Labor Day Weekend

Yesterday was a red flag day on the local beaches.  By evening the waves were a little less hostile and the grands headed down the hill to play in the waves.

This afternoon they swam in much calmer water.  OSLO and her fiance were here for brats and burgers for supper, with OSLO providing the dessert, an excellent blueberry tart. After we had let that all settle a bit the grands and I headed out, intending to walk to Tunnel Park.  We thought it might be a Labor Day weekend tradition, or something.

Along the way we inspected the erosion caused by yesterday's wind and waves.  The beach was re-carved in just a day.

We were put off by the size of the crowd at the park -- we didn't really want to work our way through all those people to get to the stairs, so we turned back and walked back towards the Big New House instead.

The college girl is unwinding from her first week of classes, and Totally Jammin' is just enjoying his last few days of summer before starting school on Tuesday.  September arrives tomorrow.

Looking for Cardinal Flowers

I went looking for the bright red wildflowers today -- they grow in just the one place around here, at least I've only seen them in that one spot.  I made a quick stopover at the PSPS on the way out there, for something else that's red and hard to find.

I saw the cardinal flowers early in the month, but missed the best blooms.  GZ caught them near their peak on August 10th.   Luckily, there were still quite a few blooming today in their usual ditch along 160th near the Pigeon River.

I wanted a slightly longer ride, since the weather for the rest of the month doesn't look like I'll be biking much, and as a result ended up riding past this spot.

These are along Van Buren, I think.  Apparently at 15815 Van Buren, or maybe 1581 -- depending on which wheel you believe.  I got in about 20 miles, on fairly tired legs (after yesterday's triathlon).  And I saw the cardinal flowers.  And drank some caffeinated diet red pop.  Plenty good enough.

Walk, Bike, Swim

That sounds like three days worth of exercise to me.  Or the schedule of a child on summer vacation.  I didn't have my camera with me on our walk this morning -- I didn't know I'd be engaging in an old persons triathlon when I joined my walking group around 9 this morning.  So instead, here's a photo from a different walk, I think it was two nights ago.

While walking around the neighborhood this morning, I mentioned that I'd be biking later in the day and invited LH and GG to come along.  We agreed to meet after lunch, and I suggested Quincy Park for our destination.  We rode at a nice conversational pace, and since I'm not much of a conversationalist, I occasionally got ahead of the group.  Here's a photo I took when I stopped so that we could re-group.  It was a pretty nice day for a bike ride.

LH had played pickle ball earlier,  between our walk and our bike ride, so she was already on her third form of exercise for the day.  At some point someone suggested a swim to cool off from the bike ride.  (Actually they showed up at our door while I was hosing off after the ride, and GG asked JB if I could come out and play.)  Somewhat to my surprise, I decided that this was the day that I was going to swim this summer, so I changed into a swim suit, grabbed a towel and headed down the stairs.  My next door neighbor joined us, and our gang of four played in the waves until I started to get chilled and headed back up the hill.

No camera with me for this, either.  Here's a substitute photo of the lake --  just for fun.  No surprise, I'm a little knackered, but glad we took full advantage of one of the few remaining days of August.

One Way to Spend a Saturday

Here is a theme that's been discussed before -- walking and biking require different muscles. It's taken me a good long while to get my legs to agree to do both for exercise on the same day. I consider that a bonus for these last few weeks of summer.

The only crowds on the beach last night were at the two parks, though it was a nice evening for a stroll along the water's edge.  The air was thick, but the water was warmish and the lake was calm.  I walked as far as the Big New House.  (Not that Big New House, obviously.)  This one.

Sunset is now around 8:30 -- another sign besides the seed heads on the dune grass that summer is winding down.

The morning walking group did about 2.3 miles in the  morning, and I biked a bit over 14 miles in the afternoon.  My evening walk was just for entertainment.   My legs held up, and I'm happy with that.

Wisconsin Sunset Photo

The Milwaukee skyline in the background as we left Wisconsin Monday evening on the Lake Express ferry.

Taken by the college girl, with her Iphone.

We arrived at the ferry terminal quite a bit earlier than was necessary, though navigating through the construction zones in downtown Milwaukee took some extra time.

