Hey there! It is beautiful here in northern Wisconsin. These are pictures taken from the deck of the cabin we rented for the week we are here.
One day we hiked the Tara Lilly trails. Tara Lilly LLC is a private trust created by a couple that owns a lot of land that has set aside conservation land. They opened up many beautiful acres for ski and hiking trails.
Here I am getting you filled in with what we are doing now. Yet, I haven't written to you since the end of August. We have done LOTS of fun things. Let me tell you about a few. And yes, this might be a good time to go get your favorite beverage and get comfortable. There are a few stories to tell.
And get this story! On the way back across the water we took a bridge. It was a very long metal bridge that they were working on, and the bike pathway was narrow. Richard hit the side and cut himself. After we got off the bridge we immediately went under some buzzing high power lines. I felt a bee sting me on my upper inner thigh. Then another one in my other upper inner thigh. I shouted, "Owe, Owe" and then "STOPPING" as I pulled off the trail and jumped off my bike. I rubbed my thighs. That was strange, it didn't still hurt like it would have if I got stung. And then I thought it might have been prickers thrown up from the ground, but I felt around and looked around and saw and felt nothing.
The second day of biking we did a ride on a trail through the countryside. It was a nice balance to do the city one day and the country the next. Thank you to our good friends, Richard and Louise for meeting up with us and leading us on these rides.
Time changes every thing! Richard and Louise told us that this year they would put their home in Florida up for sale. They are getting older and it is worry-some to be in the USA without their Canadian health care. We will have to arrange to meet up with them again in Canada in the years to come.
We were able to get to Steve's NY home in one day from Quebec City. We got to visit his mom again. In June the doctor said she had three weeks to live and here she is three months later, still chatting with us and enjoying her great grandchildren.
In the morning we met up with Lois, Holly, and El that we knew from the Withlacoochee Bicycle Riders. El is a very good artist that lives in Vermont. I have some prints of his fun, light-hearted animal paintings. El's neighbor also came. She used to be a costume designer in California and still lives there in the winter.
We loved the trail! The surface was tight and smooth, the scenery with woods, water, bogs and autumn colors was wonderful. And what fun people to ride with! They are positive and interesting.
On our bike ride toward Placid we stopped in Saranac and found a little authentic Crepe place to have lunch. It only seats 18 people at a time. When we first arrived we had to wait to get in. But we all agreed it was worth it. The woman who owns the business uses the proceeds to go back to Paris every year. There she has studied cooking.
It was so yummy that we agreed we would stop again on our way back to the cars the next day.
We got one last visit to Steve's Mom and then packed up the camper and started heading west toward Wisconsin.
Before we got to Wisconsin we stopped at our friends, Christy and Mark's home where we set up the camper to leave it while we took a trip with them.
Below is the view from their driveway. What a lovely place to live. They said the solar panels cover the costs of their power needs. They just pay for access to the grid.
Christy and Mark drove us to Toronto where we spent a night at a motel to be there for an early morning flight to Grenada.
My geography is so bad, I had to look up where Grenada is on the map. It is an island just north of South America. Christy is a good shopper and found us a discounted week at an all-inclusive resort on the beach in Grenada. Our mutual friends, Deb and Jim, went also. Two years ago we did a trip to St. Croix all together and had a blast.
We were giddy when we got to the motel. The island is beautiful! As we waited in line to check in, we were served free drinks... all inclusive is a really luxurious way to travel. I had never experienced it before.
There were two pools there. Steve and I usually get a picture of our feet in different bodies of water. Pacific, Atlantic, St Laurence Seaway, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, The Caribbean, and now a pool in Grenada.
The snorkeling was good right off the beach! We didn't have to hire a boat or go anywhere. Each day we took our snorkeling gear down to the beach and claimed our seats. Then went to the buffet for brunch.
Before we left the US, Christy texted Steve to let him know to pack a collared shirt and close-toed shoes for the trip if we wanted to try one of the special restaurants at the resort. Steve sent her a picture of his foot in a flip flop with painters tape over the toe part. "Got my shoes!" he wrote.
Christy talked to the guy that shuttled us from the airport and got his number. He helped us find a great driver and guide to take us around the island one day.
I bought a local chocolate bar in the gift shop. When I opened the package the bar was covered in a web like a spider web. Only it was a little caterpillar/worm making the silk. Arg! Yuk! I took a bite anyway and threw the rest out.
We hiked to two waterfalls the day we had our guide. Here is Mark, Jim, Steve and our Guide in front of one of the falls.
Between the falls we tried out some local beer.
Our guide had us sample local rums all day long. Periodically he would park along the road, and open his cooler and describe the new rum for us to taste in our shot glasses.
One morning before the day got hot we took the public bus to downtown St. George to the market. There were lots of booths selling spices, T-shirts and hats. One big woman was wearing a princess crown and doing a Tik Tok video. It was funny to see.
We passed a store where we learned they don't mess around with small print warnings on cartons of cigarettes in Grenada.
