Quick Trip to Michigan & Back.

A week ago tomorrow, Abby & I started our quick trip to Michigan & back. After work our first leg was to Albert Lea, MN, driving through rain & darkness, we arrive late at the Comfort Inn. After a good breakfast the next leg takes us to J&P Cycle in Anamosa, IA, LeClaire, IA, and ending in South Bend, IN. All of a 500+ miles that day.

On the Mighty Mississippi lunch at Go
Fish, Princeton, IA

J&P Cycle is a well know aftermarket supplier of accessary's for motorcycle parts. They have a smaller show room than I expected, but a real friendly staff. I think they're more into mail order retail than store front.

Our next stop is in Princeton, IA for lunch on the Mighty Mississippi, oh local food is so good!

Mike Wolfe's American Pickers,
LeClaire, IA

After lunch, we travel a short distance to LeClaire, IA home base of Mike Wolfe. Abby & I love to watch his show "American Pickers" and was all pumped to stop by the store. I was a little disappointed with the size of the shop. With all the stuff they seem to pick on the TV show, I was expecting a bigger shop full of stuff. Not so, more a tourist attraction, if you know what I mean.

Basillica of the Sacred Heart.

Our drive continues onto South Bend, IN. Home to the University of Notre Dame, Studebaker Automobile Museum, & James Oliver's "Copshaholm". There's probably more in South Bend, but these are the places we took time to see.

Our morning started with breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe, with Brenda Wilson our host. Brenda & I figures it was probably 42 years since we last saw each other. The food was great and the business was busy that morning, so we didn't have much time to chat with each other, but it was sure good to see her and hope that if any of you get close to South Bend that you take time to stop by and say Hi.

"Copshaholm"

Our next stop this morning is Notre Dame. We entered the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the luck of the Irish was with us. A tour guide came to us and showed us around. What a beautiful place.  On our way back to our car, we were walking past the on campus Fire Department, and the Chief was out front and we had a great conversation with him about the history and needs of a Fire Department on campus.

Abby always has room
for Blue Moon Ice
Cream!

After the campus our next stop was going to be the Studebaker Museum, not knowing that there are other sights to take in at this location, one of them being "Copshaholm", home of James Oliver. What a wonderful home the Oliver's left South Bend. A 2 hour tour was a little longer than we expected, but was very enjoyable. The Architecture is truly amazing and very beautiful.

Joyce, John, & Bob in Marlette.

A quick walk through the Studebaker Museum didn't do it justice, so we might just have to return.

A quick drive to Grand Ledge, MI finds us at the home of Ron & Blanche Daren's, my ole college friends. Good food, drink, and conversation goes into the evening, there just isn't enough time for all of the fun we were having.

John with Almona.

Friday finds us driving towards the old home town of Marlette, MI, we have a lunch scheduled at noon with our family friends, one time neighbors, my mentor, Bob & Joyce Myotte. A feast Joyce prepared for us. Bob said he was glad we stopped by so that he get a feast like Joyce prepared, I told him it didn't really look like he's missed to many meals, lol. We had a great lunch and great conversation. It's nice to see friends of the past.

John & Kristie

Off to Caro, MI, were we're going to drop into see Almona Bradley, she told us she's 99, and she's looking good and sharp as a tack. We talked of the old days on the farm, of her friendship with Mom & Dad, playing cards, and going to the strawberry social over by Snover, MI.

40 Mile Point Light House.
Lake Huron, MI

We also make a stop at the Walmart in Caro, MI and we find niece Kristie working hard. As she is at work, we didn't have much time to chat, but it was great seeing her again!

We head North from the thumb of MI, ending up in Alpena, MI. The colors thus far are slow in turning, with only a few trees showing orange, red, & yellow. Our drive North takes us to 40 mile point, a light house on Lake Huron. Michigan has the most light houses in the nation. A true national treasure they are.

Onto Mackinaw City, MI, where we find the Mackinaw Bridge, gateway to the UP of Michigan, also home to fudge, which we bought some, Michigan made wine and beer, which we also bought, & other tourist trap items, which Abby may have bought.

