May 4-9, 2014
leaving Almont on the beginning of our 1100 mile trip
We had hoped for better weather for a ‘spring’ ride in Michigan, however, we didn’t have much choice once we bought tickets. Left Almont and headed N towards Midland with some light rain. It actually wasn’t too bad though the hands did begin to get a tad cold on the ride. Enjoyed a night with family in Midland and dinner at Pizza Sams!
3 years in business, nice people
On Monday a.m. we started the longest mileage leg of the trip, Midland to Sault St. Marie. It rained the first hour but got nicer the more N we went. Decided to try the Cheboygan Brewery and since it was Cinco De Mayo they had a fun little spread of food to accompany the beer!
if you look really close you can see the Mackinaw Bridge behind us.
We continued on to the Mackinaw Bridge for a photo opt though you can’t see the bridge very well in the distance. I can’t believe they charge the same for 1 bike or 1 car. I only have 2 wheels, and weigh a lot less than a car. Oh well.
loved the old painting on the side of the building
Note all the church pews in the background. The “cheese” club was meeting here this night and there were lots of them!
Having ice in the locks this late in the year is not that common. There is was a lot of ice in Lake Superior
Chippewa County Courthouse was built in 1877. It is an example of the Second Empire style of construction from the late 1800’s. Wall are 2 feet thick, both the bell tower and the main building feature steep sloping roofs once covered in slate now with shingles. The 3rd floor has the “statue of Justice” made of wood.
out front of the courthouse is the The ‘Wolf of Rome’ it is an exact copy, of the ‘Capitoline Wolf’ which has been housed since 1471 in the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy.
After crossing the bridge it was a quick hour into Sault St. Marie. The first exit has a lot of hotels and shopping options (for the UP that is) but we continued into town to see if we could find the brewery and dinner options. Ended up staying at a hotel right on the Locks and lucky for Harry the brewery was right across the street. Interesting evening filled with interesting characters. Loved the small town feel and time we spent here on a nice spring evening.
Left early on Tues. a.m. to drive to Escanaba. There was snow along the route but none on the roads. Went on M-28 through Newberry into Sceeny and then took HWY117 south before heading west on HWY 2. The day got colder the closer we got to Lake Michigan. When we arrived into Escanaba I was happy to see http://www.cyclecityinc.com/. I went inside and bought gloves that were battery operated and could keep my hands warmer! Enjoyed a night with family and a great dinner at the Stonehouse!
Wed. was by far the worst day of the trip. We left in rain which subsided a bit after 1/2 hour. However 15 miles outside of Green Bay I saw lightning, so we pulled under a viaduct and waited, and waited and waited. After about 45 minutes the rain had let up a bit and we rode into Green Bay. Sadly the place we wanted to stop and eat was only open for dinner, not lunch, so we rode on, in the rain! AND now I am talking rain, with 20-25 mile an hour sustained winds and 30=40 MPH gusts. We were freezing, we were drenched and it was horrible. Stopped to fill up with gas, and warm up and wait to see if rain eventually passed. It did after about an hour, so we hopped back on for the last hour of the trip into Milwaukee. By the time we got to our hotel we simply wanted to take hot showers and lay down and rest.
Thursday, awoke to warm weather, first of the trip. Toured downtown Milwaukee on our bikes then hopped on the ferry. w.lake-express.com. Great experience, nice ride and motorcycles free! Arrived in Muskegon and rode bikes to Grand Rapids for dinner with more family members.
statue in park in downtown Milwaukee, it is in memory of Laurent-Salomon Juneau, founder and first mayor of Milwaukee.
as we pulled into Muskegon! It was close to 90 degrees!
Happy to be warm and see the sunshine!
Finally on Friday we rode back to Almont and put the bikes away til next time, when we hope the weather is better!
timistravels 