other side of the lake started.  We heard more than we saw as we were whipped by then.  We were told they are having them again on the 4^th, so we will plan to see them for sure!  I didn’t get my computer out.  Not sure how I’m going to manage things as the WIFI does not reach here in the back 40! 

Last day in Elkhart area.....

June 29 – No rush this morning, our last day in Indiana.  I cooked the sausage I got at the Amish shop and it was OK but our local butcher in Winter Garden does better.  I promised Bill we’d have fruit and sausage at home and on the way to Elkhart we’d stop at a shop we’ve seen for a breakfast pastry.  So we got ready, ate our half breakfast and stopped at The Bakery Next Door and each had a big muffin.  Mine was blueberry and Bill had raspberry.  It was the best muffin I’ve ever had.  It was heavy and moist, very cake-like.  Yummy for sure!

We drove on to Elkhart and found the RV/Motorhome Hall of Fame.  The building is rather new and it’s a beautiful space with a grand staircase to the upstairs.  We watched a movie first that covered how and when it got started and what order to visit the rooms.  They have a nice gift shop with souvenirs

as well as camping items.  There a hall of all the inductees over the years and a huge area of vintage RV’s.  I think the oldest was 1929 or so.  They have been donated, some refurbished, some kinda rough but it interesting to see.  We saw some of the originals that they are now making Retro models of.  There were several from the year I was born. 

There’s a room with some current models for show that come from the local factories.  Someone made an excellent display showing models of the process and it’s exactly like we saw at the factories.  That took a lot of work!  Bill bought a magnet but they had some cute things for camping and signs to put out.

We stopped at Aldi for cereal and then headed to Middlebury.  There was a detour, of course, and we found an alternate route and it’s a nice ride.  There is a big Jayco plant there and we had them passing us in each direction.  There are lots dotted around town with 5^th wheels and travel trailers.  When we stopped on Main Street for lunch there was a continuous flow of trailers and 5^th wheels the entire time.  After lunch we drove a couple miles out of town to see where the plant is.  There were a couple of other brands also.

From Middlebury we drove to Shipshewana to an Amish company that makes house and RV furniture.  We’d looked at their products before in Florida but with shipping it was a little expensive.  We are still talking about getting 2 recliners and they have a little 6 inch table for between them with 2 cup holders and drawers in front that you can put your books or magazines in.  We’re going to think about it and see what we come up with.

We made a couple of stops in Shipshewana at a bulk food store and the meat shop for

some scrapple to freeze for later.  Then it time was to head for home.  Molly was glad to see  us and while we were gone we got 2 new neighbors.  The place is filling up for the holiday week.  We put our purchases away and I made a meatloaf.  Then we rested and read while the meatloaf was cooking.  We had corn on the cob and salad for dinner.  I really wasn’t very hungry as we’d had a big breakfast and I had a big lunch. 

After dinner Bill emptied the tanks and put things away outside and I downloaded 3 days of photos and tried to hotspot my phone but didn’t have any luck.  My signal isn’t too good to start with.  I did pay some bills on my phone though!

Bill did the dishes and now we’ll read since we have no TV.  We have certainly enjoyed this area but look forward to meeting everyone at Lake She-nepp-a-ho tomorrow.  I think it’s about 3 hours or so.

Busy day!

June 28 - The plan to leave by 8:30 went fine until Bill realized he was a bit short of gas in the truck so we stopped to fill up and the pump wasn’t working properly so he had to move to a different one.  We finally got on the road and headed to Elkhart to the Class A division of Forest River.  The guy we had our appointment with gave us the address but said we’d be better to put the company across from them as their address doesn’t work well in the GPS. He was correct and we found him waiting for us.

Fiberglass wall cut and ready

We kinda thought he was showing just us around and when we arrived he gave us safety glasses and off we went.   It was such a great experience.  We were right on the floor with the people working on the units and he explained everything we saw and freely answered all of our questions.  They don’t make a diesel or we would consider on of their Georgetowns.  He allowed me to take photos.