Reflections in Wakefield, MI

The colors thus far have been so so to say the least. How soon that changed upon us crossing the bridge  into the UP. Before we get to far from the bridge it's lunch time, and what do you have for lunch in the UP, Pasties, our choice was Suzi's and they were tasty. Our journey finds us in Houghton-Hancock area around 7PM and we found no rooms in the inns. A couple of calls finds us lodging in Ontonagon, MI at Peterson's. Very nice cabins and very comfortable.

We travel on Sunday to our friends in Cold Springs, MN, watch a very impressive debut of a rookie QB Teddy B. of the MN Vikings, again good conversations with out dear friends Bob & Deb.

Around 2200 miles on this trip. Lots of time in the car. Short periods of conversations with friends, lots of friends we were not able to look up, hopefully next time to all that we missed!

2014 Sturgis

Taking off at 6 AM.

The 2014 Sturgis Ride is history for me and my friends, Donny Meyer, Ron & Linda Bublitz. We left at 6 AM on Friday August 1st, 2014. This was only 9 hours after Abby got home from her stay in Sweden. We got to visit only for about 1 hour that night.

The morning was a chilly morning of 55*F so the first leg of our trip to Redfield, SD,  we drove through fog in low wet areas. Coffee was in order, and some of my fellow riders elected to add more layers. By the time we reached Pierre it was warming up and the layers added in Redfield were coming off. The day ended up being very warm.

Linda, Donny, & me, sorry Ron
no room for you in this selfie.

This goes on & on & on.......

From Pierre this year a different route than the normal Hwy. 34 route was in store. We all wanted to ride a little South and go through the Badlands of SD. The fee to get into the Badlands is controlled by the Federal government, and was $10.00 for motorcycles, and this was good for 10 days. The time we spent that day was long enough as the heat was very intense, pushing 90 degrees plus.

This trip is number four for the group I ride with. The first day we go into Sturgis and check it out. Everyone looks older, as we do, but happy! People are easy to talk to. The food smells the same. The bands are loud. The traffic gets heavy. Lots of people here to have fun. Lots of people here to make money. If you like motorcycling, and what goes with it, this event is a must.

Deadwood, SD

 The Sturgis rally is not confined to the town of Sturgis, it's about the Black Hills, the little towns that make up this beautiful region of South Dakota. It also includes Wyoming directly. Devils Tower, Hulett, Aladdin, the town you can buy for a cool $1.5 million(firm). The all open up their arms to you! They all want a piece of the action. There's music, beer, fellowship, tourism, and lots of it.

Stone House Saloon

The bikes are beautiful, they come in all styles, sizes, color's, brands. Mostly Harley, but there is also Honda, Kawasaki, BMW, etc. There's bikes right off the floor and ready to ride. There's custom's that many hours of labor and love  made them possible.

This custom could be bought for
$38,000.

This trip ended up being 1400 miles this year. Over all it was a good trip and we're looking forward to next year which will the the 75th Annual Sturgis Rally. Remember ride safe, protective gear is a must, wear a helmet.

Girls in my life!

Three girls in my life, Abby for 35 years, Becca for 34, and now Scout for almost 2 years. They're quite the 3-sum! A man could only wish for a 3-sum like this and I'm proud to say that they're in my life! Since Scout was born it's been traveling over the "pond" for visits. Twice now in Sweden and twice in Berlin. I could name some of the sights and locations we've taken in, but none of them are bigger than just spending time with this 3-sum.

Whether having coffee early in the morning with Scout or sitting outside with Becca, these are the moments that bring memories.

The time we spend together is great, but definitely not long enough, yet! For me this trip is over, I've come back to South Dakota and will go back to work tomorrow. The memories are stuck in my mind, and will be hard to get out of my head. I'll be plotting out in my head the next trip we'll be taking over the pond..counting the days...dreaming...

Entrance to Skansen.

