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So after talking about it for a few months, we decided to take off, cash in some vacation days and go for our big mega road trip. We are 6 days into an 18 day trek and since it's raining like crazy here we finally caved and found a motel with wifi.
My wife has been doing little journals so I thought I would post them up here. We won't post up again until we hit Toronto - that is when we are scheduled for another hotel
We haven't hit up one campground we have planned on using yet, but it's been fun. Enjoy!
___________________________________________
Day 1
Our first night on our Epic Great Lakes Tour was my parent's trailer in Baileys Harbor, WI. It's about 3 hours from our home, and free, so a good place to stay.
We decided to take the "scenic route" which follows Hwy 42 up Lake Michigan instead of I-43 through Green Bay. It followed the lake and went through some little communities. It was a really relaxing start to our journey, to see the country and the lighthouses and the peaceful water. It was also a nice speed for the windows being down sine we don't have air conditioning.
We made our first pit stop in Manitowoc to get coffee and drop off some Craigslist stuff, and passed by a car show which also featured hamburgers and a full contact octagon fight. The 10yo was interested especially because it was a guy fighting a girl (no winner). It was a bit disturbing.
Second stop was at a hometown Czech festival which was kind of dumb but we saw a cool old schoolhouse and the 10yo learned not to touch the tailpipe of the truck.
After stopping for some groceries, we got to the camper about 6pm. Not fully unloading the truck was nice, as was cooking dinner and breakfast in a real kitchen for the last time for a few weeks.
Brent built a fire but I locked myself in the bedroom and passed out early, since I had done most of the packing and had worked far harder than him that day. :Wow1:
____________________________________
Day 2
We were all up and had a leisurely breakfast and pack-up. On the road by 10:30 and we stopped at the beach to get the daily Great Lake photo. After getting gas, we headed down to Green Bay. Brent and I both expressed our excitement that we were going to see something completely new today. The drive up to the trailer is old hat to us so today was the real start in a way.
Thankfully the 10yo fell asleep and gave us a small break from endless football card facts and questions.
We met a friend for lunch in Green Bay before refueling and heading north. We took 141 up to 8W, then caught 2W and almost followed the Michigan/Wisconsin border NW up to Lake Superior. The other route suggested we go through Wausau, WI and then straight north, but we wanted to travel through Nicolet and Ottawa State Parks. The drive was beautiful - lots of trees, obviously, but great weather and a peaceful trip, with small towns dotting the way.
Unfortunately, it took much longer than we expected, and 7PM was closing in on us with no dinner and still an hour to drive. We discussed our options and decided to stop and get food at the next town and ask about closer camping accommodations.
As we pulled into Wakefield, MI, a light shined from heaven and angels started singing and pointed to the Lake Sunday campground sign. We drove into town to find dinner and stopped at Ma's Cafe (?) for burgers. They confirmed that the campground was nice so we pulled in and got the tent set up shortly after 8.
As I was putting the 10yo to bed, we could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. I came out and sat by the fire for about 5 minutes before deciding the storm was inevitable and it was time to shut down for the night.
The storm started off with some shock and awe and wind that made the tent bow in so much it was hitting our heads. (Brent decided it wasn't necessary to tie the rainfly all the way down - I don't think that will happen again) The rain continued to wake us through the night, but at least we stayed dry.
________________________________________
Day 3
Tuesday morning I awoke bright and early, as one should on vacation
. The 10yo and I went for a walk to let Brent sleep a bit, and then finally got him up at the lazy hour of 8.
I had a big breakfast planned in my head, and hauled out the camp stove and foods. I had forgotten, however, that the only thing we had ever cooked on it was water. With the cast iron pan and the propane burners, things cooked much faster than I was used to, so I ended up running around, trying to cut, find, plate, mix and not burn everything at once. We ended up with slightly burnt sausages, raw and soupy oatmeal, and brown, rubbery eggs. Chased by a pot of strong French press, it was a satisfying first meal.
We started to feel a few raindrops, so we packed up quickly, but still had a few minutes to toss the football together before hitting the road around 10:30.
We continued west on Hwy 2, and stopped in Ashland, WI for a grocery stop and lunch. We chose a boat launch area with some picnic tables which was very windy and had a dozen panhandling seagulls squawking next to us. But the fresh lake air smelled so wonderful, it really was the perfect picnic spot. We drove for a few more minutes and had to stop again at a beach so I could get a picture of myself standing in the second Great Lake.
We then headed straight for Superior/Duluth. If you've never been to a port city before (which we hadn't), it was really awesome to drive into. The giant docks, grain silos, oversized industry everywhere - I even took away the 10yo's trading cards for a few minutes to force him to look out the window.
I was meeting some mom friends in Duluth, and Brent had to finish one more work project , so we split up for a while. He dropped me off at the William A Irvin ship tour. It was a fairly nice tour - super interesting if you love ships, a little stressful if you have 7 kids under the age of 11 between the three of you.
After the tour, it was already 4PM and we had a ways to go. We were originally going to camp that night in Amnicon Falls State Park, WI, but we decided to press on and camp on MN's north shore.
We drove north on Hwy 61, and opted for the scenic road that ran parallel along the water. It was gorgeous, of course.
It was getting late again, so we did McDs for dinner, and drove a bit longer to the campground we had picked out for the night. Unfortunately it was full. Fortunately, there was another campground about 10 miles back, so we booked a night there and set up camp.
