teardroptravelin'

We were up with the chickens this morning, or at least it felt that way.  We were washed, dressed, breakfasted and out the door before 8:00 a.m..  Now, I know for those of you who are gainfully employed, that seems like no big thing.  But remember, we retired folk who have adjusted to a whole new paradigm and find early hours a shock.

Nevertheless, we did get to the Kohler Design Center well before tour time and soon had our ID badges and headsets.  We met our guide, Lowell, who worked for Kohler in the foundry for over 44 years before he retired.  He’s been a tour guide for the last 12, and is a spry 75 years old.  He warned us that we were going to cover a lot of ground on the tour, and he wasn’t kidding.

We donned safety glasses before entering the first factory building.  In all we visited three of the manufacturing facilities located here, including the clay/porcelain, iron foundry, and brass fabricating plants.

This tour really takes you into a working facility and we had to dodge forklift trucks and workers.  We also had to hug the walls and walk in narrow yellow-outlined paths to maintain our safety.  We saw clay moulded, fired and glazed.  We watched glowing, 2,800 degree molten iron poured from large containers into moulds and the resulting sinks, bathtubs and other industrial items (including Ford truck transmission parts and crankshafts) blasted, ground, measured, tested and in the case of the sinks and tubs, reheated to 1700 degrees.  They workers sift glass powder over them which turns the powder instantly into a durable, enamel finish.  Finally we watched brass tubing formed into graceful shapes  by super-high water pressure and even observed a skilled worker hand casting brass in mere seconds from liquid metal to recognizable fixtures.  Alas, there are no cameras allowed on the tour, so my descriptions must suffice.

All in all the three-hour tour was an amazing look at the incredibly complex process the Kohler Company uses to create the products we all use every day without thinking a thing about how they were made.  To us they are a normal and necessary part of life, but I don’t think I’ll ever take them for granted again.  If you are ever in Wisconsin, take the time to go on the tour, you won’t regret it!  Here’s the link:

http://www.us.kohler.com/designkb/designcenter/tours.jsp

After our tour (and its 2.5 miles and 5,280 steps!), Diana and I visited the American Club Hotel and enjoyed lunch at the Horse & Plow restaurant there.  Then we wandered around the village and shopped a little at the very upscale shopping center within the Kohler village.

The Kohler Design Center, Kohler, Wisconsin

Afterward we drove a few miles east and spent some time enjoying the shore of Lake Michigan.  As evening approached, we drove back to our motel through the historic old town portion of Shiboygen.

Another interesting, unusual, informative and tiring day.  I think we could get used to this!

OK, so actually we’re in Sheboygan, but I just liked the name of that town, and it’s only about two miles from here, so forgive my slight geographic fib please!

Back to the morning.  We drove over to Necedah and walked into the Camp Inn showroom.  We met both Craig & Cary, the two founders and masterminds of the company.  They introduced us to their shop manager who listened to our upgrade desires and then scanned our trailer to find out how it had handled six years on the road.

After covering all the normal wear and tear items to be refreshed, I had my heart set on getting the new and improved faucet for our kitchen sink (Yes, our teardrop has a kitchen sink, why wouldn’t it?).  I took a look at one of the new teardrops on the showroom floor and mentioned how great it would be to get not only the better faucet and pump, but also the larger fresh water and gray water holding tanks along with a special electronic gizmo which would let us check to see how much water we had onboard and how full the gray water tank was.  It turned out that the complete upgrade was possible!  Not only that, but they could do it for us in a day or two, in addition to all the other things we asked them to do!

We signed the papers, unloaded and stowed the contents of our kitchen (so they would have easy access to all the compartments), handed them the keys and promised we’d be back on Thursday.

Then with smiles on our faces we drove east toward Sheboygan through small towns, rolling hills, and lots of picture-perfect views of “America’s Dairyland.”  This really is beautiful country with classic glimpses of true agricultural nirvana on every side.

We checked into another motel (Hey, we don’t have a trailer right now!) and made reservations to take the three-hour Kohler Design Center “Industry In Action” factory tour tomorrow morning.  (You can measure our level of commitment by the fact that we must be at the factory by 8:15 tomorrow morning — an unheard-of hour for us!)

Gotta get some sleep now — we have a rendezvous with porcelain, cast-iron and stainless-steel!

Stopped in front of Lick A Dee Splitz for a parting scoop!

