Lakes and Cheese

David and Gwen picked Patsy and me up at the house at 5:30 am.  We made it through Nashville ahead of the morning commuters and stopped in White House Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We thought they were closed as there were only 4 cars in the parking lot.  I have never been in an empty CB.  We ate and crossed into Kentucky at 7:30 am and through Bowling Green by 7:45 - we should have stopped at National Corvette Museum. At 9:00 am we passed through Elizabethtown, KY, home of Ft Knox (thought maybe we could get a spot of gold to pay for this trip) and birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.   

At 10:30 am (ET) we came into Louisville - it is never a good sign when you see a sign that says Major Construction - use alt route - oops we did not take alt route.  Construction was not too bad and we crossed the Ohio River into Indiana without too much confusion (good job on signage Kentucky DOT).  We stopped at Indiana Welcome Center and took the official state photo before moving on toward Indianapolis (passing by Austin, IN).  20 miles outside of Indianapolis the construction starts with 45 mph speed limit.  Speeding  is $1000 fine and reckless driving is 6 years in jail - guess someone is serious about protecting construction workers.  

We stopped north of Indianapolis, had lunch at Steak and Shake, filled up with gas (oh, yeh, the Megabus with 60 people also stopped and used up all ice and created long lines for bathrooms) and headed north with Lynn driving.  Traffic began slowing 20 miles south of Gary, IN and did not pick up until we decided to pay the toll and take I-90 toward Chicago.  The first toll was $.80 - rather than using the one dollar bills we had brought along, Gwen wanted me to use 3 quarters and a nickel.  There were 3 slots - one for dollars, one for credit card and one for coins (which I missed seeing).  I quickly put the first quarter in the slot for the credit card - bad move.  It got stuck so I took my second quarter to pry it out - it came out and fell on the road.  I then asked for the dollar bill  which I successfully placed in the right slot.  The 2 dimes fell into a slot that must have been 10 feet away - I tried to open the door, but it was locked of course because transmission was in gear and not in park, so I floored it and drove off without the change.  

We drove 20 miles on I-90 until traffic began moving at a snail's pace. I was using Waze - it was telling me to go one way and the van's GPS was telling me to go a different way.  For the next 1-1/2 hours I looked like Frogger moving from one lane to the next - not sure whether to exit right like Waze said or exit left like van said.  While confused, Gwen decided to open Google maps on her iPAD so I had 3 voices providing direction.  I finally  just got off I-90 and let Waze take us through the back streets of Chicago,  bypassing the I-90 traffic.  We made it to the hotel at 4:30 pm and met up with Sandra and Paul.  After checking in we had dinner at Gino's East.

We started the morning with a quick breakfast and then met our driver (Jim) and tour guide (Todd) at 8:30 am from Chicago Private Tours and their comfortable van. Todd was an architecture major and certainly knew the details about many of Chicago's beautiful buildings.  

We also went to the Lincoln Conservatory (I'll save all those photos for another date), drove past Wrigley Field, Soldier Field and US Cellular (White Sox), learned where specific movies were filmed, drove past President Obama's Chicago home, Louis Farrakhan's home and the 4 duplicate homes for each of his 4 wives (David was really pumped by this time), learned about the Chicago River and its 2 branches which forms a "Y".  If you walk around Chicago you will see the "Y" hidden everywhere.  We walked through Millennium Park and had multiple photos of Cloud Gate (commonly known as the "bean". Jim and Todd dropped us off at the Navy Pier where we had lunch at Harry Caray's.  

After lunch we took an architectural river cruise.  It was a little warm (91 degrees with no shade) but the tour was interesting.  After the tour we made out way back to the hotel for quick shower and then met for dinner.  Being a little tired we changed our dinner reservation and just walk across the street to Peter O'Toole's Bar based on recommendation from hotel.  Well, it was a sports bar and USA was playing Paraguay in soccer - so loud we could not hear each other yelling across the table.  The food was great but atmosphere not really to our liking.  

We ate quickly and hit the street towards Magnificent Mile (Michigan Ave).  We made out way to John Hancock building and went up  to 96th floor for a view of the city (free if you purchase a cocktail - Gwen had a strong water).  We left John Hancock and made our way to the hotel so we would not be caught in the annual naked bike riders.

