Milwaukee, WI; Oconto, WI; Duluth, MN

I'm not sure if I'll be able to cover the time since I left Hammond, IN on Thursday morning (the 7th) but I'll try not to get too wordy.

Leaving Hammond in the morning I ran into pretty heavy traffic and lots of construction almost immediately, and it lasted for the entire trip! The best part of the drive was being able to skip the toll booths since I have an I-Pass.

It was great being back at my brother and sister-in-law's house in Milwaukee, and this visit was highlighted by the fact that it coincided with a visit from their youngest daughter and her two children. The photo is of me with my niece, great niece and nephew, and of course, Lady.


I haven't seen them since the wedding of my youngest son several years ago, and Jenny's two children were very young. They've grown considerably and are at a terrific age; they took to Lady and Lady took to them. I also got a chance to see Lady's dogsitter, my great niece Ashley, her mother Julie. Our families were close when our children were small, and I wish we didn't live so far from each other.

The visit ended all too soon and the next morning (Friday) I headed north to Oconto for a long-awaited visit with Karen and her husband, Steve. The first thing I saw as I pulled up to the driveway was their big, beautiful motor home. They let Lady and me stay the night in it, and that was a special treat. Anyone who has read their blog is familiar with all the modifications and upgrades they have done on this rig, and I can say that just seeing it in person about blew me away. I can only use the word, "AWESOME"!

Karen and Steve have just sold their lovely house and are planning to begin full time RVing in a few months. The house is a work of art in itself, and I'm sure they will miss it although a new chapter of their life beckons. It is never easy to leave comfort and familiarity to jump into a new lifestyle, but Karen and Steve take advantage of a their gorgeous part of Wisconsin, camping often and regularly in the MH, as well as trips beyond their home state. It won't be difficult to ease into being full timers.

We talked just about non-stop and I would have enjoyed being able to visit for a longer time, but we will get together again and continue where we left off. They graciously drove me into Oconto which is really a lovely town, and Karen has covered a lot of the sights in her blog, so I urge you to check it out if you aren't already a regular reader.

Lady took to her two dogs immediately! We all walked down to the river which flows past their property on Friday evening and to my amazement Lady went right into the river. She walked in the shallow water, drinking the river water as she went along, and swam a bit. I was stunned! I guess she has never had the opportunity to do something like that, and she didn't waste any time.






I got on the road about 10:00 this morning heading for Duluth. Mostly the drive was a good 2-lane highway, heavy with trees on both sides of the road, and no traffic. The only time I stopped to get a picture was what I could see of Lake Superior.


The last few miles wasn't pleasant, and I had a conflict with the signs (detour) and what the Garmin was telling me. I should have followed the signs, but as it was I drove through some questionable parts of Duluth and had to keep making U-turns and trying to find my way back to where I should be. All the time the GPS was nattering on and on about recalculating and trying to get me onto a road that was closed. I finally made it to a crowded Motel6, and had to accept a smoking room to get something on the ground floor. Actually the corridor has a much stronger smoke smell than the room. As Mick Jagger was always fond of singing, and I was fond of singing it back to my kids when they were little, "You can't always get what you want." I got what I need though, and the front desk just called to ask how is everything in my room. I told her it was pretty good.

Tomorrow I am going to head out on US 2 across Minnesota, that is, if I can find out how to get to it from here. I'm sort of glad I'll be off the interstate because I need to stop at a supermarket somewhere along the way and replenish my food supply. I've been so spoiled the past two days being fed wonderful meals by my sister-in-law Wilma, and by Karen.

Sadly I'm getting behind in reading blogs, but I promise I'll catch up one of these days. Life is sooooo good!