Apostle Islands

 Monday, July 10, 2017

I got to Peter's house at 7:30 a.m. It had rained hard during the night and it was still overcast.   Peter was ready and we were on our way by 8:00 a.m.  I drove in light traffic and good roads.  We stopped for a satisfying breakfast at Schreiner's; I had eggs Benedict, very good.

At 11:15 it is very sunny, no wind and 79 degrees.

Peter spotted a wayside marked Great Divide.  It was a perfect setting for our picnic, except the mosquitoes were beginning to get annoying.

We arrived at the Washburn Motel at about 5:00 p.m., a  very modest, no-frills place, but it was clean and had everything we'd need.  I didn't waste any time taking a nap after the sleepless night that I had last night.  My sciatic nerve is  causing pain down my leg, originating in my lower back. We stopped at a bar next to the motel that Peter said served food.  We no more than entered the place when a man started talking German to Peter.  He said he used to live in  New Ulm.  We joined him at the bar sharing our experiences of New Ulm while having gin and tonics and chatting with a few other men that joined in. The first man said we have to try the Scottish eggs at The Snug Restaurant.  When we got to this Irish restaurant they had only one Scottish egg left.  I ordered it, Peter had a bowl of clam chowder;  we both had diet cokes. Scottish eggs are hard boiled eggs wrapped with breakfast sausage, rolled in corn flake crumbs, dipped in beer batter and deep fried. I chose a Dijon mustard sauce for dipping. It was pretty good.  We laid out our warm clothes for tomorrow's boat ride 

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

We were up at 6:30 a.m., and headed to the Time Out Restaurant.  Our waitress taught art at a parochial school and was very pleasant. We had scrambled eggs and ham; one serving would have been plenty for both of us.  We found  the Bayfield Marina and drove around the area before lining up for the boat ride. There was 2-hour parking near the marina and Peter had to drive quite a distance to find unlimited parking. Luckily, I got in line while he parked. There was a pretty long line in front of us, but we were fortunate to get on the upper deck. The day was perfect,  I didn't need my fleece jacket.  As a matter of fact, I was almost too warm.Jay gave a lot of local history, pointed out features of the islands, like the fish camp on Manitou Island,

the lighthouse and caves on Devil's Island

and a lighthouse on Raspberry Island that was entered into service during the Civil War.

We spotted some eagles and Jay filled the time very nicely with island lore. We were finished at 2:30 p.m., and walked uphill to the car.  Google found us a Dalrymple Park/Campsite that was perfect for our picnic.  To make our loop, we took Hwy. 13 to Parkland driving with a few intermittent raindrops.

At exactly 6:00 p.m. we were at the Chain of Lakes Motel, no frills, not any of the amenities (housekeeping) as the last one, but clean and comfortable.  Google found Gilligan's Restaurant with a tiki bar right on the shore. It was a perfect evening for eating outdoors.  We each had a salad; Peter, Caesar, I Oriental chicken; Peter had a beer, I had a dirty martini on the rocks, not my preferred clean.  We lingered to enjoy the beautiful lake.  We sat outside our motel until almost dark; it gets dark later here.

Wednesday,  July 12, 2017,

We had a full and twin bed in our room, I slept on the twin, and had a restful night, once I got my left leg comfortable. I heard thunder through the night and we awoke to big puddles outside our motel.  We drove into the little town of Chetek' and decided on the Chetek Cafe, featuring German food.  We had German coffee, which was dark but not bitter, eggs and toast and homemade jam, blueberry for Peter, raspberry for me.  We made a very good choice.  I also bought some homemade German bratwurst.  We walked over to a market and bought a 24-pack of water; we do not drink enough.  Peter got the car while I waited with the water and we drove to the bakery for 2 hard rolls and a peanut square. 

The day is warm, 82 degrees at 11:42 a.m. overcast.  Driving is smooth with light traffic.

After that substantial breakfast, we didn't need any more to eat until we got to Lake Mills and found Bartel's Beach, where we had been last year.  It was still as breezy, but the breeze was refreshingly warm.  We finished off the turkey ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and wine, together with the hard rolls and peanut square from the Chetek bakery.

I invited Peter to share the German bratwurst that I grilled and served with warm potato salad.  That completed our outing.