Wednesday, July 30,2008

Oakdale, Wisconsin

Arrived here about 4 pm Central Time.  All is well.

We had a wonderful visit with old friends, Bruce and Kimberly Peterson--great conversation, really good food, and some surprising Michigan Lake Shore wine.  Thank you Bruce and Kimberly for a delightful time.  Some pictures follow.

We left Warren Dunes State Park campground near Sawyer, Michigan, at about 9:30 am Eastern Time, so we would miss the morning rush hour in Chicago. That worked fairly well and we breezed into the center of the city before getting into a slowdown.  But we never stopped and enjoyed the views of the downtown.  We hit another backup entering Wisconsin due to road repairs, but all in all, a pretty good day, for a travel day.

Gasoline prices seem to have softened a bit:  from a high of $4.29 in western New York last Saturday, today we paid $3.77 in Illinois.  Wisconsin prices seem to be about the same as Illinois.  I can't believe we're happy about $3.77 gas! 

Cheers! 

Kimberly Peterson with us on an overlook deck at the Lake Michigan shore, western Michigan.

Karen and Charley with our hosts, Bruce and Kimberly Peterson (and 4-legged friends), in front of their sommerhus in Bethany Beach, Michigan.

The beautiful sandy beach of Lake Michigan at Bethany Beach, Michigan.

Saturday, July 26th

Westfield, NY

On the shores of Lake Erie in extreme western New York, we spend a delightful evening with Ian and Terrie Caisley, whom we haven't seen in over 10 years.  Karen worked with Dr. Caisley in Baltimore in the 1990's.

East Burke, Vermont

Friday, July 25, 2008

7:45 am

Cool and Sunny

Final preparations completed.  The adventure begins. . .