Day 51: Sun, Aug 2: Manistique to Ironwood MI

pastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwindpastiesspiritsdeerwind
... and elderly drivers!

OK, OK -- I know that looks strange, but that's the list of blog topics I had running through my mind while I was riding today LOL

First: pasties -- all the way through Michigan I've been seeing roadside stands that just say "Pasties" -- I've not yet discovered whether they are selling the pasties that you eat (as in 'Cornish pasties') or the pasties that you, er, ... twirl BLUSH

Second: spirits -- again, all the way through Michigan, near or in a lot of little towns, I keep seeing billboards that say only 'Spirits - 5 miles'. I kept wondering if table-turning or seances is a hot activity in this state, until I saw a liquor store and realized what they were referring to (!)

Third: deer: without a word of a lie, I counted about a dozen dead deer on Hwy 2, in about a 15 km stretch just west of Escanaba near a little place called Harris. I guess they lost their battle with the ubiquitous automobile ...

Fourth: wind: Today was the same as yesterday, wind-wise, presumably because we're on a peninsula here, which is between Lake Michigan and Lake Superior and getting the blast from both sides -- ye gawds, I feel quite deaf after 5 hours of riding. ICK

Fifth (and probably most important): Elderly drivers: Well, Ole Willi just about met her Maker today, and that is no lie, folks. A little old lady (presumably on her way home from church) in Crystal Falls, Michigan almost creamed me head on in an intersection ... and the sad and scary part is, I don't think she ever saw me a-tall.

I was sitting in my left hand turn lane waiting to turn into MacD's when she came at me head on, driving totally straight through her left turn lane, instead of turning left. The only thing that saved me is that I was on the extreme right hand side of my lane because I had zipped into it at the last minute. I could tell by the way she was peering through the windshield she couldn't see jack-you-know-what. Fortunately for me, she decided she was going somewhere on her right and went by me on my left, just about grazing me -- any closer and she'd have knocked me over. Jaysus!

So, I arrived here in Ironwood Ironwood about 2:30 p.m., or so I thought, till I saw a clock and realized I'd moved into the central time zone thereby losing (or gaining -- I can never figger that out!) an hour. I decided to call it a day as I'm pretty tired -- it was a noisy night at last night's hostelry and Ole Willi is short on zeds.

I think I will plant my butt and maybe read a book or somethin'

Ta Ta For Now!

EDITED TO ADD: Okay, okay -- it's about 3 hours later and I've just returned from the 'Twilight Zone' ... or maybe it was the 'Outer Limits', but anyway ... from someplace really, really wierd!

So, it's like this -- dinner time rolled around -- about 5:00 p.m., but I was ready to eat, having crosssd one time zone, so I strolled around the neighbourhood to see what might be good. The first two restaurants I tried, were both closed -- 'Sunday' is apparently not a popular day to stay open in beautiful downtown Ironwood, MI.

Anyhoo, I espied one, the 'Maplewood Bar and Grill', that looked open, so I decided to give it a try. In I went. The front of house staff were all at the front desk having a good old gossip, 'Like wow, Man ...' (you can fill in the rest).

Anyway, got seated by the teenaged hostess, got waited on by the teenaged waitress ... wait a minute -- am I in Hooter's? No, can't be -- everyone working here is so prepubescent, they hardly have boobs -- but what they do have is short, shorts up to ... wherever -- if they bend even slightly, you could prolly see what they had for breakfast, no lie!

So, I'm sitting in my booth, drinking my Merlot (no CCC coolers here, I'm afraid) and looking around and starting to realize that there are an awful lot of coke-bottle lenses looking at me. In fact, as far as customers go, well by golly, I'm the youngest person there. And all the rest of them are gawking at me through their very think lenses -- very thick cuz they are all about 90 yrs old. Wierdsville, Baby!

But that's not the wierdest part, folks -- as time rolls by and folks finish their meals and leave, they ALL stop by or wave to me and say, 'Bye Shelly, nice ta see yah, Shelly..." Frickin' frick -- apparently, I have a goppledanger ... oops, I mean doppleganger ... here in Ironwood -- very freaky. Either that, or there's only one redhaired person in town and all the oldies can't see well enough to tell the difference LOL

Day 50: Sat, Aug 1: Grayling to Manistique, MI

OK, here's a Mr. Moose for you, Anneke! He looks a whole lot friendlier than some of the ones on the various warning signs (or real ones(!)), encountered so far along the way. And, at least this one is dressed appropriately LOL

'RANT' WARNING: I wish to express my fervent, wholehearted dislike of aircooled motorcycle engines -- I am extremely pi$$ed off with Delilah today. Why? Because I have a honkin' big blister about the size of a quarter and about 1/2 inch thick on a very delicate spot (ahem - I don't think any further description is required!) And this is not even from riding in stop 'n go traffic, but from highway driving ARGHHHHH. (OK - RANT over ... for now!)

