As I write this post, I realize this will be my last Sunday post. But stay tuned, later this week I'll have a wrap-up post. We return the van on Friday.
On to our week 6 on the road:
The week started with a visit to Little Big Horn in Montana, which I opted out of due to expected boredom. Although that was a good move, it was not without its own pain. I spent the time at a cafe trying to do work as I listened to non-stop Native American music. From there, we continued on to North Dakota, where the best place I could find for hotel night was the Staybridge Suites in Bismarck. And, believe me, I had spent a whole lot of time searching for places to stay in ND. I have my google search history to prove it. But, hotel night is hotel night so I'll make the most of it.
We get settled into the hotel. The TV immediately goes on to get me through my week of withdrawals. (Judy likes calling me "Mike TV" - reference from Willie Wonka). Then, I see we have a microwave and am getting happier by the minute. I take out my microwave popcorn, put it in the microwave on the popcorn setting (yes, I put it on the popcorn setting). I sit down, change the channel, look up, and see a smoke-filled room and the start of flames, followed, of course, by the smoke alarm going off. Judy quickly grabs the popcorn and puts out the flames on the bag and tries, unsuccessfully, to get the smoke out of the room but the windows won't open. Fortunately, I am not the first person at the Staybridge Suites to do this, so when I tell them to cancel the call to the fire department they are able to do so. Oh well, guess it was time to go for a walk around Bismarck anyway. By the way, the room smelled like burned popcorn all night and through the morning.
On to Minnesota...
We visited Lake Itasca, MN, which is where the Mississippi River starts. So very cool and Judy will be covering in one of the posts. Definitely worth the stopover. From Lake Itasca, we went to Duluth and then across the bridge to Superior, Wisconsin. We had planned to make our way to the U.P. and visit Porcupine State Park (on Molly's recommendation) but we couldn't find a place to stay, which also meant it would be too crowded for us given these COVID times.
We then made our way to Marinette, WI, which is a small town on the Wisconsin/Michigan border. It is also where the Jewish cemetery for the Jews from northern Wisconsin are buried, including my grandfather, my grandmother, and a few of my uncles and aunts. I haven't been to the cemetery in probably 40 years. It was very moving to see the graves; much more than I had expected it to be. After visiting the synagogue, which although is inactive is still in very good shape, Judy and I took ourselves out for a traditional Friday fish fry. For those of you not familiar, EVERYONE in Wisconsin has Friday fish fry.
We then spent Friday night in an RV park in Oconto, WI. This is the town where my dad was born and raised. I haven't been there in probably 25 years. With my dad passing last year, it was very special for me to be back there again. It brought back a lot of nice memories. As Judy and I were hanging in the van at night (on this special memorable night for me in Oconto), we were attacked by lots and lots of mosquitoes and Judy, the master of killing them, kept squashing them on my computer screen, and I would then remove them with our dirty socks (to remove the blood... ugh). Oh, this life never gets old, does it?
The next day we drove to Milwaukee, through Green Bay of course! Stopped by Lambeau Field and Anduzzi's Bar. That is the bar where I go each year with the "Green Bay crew" to see a Packer game. Our annual "The Hangover" pilgrimage. Was sad seeing it so empty and no "Nash Vegas" or Jean's breakfast burritos. To the "Green Bay crew" - we'll be back!
On to Milwaukee, where I grew up. Went to a few of my favorite eating spots (Benji's and Kopp's) and visited the graves of my parents and my sister. Very sobering. Hadn't seen my father's headstone because he just passed last summer. Still very strange for me to be in Milwaukee and not see my dad (let alone my mom). I spent so much time the past couple of years going back and forth to see him. A very empty feeling now for me to be there and not visit him.
As we are concluding the trip shortly, I want to share the three statements Judy has said on this trip that just show how different we are:
Gas: I get nervous when the tank gets below 1/2 tank and then I start looking for places to fill up. Judy doesn't even flinch until the light goes on. She then thinks she has another 50 miles or so to go. So when Judy says to me, "I think we need to get gas," I totally freak out.
Food: I can never have enough groceries stocked up. I live with a full refrigerator and full cupboards. Judy is much more resourceful than I am and can literally make a meal out of scraps that I would discard. So, when Judy says to me, "We really don't have any food to make lunch," I know we are in trouble. That means the bread is way too green and the raspberries are way too fuzzy,
Danger: I am much more cautious than Judy. Some would say -- and they would be right -- that I can often be a real "scaredy cat." Judy, shall we say, enjoys life more than I do and is more daring to take risks than I am. So when Judy says to me, "I don't think this is safe," - you know it - I totally freak out.
And, yes, Judy has said all three of these statements in the past 6 weeks.
Observations / Tidbits from Week 6:
* Fish fry's are still great
* Hotel night is still the highlight of the week for me
* It amazes me that mosquitoes can still find places to bite me
* Not all popcorn settings on microwaves are the same
* Even in the summer, cars cannot run with no anti-freeze
Our itinerary for week 6:
Day 38 - KOA - Hardin, MT Day 39 - Staybridge Suites - Bismarck, ND Day 40 - Camp Itasca - Lake Itasca, MN Day 41 - KOA - Hayward, WI Day 42 - Holtwood Campground - Oconto, WI Day 43 - KOA - Union, IL Day 44 - KOA - Perrysburg, OH