Slide will be last after large
appliances and furniture

  They make only their Class A’s in the building we were in.  We were able go in some partially completed and see all of the parts.  They cut out and entire side of an RV, windows and all and have them ready to mount.  We’d been on the Winnebago tour a few years ago and it was good but this one-on-one was awesome and we could take our time and ask whatever.  He will be in Tampa for the big show in January but I guess since we want diesel we won’t see him.

After a quick stop at Joann’s we headed to Nappanee where we had a 1:30 tour set up with Newmar.  Once we got to town we stopped for a quick lunch at Arby’s and still were the first to arrive for the tour.  We were beginning to think we would be the only ones, then 14 more showed up.  One couple has a 2009 Newmar and has a 2019 ordered.  They live in Canada.  Nice folks!

This tour was right down on the floor with the workers also but we had to wear glasses and safety vests and were supposed to stay behind the yellow lines.  We had head phones and little receivers and we could hear our guide perfectly.  This was the last work day there as they are doing inventory tomorrow and will be closed next week.  Things were winding down but we started at the beginning with the chassis and got to the end where they check for exterior water leaks and then any inspection flaws.  We were allowed in the only 2 they had currently on the floor and boy, were there a lot of things on the lists.  Most are minor, a scratch here, or missing a screw but they don’t leave the factory until the punch list is eliminated.   Once they do the water test they put thin tape strips anywhere there is a blemish or leak. No photos are allowed at Newmar, so drats!

At this point we were free to walk back to the tour office and leave our gear and complete a survey.  We highly recommend any RV owner to visit one of the factories and see how they are made.  You can also judge the quality of the RV by seeing the materials used in them.

From Avenger moive

Time to drive back to Elkhart and find the “Hall of Heroes Museum”.  I put the address in my phone and it took us to a residential area.  I looked in the brochure and checked the address and it took us there again, this time I told Bill to go slow and let me look at the house numbers and there it was.  It’s a 2 story building in the back of a house with a small sign near the drive way.  We pulled in as a young family with a  son was exiting the building and

Bike used by Nicholas
Cage in Ghost Riders

Bill asked how it was.  They seemed impressed so he paid his $6 to go in.  I chose to stay in the car, review my RV brochures and pick and eat mulberries from the tree beside the truck!  Bill really enjoyed it and the guy in charge.  He said they have way more stuff than they can properly display and are looking to move to a place 3x as large.  They have lots of collectibles.  They have Adam West’s original TV Batman touring costume, a Captain America shield from the movie, and lots more according to Bill.  It has his endorsement for sure!

On the way to Wal-mart we got side-tracked by a Culver’s where we shared a Mixer.  Bill got a gas can and a set of leveling pads while I picked up a few things in the grocery section.  We decided to have dinner in Shipshewana as we weren’t super ready for it after the ice cream.  By the time we got there I picked the Blue Gate Restaurant.  It had great ratings and offered the choice of their buffet or the regular menu.  Buffets always cause us to over indulge so we went with the regular dinner.  They bring a mini loaf of wheat bread and have apple butter and a peanut spread on the table.  Bill had meatloaf and I went with liver and onions.  He enjoyed his and I loved mine.  I don’t get it very often as a lot of places over cook the liver and I don’t like it all tough.  This was perfect.  We were too full for dessert but stopped in their bakery, BUT left empty handed.

Molly was so glad to see us as we hadn’t let her a full bowl of food.  Bill put his purchases away then went for a walk around the loop here.  I put the groceries and things away and thought I better get this typed before I forgot it all.  Now I can have a cup of coffee and read for a while.

3 Night in one place, wow!

June 27 - It rained hard most of the night. A bit drizzly this morning but we timed leaving well and Bill didn’t get  wet unhooking the utilities and neither of us got wet when we hooked up.  It rained sporadically for our 90 minute drive to Howe, IN. where we checked in at the Twin Mills Campground.  We hit the time line and lost an hour in our first hour!

Lots of these around town and on the way home

The campground is OK, nothing special.  It’s nicely wooded but restricts use of the satellite.  We managed a pull through full hook up for the 3 nights.  After a bit of a rest from driving in the rain again, we had lunch and headed to Shipshewana where yesterday and today until 5 is the huge weekly flea and wholesale market.  There are 800 booths and a livestock auction.  We passed on that. 