Today's weather was much different from yesterday. The high on Saturday was 91 and we woke up this morning to a cool 64 degrees and a cool breeze coming off Lake Michigan. We walked over to Wildberry Cafe for a great breakfast and then headed past the bean and Millennium Park to the Art Institute of Chicago at 10:30 am.  After spending 2 hours at the institute, Sandra and Paul had to go back to the hotel to pick up their luggage and head to the airport for their flight home.  

David, Gwen, Patsy and I headed over to Willis (Sears) Tower to visit the Skydeck level on the 103rd floor.  On the way we saw the starting point for Route 66.  Actually it was pointed out by a man selling $2 magazines to help the homeless.  He also pointed out the names on the top of the wall of the Art Institute were the names of the Ninja Turtles.  We cross under a couple of "Ls" on the walk down Adams Street.  Back to the story - Patsy and Gwen opted out of stepping out on the ledge, but David and I, shaky legs and all, stepped out and had our photo taken.  

We took the long walk back to the hotel (16,000 steps again today) and took a short nap before heading to dinner at TGI Fridays (it was the closest place we could find).

Charles, our good friend at the hotel, recommended if we're heading north out of Chicago we better leave early to beat the O'Hare traffic.  Heeding his word, we left hotel at 6:00 am this morning headed north on I-94/US 41/Interstate 41 towards  Milwaukee.  We beat the traffic.  Good job, Charles.  

We stopped in Gurnee, IL and opened up Cracker Barrel with one grandmother and and her 2 grandchildren. Next door was a Six Flags - have not seen one of those in a while.  We crossed over into Wisconsin before 8:00 am - do not know exact time as Wisconsin did not have a Welcome sign or a Welcome Center.  I think it was in Kenosha, WI where there is an Amazon Fulfillment Center. Our goal was to be in Milwaukee by 10:00 am - arrived at 8:30 am.  

At 9:00 we toured the Harley Davidson Museum and then headed downtown Milwaukee to find the bronze Fonz and walk the river walk.  It started raining so Lynn jumped out, ran to the Fonz, got a photo and we headed up I-43 toward Green Bay, bypassing remainder of Milwaukee.  

We got off interstate and drove to Port Washington to see a lighthouse, but it was not much to see (no actual light).  I did get a token bird pic though.  

We decided it was time to find cheese so headed to Gibbsville.  It was packed with 18 teenagers on a bike ride break so we left and went to Saxon Creamery in Cleveland. They did not have much to sell - mostly ship out what they make.  They make the cheese in the mornings with the fresh milk and are finished by 11:00 am so you have to get there if you want to observe cheese making.  I guess I will have to depend on "How It's Made" to get educated.  

We went to Kiel and stopped at Hennings Cheese factory.  The staff there was very friendly and helpful.  We tasted some cheese curds and listened for the "squeak" when we chewed them.  We bought some of their cheeses, which they cut into cubes for us, got some crackers, summer sausage and drinks and had lunch in the car on the way to Green Bay.  

We arrived at Green Bay by 3:00 pm.  We checked into the hotel and drove over to Lambeau Field for a tour.  The tour guide was excellent, providing a history of the franchise and taking us to one of the Skyboxes, down to the tunnel where the Packers run out onto the field and onto the outside of the field (no one walks on the field except the mowers who mow the grass every other day).  

We left Lambeau and had a great dinner at Brett Favre's Steakhouse. We convened a meeting of the minds back at the hotel to determine Tuesday's events.

Weather: Cloudy, 62 in Green Bay.  We left hotel this morning at 6:30 and picked up Hwy 41 towards Marinette, WI.  We stopped in Menominee, MI for a picture of the Welcome to Michigan sign.  

From there we picked up Hwy 35 towards Escanaba (about 45 miles) to see Sand Point Lighthouse.  The museum did not open until 11:00 so we turned East on Hwy 2 and headed to Manistique, MI to see the Breakwater Lighthouse.  We went through areas with 3G and at times no cellular service.  After leaving Manistique we continued on Hwy 32 until we got Gulliver. At Gulliver we turned southeast on 432 and then turned south on 431. The last 4 miles on 431 was gravel road to get to Seui Choi(pronounced Sis-Shwa - which means Only Choice) Lighthouse. 