After a breakfast of pancakes drizzled with maple syrup made from the neighbor’s trees, we loaded up our belongings and got ready to leave.  Jim and Carol made our visit absolutely fantastic — they are great hosts and wonderful friends.  Their Wisconsin lakeside hideaway is truly a delightful spot, made even better by the kindness and generosity of our friends.  Thanks to them for giving us the VIP treatment! (For reasons we cannot divulge, we are unable to reveal additional details about their cabin other than to mention that some bunk beds appear to be available for guests . . ..)

Today we headed south toward the mothership of our teardrop trailer – Necedah, WI.  We are planning to leave the trailer there for a day or two so it can receive some factory upgrades.

The drive down was uneventful — at least until we reached the Camp Inn factory.  We had heard that they had a campground next to the site, and considered staying there.  Unfortunately, there was no one at the site.  We realized the campground hasn’t recovered from the winter and really isn’t ready for use yet.  We called one of the founders of the company who suggested another campground a few miles away, but the weather was threatening and we were tired, so we checked into a handy motel instead.

Tomorrow we’ll get to meet the owners and creators of Camp Inn Teardrops and see the place where and how our trailer was made.  We’re looking forward to it!

Diana, Jim & Carol in Wisconsin Water Wonderland

It rained overnight, but was just spitting as we left Marquette and headed south.  We have now ventured as far north as we will on this trip.

We drove through mostly forest with the occasional lake and/or river thrown in.  When we stopped at a gas station/convenience store for a pit stop, a group of gentlemen with boats were peering at our teardrop so we showed it to ‘em.  They were favorably impressed.  (I am beginning to believe that in this part of the world every pickup truck comes with a fishing boat attached.  Really!)

We talked to Jim Van Houten on the phone and he directed us to their church where we were just in time for potluck.  An old colleague of Diana’s, Ellsworth Moses was also there and we all had a good time talking.  Other visitors at the church included a couple from Monument Valley, AZ who took a close look at our trailer.  They were very interested because they felt it fit their needs perfectly.

After lunch we followed Jim and Carol back to their place in Three Lakes.  We had to travel down several twisty roads and through forests before we arrived at their lakefront property.  After relaxing for a while, we hopped in their boat for a tour through several of the lakes accessible from their location.

For those of you who know the name Sam Campbell, what we did next will be of special interest to you.  Sam, and his wife Ginny, wrote many books in the 1940‘s and 1950‘s all based on the cabin they lived in on an island in this area.  The books focused on their interaction with the wild animals they encountered and as a child I (Steve) loved the books, and even got to meet the author when I was about 10 years old.

Jim and Carol’s place is fairly close to that island, and our cruise included a lap around the island with opportunities to gaze upon the cabin and environs.

Then Jim landed the boat at a remote location and we started hiking along what the state of Wisconsin has dubbed the Sam Campbell trail.  We didn’t see any larger animals, but we did spot a nesting pair of Osprey flying around and landing on their nest.  The hike, the woods and the company were terrific.

We retraced our steps, jumped into the boat and while munching on cheese and crackers provided by Carol, we were treated to a tour of two Bald Eagle nests in the vicinity as well as a view of a private island once owned by the CEO of the Brinks Company.  First class dining and travel!

We returned to the Van Houten’s abode and chatted some more while Jim prepared a delightful dinner.  He is a many-talented individual, and we are benefiting from many of his talents.  (Carol & I went to get ice cream at Lick A Dee Splitz for ice cream to go with peach pie from a favorite bakery of theirs.  It was a delightful place.  I told them that compared to where I’ve been lately, Three Lakes is the middle of civilization.)

We were feeling pretty tired and realized that we have slipped back into Central time even though our bodies are still convinced we are in the Eastern time zone.  We took our leave and settled in for the night with full tummies and happy memories of a great day.

Sam Campbell's Island Cabin -- The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of!

Today we slept in and fiddled around at the motel.  We didn’t leave Paradise until after 11:00!  We drove south on Hwy 123 and west on Hwy 28 to the town of Munising and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  The unusual formations of the sandstone at the edge of Lake Superior are caused by the different materials in the layers.  As they have weathered they have “dripped” down the face of the exposed sandstone and look very much like someone dribbled paint on it.

The erosion on the sandstone cliffs has also created some odd shapes.  One of them is called Miner’s Castle because the shapes resemble castle fortifications.

We spent time learning about the area and then drove for a look at Miner’s Castle.

Both of us continue to fight the feeling that we are at the ocean.  Lake Superior is so big that any thought of it being a fresh water lake go right out the window.  The relatively calm water is about the only clue that it isn’t the Atlantic or Pacific.