Great selection of yard lanterns

We were about 12 miles from it and since it wasn’t the best weather day and afternoon we had no trouble getting a good parking space.  The sun came out and it was perfect weather for non-stop walking!  Bill got a yard rock with Chief Wahoo on it.  He will put him out when we’re camping.  We both found a few books in addition to cheese, jerky, and some extra “parts” for the RV.  Across the lot was a permanent bulk food and meat and cheese shop where we picked up sausage, lunch meats and more cheese curds.  Across the road is a big “department” store and the fabric selection was great but didn’t carry the print I was looking for.  Bill looked around a bit then went to the car and started on one of his books.  The only thing I bought was a Sun Drop bottled drink for Bill.

We stopped at another fabric shop but no luck there so we headed home where Bill had his Sun Drop while I enjoyed an iced coffee.  We read until time to get dinner ready.  I thawed some ham I had in the freezer thinking it was leftover chicken.  Oh well!  So we had corn on the cob, the last of the kale salad and Bill finished off his jello cottage cheese.  We each had an Amish homemade fried pie for dessert.  Mine was peach and his was strawberry rhubarb.  So delicious!

Bill did some outdoor stuff, then the dishes while I showered.  No internet unless we pay for it and I may wait and do that tomorrow night.  I finished a book and will start a new one.  We have to leave here by 8:30 in the morning for our tour at the Forest River factory at 9:30.

The post than almost didn't happen!

June 26 -  As I was driving this morning I firmly decided that this was a day I wanted to for-get and was not going to write a journal entry.  The day somehow got better and I decided the better part of the day outweighed the bad.

I had checked the weather when I got up and it was looking to be very rainy from our campground down into Indiana where we were headed.  In addition, we would be on interstate in or around Chicago and I wasn’t looking forward to driving the city in the rain.

We hurriedly dressed, ate and got the RV ready to travel.  We hooked up in the park with a few drizzles and got on the road.  The camp host had given Bill directions that were supposed to be easy to get to I-94. He had them written down and we hadn’t gone far when the first issue arose.  We were to go East on 32 but the first sign we saw only gave West and North.  Of course, we have to make a decision and Bill said go left (west) and then just up the road he said to turn right and I did.  It was a rather narrow 2 lane road with a rise.  When we crested the rise ahead of us there was a railroad bridge that said 12 feet.  Uh oh!  We are close to 13 feet tall.  We stopped dead in the road and I fought to control a panic attack.  Luckily there was very little traffic and we were stopped beside the only house on the road and it had a pretty big driveway.  I put the hazard lights on (fortunately we had checked them when we hooked up and they worked).  We unhooked the truck and Bill backed it into the driveway.  Several vehicles went around us and once it looked clear I backed into the driveway and off the road for both lanes to be clear.  I was again starting to panic because we still didn’t know what road to get on.  I pulled into the road and Bill went around me and we went back to the crossroad and took the east road, even though it didn’t say east.  I was not a happy camper or driver.  I would have gone straight since East was not clearly stated.  We were on a tiny road with multiple railroad crossings and I really thought we were going to get into a worse pickle than before.  Eventually we intersected with 32 East (straight was the way to go since  the road veered around).  Then Bill pulled into the striped “safety” zone between the lanes and stopped.  I gathered I was to join him there, and so on went the hazard lights again and we hooked up.

Downtown Chicago in the rain

It rained on and off, fortunately not as bad as the predictions were.  Traffic and construction were stressful.  Lane changes, b-hole drivers, left side exits – they all wore me down.  Tolls were outrageous as Bill thought it would be faster to go through downtown Chicago.  I feel fortunate we didn’t crash and burn!  Once we got to the other side, the roads were still under par, but traffic died considerably.

