Monday, August 8, 2022
9:15 a.m. on a rainy morning, mileage, 11567. North Ave.
ramp closed, took Fond du Lac Ave.
We found tiny Connie's Diner on Main Street in Fond du Lac,
and had the Special of two eggs, bacon or sausage and toast. Coffee was refilled
generously. The skies continue to be
overcast, with intermittent drizzle; patches of blue look promising.
We spotted a sweet corn stand and bought 6 ears for $3.00.
That should make a nice supper.
We got to the cabin shortly before 2:00 p.m., too early to
check in. We found a Walmart and bought
a few items. We don't want to have too
much on hand.
The cottage is clean and neatly furnished. We put things away, and I connected to the
WIFI.
We sat at the beach and met Barbara and Lisle, who live in the cottage behind us.
And the sweet corn was delicious. I cooked them in the microwave and we each smeared two with butter and scraped the cobs clean.
Tuesday, August 9
Corn from the cob with onion and red bell pepper went well with over-medium eggs and sausage. What we did not have is another cup for our coffee. We improvised by using a beer stein.
Peter mapped out our route around Shawano Lake and we started out fine. We got to Cecil on a bright, cloudless sky. Peter had the Mud Lake Wildlife Area in mind, but it was accessible only to hikers. An Amoco attendant gave us more information to get on Lake Road, but the road was County R, and we probably overshot a turn-off.
We got information that Doc's Harley Museum was in Bonduel, so headed there. It was a perfect destination and a great place to spend a few hours.
Www.docshd.com
An iron dinosaur marks the entrance.
The Harley showroom had beautiful Harleys for sale with every kind of model and modification, most costing more than a luxury car.
Attached to the showroom was a museum, with a collection of everything Harley and more.
Peter spotted this very old Harley with a Briggs & Stratten engine.
We were ready for some lunch and the Timeline Saloon was next door. We decided on ribs, which would be our main meal of the day.
The ribs were delicious and fell off the bone. We took generous portions home, which will be another good meal. We sat next to a unique Harley tandem that seated ten.Adjacent to the dining room was an antique store; the only thing of interest to Peter was a liter Austrian stein.
The outside area had some strange animals like this African spur-thighed Sulcata Toroise that had a bumpier shell,
and a dromedary/Bactrian camel
We finished the afternoon viewing other displays.
We had to get to our cabin in a roundabout way, because the bridge is out on Airport Road, which was our direct route (that's how we got here yesterday, but Google didn't know about the problem). I retrieved Denise's (our host) email for her alternate directions and we went into downtown Shawano and followed the detour route.
Wednesday, August 10, Peter's Birthday
Neighbor Barbara was the first to wish Peter a Happy Birthday. We had coffee on our porch before breakfast, a repeat of yesterday.
Our destination was the Navarino Nature Center.
There was a collection of birds, animals and reptiles ideal for school groups. An attendant printed a driving guide which explains the features along 47-mile route; one can drive any portion of the tour. The map was numbered to match the car's odometer once it was set at 00 from the Nature Center. I expected to see numbers along the trail, but there were none. I read some of the information along the way, but since Peter did not set back the odometer we didn't get the full benefit. We saw some sandhill cranes.
I read that Wittenberg was an interesting place, so we headed there. A drive through town convinced us that we made the right decision as we saw buildings with colorful murals. We did not find Pond Park, but settled for a picnic shelter close to the downtown area.
Peter dropped me off wherever we saw a building with a mural, and there were a lot.
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We noticed many quilt barns along the highways that we drove. In our cabin was a map showing the location of over 350 quilt barns in Shawano County. That could easily be another week-long vacation trip.
Learn about the history of barn quilt trails here:
I made a 6:30 p.m. reservation at Club 22 known for its German food to celebrate Peter's Birthday. I asked about desserts, but the man that I talked to said they only had cupcakes and ran out of candles. When we arrived shortly before 6:30, the hostess apologized for the delay because they were short staffed - isn't everyone. Peter had a gin and tonic, I had a martini that was added to our dinner tab while we waited for our table, which wasn't very long. As we approached our table I insisted that Peter sit facing the window because it's his birthday. We were seated next to a Sicilian gentleman and struck up a conversation. Peter ordered jaegerschnitzel, spetsel and red cabbage; I had a beef tenderloin and baked potato. Our dinners included soup and a salad bar, also some toasted bread with a cheese spread. Our dinners were very enjoyable. The man next to us received his bill and I'm waiting for ours. We didn't want any more to eat and I said that I was ready to pay the bill. "Your bill has been paid," the waitress said. "Who paid it?" I asked. "The couple at the next table". The waitress never saw them before and did not know who they were. And Peter never saw the couple because his back was to the dining room. We did not exchange comments with them, but I did notice the woman looking in our direction a couple of times. Talk about a random act of kindness! We were stunned by that generous gesture, which was sizeable and included our drinks.
The full moon followed us home. When we got to our cabin Lisle invited us to their bonfire, where we sat and talked untill the embers died.
Thursday, August 11
A beautiful day to enjoy the lake. Every day has been perfect: sunny, breezy and not too warm. We either followed the sun or the shade watching fishermen, kayakers, birds and whatever else happens on a lake. Even though there are a few cottages relatively close together, it is very quiet. This is a perfectly relaxing day.
Barbara and Lisle have been such helpful neighbors suggesting things to do, like the free Thursday concerts in Franklin Park at 6:00 p.m. We took our folding chairs and enjoyed the music of Copper Box from Oshkosh, very listenable arrangements.
A woman wanted to watch me knit and I explained what I was doing as I knit a prayer shawl.
We left before the concert ended to have a custard at Legendairy Cookies 'N Creamery. I had something with peanut butter that I thought was too cold which made it more solid. I always order a double scoop at Leon's, but one scoop tonight would have been more than enough.
We are starting to put things together for our 9:00 a.m. departure tomorrow.
Friday, August 12
Peter was almost completely packed last night, and I had my things pretty much together. It's easier leaving from a vacation spot because everything is in one place. We were on our way at 7:30 a.m., well before the required 9:00 a.m. departure time. Google took us on mostly county and state roads that were hilly and curvy, eventually getting to Oshkosh and a Perkins' Restaurant for breakfast. We had stopped for gas attached to another restaurant, but the menu did not appeal to us, or the prices. Haley was a most friendly and pleasant waitress; I commended her to the manager.
We arrived at SRS at about 12:15 p.m. and 572 milles.
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