No trip to Sweden would be complete without going to Skansen,  this  according to  me,  is the Greenfield Village of Sweden.(Sort of) The old Village gives you a taste of the past, the zoo is a wonderful walk about the animals of the region. It's a must see if you ever come this way.

Swedish Meatballs & Mashed Potatoes.

Also a must is a plate of Swedish Meatballs & Mashed potatoes, my trip almost complete with this one checked off the list. The Swedes, as most of Europe also enjoy a beer with lunch, usually 3.5%, so when in Rome..

Our walk around Skansen reflects back to 2012, our first trip to Sweden just after Scouts birth. The two pictures show a then picture of Scout and Becca, and one in 2014.

2012

2014

The bundle of joy in the left picture is starting to grow, yet Becca remains the same. Skansen is a great place to leisurely walk about, but with a little one along it's great to have the stroller with.

Becca & Scout at Skansen.

Our stay here has been in a Caravan(camper), about a 18' long, not much space, but it does bring a taste of years past, of the family fun days of Lake Pickerel. At the end of long days it's tubby time for Scout and Grabby doesn't let the warm water go by without a good foot soak.

3 girls resting!

                                                                                                                                    

Friday BBQ

Ina on the right with Sister
Lotta, our BBQ host.

This past Friday we were invited to a BBQ at Becca's neighbor Maria's MorMor's(Grandmother) home, hosted by Maria's mother Ina. She did a marvelous job on the grille, cooking vegetables and the meat in  a timely manner. Like at home we had way too much food but it was delicious!

Of course in the typical BBQ fashion beer & wine was aplenty. Abby & I are at a great disadvantage that we do not speak Swedish, but everyone there was pleasant enough to speak English most of the time.

Abby, Maria, Becca, & Fredrik

The picture at the right is Abby & Becca with brother & sister Maria & Fredrik, daughter & son of Ina. We had a tremendous time in conversation with them. Maria is closing in on her law degree & Fredrik is chasing his dream as a football(soccer) player.

View from atop of Utö. 

Saturday, Grabby & Grandpapa took Scout to Utö, a island of the Stockholm Archipelago. My sailor friends would love this area! Unbelievable, the number of yacht's and large sailboats in this area.

Sunday is a relaxation day, there was also a threat of rain in the forecast, which we never got. Grabby, Scout, & Grandpapa went for morning walk in the "little forest" nearby and are now heading for the beach for an afternoon dip.

Grandpapa, Scout, & Grabby in
the "little forest".

July 2014 Relaxation with Scout!

Being picked up at Airport.

Our trip this Summer finds us in a camper parked next to Becca's & Jesper's home in Dalaro, Sweden for me this will be a two week trip until the 19th and for Abby it's until the 31st. Life is not always fair!

Oh well, weather so far has been great, most days start with a walk after breakfast with Pilar, a cup of coffee with Becca & Jesper, then down to the beach for a swim and sand castle building, the Baltic is chilly for us, Abby has yet to go all the way in!

Grabby, Scout, & Becca walking to the car.

We haven't been camping for years, but so far this has been fun! We have a little table out our door where we eat and spend time with Scout.

Scout's cup never got full,
imagine that.

This morning instead of going to the beach, we went blue berry picking.  Now for my Michigan friends, these berry's are upper MI berry's not Thumb Area berry's, takes a lot of them to make a cup.

Food in Sweden, like our last few trips to Europe, has been great for me. I wake up in the morning's with low blood sugar, blood pressure is going down, and I am sleeping better than I do at home. Not sure what it is, but life seems better over here for me. I keep telling Abby that we're moving over here if my numbers keep dropping like they do.

Scout & Becca offering a toast!

On her own.

Our little Scout is growing up quick! She likes the water, to splash in, she likes to pick up sticks when we're out walking, she such a pleasant girl, when we meet others and shake hands, she wants all of us to do it! She like to make toast when we're having a drink, even if it's just water. This trip she has expanded herself to going down the slide by herself. Growing up fast. A few English words are said, as with Swedish words, quite a mix going on with her.