The River is Rising...

Lake MacBride State Park, Iowa

Reluctantly, we said our good-byes to Owen and Brian and headed toward the Iowa border. It sure was good to spend time with my family this weekend, I only wish we had a week and not just a few days.

This part of the country is beautiful, especially this time of year. With the rolling green hills of knee-high cornfields and the straight roads that seem to go on forever, it's hard to believe that just a week ago we were leaving Quebec. As we traveled across Illinois and into Iowa along the Old Lincoln Highway, we noticed how swollen most of the rivers were. The Mississippi River seemed just as overflowing as we remembered her from last year. We stopped in Clinton, Iowa for awhile to take in the riverfront and sure enough large parts of the river walk were under water. I had just finished reading Edna Ferber's "Showboat" and was immediately drawn to the Showboat that was docked along the river. Upon closer look I noticed it was "docked" in sand. So weird, and not quite sure I understand it, especially since everything else was flooded.

By the time we reached Cedar Rapids, IA we were ready for a bike ride and to explore the city. We parked our car in the Czech-Slovak Village, walked around the village and visited the local museum. Cedar Rapids has a huge Czech demographic. At one time a little over 30% of their population were from the Czech region. The big wave of immigrants came over in the late 1840's to homestead the area and get away from the political and economic depression. "After the Homestead Act of 1862 large amounts of land in the American West were available. At the same time, land was becoming scarce in Bohemia and Moravia. Immigrants were attracted by the prospect of abundant and affordable land in America. Traditionally, Czechs and Slovaks lived a village centered life with an emphasis on community and family." Thus, Czechs and Slovaks came over in waves to be with family that had already settled the area, spoke their language and practiced the same customs and traditions.

The other part of the museum focused on the great flood of 2008. The very building we were standing in had a painted "water line" near the ceiling indicating how high the water had risen. There were lots of aerial shots showing most of the city under water. The Czech Village was hit especially hard. Today, it's amazing to see how much work has been done and how "tidy" it looked. Ironically, when Ned and I hopped on our bikes to ride the river walk trail, great portions of it were under water! They've been experiencing heavy rains and the river once again was claiming parts of the land. We had to keep re-routing around barricades that blocked off either the path or entire streets due to the flooding. Oh why couldn't some of that water be in California!

I had no expectations of Cedar Rapids, other than seeing some rapids, maybe! My impression was that the infrastructure is new, the local Center for the Arts was advertising major acts (Bill Cosby, Lyle Lovett, Jackson Browne) and Les Miserables was showing at the Theatre, but there was no one around! Ned and I kept asking ourselves if it was a holiday and we missed something. It felt very much like walking around Sacramento on a Sunday. There were whole parking lots empty of cars, and most of the metered parking spaces downtown were vacant.

Ned did get a kick out of seeing the Quaker Oats plant. It's the largest cereal mill in the U.S. When Ned worked for Ghirardelli, Quaker Oats was the parent company. We thought it would be fun to take a tour of the plant, but unfortunately Quaker doesn't allow public tours.

Tonight we are camped at Lake MacBride State Park in Salon, Iowa. It's a large, nicely wooded State Park thick with oak trees and mosquitos. In all fairness to Iowa, the mosquitos have nothing on their Canadian brethern. Those suckers are HUGE and vicious.

Sleep Over!

Marc & Sheila's house, St. Charles, IL

We spent the morning and early afternoon in Paradise with Gary and Dru, then caravanned over to my nephew's, Marc's house in St. Charles. I was very much looking forward to seeing Marc and his wife, Sheila and super excited to see my great nephews Owen (8) and Brian (6). Hard to believe it was just a year ago when I last saw the boys.

The funny thing about kids is that they not only remember everything, but also ask a million questions. We weren't together more than 5 minutes than Owen was asking me all kinds of questions. "How many states have you been to, Aunt Debi?" "Where are you going next?" and of course, "can we see the van?" They couldn't wait for us to pop the top so they could examine all the nooks and crannies and poke around. They remembered our visit last year and wanted to see if the flashlight was still in the same compartment and did we still have blueberries in the fridge. Yes and yes.

