August 8, 2008 by Harry.

     Today’s ride went from Lake Huron Campground 6 miles north Of Port Sanilac in Michigan to Paradise Valley Campground near Camlachie, Canada. Thanks to expeditious work by Sarge, Captain Eugenia’s father, the team crossed into Canada with no problem. It is yet to be seen if the United States will be that willing to let us return in a few days. We had breakfast at Wimpy’s Place in Lexington, MI. It was majestic to watch the sun rising over Lake Huron for the first part of the day. The weather was splendid all day with low humidity and some tailwind from the northwest. One of the highlights of the day was receiving blessings from two sisters in their 80’s, Helen and Lydia,  who were seated next to us in the Big Boy restaurant for lunch in Port Huron. We were blessed with meeting Jim, the barber in Lexington, and Leah, the store clerk in Forest who both had good experiences in their trips to New York. Tonight’s campground is full of activities including a petting zoo and a hot tub by the pool. Steve noted that campgrounds are much more kid and family friendly in this part of the trip. Again, we are blessed with hot showers and running water for KP duty. Today’s shout out goes to Steve’s brother, Andrew, who celebrates his birthday today. Happy Birthday! Tomorrow we start a trek towards Niagara Falls! The team also wishes to send blessings and best wishes to Percy Watson, gym teacher at MercyFirst, on his retirement after 40 years of teaching! Enjoy and celebrate!

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August 6, 2008 by Harry.

      The team encountered another rainshower last night. It was not nearly as windy last night and a quick closing of the vents kept all the water out. By morning, the sky was already clearing and remained bright all day. The team covered 100 miles today as we are staying at Lake Huron Campground 5or 6 miles north of Port Sanilac. We head to Port Huron tomorrow where we will cross into Canada for a couple of days before coming back in at Niagara Falls. The road conditions were good though we are experiencing more traffic and upset motorists as we enter denser populations. This also means that all of the team members have cell service most of the time for a change. We traversed more corn fields and were blessed with a slight tailwind and downhill into Lake Huron along Route 46. We found Cass River which flows to or from Cass City in northeast Michigan by the thumb of the mitten. We also saw three deer over the course of the day. Speaking of the number three, there were three O’Connor estasblishments seen today (car store, carpet store, and field inspection truck). After visiting three potential campsites, the team found today’s campsite. This is the biggest of all our sites and even has a pool on grounds. We are blessed again with hot showers and electricity and had a sumptious meal of steak, sweet potato, and onion prepared by Eric on the campfire. Today’s shout out goes to ‘Drenelle and the kids at St. Jude’s Research Hospital for following our trip and sending well wishes and prayers to help us along the way.

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August 6, 2008 by Harry.

     There was another thunderstorm last night and thanks to some quick work by Harry and Eric the team stayed dry. We had breakfast at the Northern Trails Restaurant, where one of the locals, Clarence West, told us about the area and also advised us to get a move on before the rain came. We kept a close eye on the clouds in the morning and were blessed to only catch a few drops. The weather cleared right before lunch and the team rolled through some choice farmland under blue skies before the clouds rolled in again at dinner. The wind looked to make us stronger and more patient in the morning and blew across us most of the afternoon. We passed through the town of St. Louis, which claims to be the geographic center of the mitten, aka Michigan. We are staying at the Lake of Dreams Campground outside Merrill after the 85 mile ride from Evart. We are blessed again with hot showers and electricity and this campground has even more amenities than yesterday’s. We are camping next to a University of Michigan fan (2 and a half hours away by car) who was nice enough to tell us it is Michigan State University country to keep us out of trouble. Today’s shout out goes to Chris Kullman, team member of MoPhotos working in Florida, for sending words of encouragement to the team.

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August 6, 2008 by Harry.

      Today’s 65 mile ride went from Ludington to Evart, MI. We are staying in the River Country Campground with such amenities as mini golf, canoeing, tubing, volleyball, horseshoes, and again are blessed with hot showers and electricity. The showers were interesting in that that you had to hold the pull chain to keep the water flowing. A great way to conserve water!The temperature was in the low 80’s with little humidity– a gorgeous day! We passed through the town of Baldwin and Harry and Steve had a brief case of Long Island fever. We also passed by a sign for a shoe sale at O’Connor’s store where you get 2 pair free after buying one pair. The sale starts 8/4 and runs to the end of the month. Unfortunately, we could not find the the town of Greenville on the map to check it out. Today’s shout out goes to Da Boss, aka Harry, whose birthday is sometime this week.

