Packed and on the road by about 0830, I decided to go along the coastline between Superior and the Apostle Islands. WI Rt. 13 is designated a national scenic highway. This is the only place on the whole trip I saw deer - a doe with two fawns. We had our eyes on each other, and when I honked at them they ran back into the trees. Wonder what they thought I was? Amazing to me, there are farms up there within spitting distance of Lake Superior.
I'd thought the weather was going to clear up and get warmer, as it had on Saturday, so I only wore shorts and a t-shirt under my suit. By noon I was very cold! Coming into Mercer, WI, I saw a sign that said "cafe" and "open". Plus it was on my side of the street. That's all it took. I changed into jeans and added a pullover, had some hot chocolate, then ended up having the lunch special. By the way, the place is called Tom's Country Cafe and I highly recommend it.
Having lunch kept me there long enough for another rider to come in looking for who belonged to Mr. Happy, who was outside watching the bike. He insisted on a picture, so here we are. ( I am smiling )
I didn't stop to get a picture of Mr. Happy with the giant loon. Maybe next time we're in town.
About half the rest of my ride home looked like this.
This speed limit was posted at 55 mph! I didn't go nearly that fast. Look at how close to the road the brush is! Can you say "deer strike"? The other half of the rest of my ride home involved highways and more homicidal maniac car drivers. Turned into my driveway about 6 PM.
If it weren't for the winters, I'd move up north - prettier scenery, nicer drivers. I'd say my first solo trip was a success. 1) Enjoyed myself ( mostly ), 2) the bike and I returned home in much the same condition as when we left, 3) learned things ( what to pack, and not, next time )
Miles and smiles,
Krysta
Dan's note: Once again, I'd like to express my sincere thanks to Krysta for writing this up, working with me to put it together, and most importantly, sharing her experiences with us!
Beautiful area and pictures. Looks and sounds like it was a whopping success. Thanks for including all of us wimps.
ReplyDeleteI have this weird desire to visit the great Open North in summer whichever week that is. Varied roads, greenery androlling hills sounds different.
ReplyDelete'Whimps'? What makes you a whimp? Just 'cause maybe you couldn't work it out to be able to go to this rally? Nah...
ReplyDeleteBut thanks for the compliment about the pictures. It's so pretty up there that it's hard to take a bad picture. I had to keep telling myself that the more I stopped to take pictures, the later I'd be getting home.
And whoever said we get a whole week of summer? I think this year summer was July 28-30. (Seriously, though, summer is usually really nice. Nothing like the mid-Ohio weather I grew up with.)