It was a relaxing journey back across the lake -- there was some chop when we left Milwaukee, but the lake smoothed out fairly soon and the rest was quite literally smooth sailing.  Two and a half hours from Milwaukee to Muskegon.  Worth every penny.

Highlights

My traveling party of four would most likely all have a different opinion of what should be included here.  I, for example, will not mention the Mall of America -- maybe ever -- after this sentence.  Since I'm sort of linear, I'll do this in the order these things occurred.  We had an evening meal at a French restaurant on Grand early in our stay -- a nice meal, and a chance for a walk, since it's close to TT's house.  City people sometimes find creative ways to solve the challenges of city living -- in this case, traffic on Grand Ave.  I guess I'd call it "Be your own crossing guard."

We were in the city for a wedding, of course.  OSLO had offered to help her cousin with the decorating of the reception hall, so Sunday morning our travelling party stopped at this cousin's house and loaded up the truck with decorations.  TT, NCW  and the Prairie Princess were the other crew members.  OSLO got a good workout -- here she is doing squats.

We had some fun with it -- why not?  We had a great crew.

Can you find all 7 of the people in this photo?

For those who didn't know, NCW deserves major congratulations for how beautiful it all looked, since she
 made most of the non floral decorations.

All of the yellow sashes on the chairs were individually tied with white satin bows.  We were lucky to have some young people with good eyes available -- the white bows were attached with tiny little pins.

An artistic eye helped to keep them centered.  There were a lot of chairs, thus a lot of yellow sashes.

The idea was the bride's -- the execution was NCW's -- with a hand from our youthful installers.  Thanks, Grandchildren!

Yep, he was a big help, too.  It all came together -- the yellow table runners, the candy bags from China, and the Hershey Kisses roses -- many made in Michigan -- some in marathon sessions with NCW, PP and the girl COTU sitting in a corner on the floor in my living room.   We finished up on time, headed out for lunch and then back to the hotel to get ready for the ceremony.

PP doing her hair!

The girl COTU's dress matches her hair.  TT's tie (the color didn't show up in this photo), matched the color in the wedding decor -- yellow.

Everybody neat and pretty.  And we were off to the ceremony.  I recommend TT's blog for photos from there --   I'll skip to the intermission between the ceremony and the reception.  We got our first chance to visit Wireless' and EMSA's new home.  (Notice the newly planted shrubbery.  Not done for us, but a nice touch.)  They entertained us -- a tour of their charming home, an introduction to Lucy and Calvin, and fortified us with tasty, light snacks.

I do have one photo from the wedding that I like -- so I'll include that here, too.

The Grands are in this one, as are the newlyweds and their respective Mothers.  It was a lovely day -- one of the nicest days in the history of days, perhaps.

Corn and Cheese

The classic quote from the two day trip from Holland to the twin cities came from the girl grandchild.  "I'd like to talk to someone about the corn to cow ratio."  But first things first:  A family wedding called us to Minnesota, a place that I haven't called home for almost 50 years.  A road trip around the south end of Chicago (ugly, just ugly) took us first to a town that the Grands have never seen, and that OSLO hasn't seen for 31 years, DeKalb Illinois.  One of the first stops was to see the house we used to live in there.

Not much else in town looked or felt familiar.  We left a sleepy farm town, it has since tripled in size -- for no reason I could see, other than possibly Chicago creeping out to swallow it up.  Still, we found a few old landmarks -- the GE plant with its water tower, the middle school that OSLO attended, and the University.  Even the cornfields behind our former house were gone.  At least until we got a mile or so out of town the next morning, where the familiar greens of corn and soybeans re-emerged in full force.  Mile after mile after mile of corn.  August corn, tall and healthy corn.  We entered Wisconsin after an hour or so on the road on day two, and the Grands began to look for cows.  Their image of the state involves cheese hats, somehow.  And there's no fooling them -- without cows there is no cheese.  Southern Wisconsin looks just like northern Illinois, however -- corn country.  So as we cruised past Madison, the state capital, the suggestion was made that we stop and lodge a complaint about the corn to cow ratio.

Eventually corn country yielded to more dairy farms and by the time we'd gotten to Black River Falls, they'd seen a satisfactory number of cows.  They're all pretty flexible though, and today they're excited about visiting the Mall of America.  (shudder)  Road trips -- interesting stuff.

