Poof! My posts from our trip have disappeared. I carefully wrote drafts and saved them for an Internet connection but they’re all gone. Boo, say I. So the new plan is to keep taking pictures and writing in my notebook. Then I guess I’ll mass-publish when we return to the world of regular Internet connection rather than phone and dodgy signal. Until then…
These four sunflowers popped open over the weekend. Riana planted the seeds herself, so I am glad that we were here to see them bloom. Good timing too, because we are off on another adventure.
Today’s challenge was to fit our gear for the next two+ weeks into these bags. Actually, I was pretty much done beforehand, since I knew the weekend would be busy. But here is our luggage!
This is the first time in years that we will be flying with a checked bag. But we want to be able to camp on our trip, and we might be minimalists, but I’m not sure we could pull off camping with carry-on only. So the bags are packed and we are officially off! Mr. big black suitcase has our tent, sleeping bags, and cookware (ever try to fly with a stove? I’ll find out how it goes…) The red backpack has another sleeping bag, diapers, and our sandals. The camera bag has all the camera and electronic gear. And the grey roller-board (that has flown all over the world!) has out clothes, books, and toiletries.
You know what that means. Expect to see us wearing the same clothes. A lot.
Oh, and don’t worry about the cat. He looks unhappy about the suitcases, but my brother will be staying in our house. We are just a few doors away from the house he is working on, so he’ll be able to work on his house and keep our cat company. Now off we go…
My sad little email of the day: I’m typing this in a tiny place called Cross Village in the Tunnel of Trees area. Riana is singing (over and over) rain rain go away… The car smells like wet shoes, and the cold wet boys bike on. They have done 30 or so miles with 20 remaining. I think they are ready to be done but are enjoying the scenery too. -Linnea
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We woke up to rain this morning so we quickly took down camp and started with potatoes and sausage over the fire. A neighbor camper asked if the guys were in the triathlon today. We didn’t know about this, but the girls and I got to watch the first finishers. Very inspirational! Later, Ryan told me that they found themselves riding against the triathlon bikers and getting some strange “you’re going the wrong way” looks. Hopefully they confused no racers.
We drove the Tunnel of Trees, which was beautiful even in the rain. I’m pretty sure that some of the beauty was lost for the bikers. We met at that small village and I know they were thinking quite strongly of jumping in the car, but they continued. We met them along the route a few times, and tried to cheer them on.
They did prevail! Here’s my last email: 4 days, 200+ miles later, they made it!!! We are safely in Mackinaw City, drying off, resting, cleaning up, and getting ready to go to Mackinac Island tomorrow! Thanks for being part of the adventure. Signing Out, Linnea
And here they are, 50 very wet and cold last miles later, wringing out their socks and wondering at their wrinkly toes:
I think they’ll both try this sort of thing in the future, but it’s probably too soon to ask about their trip plans.
Next stop: Mackinac Island for a few days with family…and more bikes. :)
Dear Family,
I am currently sandwiched between 2 carseats as we all drive into downtown Traverse City. Last night, while dipping in the crystal clear Arbutus (bu as in beautiful) Lake, Ry decided he was biking so fast that he wasn’t enjoying the scenery, taking pictures, etc. So today, rather than a super difficult, hilly 80 miles, we are all driving to Old Mission Lighthouse and then driving toward Charlevoix. Here, the riders will pick up a trail (much better than roads) and meet us at Petosky State Park.
Now we are off to the farmers market to score fresh blueberries, cherries, bread, and hopefully coffee!
Happy trails,
Linnea
PS- here are a couple pictures from the Mission Point Lighthouse
The guys enjoyed a nice and easy, mostly trail ride into Petoskey. The town turned out to be quite cute, so we opted to visit the art fair and have dinner in town.