From Seui Choi we went back to Hwy 2 and continued to St Ignace. Our plans were to turn north to the Soo Locks at St Ignace but, with an 80% chance of rain on Wednesday, we decided to head across the Mackinac Bridge to Mackinac City and catch a ferry to Mackinac Island (is that enough Mackinacs (pronounced Mackinaw)).  We boarded the Shepler's Ferry by 4:00 pm and went to Mackinac Island.  There is the main street with so much shopping, restaurants, hotels and fudge shops.  There are no cars so you either walk, rent a bike or ride a horse drawn cart.  It was so cold however.  Like we did in San Francisco a few years ago, we found a store and bought 4 Mackinac Island jackets to block some of the wind.  

We had dinner (ok - main meal) at Horns Bar and then walked main street (jumping into stores to get away from the wind and cold).  We caught a ferry back to Mackinac City and checked into our hotel (Hamilton Inn).  Patsy took a nap - it has been a long day.  There is an 80% chance of rain tomorrow so we will try to get in Soo Locks (50 miles north of the Mackinac Bridge).

Weather: 58 degrees with 90% chance of rain by noon.  We had breakfast at 7:30 am in hotel and left for Sault Ste. Marie, MI at 8:30 where we took a boat ride through the Soo Locks.  The locks connect Lake Huron with Lake Superior.  Lake Huron is about 30 feet lower than Lake Superior so you use the locks to raise your boat to the Lake Superior elevation or lower your boat if you are going from Lake Superior to Lake Huron.  

I tried to take several pictures to show the height of the boat as we were raised.   The tour took about 2.5 hours as it goes through the locks (both ways) under the bridge than connects United States and Canada.  After the tour we drove the 55 miles back to Mackinac City where it was raining.  Since we had our matching jackets from Mackinac Island we visited Mackinac Bridge museum and then went shopping nearby.  

We headed back to hotel for a couple of hours before heading to dinner at Darrow's for some Great Lakes whitefish.  Tomorrow we turn south looking for lighthouses and quaint little towns along Lake Michigan.

Weather: 58 degrees Overcast.  I got a cart from downstairs and packed up the 700 lbs of luggage and rolled down to the lobby.  I did not know where David parked so I walked out in parking lot and found the van.  I drove it up to hotel lobby to load up.  David had already loaded some of his luggage and when he came out another door with the last piece of his luggage, he could not find the van.  A few minutes later he walked back to the lobby, thinking the van had been stolen or he was losing his mind. You have to remember when David and Gwen say meet in lobby at 7:00 am that means with luggage loaded and ready to drive off.  

We checked out of hotel at 7:00 am bypassing the mediocre free breakfast and headed South I-75 for 4 miles and then picked up Hwy 31 southwest towards Petoskey, MI.  In Petoskey we stopped and took a pic of the Pierhead lighthouse.  

We stopped at 8:30 am for breakfast at the Flap Jack Family Restaurant in Charlevoix - what a beautiful little town Charlevoix is.  We headed to Traverse City to see more windmills (Traverse is the cherry capital of the US and along the way there were groves and groves of cherry trees with mom and pop stands selling cherry pies, fresh cherries and cherry concentrate).  In Traverse City we turned onto M-37 out onto a peninsula.  

We followed M-37 for 18 miles to the Old Mission lighthouse.  The Old Mission lighthouse is on the 45th Parallel, exactly half way between North Pole and Equator.  As a side note, every square foot of the peninsula that was not a home or barn was covered with cherry trees, vineyards or wineries.  We have noticed many barns have a large painted emblem on the end.  These are called barn quilts and there are quilt barn trails you can follow to "complete your quilt".  Wonder if they have these in the south? We were also looking for Petoskey stones.   

We made out way to Manistee, had lunch at the House of Flavors and the found the 2 lighthouses in Manistee.  The Breakwaters was under repair so could not see much. We headed back on Hwy 31 and headed towards Mears, MI to see if we could get some dune buggies to ride the Sand Dunes at Silver Lake near Ludington.  

