end of vacation

Here's Greg, goin' down the road in his midlife crisis sports car.

and here's me, in my new vacation clothes. I don't know, I still like my "barn goddess" tee shirts, dirty jeans and boots.

on night 8 we stayed in Rice Lake Wisconsin. We had supper at a most interesting place. An old flashing neon sign. Lehman's Supper Club. Frank Sinatra music playing. "Serving travelers and locals since 1934." Greg calls it a "throw back" from an era long ago. The menu prices were very high! My little fillet was $30 or $40. Everything was $10 to $20 more than it should be. But, they did have several specials for around $20. And, with your meal, you got a relish/fruit tray, soup, salad, like in courses kind of. And my fillet was delicious. Greg's was really good too. It is a really neat place and family owned, handed down through the generations. I really liked it.

Oh, I almost forgot. Somewhere along the way, out in the middle of nowhere, is a little tiny town called Clam Lake. I found my very favorite vacation shop in Clam Lake. The Northern Post Gift Shop & Boutique. Beautiful womens clothes. I bought some summer vacation clothes there! really great sale prices. I highly highly highly recommend this boutique!

We were on the road the next day, Saturday, headed for Chippewa Falls, home of Leinie Lodge. We took the tour of the Leinenkugel's Brewery.

It was really a great tour. I learned the difference between ale and lager. It's in the aging. They have a new beer. Oktoberfest! For my Birthday I am sure! bought some shirts. They have a huge gift store with some old pictures and stuff from the brewery back in the "olden" days where they pulled the wagons with horses. Our tour guide was Seth. He was great. I had on my new Apostle Island tee shirt and he asked if we went to Madeline Island. We said sure. he said he had been there not too long ago. I asked if he wrote on the tables at Tom's and he said he thought he might have. We wrote on some brewery postcards that they would send out for us. I addressed mine to my sister Mick in Rapid City. Greg wrote his to his mom Hazel in Sioux Falls. He said we were there sampling beer, and then he started writing really crooked and bad and then said, "well, I guess we'll go drive some more now." But really, they just gave us 2 little 7 oz samples. and that was all you could have. We were there for quite a while, and then on the road again. At least it was nice out so we could have the top down on the little car. We arrived in Red Wing, Mn. Greg said he used to have some Red Wing shoes and we did see the building. across the water was a music gathering going on. Some guy on the stree told us that is definitely where we wanted to be. So over we went. It was kind of like a hippie gathering. the music was mostly like karaoke. A guy standing up there with his guitar playing along to his music system, with a white bird sitting on his shoulder. There were lots of people there having fun. We didn't stay long though. maybe an hour. Then, on the road again. We stayed in Winona. can't remember the name of the restaurant, but they had steak fajitas which I love. and they were good. the waitress was great, except she had the bad habit of saying "okay, but you'll have to remind me to bring your milk." Greg & I share this as a pet peeve. Me because I was a waitress all through college and after a few summers. Greg because he is in the hospitality business. Why don't you forget the mashed potatotes? why don't you forget the soup? why just the milk? we think we could have a restaurant where "we promise we won't forget your milk," and everyone will know exactly what we are talking about. Why do they forget the milk? I can't remember having a hard time remembering people's milk when I was a waitress. And now I can't even remember if we did have to remind her or if she remembered. anyway, it was another good meal.

Also along the way Greg educated me on Kwik Stops. I think that's how you spell them. They have the cleanest bathrooms! And in the bathroom is a sign from the owners saying that if you don't think the bathroom is absolutely clean and nice, to call them. and then there is the owners phone number for you. The bathroom really was clean in the Kwik Stop I went in. Oh, and Greg says they have the best coffee too.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast and headed for home. We got home before supper time on Sunday August 23. Heidi had called on Saturday and said she almost made it through the whole thing without any horsey incidents. But Butterscotch had an owie on her back right leg. didnt look like much but it was getting pretty swollen. She was right. It was really swollen. We went to the Vet on Tuesday. a puncture wound, all the way to the bone. but we followed the vet's instructions and got lucky and there was no infection and no apparant bone damage and Butterscotch is back out running with the herd now.

It was a great vacation. I missed the horses but quickly got used to having no horse chores to do. But now I'm back home, back in the barn, my new vacation clothes are packed away in the closet but I hope to throw them in a bag and jump in the little car again next summer. And maybe we'll have more time and Greg can do his Route 66 Drive. Maybe.

vacation nights 6 & 7 in Bayfield Wisconsin

on day 6 of vacation we were headed toward the Apostle Islands. We stopped at a cute little village type town called Cornucopia. not much there. but several nice shops. arts, books, antiques. I bought a children's book called "Agate." Then I bought another one. One for me, and one for Heidi who took care of all of our horses while we were gone. It's about a moose named Agate. It's a beautiful book and I highly recommend it for young kids and old kids. We took some pictures of some really old boats and pretended that that's what the cruise ship would look like that would take us touring the Apostle Islands.
























also some cute pictures of a mama Mallard and her 2 babies. Greg said he better not tell the guys that we were taking pictures of plain ol' Mallards on vacation. So now he won't have to tell them. They can just look at the picture!
