Michigan BLUE goes into storage

Mr. and Mrs. Smith headed home today.  You've read the story about where Mr. Smith used to store his bicycle over the fall/winter/spring on his blog, here.  This is the story (mostly in pictures) of where he stores it now.

Michigan BLUE, the bicycle stand and two water bottles use the elevator.  This avoids tire marks on the stairwell walls.

A sturdy line/rope is attached to the handlebars to help guide it through the narrow opening to the storage area/attic.

Stairs?  Down.  Door?  Open.  Light?  On.  It takes some maneuvering to get the bicycle lined up so that it can roll up the stairs.

From here, it's all up to the man on top.  It's my job to keep it lined up with the attic opening while it rolls up the stairway.

Piece of cake.  (I do like an occasional disembodied hand photo.)

Perfect.  (Most photos by Mrs. Smith.)

The bicycle stand is handed up and Michigan BLUE is covered by an old sheet to cut down on the dust that it will accumulate over the next, oh 50 weeks, approximately.....

And it takes its place, once again, amid all of the other things that don't see much use any more.  (I really do like my attic.)

Winding Down

One last bike ride for GZ, alone this time.  Ten days in a row..... hard core biking.  One last grocery store run this afternoon to buy enough food to feed an army -- or maybe seven of us.  One last walk to Tunnel Park for BDE, OSLO and the Grands after supper.  It was all good.  (An aside for the foodies:  my level of meal prep this summer has been lower than average, mostly because my guests have done so much of the cooking.  Early on it was tasty meals prepared by TT and NCW,  then this week there's been a lot of team cooking.  Great salads were a part of it, of course.  GZ's Mustard chicken.  And tonight we had tender, meaty braised pork ribs-- also courtesy of Chef Gino.)

The bike rides this week went pretty well, I think.  Most of the traditional spots were visited -- The Port Sheldon Party Store, the old bridge over the Pigeon River, Quincy Park, a tour de blueberry fields and the stretch ride, at least for me, Kirk Park.  I added up the numbers and found that I'd ridden 97.5 miles since the Smiths arrived.  Well, that's a fairly easy number to round up.  There is that pesky rule about having to ride the miles before I count them, so I took a short spin after supper tonight to that Epic Destination, the Kiwanis Rest Stop.  Done and done.  101 miles ridden during the Smith's visit.  Less miles than either of them rode, but a pretty respectable number.  Good enough.

Rest Day and Beyond

While it was fun to be able to say that I'd ridden my age in miles over the course of the week, it was also true that it was the first time all year that I've ridden that many miles in 7 days.  I took a rest day yesterday, as did Mrs. Smith.  GZ has ridden every day since he got here -- I have to assume that he's getting tired.  He rallied after his ride yesterday to make his signature mustard chicken for our group of seven, with the usual excellent results.  It mostly disappeared pretty quickly.  (OSLO and the Grands were here.)  Later a group gathered on the deck, as is our custom, with the hope that a vibrant sunset would occur.  We're not having much luck there -- though there was a pretty western sky.

We have been planning a big ride all week, to Mrs. Smith's favorite destination, Kirk Park.  Favorable winds help with a ride that long -- nobody needs a headwind when they're riding 100 26 miles.  It was my first trip up there this year -- and probably my last.  That many miles is a stretch for me, but still possible.  Or so I hoped, you can't count 'em until you ride 'em.

That favorable wind I mentioned was from the east -- also the wind direction that brings out the black flies.  They attacked us as soon as we stopped, but here's our photographic proof of the trip.  Mr. and Mrs. Smith at the end of the walkway overlooking the beach at Kirk Park.  I got a little tired (okay, knackered) on the way home, and threatened to take a nap at the bottom of the Idlewood hill before making the climb.  It turned out not to be (quite) necessary, though it was a slow grind.  Still and all, it was a really nice ride. Tomorrow is Mrs. Smith's last day with her rental bike, and she's looking forward to setting an all time record for miles ridden during their stay in Michigan.  She only needs 12 miles, but you've got to ride 'em before you can count 'em.  Stay tuned.

Mustard Chicken? Or Tacos?