I got started reasonably early this morning -- and a good thing it was too, because some pretty persistent rain started when I was riding to Charlevoix, where my great-grand parents farmed. The ride there was a gas, great motorcycling roads, well paved and wonderful big sweeping curves, up hill and down dale. Very scenic too, with lots of little farms along the way -- not sure what the crops were, but it almost looked like oats -- something with a chaff on it, anyway.

I got to Charlevoix to discover it has developed into quite a lakeside resort area -- the town centre and older neighbourhoods are still quite quaint in an 1890's fashion - very pretty really, but terrifically crowded today, it being Saturday. Charlevoix When it started raining, I beat a hasty retreat and headed north up Hwy. 31 to the Mackinac Bridge (once the longest suspension bridge in North America, I believe) Mackinac Bridge.

In spite of the rain, it was still a great ride up that highway and the bridge was absolutely breathtaking. The two inner lanes are metal grating (gives the bridge more stability, apparently) while the outer two are paved ... and you know that I chose the paved option, riiggghhht??? LOL

After paying the bridge toll ($3.00) on the other side, I popped off into the (handy) tourist Welcome Centre to check my map. Didn't really need to as the signage is terrific -- the turn-off for Hwy 2 (the selfsame Hwy 2 I was on in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York) was easy to find and I was on my way west again.

For awhile after joining Hwy 2, the rain eased and the (very welcome) sun made an appearance, but sadly, that turned out to be a brief interlude. The rain came down in torrents and the wind picked up unbelievably! There were times I thought I might not be able to hold 'er on the road, what with the gusts coming from almost every direction. Of course, it was to be expected that there would be a lot of wind right by the shore of Lake Michigan, but it was still quite extreme when traffic was diverted onto a long, windy detour off Hwy 2 near Cut River, which went about 15 km, curving seemingly every which way, until it rejoined the Hwy again.

At some point, I pulled off to gas up and encountered a bunch of riders taking refuge from the storm -- they were pretty impressed to see me jump off, gas up, do a few quick leg stretches and tear off back on the road again, I think. Buncha wimps -- guess they thought they might shrink LOL

But, lucky girl that I am, very shortly after, the sun came back out and this time for good, right up until I made it here to Manistique. I checked in to my motel, had a great meal at the restaurant next door and took a brief stroll and a few pics. As you can see, Lake Michigan is pretty darned impressive. We Westerners just don't have any idea of the scope of these Great Lakes until we've actually been in their presence -- pretty frickin' impressive, I'd say -- you'd think you were looking out across an ocean, not a lake!

Sooo, I put in a fairly long day's ride, so I don't think I'll be burnin' any midnight oil tonight LOL Hopefully will make it a good way through Wisconsin tomorrow.

Hasta la vista, Gang!



Day 50 Grayling to Manistique

Day 49: Fri., July 31: Sarnia ON to Grayling MI

Anneke and Offroad Ed and I parted this morning after breakfast in Sarnia -- me to hit Highway 402 west to Michigan and them to head north homewards. Sad to say goodbye -- these two are good folks!

Not a terribly interesting day riding-wise as I've been on interstates all day - first the I-65 out of Port Huron after I crossed the international bridge and then I-75 to get me into Northern Michigan. It was another windy day, so I'm pretty bagged -- early to bed it will be for this ol' chicken ... BOK BOK.

Tomorrow, I'll aim for Charlevoix, where my great-great grandparents farmed. I believe there is some scenic riding to be had around there, and then I'll head across the Mackinac Bridge further north. Not sure how far I'll actually get beyond that -- depends on how much fun I'm having, I guess LOL

Later, gang!

Day 48: Thurs, July 30: Mount Forrest to Sarnia ON

Well, the day started nicely with Offroad Ed cooking a yummy breakfast for us (with Elliott the Wonder Dog trying to mooch the whole time LOL).

Anneke and I got packed up as the two of us were riding off to Sarnia along the coast of Lake Huron with Offroad Ed to follow later in the evening to meet up with us. (As I write this, he hasn't arrived yet.)

It was beautiful weather, so we had a really pleasant ride. Anneke led as far as a place called Kincardine and I led the rest of the way.

BTW, we stopped for lunch in a place called Kettle Point near Ipperwash run by a tribal group - tax-free, yet :-) The food was scrumptious, so if you are ever by that way, stop in and enjoy!

Essentially, we just followed our noses along Highway 21 and then Highway 7 and lucked into a great hotel (the Village Inn) just off an exit on Highway 402 -- so it should be an easy getaway tomorrow morning -- them homeward bound north and me west to Michigan.

Day 47: Wed, July 29: Orangeville to Mount Forrest ON

Day 47 Orangeville to Mount Forrest

Hmmm, well, I guess you'll notice that pics of Niagara Falls are conspicuous here by their absence. Fact is, I looked out the window this morning at the crappy rain pouring down and decided to give it a miss. Instead, I did a little tour of villages and hamlets in Huron County, where some of Big Daddy's ancestor's hailed from, which is most of the pics you see.