They were like little miniature investigators looking under the hood with Uncle Ned and seeing what treasures were stowed here and there. Eventually they made their way up to the sleeping area. They weren't up there longer than a few minutes until they conned Uncle Ned into driving them around the neighborhood, with the top popped while they were perched above. Of course, Aunt Debi was right up there with them. Uncle Ned drove a racing speed of maybe 12mph at the most with both the boys squealing and giggling. It was a hoot hearing them calling out to other kids in the neighborhood, "Hi Spencer, Hi Sophia" as Uncle Ned was directed where to turn next.

After riding bikes with Brian and losing terribly at video games I finally had a little adult time sitting on the back deck. Marc is a beer aficionado, and knowing my love of stouts, began pouring some pretty tasty craft beers. Before you knew it there was also some comparison going on between George Dickel and Jack Daniels. After an awesome dinner of steel trout on the grill the boys wanted another drive about the neighborhood. One thing lead to another and the next thing you know we're doing a sleepover in the camper.

The plan was for Owen and Brian to sleep upstairs and I'd take the bottom sleeping quarters. There was an awful lot of commotion going on, talk of fireflies, planes and potential rain before they began to settle down. About a half hour in Brian bailed and wanted to sleep inside. Owen said he's definitely in for the duration. I'm currently trying to type this blog as quietly as I can. I already tried an attempt earlier to open my ipad and type something, but Owen wanted to know why I was allowed to have an ipad while we were supposed to be sleeping. I don't know if I'll get any sleep tonight, but I do know I'm having the time of my life.

Moose Races in Paradise!

Paradise Resort, Garden Prairie, IL

After poorly navigating the Illinois toll system, (okay maybe it is just us and not our lack of French) we finally arrived at Gary and Dru's, my brother and sister-in-law's, camper. As expected, I hardly slept a wink last night in anticipation of seeing my big bro. Yep, it sure felt great to get a great big bear hug from Mr. G.

We had an awesome time drinking some brewskis and breaking out the bottle of George Dickel No. 12, sitting on the front deck and getting caught up. Gary had fired up his smoker and grill, and what a treat it was. He was babying a brisket in the smoker and keeping a close eye on the slow cookin' ribs on the grill. Dru and Gary spoiled us with a Midwest feast, including potato salad, broccoli salad, beans and watermelon. Delicious!!

Their camper is located in a seasonal RV park, Paradise Resort, that is situated on the Kishwaukee River. I enjoyed the walk-about with Dru and the spin on our bikes with Ned. This little piece of paradise is so relaxing and feels like a bygone era. A tractor was pulling kids in a hayride wagon, youngsters were splashing about in the small lake, and a couple of games of bean toss were happening. However, the highlight of the evening was definitely the Moose races.

At the community hall just about everyone in the campground turned out for the big event of the night, Moose racing! Six wooden Moose, about 10" high, painted different colors, and each given their own unique number are lined up at the end of 4 folding tables. Everyone places a bet (turning in cash for funny money) on which moose will win. Someone rolls the dice, someone calls out the number and whatever number comes up, that moose advances. It takes about 20 min. for each race. It was a hoot watching everyone jumping around and screaming for their moose. I had a streak of beginner's luck and won the first 4 races!!! The best part was not winning, but seeing the annoyed and exasperated look on my brother's face. Just like old times, Gary's little sister provoking and annoying him. It didn't hep when Dru and I won a race together too! Fortunately, by the end of the evening each one of us had won at least one race. Looks like breakfast is on me tomorrow!

Island Fest to Dunes - this is the midwest?

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana

Continuing our drive across Michigan we were going to stop at Battle Creek and investigate Dr. Kellogg, the health advocate, and his weird inventions. On further research we found this point of interest was more centered around the contributions of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. We opted for another activity. Voila! A billboard magically appeared touting wonderful biking in Kalamazoo. Okay, we'll bite.

The Kalamazoo River Trail does indeed follow along the river and also takes you into town, a fun college city hosting both Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College. Our ears perked up when we heard some great Reggae music so our bikes naturally veered off the path and followed the tunes. Turns out this weekend is the Island Festival, with a heavy emphasis on Bob Marley and all things Jamaican. The live band was awesome, there was lots of beer and rum drinks flowing, and too many Jamaican jerk stands to count. Ned and I opted for curry goat and jerk chicken over beans and rice. The music, people, food and community gathering was really fun. It reminded us a bit of being in Trinidad this past May, which seems like a lifetime ago.
At one point it started to lightly sprinkle so we thought it best to head back to the van rather than push our luck. Kalamazoo, good times.