GZ and BDE were grocery shopping when the phone call came.  It was late -- or at least it was late by our "early bird special" habits.  After supper.  They had planned a meal for tonight, and decided to get a head start on the whole process by picking up the ingredients last night.  GZ's signature mustard chicken.  The phone call was from OSLO, letting us know that the four of them would be here for dinner tonight.  It probably wasn't the first time I'd heard that piece of information, but it had never sunk in.  I texted GZ to let him know -- but it was too late.  They didn't get the text until they were nearly back here.  Obviously chicken for four won't feed eight, so plan B went into effect.  The backup meal for a large group that was in my freezer/refrigerator/pantry was tacos.  Details could wait for morning, and we were pushing sunset.  The chicken went in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator to await a quieter day, and we went to the deck to watch the sunset.

It was a nice enough evening, but the sunset was once again obscured by a horizon hugging bank of clouds.  This morning GZ and I hit the farmer's market and a grocery store to round out the dinner menu, clearing the afternoon for a bike ride.  BDE had not gotten to the PSPS by bicycle yet this trip, and 16 miles was the distance I was willing to ride.  It is, not coincidentally, 16 miles up and back to the PSPS.  Michigan BLUE, GZ's Michigan bicycle, is pictured below. A funky, not quite enough spokes looking wheelset, a nice bike.

Today's ride gave me 71.5 miles for the first 6 days in August, a number larger than my age.  There was a time, many years ago, when I would ride my age in miles sometime around my birthday -- all in one day.  I can still ride my age in miles, but now it takes about a week.  Oh, well.  It was a pretty nice ride, and I got home in time to prepare the taco meat and put some brown rice, black beans, and tomatoes together for supper before OSLO and the Grands arrived.  It was good to see them, and though OSLO was disappointed that she wouldn't be eating mustard chicken, she was enthusiastic about GZ's guacamole.  The evening was loud, but the company was good, and the food wasn't bad either.  We're still hoping for some mustard chicken, though.  Stay tuned.

First Monday in August

Yesterday was a travel day for TT and his little family group.  There was an email from him waiting for me when I got up this morning, saying that they'd gotten home safely and that their return trip went more smoothly than their trip here.  Those of us who were left behind walked around yesterday sighing about how quiet it was without them.  Still, there's no place like home, and we're happy they could spend some time here in the middle of their very, very busy summer.  Meanwhile, GZ, BDE and I took a bike ride yesterday afternoon then picked up some provisions for a simple but delicious supper of chicken and salad.

I hadn't planned to bike again today but tomorrow looks like a rainy day and today was pretty nice.  A few showers rolled through but mostly missed us, and except for some morning fog, it felt like summer -- at least inland.  I always like to show GZ some new pavement while he's here, and we found a little bit today at a new entrance to the ball fields in Quincy Park.  The lake breeze kicked in on the way home, cooling us off with a nice headwind, which was nice -- except for the headwind part. Tomorrow is another day.

Winding Down

OSLO and the Grands have a houseful of company of their own, so we had a smaller group today than you might expect for an overlap weekend.  Once the garage door repair people had replaced the spring on our garage door, thus returning our vehicles to us, I took BDE to our local bike shop to rent a bicycle.  She and GZ cycled off together, and GZ has recorded that ride on his blog.  (I assume everyone knows how to find it.)

Apparently a 20 mile bike ride wasn't enough exercise for BDE, as she and the PP did the (near) death march (to the end of the pier and back.)  The photo is of them on the return trip.

It was a pretty small group that made the trek to Tunnel Park near sunset.  These three have travel plans for tomorrow, which may explain what seemed like excessive exercise today.  PP spent most of the day on or near the lake.  The paddle board has been a favorite activity for her, and today was a near perfect day for it.  Plus she made it to both parks, the one to our north and the one off to the south.  That's a lot of miles in sand.  PW did some serious miles herself, including two walks through the hood, the near (near) death march with TT, as well as the Tunnel Park visit.

Favorite moment? It's hard to choose just one.  PW's recitation of The Cremation of Sam McGee at the supper table was classic, and hilarious.  PP's cartwheels down the dune on the way back from Tunnel Park were pretty cool.  And tonight was BDE's turn to cook, and we all like Chinese take-out.  It won't be easy to top this one.