After a picnic lunch, we continued west on Hwy 28 past Grand Island, AuTran Bay, and Harvey, finally ending up in Marquette, a town of just over 20,000 people on the shore of Lake Superior.  (On the way, Steve stopped so I could collect some rocks on non-park shoreline.  I had looked at books on rocks of the area.  I found some very interesting purple ones.)

We pulled into our motel, checked in, ate dinner at a nearby restaurant, and watched an episode of “Antiques Roadshow” on the iPad before turning in.  Tomorrow it’s into more uncharted territory as we head to Wisconsin, the home of the teardrop mothership! (And the summer home of Jim and Carol Van Houten.)

P.S.  We forgot to mention yesterday that from our window we could see the far shore to the east with dozens of wind turbines on it.  We found out Canada has at least 200 large wind turbines there and a large solar project in the planning stages.  At night the blinking red lights of the far off wind turbine towers created an eerie glow on the horizon.

S&D in front of Miner's Castle and Lake Superior.

Today is our 43rd anniversary.  It doesn’t seem like we’ve been together that long.  We are so grateful for our love and all that it has brought us (including our baby boy!).  We will celebrate the day by doing exactly what we have been doing for the last two months — continuing our road trip, meeting interesting people, seeing things we’ve never seen before, and most importantly, sharing the experience with each other, which makes every experience even better!  And thanks to all our Facebook “Friends” who sent congrats our way — we appreciate the nice comments!

We were up and out after waking up to another overcast and very cool day.  We drove to Riverside Cemetery, located and photographed the gravestones of several Eagle family members.  Diana’s father’s mother was and Eagle, and she is interested in getting more details on that side of her family.

When she had called the cemetery to ask for the locations of the graves, the person she talked to knew right were the plots were.  He also volunteered that Carl Eagle still cared for the graves of his parents and grandparents.

We found Mr. Eagle’s phone number and address and Diana spoke with him on the phone last night and asked if we could stop by so she could talk to him about the Eagles.  He was willing to let us come by, so she made an appointment for 1:00 p.m..

After we finished at the cemetery we had a little time to kill, so we drove back into Sault Ste. Marie so Diana could investigate the local Goodwill store.  I stayed with the car and trailer.  While I was waiting, several people stopped to look at the teardrop, and one lovely couple spent about 20 minutes looking at the trailer and then giving us suggestions on where we should got next and what we should do when we got there ( We really enjoyed visiting with them.

At 1:00 p.m. we drove into the Eagles driveway.  Their home is located in a rural area south of town.  We met a surprisingly young looking Carl (he’s in his 80’s) and his wife, sat down at the dining table, and Diana and he compared notes and information on families.  The Eagles books they had were much newer and more complete than Diana’s and even contained pictures of her and her family in it! (Now we have to find and buy those.)

We had a great time chatting, and made sure they had our contact information in case they get out our way.  They told us their daughter worked at the tourist information center near the international bridge, so we made plans to stop there on the way out of town.

On the way to the center we stopped at Clyde’s Drive Inn, a little place alongside the river, next to the ferry port and had what Diana and I both feel was the best chocolate malt either of us had ever had.  If you’re ever in Sault Ste. Marie, check ‘em out!

We met the Eagle’s daughter, introduced ourselves and left with another new friend, and an armful of maps and guides.

As instructed, we decided we would visit Tahquamenon (rhymes with phenomenon) Falls State Park and see the lower and upper Tahquamenon Falls.  We drove along Lake Superior and although the route calls itself a scenic, we caught very few glimpses  of the lake.  The forest alongside both sides of the road was lovely, but not exactly what we had expected.  (For those of you who have been on the road to Hana, you know what we mean.)

The falls were nice.  These falls are the 2nd largest falls east of the Mississippi after Niagara Falls.  The water is a dark brown color because of the tannin which leeches out of the plants upriver.  That gives the water a depth and dimension that is very pretty.  There were very few other tourists on the roads or trails — we pretty much had the place to ourselves except for a trio we kept running into.  The young woman is a city planner from the SF Bay area. (Yes, she knows Omega Salvage.) She was in Michigan to take her parents from Detroit site seeing.  They love to travel and we had a lot in common.

It was getting late when we drove back through Paradise, MI, so we found a Best Western motel right on the shore of Lake Superior, and got a room.

It was a memorable day for many reasons, not the least of which was being able to celebrate 43 years together.  That was really special!

Diana with her "kin," 80-year-old Carl Eagle.

In the morning we were picked up at our motel and driven to the port where we jumped on a ferry and took the 20 minute ride to Mackinac Island.  The morning was cool with heavy cloud cover, moderate winds and choppy water.