We rented 2 dune buggies from Silver Lake Dune Buggies.  Running the dunes was a lot of fun.  I got stuck first try up a long hill, burying the back tires.  They taught us to get out of the buggy, dig out behind tires and push buggy backwards.  We got out but buggy rolled down hill with me running beside it steering.  It was not pretty, but we climbed in and were on our way.  David did the same thing, but Gwen got out and walked up the hill (see how lonely she looks on top of hill by herself).  A 4-wheel drive pickup came by and pulled David out.  We loaded up the buggies and checked them in.  

Back in van we headed south on 31 to find White River lighthouse in Whitehall.  We arrived at the hotel in Tuskegon after 7:00 pm so ordered pizza, blogged and went to bed.  Tomorrow is a slower-paced day through Holland and down to South Bend IN.

Weather:  68 degrees, sunny.  We slept in, had breakfast, loaded up and started the treasure hunt (some lighthouses are like geo-caching - you really have to search).  We found 3 lighthouses in Muskegon (Muskegon South Pierhead and Breakwater lighthouses and a third with green/white stripes).  We lucked out and also saw the ferry coming in from Milwaukee to Muskegon and got a pic of one lighthouse and ferry).  

Out next lighthouse was in Grand Haven (Pier Inner and Outer).  We found the lighthouses marking the inlet from Lake Michigan into Grand River.  It was a beautiful area with 2 red lighthouses.  We moved on and headed to Holland, MI, a city that is heavy with Dutch influence.  Debbie Buckley - US-31 had 2 of your favorite eateries side by side (Culvers and Jimmy Johns).  We were going too fast to get a pic for you.  

We did some shopping on 8th Ave and Central Ave had lunch get at at Irish Pub (what happened to Dutch restaurants?) called The Curragh.  We left downtown and backtracked to DeKlomp wooden shoe factory and watched a demonstration of how the wooden shoes are made on lathes over 80 years old.  Next door was Veldheer's tulip farm - not any bulbs right now - spring is over.  They do get their bulbs from the Netherlands and Gwen and Patsy picked up a catalog for next year.  

Full of knowledge about why Dutch wear wooden shoes, we headed south on US-31/I-196 toward South Bend, IN where we unpacked one more time after visiting Notre Dame campus and eating dinner.  

A funny story from dinner: when we got out of the car at Olive Garden, we were laughing at how trashy David and Gwen's van had become - if anyone ever looked in they would think we were homeless and living out of the van.  We went in to eat.   David had a set of keys plus I had a set of keys in my back pocket.  Sometime during dinner (probably me) I moved in my chair and opened the rear hatch of the van.  What a surprise when we came out of Olive Garden and the van's rear hatch was wide open for the whole world to see how trashy inside the van was.  Luckily no one stole anything as iPads, cameras, luggage was all sitting there for the taking.

Weather: 68 degrees, sunny.  We packed up, ready to leave at 6:00 am.  We all got in the car except Gwen - it was 5:55 am and she thought David was coming back in for 3 remaining bags so she sat on bed and watched TV.  A few minutes later she came out, car was running and we all had our seatbelts on.  She finally came out and said "Were ya'll going to let me know it was time?"  It is good to start the morning with a chuckle.  

I drove for the first hour and we stopped in Peru, Indiana at BP/McDonalds on US-31 for fuel and food.  Of course a bus full of kids also stopped there.  Van and humans full, we headed towards Indianapolis.  We soon passed by the old Grissom AFB (now a reserve base) in Bunker Hill/Peru.  

Indiana is pretty flat with a lot of farms and agriculture - corn and wheat.  We made it through Indianapolis by 9:30 am and stopped at a Speedway for a bathroom break.  I felt pretty and used the Women's restroom (actually the Men's was Out of Order).  We changed drivers and picked up I-65 south towards Louisville. 

We stopped in Bowling Green for lunch at Cracker Barrel, filled up with gas.  David turned in wrong lot and had to go around to get to gas station (we nicknamed him Go-Round Coulson on this trip, especially because of the number of times he had to go-round Notre Dame to find the Basilica).  

I found some signs along the way - who knew there was a Shelbyville and Franklin in Indiana and I thought Kokomo was in the Keys.  I also took a pic of a support structure for a simple overpass - never saw one of those either.  We got home around 3:00 pm, tired but blessed for a fun and safe trip.