THE END OF LAKE MICHIGAN

We had tried twice to get to Sheboygan from Kewaunee and we finally made it.  We left Two Rivers pretty early and had a rough ride in but it was not dangerous - just uncomfortable.  Once we got into Sheboygan, we found space at the harbor Center marina.  We knew a storm was coming and decided Sheboygan would be a good place to be stuck as it is a bigger town and there is more to do.  Ultiamtely, we did not do too much.  It was too cold and windy.

We holed up in Sheboygan for a few days while that wind storm from hell went on by.  The wind storm represented the departure of the low pressure system that had been laying on the southern part of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains for several days bringing generally rainy and nasty weather for the better part of a week.  When it left, it did so with quite a bang.  The winds were nearly 50 knots and gusting higher than that.  The waves on Lake Michigan were the real story, though.  There were waves measured at better than 30 feet on the lake.  There were stories of folks down in Chicago getting knocked off the bike paths by the waves.  Here in Indiana, we heard a story of a boat in the outer row getting pushed out of the water and up onto the dock.  Well, that's all over now.  The lake calmed, and in two days, we moved from Sheboygan all the way down to Michigan City Indiana with an overnight stop in Kenosha.  Brenda's folks flew in and we will spend a couple days with them visiting Indiana before moving on to Chicago and then the Western River System.  In the interim, however, we had a nice time in Sheboygan.  Now that I think about it, we have crossed Lake Michigan twice - once from Mackinac to Washington Island, and once from Kenosha to Michigan City.  Zigzag!  Ridiculous, I know.

Again, the pictures do not convey how nasty the water had become as we entered the mouth of the Sheboygan River.  Our "Coffeeometer" was showing rolls to 25 degrees.  It was ugly.  By the way, the "Coffeeometer" is the device we use to measure nastiness.  If you cannot get to the wheelhouse without spilling half your coffee, it is downright ugly out.  If you can get there and only spill 1/3, it's a little better, 1/4, 1/8, etc.  On a perfect day, you can stand a glass of champagne on the pedestal and not spill a drop.

If you are going to get stuck someplace, Sheboygan, WI is a good place to be stuck.  The Harbor Center Marina is truly a 5 Star marina.  We enjoyed their facilities, especially the jacuzzi.  However, the town was also terrific.

This town looks very much like several others, but better.  It seems more healthy economically.  There was a waterfront walking/exercise path we enjoyed which took us on a 5 mile hike along the waterfront and then through a lot of residential streets.  The homes are very nice and the streets are very clean and neat.  Probably one of the highlights, however, was the day we rented a car.

So, my old computer was showing its years.  For some time now, the old computer was just getting impossible to use.  It would be fine for about 15 minutes and then it would go into what I termed "stupid mode" where it would freeze up and sit there clicking and hissing.  Sometimes, it would return to its senses, and other times it would not.  I could spend 3-4 hours posting a simple blog entry because of all the times I would have to turn it off and restart it, over and over again.  As such, it was definitely time to get a new computer.  We did a little looking on line before we got to Sheboygan and decided this would be a place where there were enough places to make a reasonable search and purchase at a good price.

So, we called Enterprise, the old faithful, and they picked us up and took us to the rental car place.  The guy who picked us up was a nice dude.  He was born and raised in a place called Iron Mountain which is way up north in what is called the Upper Penninsula, not far from the shores of Lake Superior.  He works part time in the rental car office and then part time as a semi-professional football player.  It appears there is a league up here.  Well, he finished playing at Lakeland University and couldn't get it out of his system.  I suspect he might have gone further, but at 5'8" tall and barely 200 lbs, he is a little small to play defensive line in even the arena leagues.  Nevertheless, good for him for playing and doing as he likes. 

That was a bigBIG wave.

So, we got the car and hit all the hot spots in Sheboygan, including WalMart, Best Buy, Office Max, and a couple others before we decided on a model we liked.  It had to have certain features, which we found all in one HP Pavilon g series laptop.  Unfortunately, the only one we could find was the display model at the WalMart in South Sheboygan.  The clerk did, however, locate one in the box in the town of Chilton.  So, off we went.  When we got back in the car and did the search, we found that Chilton was about 45 miles north-west of Sheboygan.

You see the waves coming over the top?  Those break walls are 18 feet tall over the surface of the water.

It was a really pretty drive.  The Wisconsin countryside is flush with beautiful grassland and pastures, beautiful barns, and it just so happens, the trees are all starting to change colors.  It is pretty breathtaking.  This, notwithstanding the rain, wind, thunder, lightning, and hail we experienced on the way.  It got sunny and then it would get stormy again.  We really enjoyed the ride.