Ned spotted another billboard, this one claiming to be the "Best Chocolate Shop in America", according to The Food Network. You think he would pass this up?! The country road took us past several wineries, some of which offered fudge along with their wine, obviously trying to capitalize on the tourists heading for the Chocolate Garden. We thought that was pretty amusing. For a small fee one can sample three small bites, i.e. a quarter of a truffle each. It was broken down by dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate. We opted for 3 of the darks. I inquired as to the chocolate the chocolatier uses, but they said it was a trade secret. We're pretty sure it was Callebaut, which is the largest chocolate maker in the world. They were okay, but we both definitely prefer good dark chocolate to truffles.

We left Michigan behind and crossed into Indiana. We were driving on backroads and hoping to be hugging Lake Michigan, or at least get a glimpse here and there. Turns out there's thick woods between the road and lake. We did enjoy driving through several arty communities and stopping at a local store. It definitely felt like a vacation spot on a Friday late afternoon. Everyone hustling to get their weekend supplies of ice, charcoal and brews.

Okay, this next question is for my Western friends and not my Mid-west family and friends. How many of you knew there was a National Park in Indiana? Yep, right on the shores of Lake Michigan, tucked in between the State Park, residential homes and several steel mills is the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It wasn't declared a National Park until 1966. You can imagine the politics and fight between the steel mills and power plants that raged on from the late 1800's until the mid 20th century over whether to preserve the dunes. What makes these dunes so unique is they are one of the most bio-diverse areas in the U.S. One can see everything from prickly pear cacti to marshes, woods and dunes in a very concentrated area. Ned and I spent some time at the Visitors Center taking in a film and talking with one of the park rangers. I was ready to go exploring.

After securing a campsite at the National Park, we hopped on our bikes for the second ride of the day. Another local ranger suggested a route and we were off. We rode through marsh land and woods then out to Lake Michigan. Of course we had to get our feet wet and test the waters. Not too cold, but I didn't jump in. If you've never been on Lake Michigan it feels more like an ocean than a lake. As far as your eye can see, off into the horizon, is just water. When I looked to my right, there were people swimming and a couple of small boats for renting. When I looked to my left, in the far horizon you can see smoke billowing out of the stacks of the steel mills.

Riding further down the shore we came upon several really huge, and somewhat opulent but dated, homes. Our first reaction was why are these residential homes in the National Park. Turns out they were part of the National Park and are the "Century of Progress" homes. They were featured at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago and relocated here. One of the homes looked to me like a concrete octagon yurt. Turns out it was the "home of tomorrow", featuring pre-fabricated concrete and a airplane hangar for a garage. Apparently every family of the future would have their own airplane. (How's that working out for everybody?). Today private tenants lease these homes so they are not open for touring.

We're enjoying the laid back vibe of our campsite tonight. It's heavily wooded, the sites are spaced far apart and everyone seems to be on bikes. We're looking forward to testing out a local beer, Dragon's Milk, we picked up to go along with our chicken on the grill. My big challenge this evening is to try and get some sleep. I'm so excited to be visiting my family in Chicago. It's going to be a fun weekend!

Back in the US of A

Waterloo Recreation Area, Michigan

Ned again. After Debi posted the blog last night, we drove through the worst thunderstorm we've seen on the trip, and probably the worst storm I've ever driven in. However, by the time we got to our campground at Rondeau Provincial Park, the rain had stopped and the view across Lake Erie of the setting sun was beautiful.

We headed out this morning, excited to get back into the US, after 2 weeks in Canada. We waited in line for a bit at the border crossing between Windsor and Detroit, getting anxious as we watched the cars ahead of us get their trunks searched. However, when it was our turn, the border guard seemed quite envious that we had spent 2 weeks in Canada checking out several places that he had never been. Debi asked him if he knew any good history-related places in Michigan that we should check out. He thought for a second, and then called over to the guard that was working in the next booth. The guard came over and started discussing in great detail several Revolutionary War sites that he thought we should investigate. Eventually, we were sent happily on our way, without ever even having the door of our van opened. We have no idea what the poor people waiting in line behind us thought was going on!

