Month: October 2016

One thing I have learned on our retirement road trips is that there is a distinct difference between travel and vacation. Obviously we love our travel; otherwise we would be enjoying retirement at home.  Travel is “enjoy while moving”. Nevertheless, as we entered into our second week of traveling through the Heartland, we both felt a need for a bit of vacation.  It was time to “enjoy in place” for a spell.

During the planning for our trip we had been told that we needed to allow some time for exploring Wisconsin around Green Bay and Door County.  Several friends had helped us plan, and one of my high school friends had just returned from a vacation in Door County and brought us a treasure trove of maps and brochures from that area. We were eager to explore but just as eager to sit and breathe some fresh air from the shore of Lake Michigan.

We also knew that we would be arriving in that area around Labor Day weekend and getting accommodations could be problematic. Once again we hit the jackpot.  We were able to secure a room in a Lighthouse operated by the US Coast Guard at Rawley Point on Lake Michigan.  We’ve had some great experiences on our road trips and shared a lot of them on Easin’ Along, but this rest stop has to be one of the most memorable.

This lighthouse was erected in 1894 and stands 113 feet tall. The beacon can be seen by ships 28 miles away.  It was manually operated until 1980, but is now completely automated. The keeper’s home, built in 1874, has been converted into three apartments. We were assigned apartment “B”, a large, two-bedroom unit, complete with a large kitchen and living room. Our view was to the east and overlooked the shore of Lake Michigan. This was just what we needed.

It did not take us long to unpack and make the beds.  We emptied our travel cooler into the full size refrigerator which was nice to have and, with that done, Helen (adorable wife) checked out Trip Advisor for restaurants in nearby Two Rivers, WI. We decided to visit Casa Mexico for some good Mexican Food. We arrived just as dusk was setting in.

The restaurant was large and we were given a table by the front window with a view of the street. The hostess and the server were both polite and extremely friendly…I love it when that happens. We were in a beer mood and ordered big mugs of Modelo, a Mexican brew.  It was served in frozen mugs…I love it when that happens also. We passed on appetizers.

Helen ordered a Quesadilla Rellena.  This was a flour tortilla stuffed with chicken and refried beans and topped with a cheese sauce.  It was served with lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, Pico de Gallo, and rice. This was a lot of food and it was great!

I ordered a Gordo Burrito.  I know just enough Spanish to know that Gordo translates into “fat” or “large”, and this was one “fat” burrito. I’m not a big rice fan and always order a second helping of refried beans as a substitute.  Our polite server was eager to please. To me, Mexican food always has to be served hot in order to taste the best and this food came out hot and good…I love it when…(you get the drift).   I managed to eat every bite.  We paid up and then walked for a few minutes before driving back to our lovely lighthouse.

Fortunately for us, we were blessed with only one or two channels of television so we decided to hit the bed early and leave the windows open.  With the sound of waves rolling in from Lake Michigan, it didn’t take long to be sound asleep.

When I woke up from a deep sleep the next morning, Helen was walking in the door to the apartment.  She was up before dawn and walked out to the sandy shore to take pictures of the sunrise. While walking northward she encountered a large flock of gulls and continued to walk toward them thinking that flying gulls would make a nice picture.  As luck would have it, the gulls flew to the south in front of the rising sun, and she captured what I think is the winning picture of our entire retirement road trip.  That picture is shown here along with a few others from that morning and the next. The setting was just about as beautiful and as peaceful as a vacation amidst travel can be.  A Picture Gallery has been posted, so Ease Along over there by clicking here.

That afternoon we ventured into Door County, WI.  The details of that excursion will be shared next week along with our stop in Green Bay for a tour of Lambeau Field so please come back next Friday.

We did make one short side trip while in Door County that I’ll share here. We spotted a sign to Whitefish Dunes State Park while driving south toward Sturgeon Bay and decided to visit there and take a short walk. It was an awesome day to be outdoors and we had both fallen in love with the beaches along Lake Michigan.  I have a link to the State Park (here) and have posted a picture of a view from the dunes below. 

That night we decided to take advantage of the barbecue grills outside of the lighthouse and eat in our large kitchen before calling it a night.

We love to travel, but vacation ain’t bad either…and, after all, we’re just Easin’ Along.

