Manitowoc

Today we enjoyed a non-cruising day in Manitowoc. Mark spent an hour or so meeting and greeting new friends this morning while I had some much-appreciated alone time.

We rode our bikes a short distance to the farmers market where we stocked up on beautiful fresh produce, including blueberries and peaches. The rest of the morning was consumed by laundry here at the marina. It was a very warm sunny day, and everyone seemed to be taking  advantage of the perfect weather. 

After lunch we took an ambitious bike ride along the lakeside trail to Two Rivers.  Our friends Denise and Tom live there so it seemed logical destination even though  they would be picking us up later for dinner. It turned out to be a scenic but longer than expected 15-mile round trip ride. Here's the immediate result:

 Denise and Tom and their daughter Lauren took us to the Charcoal Grill for dinner and then to the grocery store. The Packers are playing tonight, but no need to miss the game- the grocery store had plenty of TV's tuned on to the game, and the checkers all wore Packer jerseys. People here love their Packers- over 100,000 are on the waiting list for season tickets! 

Michigan Unsalted

We traveled 80 miles across Lake Michigan today, an 8-hour cruise from Frankfort, MI to Manitowoc, WI. The lake was very calm so it was a pleasant ride.

Our most traumatic event was the discovery that I accidentally purchased salt-free tortilla chips. Ugh! We like our lakes unsalted, but definitely NOT our chips!

This evening we shared a glass of wine with Carol and Dennis, fellow beginning loopers on Reunion, and Kathy and Bob, who we first met in Leland. 

Bob introduced us to this Scottish ditty:

Just a wee deoch an' doris,
Just a wee drap, that's a'.
Just a wee deoch an' doris,
Afore we gang awa'.
There's a wee wifey waiting,
And a wee but n ben.
If you can say "It's a braw, bricht,
Moonlicht nicht," 
Well you're a' richt, d'ye ken!

If only he had brought his bagpipes along....