Then I headed up a bit further north to Anneke and Offroad Ed's summer place at Mount Forrest. We had a great afternoon with their grandsons and Elliott, the Wonder Dog, followed by a steak BBQ prepared by Ed and sitting around the campfire.

Now, I should mention here, I had a leeetle bit of trouble getting into the 'compound' they have their trailer at. Anneke had said to stop at the barrier 'straight ahead after I came in the gate'. So, I toodled ahead, because I could see a barrier in the distance -- seems, however, I had the wrong barrier -- one which did not open AT ALL. So there I was, at the very end of a gravel lane, too narrow to do a UE and too uphill to back up, so I said the hell with it and did an overland scoot through a wide, shallow ditch, over a small curb, between two other barriers and hey presto, got in -- good thing no-one was watching, though LOL (Look out Steve McQueen!)

I finally wound up using the sleeping bag I've been lugging around, BTW. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing cold and finally remembered I had it with me, and hey, presto -- warm snugglies at last :-)

Tomorrow it's off to Sarnia in preparation for the cross to Michigan.

Hasta la vista

Day 46: Tues., July 28: Port Perry to Orangeville ON

After a hearty breakfast with Sue, Bill, Edna and Bill, and fond farewells, I set off for Huron County and environs. Didn't quite make it, but close -- got to Orangeville about 3:00 and decided that was enough for one day. I didn't actually ride that far, but it took forever because I chose to go via Hwy. 7, which was just so slow and congested, I got fed up with it all.

Anyway, when I stopped for a break, I texted Anneke and Offroad Ed, cuz I realized when I lookin' at my map, that their summer place in Mount Forrest wasn't too far away. I thought perhaps we could get together for lunch tomorrow, but that didn't fit into their plans, so instead, they jumped in the car and headed up here to Orangeville and took me out to dinner - what a blast; Conga libations and lotsa laffs - just as if we'd never been apart.

So, yakking away, we started looking at some maps and Ed decided I couldn't possibly go home without having ridden down to Niagara Falls; so, weather permitting, tomorrow that will be the plan -- I will ride down there and back about to Burlington, where I'll meet up with Ed and we'll head to their place in Mount Forrest for the night.

Next day, Anneke and I will ride around Huron County, so I can get some pics of the area where Big Daddy's ancestors lived and then the next day or day after, they will both ride down to Sarnia with me, where I will cross into Michigan. (We may be joined by a gal from Windsor, if I can hook up with her too.) Sooo, tomorrow looks like being a busy, busy day!


Port Perry Pics

Day 45: Mon., July 27: Kingston to Port Perry ON

I was up bright and early this morning -- but not early enough to beat Michele and Laurie, who were up with the birds to head off for their early morning swim :-)

By the time they returned to the house, I had packed up my stuff and was just getting Delilah loaded to head off on a run through Prince Edward County. They got ready for work and we all had a big hug and said our goodbyes (as I said at the time, it seemed funny to be waving them off from their own house!)

What a fabulous time I had with these two lovely gals -- they are truly helpful and caring women to their sisters-on-the-road, as well as being able and welcoming hostesses -- thanks, Goils for making my stay so comfy and cozy HUGZ.

Laurie had suggested that, on my way to Port Perry to see my friend Sue from back home, I ride out on Hwy 33, also known as the Loyalist Parkway, which meanders along the shore of Lake Ontario from Kingston to the Elora ferry to Picton and thence to Prince Edward County, where there is a lotta great riding to be had. I got started out of Kingston about 8:00 a.m. and encountered practically zip traffic-wise, so it was really pleasant - sun and the lovely, curvy road all to myself -- mmm-hmm, don't get much better than that :-)

I arrived at the ferry terminal just as one was unloading and so didn't have to wait long; the ride itself was short too; a pleasant morning interlude.

Riding through Prince Edward County I was struck with firstly, how little traffic there was (seemed to be hardly any tourists around) and secondly, how many tiny farms lined the roadway -- really a pretty sight ... and most of the towns throughout the county were very quaint, with a lot of buildings from the early 1800's. Gawjus!

I continued on Hwy 2, which took me through Coburg, Colborne and other small towns and villages in between, until Port Hope where I headed north on Hwy 28, intending to make a segue onto Hwy 7A and thus onto Port Perry, but due to some road work at the junction of 28 and 7A, I couldn't get on at that point and wound up making a huge detour around it all -- luckily, Gertie the Garrulous GPS did 'er bit and got me there fine.

Sue and I had a great old natter after dinner along with her dad and some old family friends of theirs, Don and Edna, so it was a fine, relaxing evening -- no Conga libations there, but we sure made short work of a couple of bottles of wine ;-)



EDITED TO ADD: Day 45 Kingston to Port Perry ON

Video: Ferry to Picton