When we arrived at the island our senses were struck with two unique things:  1) No sounds of gasoline or diesel car or truck engines, and 2) The aroma of horses!

Cars have been outlawed on the island since 1895, and so the island depends on horses for transportation and trucking.  There is one other means of personal transportation on the island, bicycles.  And there were a lot of them, too.  They did smell better than all the horses — well better that what the horses left behind them on a quite regular basis!

We made a reservation for a personally guided carriage tour, strolled around the town, and ate lunch at the Chippewa Hotel Waterfront Cafe and then graciously accepted free samples of fudge from several of the 14! fudge stores in town.

We met our driver and climbed into the carriage with sticky fingers, ready to slow down the pace a little.  Austin, our college-age driver, clucked his tongue at the team of horses and we were off.

As we clip-clopped along, Austin told us bits of history on the houses were were passing and facts about the island and its history.  We drove by the Grand Hotel, famous for the movie, “Somewhere in Time,” with Christopher Reeve.  The hotel is indeed grand with a veranda long enough for 100 rocking chairs and dozens of columns.  It would be nice to stay there but it’s a little out of our price range and besides guests must don formal wear after 6:00 p.m.  It did look nice from a distance though.

Our ride continued up the hill and into woods filled with thick stands of trees.  Austin pointed out plants and wildflowers to us, including two endangered species, Lady Slippers and Trilliums.  We also spotted a lot of Forget-Me-Nots along the way.

We made a stop at one of the natural features of the island, Arch Rock.  It is made of rock and it’s in the shape of an arch.  Accurate on both counts.

As we got back in the carriage, rain started falling.  While we were rolling through the forest, lightning and thunder flashed and crashed around us.  We were startled, the horses were not.  Good thing!

We ended our ride at the entrance to Fort Mackinac and left the carriage after putting on our jackets and putting up our umbrella — I was glad I had packed both items in my backpack.  We walked into the fort and ran into the first building we saw which contained several exhibits which depicted life in the fort and filled in more of the history of the island.  We stayed inside the buildings until the rain slacked off.  By the time we left the fort and walked down into town, the sun was shining and it had turned balmy.

Jackets off and stowed, we continued our tour of the town, checking out the more interesting shops and after determining the best version of fudge, purchasing a generous portion to take with us.

We waited in the sunshine for our ferry and rode on top all the way back to St. Ignace, got a ride back to the motel, hopped in our Forester and took the onramp to I-75 north.

In less than an hour we arrived in Sault Ste. Marie, MI and checked into our motel.

Tomorrow Diana will do a little more genealogy sleuthing, we’ll try to find and take pictures of some of her Eagle ancestor’s gravestones, and perhaps if we’re lucky, even meet a live one!

View of the Grand Hotel from our two-horsepower vehicle.

Today was mostly driving.  We left after breakfast and drove west to Flint and then up I-75 through the Lower Peninsula, across the five-mile long Mackinac Bridge over the Straits of Mackinac and into the little lakeside town of St. Ignace.

We did stop once along the trip.  When driving along limited access highways, most off-ramps list the services available at the location, fuel, lodging, food, etc..  In Michigan we started seeing signs for “Bob’s Big Boy” restaurants.  Growing up as Southern California kids, these places were near and dear to our hearts.  The first double-decker hamburger was the “Big Boy,” and who could resist a “Silver Goblet Shake?”

We couldn’t resist stopping in the town of Gaylord to check out the authenticity of the Big Boy restaurant there.  The logo and cartoony “Big Boy” were emblazoned on the building and inside walls.  The menu contained “Big Boy” burgers along with other diner-type fare.  And they had shakes, but they weren’t called “Silver Goblet.”  We tried a shake, but it didn’t compare with our memories of long-ago Glendale delights.  Oh well.

After checking into a motel, right on the shore of Lake Huron, we ate dinner at a local St. Ignace joint and did some research on ferries to Mackinac Island (the final c is silent — think French — and it’s pronounced Mackinaw by the locals) before turning in for the night. I agree.

Half Pineapple, Half Green Olive Pizza in St. Ignace.

Today we headed further west before pushing north once again.  We reluctantly bid adieu to the Niagara Falls Quality Hotel (ask for room 602 if you’re ever here) but before we could leave we had to show the teardrop to several people including a gentleman from Surrey, England, on holiday with his granddaughter.  You meet the nicest people with a teardrop!

