November 7 – 17

Any respectable list of “things to do in Wisconsin” has to include a trip to the “thumb” which juts out into Lake Michigan. We’d planned a trip to Door County (the “thumb”) later in the week after visiting family and friends in Milwaukee. When we saw a tiny window of good weather in Door County early in the week, with rain forecast later, we quickly changed plans. Sunday morning we drove north of Sturgeon Bay, parked our vehicle and set out for a quick three day bicycle tour of the backroads and towns of the peninsula.

Egg Harbor. Fish Creek. Ephraim. Sister Bay. Peninsula State Park. Backroads and bars. Sunny skies. Favorable winds. Unseasonably mild temperatures. Off season lack of Illinois tourists (aka “FIPs” – long standing point of contention). Suffice to say Door County did not disappoint.

Eventually though, the weather window closed and it was time to head south. First stop was to the town of Erin to visit with our former neighbor Jennifer and friend Barry. As always we enjoyed Jennifer’s unfiltered wit and humor, serious conversations, and a tour of her historic country estate. Barry is deeply involved in all things Irish in Milwaukee and graciously took the time to give us a fascinating behind the scenes tour of Milwaukee Celtic, the local repository of Celtic heritage and the Ward Irish Music Archives. ( https://wardirishmusicarchives.com/ ) He also is responsible for finding talent for Irish Fest, by far the best of the summer ethnic festivals that take place on the famous Milwaukee lakefront festival grounds. https://irishfest.com/Milwaukee-Irish-Fest.

The rest of the week we spent in our old Milwaukee neighborhood staying with Sharon’s sister and family. Thanks Sue, Alan, Eric and Andrew for your hospitality. While Sue and Allen were working the salt mines, we paddled through downtown on the Milwaukee River, walked along the lakefront, and – as always – sampled some of the beer still making Milwaukee famous. We also had a lovely visit with a special friend Jean. I won’t embarrass Jean by singing her praises too loudly, but she is a unique individual. Her passionate compassion in the areas of civil rights and education are inspirational and humbling.

As much as we enjoyed our time with family and friends, by the time Sunday rolled around we were ready to move on. Milwaukee certainly has much to offer, but it is still a big, congested, at times garbage strewn city filled with impatient and often dangerous drivers. While we have many fond memories of our time in Milwaukee, truth is we’re just not big city people. So onward to the friendly embrace of Green Bay. The cold, blustery weather did not deter the Packer faithful. We latched onto a rocking tailgate party thanks to an invite from Kathy and Phil and did a right, proper pregame – doncha know! The good feelings lasted throughout the evening as the Packers downed the Seahawks.

As we joined the happy throng streaming out of Lambeau, we realized we had ticked all the boxes for our stay in Wisconsin. Visit with mom in Rhinelander – check! Biking and kayaking around the state – check! Sightseeing in Door County – check! Family and friends in Milwaukee – check! Microbrews – check! Friends, tailgate and victory at Lambeau – check! Our work done, we pointed Bumpy3 south and started the long butt flattener drive back to Flagstaff.

The drive was uneventful save for two important stops. The first was at Joe’s BBQ in Kansas City. This is the restaurant – or should I say Temple of BBQ Goodness – that ruined every other BBQ joint for me. We left with full bellies and seven bottles of Joe’s sauce to share. The other important stop was a last minute meet up with Chris and Rachael. Chris and Rachael stayed for a time in our apartment in Flagstaff. We met for some amazing Mexican food in Albuquerque. Their enthusiasm for life and for making a difference in the world is infectious.

And so it ends. Late Tuesday, many thousands of miles and seven months after leaving, we rolled back into Flagstaff. At some later date I’ll try to write some final thoughts about our travels. For now I’ll say this…while we are both looking forward to not being in constant motion, we are in no way ready to be done traveling. If anything, the past seven months have made us even more excited to see more of the world and meet more amazing people. So even as we are enjoying the warm embrace and welcome from friends here in Flag, we are also planning and plotting the next steps in our journey.