We arrived intact, albeit a bit ruffled to

Went through to Indiana

Michigan City, IN.  We ate a late lunch and then headed out for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.  They have a nice Visitor Center and I got a couple of stamps for my Parks book.  To see the best dunes you have to pay to enter the state park but the ranger gave us some pointers for a drive along Lake Michigan’s coast in the national park.  We stopped at a section that’ is privately owned.  There were 5 houses that were on display at the

This the Florida House

1933 Chicago World Fair that were billed at “Century of Progress Homes.  They were all very different.  They were moved by barge from Chicago to Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores, which sits smack dab in the middle of the park.  The structures boast ahead-of-their-time building techniques, materials and appliances.  Three appeared to be like new, one is almost complete of renovations and one is getting a total makeover.  They are supposed to be returned exactly to how they were built in 1933 (at the expense of private owners).

The lighthouse museum in the marina of Michigan City closed at 4 so we hurried there.  I

MIchigan East
Pierhead

got stamps and photos of Michigan City East Pierhead Light and

Old LIghthouse Museum

Old Lighthouse Museum.  So 2 more off my list!

Time to head back to the RV for relaxation and reading before time to make dinner.  I fixed the last of the schnitzel I got in Canada, again with noodles and gravy with leftover kale salad.  Bill had a bit of the cottage cheese concoction and we had a brownie for dessert.

As I complete today’s rough start and pleasant ending, I hear the pitter patter of rain on the roof.  Hope it’s gentle and soothing to sleep by!

A few more lighthouses

June 25 – We only had a drive of 90 miles to the campground today.  We’re back on the coast of Wisconsin at Cliffside Park in Racine.  The traffic was more of a challenge than anything.  We had to get on the interstate after 2 weeks of minimal traffic on more country roads.  There was work on the interstate and lanes changes and rude drivers!  Needless to say I was a bit tense by the time we arrived.  Bill called for directions as the street would not come up on our RV GPS.  Either Bill wasn’t told or it wasn’t written down but we missed a turn and once we realized it Bill called back and clarified it.  We unhooked along the road as small town America doesn’t have much turning room for the RV towing.

We got turned and were only a couple of miles from where we should have been.  The park is beautiful.  The hosts are from Venice, FL and originally from this area and this is their 8^th year volunteering here.  He gave Bill some easier directions to get back to the interstate for tomorrow.  Our spot is nice but Bill would have preferred there not be any trees as to get level we had to back up under the trees too far to get a signal.  Oh well.

Wind Point Lighthouse

Once we settled in we had some lunch and headed out to Wind Point Lighthouse in Racine.  It was easy to get to but no one around to get a stamp from.  It is the most beautiful lighthouse area we’ve seen.  It’s on the lake with waves crashing like the ocean and a number of out buildings such as the fog house. It is one of the tallest and oldest active lighthouses on the Great Lakes.  It was built in 1880.  The local police station is housed in part of the keeper quarters.  It has 144 iron steps to the top.  The main keeper quarters are still used by keepers.  There was a 10 year period when they had no keeper. 

Further south is Kenosha which has 2 lights, not far from each

Kenosha Pier Lighthouse

other.  One is the Southport Lighthouse and out at the end of the pier is the Pier Light.  There are 2 locations side by side where you can get the stamps but of course, they are both closed on Mondays!  You’d think one could be open!

Southport Lighthouse

We needed to make a Wal-mart stop and Kenosha has a brand new one so we stopped for produce mostly.  The route back was much more direct than the route from the first lighthouse to the others.  Seemed like half the time to get back. 

We put our purchases away and read for a bit and I put some brownies in the toaster oven and made a cottage cheese, jello, cool whip concoction I knew Bill would like.  I cooked fish for me and heated up the last piece of chicken for Bill along with kale salad and leftover corn.  Quite a Monday night feast!  Since we have no internet I worked on downloading 2 days of photos and getting them ready to upload to the blog, hopefully tomorrow evening.

Time to do some reading!

The good, the bad and the strange!