We were Easin’ Along on our retirement road trip and had just begun our second week. Our plan had been to spend the weekend in Duluth, MN but we received an email from some friends who encouraged us to stay in Bayfield, WI instead (you gotta love technology). Our friends who, like us, are very active people. To stay active, they spend most of their summers as volunteers in the campgrounds of our National Parks. Their email described a wonderful experience they shared while kayaking on Lake Superior along the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore…a National Park that was new to us. (link here)

Helen (adorable wife) went to work immediately and jumped on Trip Advisor (more technological stuff) and secured a condo for us at the Reiten Boatyard in Bayfield. We later told our friends that we couldn’t thank them enough.

Bayfield, WI (pop. 530) is a charming village about 85 miles northeast of Duluth, MN and sits on the shore of Lake Superior. It is the Gateway to the aforementioned Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and we made plans to explore them the next day.  Other friends had shared their experiences on Madeline Island, a large island in the Apostle group which has many bike trails and beautiful vistas. We hoped to explore that as well, but time constraints would not permit us to make that trip.

Our condo was large and had a deck looking out to Lake Superior and, after unpacking, we sat for a bit before walking to Maggie’s, a restaurant recommended by the desk clerk for Reiten Boatyard. As mentioned in our last post, we had driven from International Falls, MN, hiked around Gooseberry Falls, and walked to Canal Park in Duluth on our way to Bayfield. After all of that, we were ready for a short break. Maggie’s was just the place. We were hungry—so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of our meals as I usually do, but we both ordered a fish dish.  I just remember it being good. We hit the bed and were asleep before the lights went out.

The next morning we walked into the town of Bayfield and purchased tickets on the Apostle Island Cruise Line for the 55 mile Grand Tour.  It was a cloudy and cool morning with the threat of rain and we were both carrying raincoats. We were a little bummed out by this because we had been spoiled by good weather so far on our trip, and this was a day where we really wanted good weather.  We sucked it up and got on board; taking seats on the open top deck…it wasn’t raining yet.

The ship captain came over the PA system and began describing what we were about to see on our voyage. He explained that the Apostle Islands were formed millions of years earlier when huge rivers deposited sand in the area that later cemented into sandstone. Thousands of years ago, glaciers sculpted the sandstone into the beautiful and picturesque cliffs that overlook the shores of Lake Superior.

The Grand Tour followed the route shown on the map pictured here and the captain narrated the entire voyage.

He steered the vessel close to the magnificent rock cliffs as he explained how the waters of Lake Superior created loud booms or “thunder” when driven into the caves by strong winds. He also painted a picture of what winter is like in the Apostle Islands when temperatures drop below 0° F for extended periods and the lake can freeze as much as three feet thick. Ice formations cover the caves and create stunning scenes for the visitors who hike out on the ice to witness them.  After some research, I found an image to show here.

The water is cold even in the summer with surface temperatures in the 50° degree range and in the low 30’s just ten feet below the surface. After hearing that, I gripped the hand rail a little tighter while taking pictures.

Our tour continued as we passed by Stockton Island which has one of the greatest concentrations of black bears in North America. Black bears are found on just about any of the Apostle Islands. At Devils Island we came very close to the shore and almost everyone stood to take pictures.  Several kayakers came near the tour boat–much to the angst of the ship captain. Devils Island also has one of the six lighthouses on the Apostle Islands which is the most found in any National Park in America. After rounding Devils Island we headed back to the port, passing by another lighthouse at Raspberry Island just as the sun came out to greet us. It was a fantastic ending to a lovely morning.

Helen suggested we do a little touring (and shopping) around Bayfield and stretch our legs a bit. The homes here have very detailed architecture on the exterior and I found them quite stunning.  I have posted a picture of the Old Rittenhouse Inn, a 20 room bed and breakfast as the most outstanding example. We also went by the National Park offices to add another stamp to our National Park Passports.  I love doing this, and we have amassed a good collection of stamps on our road trips.

That evening we capped off a great visit to Bayfield by dining at the Fat Radish, a small restaurant that specializes in farm to table food that is produced locally and prepared and served fresh.  They described their style as the “slow food movement”, meaning don’t be in a hurry.  Even with that disclaimer, I didn’t think the service was unnecessarily slow.  Our server, Melissa, was both friendly and helpful with the menu, as well as being fun to chat with.

I went with a small bowl of fish booyah, the Fat Radish version of bouillabaisse.  I’m a big fan of fish stews and this one was out of this world delicious.  For an entrée I chose baked trout with cilantro-lime sauce, and served with spinach-mushroom risotto. This was so good it was dangerous. The fish was fresh and cooked to perfection.  The sauce was perfect as well and the risotto was brimming with flavor. The Fat Radish (link) had served up the best meal I had on this road trip.