Our rooms faced the bay and the west so we could watch the sunset each evening.
One of the prices of traveling to an island is you have to get there and back. The flight back was a bit bumpy, but we made it. However, when we got in the station we found ourselves in a very long long line for customs. It was all about claiming what you were bringing into Canada, it wasn't the body scan take your shoes off kind of line. It took us two hours. First a very long straight line. Then into one of those zig-zag roped off lines, then we went downstairs and had another long zig-zag line. I guess they had a malfunction in the computer system where we travelers testify to what we are bringing into Canada.
The very next day we started driving toward Wisconsin. We stopped three nights to do some biking in Traverse City, Michigan. We both loved the trails and the area there. We'd like to return someday and stay longer. We only did three nights at Timber Ridge RV Resort. It was a great place to stay but we had to drive 20 minutes to get to the trail. There is quite the network of trails. We would like to find a campground where we wouldn't have to drive, but could just bike to places. If you know of one, let me know! We love the Sutton Bay area where we dined at the 45th Parallel Cafe. The 45th is halfway between the North Pole and the Equator.
In one spot it had a series of signs. Some telling you how far it was to the next town, some asking for donations to support the trail network. I want to share these ideas with our trail in Florida.
Below is a picture of downtown Sutton Bay, Michigan.
We saw this rock building and on one wall there appeared to be a rock door at one time with hinges. Or did they cement over the wood door and it just happened to crack along outline of the door?
Our campsite at the Timber Ridge Campground. The Campground had a small square lake with beach all around it.
Between Traverse City and Rhinelander we had one stop. At first we weren't impressed with the place. One of the sites we were given had a neighbor with no trailer or tent, just a bunch of empty beer bottles and a couple of huge knives on the table.
It was great to be here to visit my sister. She has been caring for her husband with dementia for over 12 years! He is now to the point where sometimes he doesn't know he is home and he doesn't know that she is Mary. He asks her, "Where is Mary?" or "When is Mary coming?" or "When are we going home?" while sitting in his living room.
Steve also helped Mary learn how to use and care for an electric chain saw that she had bought herself but was unsure of how to use it. We worked together to get rid of some dead limbs that had collected in her yard. That was fun... actually it was all fun. We were getting stuff done.
Well, this has been an amazing summer season of travel for us.
We were still driving back from Newfoundland to New York when I last wrote. We routed ourselves to Quebec City where we stayed at a nice KOA and got to meet up with our Florida friends, Richard and Louise. They make me want to learn some French. I am still studying Spanish and sometimes a bit of Italian in case we go to Italy next year.
All along in our travels in Canada, signs have been in both English in French, the road signs, the store signs, even the menus. As soon as we hit the border into Quebec, everything changed to French only. The store clerks and wait staff were not bilingual. I was feeling like the ugly American because my thoughts kept going back to my need to have people speak and write in English so I can understand. I had been spoiled in the other Canadian provinces. Even in Germany and the Czech Republic we found people spoke English. Thanks to Louise for being my interpreter at the Subway where we stopped for lunch.
Richard and Louise biked with us two days. The first day they took us on a scenic ride into and through Quebec City. It has a lot of bike trails. We took a ferry to the old city.
While I was doing this Steve was behind me and stopped and hopped off his bike while rubbing his inner thigh. "They got you too?" he said. My eyes must have gotten huge at that time because I began to think of the consequences if Steve got stung. He is very allergic and we try to always remember to carry and EpiPen with us when we bike or hike. I have stocked my bike bag with anti-inflammation creams and pills too.
We concluded it wasn't bees because it wasn't still hurting. That was a relief.
I then ran my hand over the seat of the bike to feel for something that could have poked me. Steve did this to his bike seat too and got the same sensation on his finger when he touched the metal under his bike seat. It was a little shock!
I felt the metal under my seat and didn't get a shock but could feel it vibrating a bit. I then noticed the high power voltage wires were buzzing over us and we decided to move away from them.
Richard and Lois were on recumbents and didn't have bike pants on. They didn't get the shocks.
So, electrical geeks, what is your conclusion? Steve thinks that with our nylon biking shorts we worked up a charge rubbing on the seat while going over the bridge. Did the high power electric field produce just enough to discharge the spark into our thighs? Maybe.
We were able to get to Steve's NY home in one day from Quebec City. We got to visit his mom again. In June the doctor said she had three weeks to live and here she is three months later, still chatting with us and enjoying her great grandchildren.
Here is Steve relaxing in his home. Remember, I showed you before the grouse he carved. It is there in front of him.
His kids came over one evening. We had a great time catching up and sharing stories from our time in Canada. His family doesn't read this blog, so we got to tell all the stories to them anew.
We had found this wool fish in a gift shop in Newfoundland and we could not resist buying it for Steve's Grand-kitty. I was excited to be there to observe how Erin's cat responded to it. She likes it!