Later that evening, we met some new friends in Milwaukee for a wonderful evening and dinner.  Roger and Kristine found us through the Roughwater owners group on Yahoo.  I recall that several months ago, I communicated with Roger concerning his interest in transporting his Roughwater 41 from Marina Del Rey where it lives, to his home in Milwaukee.  Anyways, he has kept in touch and followed the blog so he knew we would be close.  Unfortunately, just as we were getting close to Milwaukee, he and his wife would be leaving on an extended vacation.  Nevertheless, they reached out and make the effort to spend a little time with us while we were close enough for it to make sense.  So, we drove from Chilton down to Milwaukee and met them at this wonderful waterfront restaurant.  The place is chef owned and operated.  This means that the chef runs the show and is more than a fixture in the kitchen.  It certainly makes for a more amazing dining experiece.   While the Lake Superior White Fish was very good, the conversation was even better.  We laughed and talked about all kinds of things.  Roger and Kris are both very interesting and powerful bright.  It's nice spending time with folks like them.  Roger is very much the character.  You should check out his website  www.rogerkay.com.

After dinner, Kris would not let us think about leaving Milwaukee without trying the quintessential Wisconsin treat - frozen custard.  So, we hopped in the cars and drove through the driving rain to Kris's favorite frozen custard place.  You see, Kris has an app on her phone that tells her where the places are and what their flavor specials are for the relevant time period.  I guess you could call her a "custard officionado", as narry a flavor of the week gets passed Kris. 

Having tried this "heart attack on a cone" it's amazing that Kris looks so healthy and fit.  I think you should order this stuff and simply put it in you back pockets, one cone at a time as this is exactly where this stuff will go.  That's right - directly to your ass!  It is not for the feint of heart, diet freak, that's for sure. It would be ruinous. It is about as rich as it gets.  It is silky smooth, and very tasty.  It also comes in all sorts of flavors.  So, we have done it.  Wisconsin frozen custard.  There is nothing else that compares.

After a wonderful evening with Roger and Kris, we headed back out in the storm and made our way back to the boat in Sheboygan. 

The next couple days were spent relaxing, walking, and waiting for the weather to let up.  It was hard to consider going out given that the wind was blowing so damn hard and it was pretty cold out (I'm mot complainin.  It certainly beats the insufferable heat.)  As I said at the top, Brenda's folks were coming and we wanted to get down to Indiana to meet them in Michigan City.  We did find surfers, however.  On the walk out to the point, we walked along this sandy beach and there were surfers in the water with long boards cruising in the mid chest high ripples coming onto the beach.  They looked like they were having fun in their thick wetsuits, gloves, hoods, etc.  The water is cold here now.  However, I understand it gets quite warm in the summer-at least warm enough to swim in.



The weather on the Great Lakes is like none other.  It is very complex and getting a reliable fix on what it's going to do is like hitting a moving target.  In California, the weather is easy in comparison and the forecasts can be made earlier and they last longer.  Here, at least during this time of the year, the forecast must be made in relatively short order before leaving the dock, and it is possible that it will not last through the afternoon.  Certainly, you can hardly plan more than a day or two in advance.  However, it is interesting to see how quickly the lake can settle down after a big blow.  For instance, the night before we left, the seas were at 11-13 feet.  By midnight, they were down to 5-7, and when we left, 1 foot or less.  In California, it would take the Santa Barbara Channel several days to calm down after 50-60 knot winds lasting 4 days.  I would like to think that all the skills we have developed on this cruise over the last 6000 miles will be meaningful if we every make it back home.  Who knows?  Things are so different.



Really, things are so different in this neck of the woods.  It's funny.  I have said this before and I think it deserves a second reckonning.  Our country is so big, and so vast; its places are so variable; its seasons so diverse; its people and cultures so mixed and varied.  America is truly a land that cannot be compared to any other country in the world for one simple reason.  I mean, if you have to boil it down to one simple thing; one simple answer to the question, why is America so different from any other country on the planet, the answer is this:  because every city, every town, every state, every hamlet, every village, every neighborhood......is like a country of its own, and America is a conglomeration of hundreds if not thousands of independent, diverse, different, complex, and compelling countries, each of which has a culture and style of its own.  It's BEAUTIFUL and there is no other country like it on earth; even with all her warts and blemishes, she is breathtaking and one of a kind.

So, how does one leave this dance?

Don't know.  More later.  Off to visit Indiana.

Entering Michigan City Harbor, Indiana (South end of Lake Michigan)