Helen started with a House Garden Salad topped with fresh feta cheese and a wine and vinegar dressing. Her entrée was a pan fried whitefish with whipped sweet potato and squash risotto. She said that her meal would be hard equal anywhere.  We passed on desert, even though the selection was tempting, but we did get Melissa to agree to have her picture made with us in front of the restaurant. I had to record this trip to make my friends back home very jealous. She was a great sport about it.

The next morning we packed up Heidi (adorable wife’s car) and took a short walk around a park and marina next to our condo before hitting the road.

Green Bay and the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field were next on the itinerary and it was time to be Easin’ Along.

Our next destination after a warm and fuzzy visit to the “Nations Icebox” in International Falls, MN was going to be a short stopover in Duluth, MN then work our way to Bayfield, WI for a couple of days.

Once again we decided that the most scenic route was the road less traveled, so we pointed Heidi (adorable wife’s car) down Highway 53 which would take us through Voyageurs National Park. Prior to us leaving on our journey through the Heartland we had read an article in our local paper about Voyageurs and felt that if we were close we would have to take it in.  We were close.

Voyageurs is an enormous National Park with 134,000 acres of woodlands, 84,000 acres of water containing 500 islands surrounded by 655 miles of shoreline. This park hugs the Canadian Border.  This area must be where the term North Woods originated. Our drive took us through beautiful expanses of woods and water and enormous fir trees. We made a turn up a side road that led to the Visitor Center at Lake Kabetogama, one of the four lakes inside the park.

When we made that turn we spotted another walleye statue built for picture posing and we couldn’t resist.  Helen (adorable wife) smiled bigly for the camera from behind the walleye statue. That picture is displayed here.

Growing alongside the statue were some very pretty wildflowers and when we reached the Visitor Center we asked the Park Ranger to help us identify them from the picture shown here.  She tried mightily to find the name, but finally gave up, saying that flowers were not her thing.  I hope some of our Easin’ Along readers can come up with it. After walking through the displays at the Center we had to move on.  I have attached a link (here) to the Voyageurs National Park website. I hope you’ll visit both the site and the park during this year as we celebrate the 100^th birthday of the greatest gift Americans have given to ourselves. (See EA link).

Moving on, I was hell bent to get to Duluth, but Helen, in her role as travel guide felt that we needed to stop in Gooseberry Falls State Park for a short hike…Hike! Oh well, we’re just a couple of old retired folks with time on our hands so, why not! Thank you, AAA Guidebook!

Gooseberry Falls State Park sits on the north shore of Lake Superior and attracts visitors year round. On the day we arrived, the parking lot was full as nearby residents were taking advantage of the last few days before the start of school. It was also early leaf season.  We found a spot as a visitor departed, parked and walked through the Visitor Center and on to the falls.

Gooseberry Falls are actually three waterfalls, upper, middle, and lower, and we worked our way to see all three. The falls were pretty and running quite rapidly on this day, but we were told that the water really gets roaring after the spring snowmelt. (See link) I tried my hand at capturing the flow with my camera. Walking back to our car was delightful as we found a path that took us away from the crowds. The fresh air and the woods were invigorating.  I’m glad we took the time. Thanks to AAA. Now we were on to Duluth and some more sightseeing.

The purpose for our stop in Duluth was to visit the waterfront. We had met some travelers on this journey who said that we had to see the Aerial Lift Bridge, one of Duluth’s major landmarks, in Canal Park. We arrived in the later part of the afternoon and parked about five blocks from Canal Park.  It had turned cool, breezy, and cloudy by the time we arrived, but that didn’t seem to hold back the crowds walking the streets. It felt good to walk (again).

The Aerial Lift Bridge was built so that the entire bridge platform could be raised some 135 feet to allow tall ships to pass under it. The bridge spans 390 feet and was completed in 1930.  We were hopeful that we could see it being raised, and our luck was good this day.  Within minutes of arriving at Canal Park, a ship passed under the raised bridge on its way to Lake Superior. This was a fun experience and we high fived each other for our fortunate timing.

We made a slow walk back to the car along the busy street composed of shops, bars, and attractions. Young twin boys were having a big time in one of the street side fountains. I wanted a picture of them but it was tough catching them still long enough for my camera, but I managed.  They were a handsome pair.    

 

At one shop, Helen decided that she needed a break. I caught her in the lap of a big silly moose on the loose. She managed to break away…

 

 

 

Bayfield, WI and the Apostle Islands are next on the itinerary and they are a few hours away…time for us to be Easin’ Along.