June 24 - This morning we were blessed with a beautiful day! The sun was out but not too

hot and the weather was just perfect. Once we had our first real Sunday breakfast in a while, which was waffles, fruit and bacon, we got on the road for today’s adventure. We had figured it would take about an hour to our first stop, House on the Rock. However, along the way we saw signs for a National Landmark called Cave of the Mounds. Since we had time we thought we would take a little detour and check it out. If we had the time and had brought jackets, we would’ve gone on one of the cave tours there because I love caves, however, since it was such a beautiful day and we did not know what to expect we did not take jackets.

Entry to House on the Rock

We got back on the road which was only about a mile and headed to the town of Spring Green to see this famous House on the Rrock. I’m not even sure how to describe it. It’s deep in the woods and you cannot see the house exterior. Since its beginning a number of buildings have been built to house additional exhibits so when you go you decide whether you want to see everything or just specific sections.

The House on the Rock was started by Alex Jordan in 1945. He

One of the living rooms

had no experience in architecture or design but new he wanted to create a place to retreat to on weekends and be able to invite friends to.  So what started as a house with no bedrooms or bathrooms became a compound of numerous buildings, that is broken up into three sections for touring purposes. Based on our time because I had a tour for myself of a Frank Lloyd Wright house in the afternoon, we optioned to do two sections which should  be about two hours.

Typical artwork

The first section is the actual house he started.  It’s got the most peculiar lay out because it’s not really build as a house but is built into the rock so there are trees that go through the ceiling. There are low ceilings where you can barely stand and it is multiple layers.  I guess they are floors because there is no direct path for anything. He never married but had a long term girlfriend and they each maintained their own homes but came to this house for the weekends. He managed to sell it to someone he trusted to

In the center of the house

continue what he had built and add to his collection of museum quality pieces although some are a bit off-center. He died just a couple of months after he completed the sale. It’s really an unusual place and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Probably my favorite thing was the very last thing we got to see.  It was the most humongous carousel. I believe it was over 129 different animals on it and all these lit up chandeliers but you could not ride on it.

Once we finished our two hours of walking 2 sections, we drove into town. About the only place we could fairly quickly get a meal was Culvers. There was a street festival going on and Culvers was packed but since people ate and left we managed to get a table.

From the bus window "Taliesin"

I had a reservation for the 3 o’clock to tour Taliesin. Bill is not interested in that type of thing and that’s fine.  He brought a book so I told him he could go into the visitor center where it was air-conditioned and read his book and have a soda. Each tour has a maximum of 18 people and they take you on a small bus up to the house which sits on an estate of about 1000 acres.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s design style remains

From this view it does not look
 like 3 stories

the same in all of the houses that I have seen so far. Being only 5’ 4” he did not use tall ceilings in most of the common areas, but only in the rooms where he wanted to impress people. His studio has huge peaked ceilings and his favorite color is Cherokee red. He uses that all over and he also sneaks in squares. You can go in just about any room that he designs and find little square objects and they are usually painted Cherokee red.

We got to see the studio, the main floor of the house and a lot of the grounds but they are still using the dormitory area for students still enrolled in his architecture school.   I believe it is still being overseen by his last wife. Since she was about 30 years younger than him she is still alive and well. Also some of the staff lives in the upstairs of the main home where there are extra bedrooms. The kitchen in the main house is very tiny and you can’t even bring a tour group and there it is that small.

The drive home was uneventful, which is good thing.  We had our leftovers and just relaxed a bit.

Nice relaxing day!

June 23 – No internet for 2 days, well, at least that’s a far ahead as we know.  It was a beautiful day today!  We left Oshkosh and got into the most traffic we’ve seen in a while near Madison, WI.  We are in Stoughton, WI for 2 nights.  The Viking Village Campground is beautiful!  Currently probably half of the sites are seasonals and we chatted with several.  Nice folks.  Some of the spaces are a little unlevel but we were lucky and got a good one!

While we were driving Bill made a reservation for me to go on a 2 hour tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, Taliesin.  It’s expensive but I know it will be well worth it.  I’ve loved his work since I took a college class that we studied his work.  There are lots of homes/buildings he’s designed in WI since he’s from here.  Bill also called House on a Rock to see if we needed reservations for that but we don’t, so all is well and planned for tomorrow.