That night was very, very cold, and I regretted packing for our trip when it was 90F at home. Brent even woke me up once when he got up to pee and came back with his teeth chattering. But again, we were dry and warm and slept well enough.
________________________________
*pics coming once I get back into the USA and find real internet.
My wife has been doing little journals so I thought I would post them up here. We won't post up again until we hit Toronto - that is when we are scheduled for another hotel
___________________________________________
Day 1
Our first night on our Epic Great Lakes Tour was my parent's trailer in Baileys Harbor, WI. It's about 3 hours from our home, and free, so a good place to stay.
We decided to take the "scenic route" which follows Hwy 42 up Lake Michigan instead of I-43 through Green Bay. It followed the lake and went through some little communities. It was a really relaxing start to our journey, to see the country and the lighthouses and the peaceful water. It was also a nice speed for the windows being down sine we don't have air conditioning.
We made our first pit stop in Manitowoc to get coffee and drop off some Craigslist stuff, and passed by a car show which also featured hamburgers and a full contact octagon fight. The 10yo was interested especially because it was a guy fighting a girl (no winner). It was a bit disturbing.
Second stop was at a hometown Czech festival which was kind of dumb but we saw a cool old schoolhouse and the 10yo learned not to touch the tailpipe of the truck.
After stopping for some groceries, we got to the camper about 6pm. Not fully unloading the truck was nice, as was cooking dinner and breakfast in a real kitchen for the last time for a few weeks.
Brent built a fire but I locked myself in the bedroom and passed out early, since I had done most of the packing and had worked far harder than him that day. :Wow1:
____________________________________
Day 2
We were all up and had a leisurely breakfast and pack-up. On the road by 10:30 and we stopped at the beach to get the daily Great Lake photo. After getting gas, we headed down to Green Bay. Brent and I both expressed our excitement that we were going to see something completely new today. The drive up to the trailer is old hat to us so today was the real start in a way.
Thankfully the 10yo fell asleep and gave us a small break from endless football card facts and questions.
We met a friend for lunch in Green Bay before refueling and heading north. We took 141 up to 8W, then caught 2W and almost followed the Michigan/Wisconsin border NW up to Lake Superior. The other route suggested we go through Wausau, WI and then straight north, but we wanted to travel through Nicolet and Ottawa State Parks. The drive was beautiful - lots of trees, obviously, but great weather and a peaceful trip, with small towns dotting the way.
Unfortunately, it took much longer than we expected, and 7PM was closing in on us with no dinner and still an hour to drive. We discussed our options and decided to stop and get food at the next town and ask about closer camping accommodations.
As we pulled into Wakefield, MI, a light shined from heaven and angels started singing and pointed to the Lake Sunday campground sign. We drove into town to find dinner and stopped at Ma's Cafe (?) for burgers. They confirmed that the campground was nice so we pulled in and got the tent set up shortly after 8.
As I was putting the 10yo to bed, we could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. I came out and sat by the fire for about 5 minutes before deciding the storm was inevitable and it was time to shut down for the night.
The storm started off with some shock and awe and wind that made the tent bow in so much it was hitting our heads. (Brent decided it wasn't necessary to tie the rainfly all the way down - I don't think that will happen again) The rain continued to wake us through the night, but at least we stayed dry.
________________________________________
Day 3
Tuesday morning I awoke bright and early, as one should on vacation
I had a big breakfast planned in my head, and hauled out the camp stove and foods. I had forgotten, however, that the only thing we had ever cooked on it was water. With the cast iron pan and the propane burners, things cooked much faster than I was used to, so I ended up running around, trying to cut, find, plate, mix and not burn everything at once. We ended up with slightly burnt sausages, raw and soupy oatmeal, and brown, rubbery eggs. Chased by a pot of strong French press, it was a satisfying first meal.
We started to feel a few raindrops, so we packed up quickly, but still had a few minutes to toss the football together before hitting the road around 10:30.
We continued west on Hwy 2, and stopped in Ashland, WI for a grocery stop and lunch. We chose a boat launch area with some picnic tables which was very windy and had a dozen panhandling seagulls squawking next to us. But the fresh lake air smelled so wonderful, it really was the perfect picnic spot. We drove for a few more minutes and had to stop again at a beach so I could get a picture of myself standing in the second Great Lake.
We then headed straight for Superior/Duluth. If you've never been to a port city before (which we hadn't), it was really awesome to drive into. The giant docks, grain silos, oversized industry everywhere - I even took away the 10yo's trading cards for a few minutes to force him to look out the window.
I was meeting some mom friends in Duluth, and Brent had to finish one more work project , so we split up for a while. He dropped me off at the William A Irvin ship tour. It was a fairly nice tour - super interesting if you love ships, a little stressful if you have 7 kids under the age of 11 between the three of you.
After the tour, it was already 4PM and we had a ways to go. We were originally going to camp that night in Amnicon Falls State Park, WI, but we decided to press on and camp on MN's north shore.
We drove north on Hwy 61, and opted for the scenic road that ran parallel along the water. It was gorgeous, of course.
It was getting late again, so we did McDs for dinner, and drove a bit longer to the campground we had picked out for the night. Unfortunately it was full. Fortunately, there was another campground about 10 miles back, so we booked a night there and set up camp.
That night was very, very cold, and I regretted packing for our trip when it was 90F at home. Brent even woke me up once when he got up to pee and came back with his teeth chattering. But again, we were dry and warm and slept well enough.
________________________________
*pics coming once I get back into the USA and find real internet.