On our way toward the border we had been listening to a radio talk show which discussed problems regarding the bankruptcy proceedings of Detroit, and how it was negatively impacting citizens. After hearing all this, I think we perhaps both expected to drive through a desolate ghost town. Instead, we found an extremely vibrant downtown, buzzing with activity, including a musical concert in a downtown square, and some awesome young guys drumming out intricate rhythms on 5 gallon plastic buckets on one street corner. As we left the downtown area, we saw more of the ghost town appearance that we expected, passing an entire shopping center that was completely boarded up. A few miles later, however, we drove through Grosse Pointe Village, which has gorgeous brick and stone homes, many with slate roofs, and perfectly manicured yards. Interesting contrasts, for sure.

After touring Ann Arbor, we eventually found our way to Waterloo Recreation Area to stay for the night. We were amused to tour the campground and see that summer vacation seemed to have been officially decreed for many of the families camping here. Once again, it is the "open" concept campground, with only a few trees, and lots of mowed grass between all the campsites. Our favorite sight, however, as we took a biking tour of the campground and surrounding area, was a bunch of kids gleefully splashing at the edge of the lake. We couldn't imagine that the water was warm enough to feel very good, since the air temperature was still pretty mild, but we figured these kids had suffered such a long and cold winter this year, that they were determined to celebrate the beginning of Summer, regardless of how cold the water was.

Meanwhile, Debi and I are feeling strangely relieved to be back in the US. Here we don't have to worry about figuring out signs written in French, worrying about getting enough "Loonies" to pay for a shower or washing machine, and, in general, not making fools of ourselves, because we're confused about bridge tolls, parking restrictions, or gas pumps.

Winging it in Toronto

TBD

Even though it poured all night we woke to blue skies. Yeah. Time to go take on Toronto. Ned wanted to visit SOMA, a bean to bar chocolate maker and I wanted to ride bikes and see the Old Distillery District. That was the goal for the day. We had no idea where any of these were. We headed for the beach district, parked the car, unloaded the bikes and started pedaling. Turns out Toronto has this awesome bike path that goes on for miles and miles taking you along the Ontario shore, through several parks and eventually dumps you into downtown.

We were a bit intimidated with all the traffic and construction downtown, so we pretended to be Westin guests and asked the concierge where SOMA was. Turns out we rode right by it several miles back. Sweet. By this time the sky begun to cloud over and we started feeling a few sprinkles. Every "Torontonian" seemed oblivious to the few drops and just kept on roller blading (which is big up here), riding bikes, walking, and even playing beach volleyball in their bikinis. Not wanting to look like a tourist, (could the camera around my neck and my long sleeves give me away?) we shrugged off the sprinkles and rode on.

Turns out SOMA was located in the Old Distillery! How's that for killing two birds with one stone? SOMA makes micro-batches of handcrafted chocolate from single origin sources. Who does that sound like?! Their shop is very small, but through a glass wall one can watch their chocolate making process. Ned loved the 80 year old melanger from Barcelona which SOMA recently acquired. It was really cool to see it in action. I enjoyed seeing the panning operation. It looks like a gigantic stainless steel cement mixer with a wide opening. Almonds were tumbling around and the operator was hand pouring in chocolate to coat them. Yum! Ned explained to me that the neat part about panning is that you can use untempered chocolate. The air that blows in from the duct tempers the chocolate as it cools and coats the almonds. The shop also had a cafe bar. I had a cafe latte and Ned tried a bicerin, which is a layered cream, espresso, and chocolate drink originating in Italy. Of course we bought several bars of chocolate, for research purposes. Their Peru bar was phenomenal! We are going to find out where they get their Peru beans. We'd love to try and roast some of those. The other bars were both good, I'd put them on par with ours.

The weather held and we made it back to Winnie in one piece. We rode 15 miles and hit the 200 mile marker on my bike odometer. (Thanks Neise!!!). The rest of the afternoon was spent checking out the beautiful University of Toronto and different neighborhoods. At one point when we drove past the ROM Museum, I clicked a picture of Winnie in the reflection off the windows. Pretty cool shot! The other "selfie" was taken in Toronto - humor me with my art shots:)

We are driving late tonight trying to get as close to the US border (Detroit) as we can. Not sure where we'll camp or when we'll pull in so thought I'd post this blog while we have wifi at the gas stop.