After settling in and having lunch we drove into town.  What a nice town.  Good size with some good stores.  We stopped at Aldi and I got a full bag of veggies, fruits, brats and a bottle of Peach Bellini!  Yum!  We passed a St Paul de Vincent thrift store and stopped as the one in Clermont is really good and this one was also.  Bill got some books and I got Tupperware!  What good deals.  Next door was McD’s and it was calling our names, so we went thru the drive-thru and ordered a mocha frappe for me and a caramel for Bill.  Yummy for sure!  We started to go to a Farm Market but realized it was further out than we wanted to go so we came home.

It was nice to sit out under the awning and just read!  Bill set the grill up for later and folks walking their dogs said , hey, and Bill always has a comment or to two make with them.  Bill grilled chicken and brats to go with the leftover pasta salad and steamed broccoli.  We had the last 2 shortcakes with strawberries and blackberries for dessert. 

No satellite tonight since we’re under some trees but did get quite a few channels on the antenna.  Bill was impressed!  I printed some postcards for mailing and time to finish my book!

Cheese and Lighthouses

June 22 -  I can’t believe I totally forgot our first stop yesterday!   We went to Scray Cheese Factory!  We hoped to see the steps of the process but there was just a big viewing window and they were pretty much done for the day.  We did get to sample several of their cheeses, but the big reason to go is to get FRESH cheese curds.  Sometimes we can get them in Florida but they just taste like regular cheese.  When they’re fresh they are a bit moist and they literally make a squeaky noise with you chew them.  As kids we used to get them in the Amish community in Ohio where our dad grew up and would take us to see them make the cheese.   We bought a pound and they did last through some of today!

Rack of fresh curds

So, today we started our day by going to another cheese factory, Union Star Cheese.  It was in the direction of Oshkosh so we each drove.  There was parking on the street and it ‘s not really in town.  This time we bought 2 pounds of fresh curds and both agreed they are not as flavorful as yesterday’s.  There was a young woman who spent $129 on cheeses and meats to take back to Louisiana.  She’s from the area and only gets home once a year and said she tries to make it last!  They had a nice sample of aged cheddar but we still have cheese from Ohio and some we bought yesterday. 

 We were only about a 20 minutes to our campground in Oshkosh.  I’ve always wanted to come here as this is the home of Oshkosh B’gosh clothing and come to find out they merges with Carter Clothing and moved their manufacturing.  We did learn that this is one of the convention/event capitals of the Great Lakes Region.  There is a big country western concerts series going on this weekend and we were lucky to get a spot.  I  think we’re the only ones in the campground who are not going to any of the events.

After we had some lunch we drove down to Fond du Lac on Lake Winnebago to see the

Fond du Lac Lighthouse

Fond du Lac Lighthouse.  It was easy to locate after a nice drive along the shores of Lake Winnebago.  There were quite a lot of people there and I went up the top while Bill did photo duty.  The trick was finding the Visitor Bureau to get the stamp.  We went to the address on the Lighthouse Society website and it was empty.  I called the number and found they had moved to downtown.  They have poor signage at the new location so Bill parked and I walked to it and found this was their first day there.  Anyway, I got my stamp so all is good with the world!

On the way back we stopped for iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts  and I made a quick stop at JoAnn’s and staples.  We discussed where to go for dinner as we are in major fish territory and it’s Friday so all of the seafood places, Elks, Rotary, etc. have fish fries tonight!  We picked a place from Yelp but Bill talked to some locals at the campground and they gave the names of 2 places closer. 

I worked on more paperwork for the rental house; this is getting to be a real pain!  Now we’re told there’s an outstanding water bill from 2010 that has to be paid to get a clear title.  Either a tenant never paid it or it was for the time we did a renovation and they sent the bill to the rental and not to us and the tenant didn’t give it to us.  Anyway, I got a check ready for that but will pursue it for my satisfaction!

Paul Bunyan pants

On the way to dinner Bill wanted to stop at the Duluth Trading Company that he’d seen advertised but I guess we don’t have one.  They have and “outlet” room behind the regular overpriced store and Bill did get a nice pair of shorts.  They had some good buys there for women if you are a size 6! 