While we were driving toward NY we heard from a biking friend from the Withlacoochee Trail asking about the new bicycle trail in the Adirondacks between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid. They were going to be doing the ride in September! Steve and I decided to rearrange our schedule to join them. We hadn't done the trail yet since it had been paved with crushed limestone.
So, during the 10 days we were at Steve's, we took a couple days to go to Tupper Lake. There we kayaked Saranac Lake on a beautiful calm day. And we spent a night at Pine Creek Motel and Cabins in Tupper. It was a hoot of a motel. It has been around since 1949. It was clean and well maintained. We were in a room that had not been updated yet.
She clears and sets the tables and makes the crepes. It is just the one woman running the whole place. It was facinating and yummy.
In Lake Placid we stayed at the Best Western which was right across from the Olympic Training Center. And two blocks up the street were lots of restaurants to choose from. Behind the motel was a beautiful view and walking path. We agreed we would be happy to stay there again the next time we do the Adirondack Rail Trail.
On the way we stopped at a wayside that was along the Erie Canal. There is a bike trail along that we have not done much of yet. I got a brochure to help us plan a multi-day bicycle ride along the Erie Canal Trail...
We went to a spice garden. Grenada is known as the spice island. There are a lot of spices grown there. Cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and much more. At the spice garden the guide walked us around the garden showing us the different plants, allowing us to taste the edible leaves and fruits and smell others.
Our guide had us sample local rums all day long. Periodically he would park along the road, and open his cooler and describe the new rum for us to taste in our shot glasses.
The rum Christy is holding in the picture below had herbs and sea weed and other things in it. Man it tasted awful to me!
Christy was so worried that Deb might fall that she didn't watch the trail in front of herself. She fell and thought she might have broken a rib and a toe. She is a trooper, she still managed to snorkel and enjoy the rest of our time.
The first falls we hiked to our driver told us was a test to see if we could make it to the second falls. The hike to the second falls was an adventure. The trail was very steep in places with huge rocks to get over.
One evening a woman with a camera said she wanted to take Steve's and my picture in front of the sunset. It only took a few moments for me to realize she was the resorts commercial photographer and would have shots for us to buy later. We bought two.
We got to our motel close to midnight. We drove back to NY the next day. The drive takes over four hours. It was great to be back at our trailer even though the trip, the friends, and the snorkeling were awesome.
Along the trail to Sutton Bay we passed fields of Apple trees with lots of ripe apples on the ground. The smell was so tempting. So when we came across a farm stand with fresh apples for sale I got some. Oh my where they good!!!
The trail had some cool signs along it.
Since it was off season we were able to move a couple sites down, where we had a flat gravel pad to park on and a nice spot on the beach on Lake Michigan.
Here are some pictures of the inside of our cabin in Rhinelander. It has been very luxurious and comfortable to stay here. Especially with it getting close to freezing at night.
Mary just received approval to have some respite days through the VA. She is able to take Dave to a nursing home where he is cared for, and she can have a few days to herself without having to be on the alert for his every need.
Since Dave is at the point where he doesn't recognize his surroundings, it was a good time for Mary to start clearing out some of Dave's collection. He was a welder and so he had several welding machines, lots of redundant tools, and other machines she couldn't identify.
We worked together for three days finding homes for some things, she gave some things to friends and family. We sold some things via Facebook Marketplace. We took some things to the pawn shop, and put things on the curb, and she called a junk man to pick up the rest.
It was great to have Steve there to identify some of the machines and help me guess at a good price to get it to move fast on Facebook. One morning Mary and I went to Qi Gong and coffee with the gals afterward. Steve stayed at the house to work. When we got back both Mary and I were amazed at how much space he had cleared out. It was amazing! Steve said that his GPS said he walked seven miles that day and he never left the yard.
All this work was liberating for Mary, and heartbreaking. The man she has been married to for over 40 years is no longer all there. We can only hope that future generations do not have to deal with Alzheimer's and other dementias.
I am proud of her. She has been trying all along to take good care of herself. Getting a few days and nights in a row of respite care was a big effort but so important for her health and ability to keep going. Cudos Sister!
Now we start our journey to Florida. But first we will stop a week in the fun town of Madison, WI. There we will meet up with friends from my history in Wisconsin as well as Mark and Julie who we bike with on the Withlacoochee Trail in Florida. And we will get to see my son and daughter-in-law.
Fun times ahead!
Skip this if you don't need to avoid politics...
On Saturday, Oct. 18th there will be protests all over the country. I attended a zoom meeting where I learned that there are pillars that hold up a regime. But each of us are part of one or more pillars and we can influence whether that pillar supports or is non-cooperative. For example, we now have seen some universities fold to the demands on them and some we have seen resist. We as alumni can support the way we want our institutions to react. We are all consumers too, and have some power when put together with others, to make a difference.
Well, this has been an amazing summer season of travel for us.
Here are some links to some of the posts from our travels this year.
Roatan (OMG, I can't find this one in the Archives!)
North Carolina and Virginia (New River Trail)
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