Greetings from Madison, Wisconsin.
I am still thrilled.
This morning when I checked Facebook there was a picture of Peggy
Tresenriter with Alzheimer’s
Trippin’ with George.
She has zipped through both books since I rode with her in
Goodfield, Illinois area. She posted
this lovely review on her Facebook page:
“Finished both of Susan Straley’s books Alzheimer’s Trippin’with George. Don’t let the size of the first book deter you. Both books are quick reads with lots of cool pictures of places I’d like to visit. But more than that; it’s a trike, hike, walk and crawl through funny and sad moments as Susan, George and their community travel through the debilitating effects of dementia.”
Wonderful! I am
flying high. Thank you, Peggy!
That is the flip side of what happened Thursday night.
But before I tell you about that I had promised to share the
pictures from my ride with Roger P. on the trails and down State Street where
rioters broke shop windows.
State Street is one of several streets that angle out from the State Capital. State Street is mostly a pedestrian and bicycle street, buses and delivery trucks are also allowed.
The street is lined with quaint shops, convenience stores, book stores, and theaters. We biked up the hill to the Capital and then around the square to get to State Street. When the museum came into view I knew we were close, its windows were all boarded up.
Most of the
shops have boards over the windows and artists and non-artists have created a
landscape of bright pictures and statements of
support for equal treatment by Police.
I left you last time I wrote after my ride with Roger.
As you recall we ended our ride and Roger bought a book.
Then I was sitting in Kathi’s den writing to you.
After that I went back home to Lilac. Since I started this trip I have been pretty
much re-heating things I had cooked and froze before I left home. This was the first night I pulled out my hot
plate and pot and cooked the veggie dish.
I usually cook a big batch, but some in jars for storing in the fridge
or freezing. I did this on a smaller
scale this time, but the same idea.
The sky was getting black, but it had been doing that for
hours and nothing happened yet.
When I was finished cleaning up after supper I went on a little
bike ride on my two-wheel bike. Roger
had mentioned there was a long bridge if I chose to turn right at the
campground on some river trail. As I
rode the sky got blacker and blacker and the wind picked up. I find there is something very invigorating
about a pending storm. I only went a
mile or two before I turned around and raced back.
Yay! I arrived in time to get inside before it started to really
pour. Lilac swayed with the gusts of
wind.
I tried to participate in a Zoom happy hour with the Sisters
on the Fly but I couldn’t hear well over the din of the rain on the metal
roof. I bowed out and read some in a
book.
I have been using a flashlight and head lamp in the evenings
in the trailer. It is times like this
when I think it would be good to have some more lighting. I will try to figure this out when I am
staying in Rhinelander, WI for the rest of the summer season.
I got up for a snack and noticed a puddle on the counter
top. I checked to see if it was my water
container I keep on the counter for washing hands and cleaning dishes. Nope.
I pulled aside the curtain on the curb-side front
window. This window does not open, but
the sill was full of water. The floor
under it was full of water. I could hear
dripping behind the wall under the window.
Geesh! This trailer has not yet
traveled 2,000 miles and it is springing leaks!
I stuffed a micro-towel into the groove on the window
sill. Pulled everything out and dried
the floor. I stuffed a paper towel in
the corner where the floor meets the wall beneath the window. The paper towel didn’t get much wetter, even
though I could still hear dripping behind the wall.
With it raining out, the air conditioner is a blessing. With the windows all shut, it was nice
inside.
It was the middle of the night when I started getting buzzed
by a mosquito or two. When I woke in the
morning there must have been a dozen or more mosquitos buzzing around
inside. How did they get in???
Well, no time to figure that out. I needed to get ready to head to
Waukesha. I was visiting my long-time
friends Mark and Jane. Then I was going
to Sussex (about 10 miles away) to visit Sandy and John.
I forgot to take any pictures of Mark and Jane. We had coffee on their patio and then went
for a walk in a big park. We walked the
park roads so we could avoid the mosquitos which would probably be active
because of the rain. It worked out well
because we could spread out and walk side by side until we had to move for
cars.
In a previous blog post I shared with you a picture that
Mark took. He started sharing a picture
a day in Mid-March during the COVID shut-down.
The pictures continue to get better.
At Sandy and John’s they had two tables set up 10 feet apart
at least -- very safe indeed!
She had zucchini cut up like spaghetti covered in veggies
and pesto. And a chickpea dish with east-Indian
seasoning (without the cayenne pepper).
It was luxurious. I felt like
royalty because I was had this beautiful table and I couldn’t enter the kitchen
to help. They spoiled me! Thank you, Sandy and John.
While Sandy was cooking and serving, John and I discussed
all the nuances and viewpoints of the gun debate. Gun registration, waiting periods, assault
rifles… we looked at it from both sides.
I always enjoy chatting with John who has a background as an Editor and
Journalist and friends, like me, on both sides of the debate.
Back at the campground I investigated the mosquito and leak
problems.
It turns out there is a gap in the air conditioner and its
screen that is allowing the mosquitos in.
I look through the outside grill shows that they were really trying to
get in and many got plastered to the insides.
It appears that the caulk at the top of the Weeroll and at
the top of the window is good. But when
comparing the window to the one next to it, it appears the window is not set as
tightly in the casing. There is a tiny
ledge where water might have leaked in.
I posted the problem on a Weerollers Facebook group page and
some said to just caulk it with silicone caulk.
Last night was lovely and cool! I did not have to use the air
conditioner. I slept with the doors and
one window open. The other screened
window has a hole in it I have not yet repaired from when the bicycle handle
went through the screen on a travel day.
The screens over the doors did their job. This morning I only had one mosquito inside
with me.
Today is Saturday, my last day at the Lake Farm Campground.
Kathi and I had arranged to ride together. She arrived around 8 a.m.
The koozie she made me looks very nice on my trike.
We went to a coffee shop near downtown called Ground Zero. Kathi told me that Monday starts the face
mask order in public buildings. People
need to wear a mask to slow the spread of COVID-19. Some businesses and individuals are
threatening to sue. And so it goes in this
great land currently so divided.
I have learned that the nature center next to the campground
has WIFI, though not secure.
I will
upload this blog and nothing else.
Then
I am going to drive to Janesville to visit my son again before I head out
tomorrow toward Rhinelander with one more stop along the way.
The campground phone mailbox in Rhinelander is full. So
much for letting them know my ETA for my seasonal site.
Thanks for checking in on me. Let me know how things are going with you. Comment here or via Facebook.