We decided on Parnell’s Place for dinner.  There was quite a wait as we expected but we did get a seat at the bar and I had a glass of Riesling while Bill had a coke.  I’m sure mine was better!  So good that I took a photo of the label for future purchase!  We both had the medium perch dinner with a salad.  The perch was very good and maybe just a little too large of a serving, but the small was only 5 ounces.  It came with a tiny cup of slaw that was good and pumpernickel bread which was a nice touch, but it was pre-buttered with margarine when there was butter on the table.  I didn’t quite get that! 

Our entertainment for the evening was listening to the rowdy crowd of young people gathering and waiting for the school bus to pick them up and deliver them to the concert venue.  They each paid $21 for round trip and the driver made 3 trips that we know of.  They sounded like they started partying early and were loud and obnoxious already!  I’m sure we will hear them come back since we are parked RIGHT by the entrance!  Oh well!

Time to read a few pages and post this tomorrow!

3 more lighthouses....

June 21 – I was  just barely up  when our realtor called.  I don’t think he knew it was an hour earlier here.  Luckily  Bill had  not turned  the sound  off on his phone so we went over some things  with the  contract on  our rental  house.  Sure  hope this  goes through  so we can be over and done  with it.  Bill got  up when  he heard  me on the phone so we got going earlier than usual today. 

Two Rivers Lighthouse

He had some fruit but I didn’t make any breakfast!  We left for Two

Tug boat 

Rivers, WI to see 2 lighthouses.  First we went to the Two Rivers Lighthouse which was the 1886 North Pierhead Lighthouse that guided shops and fishermen in to the harbor until 1969.  It was moved to its current location at the Rogers Street Fishing Village.  The village has an assortment of buildings moved to the locations that house fishing industry memorabilia.  There’s a tug boat, net making, a working Kahlenberg engine and lots more.  The gentlemen volunteering

Inside the tugboat

today were very knowledgeable and answered many questions. 

Rawley Point Lighthouse

Further up the coast 4-5 miles is the Point Beach State Forest, where the Rawley Point Lighthouse is.  The thing is, you can’t go in it or on the property because it’s part of the Coast Guard.  The forest did build a nice boardwalk out to the beach where you can take photos.  There was even a sign post that a little frame was built to put your cell to do a selfie from.  Of course, we had to use it!  Then I forgot to ask for my passport stamp for my book so we drove back to it after we stopped in town for postage stamps and to mail some things.  Good thing it wasn’t too far to go!

Just down the coast is the city of Manitowoc.  We stopped at the Wisconsin Maritime

Manitowoc Lighthouse

Museum which is huge.  We decided not to do the tour since we’ve done several maritime museums.  I went in to get my passport stamp and ask where the best photo point is of the Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse.  The folks were really helpful and I had a nice conversation with one guy who has done a lot of lighthouses also.  You can walk out to the lighthouse on the breakwater but it’s a pretty long walk.  I went out the pier, which isn’t as close but I could see people who walked out and kayaked out. 

Lightouse and ferry

It was past lunch time and I checked Yelp for a place.  We had lunch at The Fat Seagull.  It was highly rated and we were surprised that it was a small bar and restaurant.  Bill said it reminded him of his cousin in Canada’s neighborhood bar.  Bill had a brat burger, I had my first fish tacos and we shared a basket of seasoned fries.  Everything was delicious!  I could have managed with only 1 fish taco as the fish was lightly battered and 1 would have been enough.  The manager came over to check on us and was very welcoming.  There were 2 years of local awards on the wall voting it as the best neighborhood bar, best fish fry, etc.  Guess I made a good choice.

Time to head back to De Pere.  It took about 40 minutes to get home.  We are only going about 40 miles tomorrow so we can sleep in as late as we want.  We looked ahead to our plans and I will need to make some tour reservations tomorrow for upcoming places.  I paid some bills, not fun, did some email, downloaded 2 days of photos, journalled and made a pasta salad to have with our burgers and broccoli.  Once we ate I was back on the computer to get caught up as we never know when we will have WIFI.