We decided to drive a few kilometers up the river from here to Niagara-On-The-Lake.  To reach the lovely town we drove by the river.  There was a bike trail all the way there with stops for beautiful views.  Tourists visiting Niagara Falls should definitely plan a quieter visit.  On the outskirts of Niagara Falls the beautiful houses and B & B’s begin and get more regal as you go on.  Niagara-on-the-Lake was described to us as a kind of Carmel.  Actually it is far more wealthy Britain with huge lots interspersed  with vineyards. The quaint town is filled with beautifully manicured gardens, Regency and Classical Revival buildings, and a plethora of historical plaques.  It was settled at the close of the American Revolution by Loyalists.  The town was almost totally destroyed by occupying American forces during the War of 1812 but was rebuilt after the war and thrived as an active commercial center with a busy shipping and ship-building industry.  Tourists appear to have successfully occupied it currently.

We enjoyed a stroll along the main street had a great lunch followed by scoops of “The World’s Best Ice Cream” according to carefully quoted reviewers.  It was pretty tasty, though not necessarily the best ever.  The shopping is pleasant.  There was even a small pharmacy museum.

We also lingered at the edge of Lake Ontario and were impressed by its size.  This is the first of the great lakes either of us has seen firsthand.  It is, as described, really huge.  Except for the size of the waves, and the freshwater, it looks pretty much like an ocean.

We left NOTL and headed west through rich farmland, rolling hills and occasional thick forest.  The divided highway was among the smoothest we have been on in over 6,700 miles of driving on this trip.

We crossed back over into the USA at Port Huron, easily clearing customs, and found a place to stay for the night.  Tomorrow we’ll be heading toward the northernmost point of this trip.  Stick around and see what develops.

Note:  Today marks the two-month point of our Lap Around America.  According to our GPS, we have logged 6,705.4 miles so far and we still have a ways to go before returning to Citrus Heights.  Thanks for staying with us!

Just one example of floral excess in Niagara-On-The-Lake.

Today the sky was clear, the sun was shining, and even the hotel’s included continental breakfast exceeded our expectations.  We decided we would make the pilgrimage to that most famous and fabled Niagara Falls attraction — The Maid of the Mist boat ride!

We donned shorts, t-shirts and sandals in anticipation of a soaking, and walked down the hill from our hotel, through a portion of Queen Victoria Park and into the mass of people who shared our plans.

Actually, although the line was long, it moved smoothly as each boat filled up with complementarily blue-ponchoed thrill-seekers eager to survive a close encounter of the moist kind.

Diana and I discreetly positioned ourselves on the lower deck in a relatively sheltered location and bobbed along toward our rendezvous with those 750,000 gallons per second of drenching delight.

Soon we were moving close to the base of Horseshoe Falls, and the captain maneuvered his craft through the swirling surface of the freshly fallen water, turning left and right to assure an even delivery of lighter and heavier mist on all the paying customers.  Occasionally a particularly drenching portion would elicit shrieks and laughter from the willing victims.

The air was heavy with moisture and filled with an indescribable freshness from all that oxygenated H2O.  It was delightful, and over all too soon.  The ponchos had done their job rather well, and we only sustained minor areas of wetness.  As we returned to our starting point, we experienced veterans shouted encouragements at the boats we passed that were headed for the falls.  Our courage was proven, and it was important to empower those who would follow in our splashy footsteps.

Back on dry land we paused to enjoy the view of the falls from this lower vantage point.  As we did, Diana spotted something bobbing in the water below the falls.  It floated like a small boat, albeit a rather roundish one.  She spoke with one of the staff who said it probably was a boat and that lots of things went over the falls and their battered remnants often floated downstream past the boat docks.

We returned to street level and strolled back to the hotel, relishing the experience and glad we had been adventurous enough to give it a try. The park is beautifully green with lovely flowers such as azaleas with many touches of annuals as well as roses.  Something, probably the flowering trees, smelled unbelievably sweet.  We walked smartly from shade to shade, enjoying the cool breeze from the falls.

After showering, we ventured out for lunch.  We sat down at the Macaroni Grill, but upon seeing their prices ($19 for mushroom ravioli and 7” personal pizzas) we declined their fare and settled for a less pricy but still tasty meal at a pub in the big casino across the street from our hotel.

In the evening we got another shot of serendipity when the sky came alive with a very lavish and vigorous fireworks show.  Again our room’s view was perfect and we watched the bombs bursting in air with colored lights shining on the American Falls.  These festivities, we’re certain, were especially dedicated to our anniversary celebration and we enjoyed them immensely.

Dreams of Niagara delights tonight, new experiences tomorrow.  CU then!

Maids of the Mist Cross Paths Below the American Falls