Then off we went, and we did make it to Bayfield.
We decided to stay at the Bay Front Inn hooked on to the Pier Plaza Restaurant and Pickled Herring Bar where all the employees wore shirts that say "We're so brine." or "I'm so brine" or something like that. anyway, good food here! Always busy and not a lot of seating so you gotta be patient and grab a seat at the bar for a while. No reservations or hostess either. Seat yourself. We were invited to sit with a nice couple who were finishing their meal, because they noticed we had been waiting for quite a while. How nice of them! well of course, the woman's name is Darcy! Another really neat place to eat in Bayfield is Greunke's. Full of neat old art, posters, photos, etc. It rained a lot while we were in Bayfield and the Apostle Islands. But we did everything anyway. The first day we took the ferry over to Madeline Island. It's the Island that has a bunch of shops, hotels, bar & restaurants. lots of artsy stuff. Lots of vehicles went over on the ferry with us. It poured while we were on Madeline Island. We bought the last umbrella to be found on the Island, I'm pretty sure. I think it's one that is supposed to be displayed somewhere. It's really pretty and has a fancy design. but it kept us dry. We spent some time in Tom's Burned Down Cafe or Bar. Mostly a bar I'd say. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures. It's kind of like some old trailers and tents kind of put together and it does indeed look as though it has burned down. In fact a woman in a shop told us it has burned down a couple of times. Xmas lights strung everywhere. handwritten signs everywhere. kind of an anti-establishment, anti-government type of feeling. picnic tables where everyone writes and carves stuff. (we didn't). there were a bunch of tshirts hanging on a line, well, I can't remember how they were hung up, clips or something. some of them were pretty neat but I didn't know if you would actually buy that shirt that was hanging there or if those were just samples. and I didn't feel like asking so that was that. It is unique for sure. and you must go there if you go to Madeline Island. Because there really isn't much else to do there when it is raining. plus everything was all under construction when we were there. Don't get me wrong. Madeline Island is nice and beautiful and I would sure go there again. But it would be twice as nice with the sun shining and the construction equipment gone. There are a lot of Islands in the Apostle Islands. 18? 22? can't remember for sure but something like that. The next day we went on a tour of the Islands aboard the Island Princess (you know, we have a horse named Princess!)















This is a picture of part of Bayfield, taken aboard the Island Princess.





















This was really a great tour. except it rained the
whole time again and it was kind of cold. We couldn't do the whole tour because of the rough waters. But it was nice. I think one of these islands in my pictures here is Rocky Island (you know, we have a horse named Rocky.) It was pretty neat because when you are near one island you can see several others around you and in the distance. really really pretty.













On vacation Day 8 we were I guess on our way home. one little town we went through not far from Bayfield is Ashland. I think it was in this town where I noticed this neat Lion head on an old building. Greg drove around the block so I could get the camera out because I thought this was so neat. And........ It wasn't raining, so we had the top down on the little car, for the first time all vacation.

vacation day 5, north shore, highway 61

Well Greg has always wanted to drive Route 66. We will need more than 10 days for that one. But, Highway 61 would have to do on this vacation. To start off the day though (still in Duluth at this point), we had breakfast at a little coffeeshop type place. Amazing Grace Restaurant & Bakery. A really neat menu. Quiche included! At night they have musicians and poets, that type of thing. just real cute and laid back and the food was very good. The bakery was incredibly busy! Then we took off driving. This won't all be in the right order. These are just some of the names/places I remember. North Shore, Highway 61, Two Harbors, Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse,

First for a couple of places that we didn't go to. Glensheen Historic Estate. I didn't know what it was. It looked big & beautiful though. when we got back, Volunteer Tina told me a family was murdered there! We also didn't go to Betty's Pies and a couple of people mentioned that so it must be good. Next time! And we did not do the whole Highway 61 drive. our destination was the Apostle Islands, and we still wanted to get there.

We did spend a lot of time though at Gooseberry Falls. Lots of hiking trails. We walked a lot on this day, and I was very hungry by the time the sun went down. But Greg was on a mission to get some neat pictures of Split Rock Lighthouse, so supper would have to wait. We stayed at Larsmont Cottages on Lake Superior. We talked about staying there 2 nights, because there was a lot of relaxing stuff to do there, a beach, etc. But it started to rain again so we decided to move on, in search of the sunshine. I don't remember where we finally had supper on this night, we were very tired I think. next day, on to Bayfield Wisconsin, which is right across from the Apostle Islands!

