Home Again, Naturaly

The final day of this adventure was pretty straight forward.  Get up and drive.  Since we were in Sturgis, MI it wasn't a long drive but sometimes that last leg home seems the longest.  

Another of Cheri's famous state welcome signs...I can almost make out the words

That western part of Ohio does nothing to liven up the trip that's for sure!  About the only thing of interest was a crop duster we saw out near Wauseon, OH.  Those guys have guts!

We got home, unloaded the car, sat for a bit, ordered a pizza, and zoned out on the couch before crawling off to bed.

Two tired travelers back in Lyndhurst

A few of the bugs we exterminated along the way

Who knew that when Cheri bought a MINI it would give us opportunities and reasons to make these trips? We have been to places we never imagined visiting.  I sometimes shake my head in wonder.....then shake my empty wallet.

Ohhh  Dometer why must you mock us?

Starting mileage 20428 and and ending mileage of 2282 equals a total distance of 2254 miles!!

The approximate route:

Motor on!

Bikes & Beer & Brakes

This was a very long day.  We left Madison in the rain about 9:00am and started our drive to Milwaukee and the Harley-Davidson Museum.  The drive took about 90 minutes.  When I missed a turn we had a chance for an impromptu tour of downtown Milwaukee.  It looks like a cool old city with lots of old downtown buildings that have some style.  We only lost about 10 minutes before we found our way to Canal Street an the H-D Museum.

I'm not sure how long ago H-D built this complex but it looks pretty new.  Although we arrived not too long after the daily opening there were already lots of bikes in the parking area.  We found a space for the MINI right up close and worked our way to the entrance.

  

Admission is not cheap!  20 bucks a head...in 2 more years I could have had a senior discount!!

40 bucks worth of tix!

We wound our way through many of the exhibits.  Neither of us are H-D aficionados but the displays were pretty cool.  We learned that the original garage was a simple 10 x 15 foot shed!!  

Fast and loud

  

wadda NERD!!

This is sort of like Ryan's bike...except it doesn't leak oil

  

This is King Kong

Lew Downs needs a bike with bling!!

Evil Kurtnevil

There are way to many things to look at and admire but we saw as much as we could and then headed to the Race Of Gentlemen special exhibit.  After all, that's what brought us here.  We found Ryan's bike and they also had his helmet and jersey on display.  We also saw a short video that included a shot of him getting ready to race...it was from the back but we know him when we see him!

Look close and see Ryan's name

A proud Mom

zoom in and read this...

There's Ryan...#165

My new advertising campaign

After we looked at all we could take in we stopped in the H-D Motor Restaurant and Bar for lunch.  The food was good and surprisingly the prices were not bad.

Cheri and I were the only folks not wearing H-D regalia

Brisket Mac & Cheese

We stopped in the gift shop next and were knocked out by the price of things.  Tee shirts were 35 bucks...so, no shirts for us!!

Turn on the water with a brake pedal

Since we were in Milwaukee we decided to take a free tour of the Miller Brewery.  The price was right and we had an excellent tour...and free beer!  

Free tickets!!!

The Miller Brew caves

Plank Road Brewery

Some of the beers under the Miller Coors brand...jeez...they own it all!

Free beer

We left Miller Valley at 3:00 and started toward home.  We knew we would not make it all the way home so we figured we would take a little extra time and drive a bit out of our way to bypass Chicago.  It was a good idea, but even our circuitous route did not miss the traffic.  It was awful!!   Stop and go all the way to the Indiana line.  We finally got on I-80 about 6:00 and drove until 9:00 where we stopped in Sturgis, MI for the night.

Illinois

Indiana wants me

We will make it back home sometime Saturday!!

Your Madison Shoes

Not much to report from yesterday's drive from Bemidji, MN to Madison, WI.  We put our destination address into the GPS and were really surprised that our route took us all the way back to Duluth, MN before cutting south toward Madison.  I thought we would start off due south toward Minneapolis and then turn toward Wisconsin.  But, noooooo dice.  The drive kept us on the road about eight hours and 400 miles.  Since we had been on some of those same roads before there wasn't much to look at.   Even the drive on a new path was more of the same...a lake here...a lake there...a farm...trees trees trees.  Not much of the drive was expressway, it was mostly 2 lane roads until we got closer to Madison.

  

  

Yup...this is the scenery...and it was raining.

We stopped for lunch in a little crossroad town and the only choice was an A&W Root Beer place.  It was busy and service was really slow.  I think it was the result of too much inbreeding since Cheri heard all of the kitchen help call one woman Mom.  I don't think it was an affectionate term; I think it was the truth!!

When we got to the hotel in Madison we were lucky enough to be able to walk to dinner at a place called R.P. Adler's.  It was pretty good in that American grill Friday's sort of way.  We felt obligated to order some cheese curds since it's an iconic Wisconsin treat.  We've had better but they sure were good!!

  

This is a menu....

These are cheese curds...you can't see the dip.

  

This is beer..because we always have to post a beer

After dinner, and the walk back to the hotel, we were wrung out and called it a night. 

Today we head to Milwaukee and the Harley-Davidson Museum to see Ryan's bike.  That drive should take a little more than an hour if traffic is not too bad.

Motor on!

VIP Bemidji Tour

We met Al and Colleen for breakfast at a little place in town called Raphael's.  I'm not sure if it's because it's one of the only breakfast places right downtown but it was really busy.  It's more bakery than restaurant but they did a great job of taking care of people.  Al and Cheri say the donuts are Minnesota Nice!

  

Al said Colleen was disappointed that this phone number was not available

After breakfast we climbed into Colleen's Subaru and drove a few blocks to the Bemidji State University campus where Colleen starts her new job as a librarian on Monday.  It is a really nice campus that serves 5,000+ undergrads and also a couple of graduate programs.  The school is also know for their championship hockey teams.

  

Beautiful BSU entry

Colleen Deel, Librarian at A.C. Clark Library

Bucky says "game on"

We saw many of the campus buildings and of course we had to stop in the bookstore and buy a couple of BSU shirts.  We also had a photo op with Bucky the school mascot.

  

Someone in this picture needs orthodontia

All of the campus rooms are identified in English, Brail, and Ojibwe.  Now you know how to say Einstein Bros Bagles.

After the campus visit we drove around Lake Bemidji, admired some of the homes and drove into the State Park.  This is really a beautiful part of the world.

  

The MN State park system is impressive

We stopped at the Bemidji Brewery for a late lunch/early dinner.  It was pretty overcast but we ate outside.  Al recommended the smoked trout dip and crackers...which tasted like fish and cigarettes to me...but it was still tasty!

  

  

This is where smoked trout dip comes from

...and here's the other type of dip

We were going to walk over to the College Fishing Tournament site and listen to a band and visit the vendor area but it had started to rain by this point.  So, we went back to Colleen's downtown above the storefronts walkup apartment and relaxed for a while.  She had just taken the apartment before going to Ohio for a few weeks to visit her folks so it is still in "I'm just moving in" condition but its is a nice cozy spot.  

When the rain let up a little we walked over to Big River Scoop Ice Cream and had a treat.  

We visited for a while more and then it was time to say goodbye and drive back to the Hampton Inn.  It was sad to say so long but we were very glad to have had a couple of days to visit.

Motor on

In the morning we start heading southeast toward Madison, WI.