vacation day 4 in Duluth

On Monday morning we walked over to Fitgers for breakfast. Then we walked all over the place, downtown, Canal Park, and shopped for Darci because she only owned 2 pair of pants that are not barn jeans or riding jeans. and that simply won't do for a non-horsey vacation along the water. And Darci also cannot wear shorts because, well, because she only wore shorts once all summer. (I had big plans to get my legs tanned this year but it just didn't happen). So, I bought 2 pairs of capris for sort of a compromise. And then we found a great shoe store in the mall (I think Miller Hill Mall) so I got 3 pairs of slip ons. one black, one gray and one brown/blue plaid. Fun shoes. I had only brought one pair of shoes along. old sandals with a back strap that cuts in to my heel, because that's about all I had except for cowboy boots and other barn shoes. We also went to the Marine Museum and Great Lakes Aquarium on this day, and spent quite a bit of time there. There was a demo with the otters. but my favorites of course were the sea horses. and the educational info. about them. and I also liked the eels that bury themselves in the sand except for their heads sticking out. I think those are eels. We had supper at Bellisio's Italian Restaurant. I learned what a flight of wine is but we ordered a bottle instead. I can't even remember what I ordered to eat but it was a lot. And then I had some wonderful chocolate dessert. Then we went over to Little Angie's Cantina because there was music going on. And I had a margarita there. It was still early, so we went to the big Grandma's sports bar type place to throw darts. Greg had to leave his drivers license at the bar though, and would not get it back until he turned the darts back in. They had been losing too many darts. those cheap little generic plastic darts. Greg said only because he was on vacation would he agree to do this. And then later, we wondered why we didn't just buy the darts rather than risk losing his drivers license. We got a little nervous when one of the darts ended up under the dart board and not even the maintenance guy could retrieve it! We wondered if we would be able to get Greg's license back since we had lost a dart. We did. I guess we had put in enough quarters to make up for the lost dart. I must not have taken any pictures on this day, except of the brown pigeon who shared breakfast with us. We stayed in Duluth again on this night. And the next day headed up the North Shore. and the pictures for the next day will be much more interesting, I promise!

Vacation Night 3 in Duluth

On Night 3 of our vacation we stayed in Duluth. The parts of Duluth I saw, I love! We went to Fitgers, the famous old brewery which is actually a resort type place with lots and lots of shops too! We stayed at a place within walking distance of there though. I think they call this area Canal Park. It's pretty much right on the beach. lots of restaurants and shops and of course watching the big ships go by. I took lots and lots of pictures of the sea gulls, who cooperated nicely. Greg took some of me surrounded by the beautiful birds. The white ones are the adults, and the more speckled ones are the youngsters. Greg's brother works for the Army Corps of Engineers so I had to take a picture of Greg by the sign. Our first night in Duluth was Sunday night. Kind of quiet but still plenty to do. We ate at Grandma's, up on the deck. Had some sandwiches and beer. Going to different restaurants is one of my very favorite things to do on vacation. We try to find places "with atmosphere or charm" without having to dress up. anyway, this is all I have time for for now.

Our Vacation

I am going to wander away from horsey things for a little bit and blog about the vacation Greg & I took this month. We were going to take 4 horses out to the Black Hills for 10 days, but it was so hot the few days before we were going to leave, the thought of Greg throwing the bales on top of the trailer, plus just getting 4 horses ready & packed for them and us, well, we changed our plans.

And so, we threw some clothes in a bag, jumped in Greg's little sports car, and started driving! I have not been on a vacation without horses for many years. I didn't own any vacation clothes. So, I did get to do some shopping. But not too much because there is not much storage space in the little car.

Anyway, on August 14 some time after lunch our vacation began. Greg's mom Hazel stayed here to take care of the doggies and kitties. And Heidi was in charge of horse chores.

And off we went! The first night we stayed at Arrowwood Resort near Alexandria, Minnesota. They had a pasta bar set up in the dining room that night, and it was wonderful. you just went and picked out your ingredients, put them in a bowl, picked out your noodles and sauces and watched the chef sizzle it up for you and it was great. With a bottle of wine. I should have written this all down but I think we went to bed early that night so we could get up and get on our way.

On August 15, Saturday, I cannot remember what we did for breakfast or lunch.

But, we did find a little winery that was having a festival. Forestedge Winery near Laporte, MN. Music, art, food, and wine of course. Unfortunately it rained. It rained the day before so we did not get to take the top down on the car. We bought a couple of bottles of the blackberry wine, met a guy from ND who knew some people from the Sioux Falls area, and went on our way. It was a really pretty place and they were pretty busy, even with the rain. We drove up around Leech Lake and I don't remember where all. We did, however, get to a road under construction and had to drive the little car on some gravel/mud. When we got to the really muddy part though we took a detour. Good thing! the cars coming from the other direction got stuck. One of them was a big camper pulling a little car behind. Thus, my first vacation picture.

We stayed that night at Ruttgers Sugar Lake Lodge near Grand Rapids. and ate at Jack's Grill there. don't remember a whole bunch. it was a pretty nice place though. Jack's is on the golf course there. pretty nice. I think we ate fish and it was good. but they didn't have any milk which was weird.

after this the vacation gets more memorable because I took more pictures. next day, on to Duluth!