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August 3, 2008 by Harry.

     The day started with a midnight ferry ride on the SS Badger from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI. The four hour ferry ride across Lake Michigan was simply priceless! We were blessed with no clouds so those brave and warm enough could look out on a starlit sky from the open deck on the front of the ship. Others chose to watch a movie in the movie lounge and everyone was able to get a little sleep over the course of the trip. With the time change, we are now in the Eastern time zone. We got in a little before sunrise and found accomodations at the Stearns Motor Inn for some well-deserved rest. The afternoon was spent planning the last section of the trip, doing laundry, and some shopping for a new sleeping mat for Steve. We took a ride along Lakeshore Road (M116) at the end of the day so that we could watch the sunset over Lake Michigan. We were blessed again with beautiful weather all day and any picture does not give justice to being present as the sunset. We look forward to getting back on the bicycles tomorrow to travel across the mitten (Michigan).

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August 3, 2008 by Harry.

      After covering over 1,000 miles in the past 9 days, the team travelled the 105 miles today from Amherst, WI to the ferry in Manitowoc using the 28th gear. This decision was necessitated by the fact that Route 10 turns into a 4 lane highway for the majority of that distance. This enabled the team to break camp after noon for a change after having pancakes prepared by Eric. We ran into part of the Felton family who were having a family vacation for the next week sharing five adjacent campsites. Harry and Steve watched a dad out fishing with his two sons early in the morning and everyone got to enjoy some time by the lake this morning. The team quickly broke camp when a quick moving thunderstorm showed up early in the afternoon. With a long wait for the midnight ferry to Ludington, MI, the team was able to enjoy a movie, pizza dinner, and some arcade games such as the Hopping Harry and Jumping Jack (Jean) contest. We were blessed with some time off and look forward to watching a starlit sky on the ferry tonight. Today’s shout out goes to Mr. Marty and his wife for minding Cass while the team is raising money for the program and Cass continues his therapy work at MercyFirst.

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August 1, 2008 by Harry.

    Today marked the end of the first month on the road. With another team relay and 130 miles covered between Park Falls and Amherst, WI, the team covered 2,150 miles in the month. We ran into a retired couple going from Maine to Seattle celebrating their two month anniversary on the road. They were not sure if they would make it over the Rockies before snow hits, but they were living in the moment and connecting with GOD and nature on a whole new level. Last night, we were harmonized by the frogs croaking as we dozed off and the neighbors listening to the Cubs-Brewers game. We passed next to Timm’s Hill, the high point in Wisconsin, with an elevation of 1951 feet. Today’s ride went through Colby (cheese) and Unity, WI known for its statewide horse-pulling contest. We must have been in several different counties today as the road surfaces and conditions changed several times over the course of the day. The team was challenged or blessed, it all depends on the individual, with some headwind along Route 13 into Marshfield and light tailwinds into Amherst along Route 10. We are staying tonight at a campground by Lake Emily and blessed with running water, showers, and even electricity. The team enjoyed another campfire and were not graced by the presence of the skunk seen by their site. Thanks to Harry and his extra mat, Steve got to borrow his sleeping pad since Steve’s mat was lost along the way yesterday. Tomorrow, we are looking forward to taking the midnight ferry between Manitowoc, WI and Ludington, MI. Today’s shout out goes to Connie, aka Cling-on, who has been diligently sending encouragement and family addresses in the Midwest for overnight stays since her return from Africa.

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August 1, 2008 by Harry.

        It was a day of new beginnings. The team left Minnesota and crossed into Wisconsin with a brilliant view of the bridge spanning the two states separated at this point by Lake Superior. It could be an ocean for all we know since one can not see the other side on a clear day. We headed south along Route 13 around the town of Ashland, WI, where we ran into another cyclist named Eric headed to NY. He happened to also be a school teacher and was staying on the Hi-Line for a little longer. Since we are headed south, we are riding on more rolling terrain than the last two weeks. It was another relay day and the 120 mile ride took the total for the trip over 2,000 miles. More deer and even a turtle were spotted along the road. Many of the signs talk about bear and grouse and we are noticing more taxidermist’s offices. We were blessed with fair to favoring winds all day and are staying at the Smith Lake Campground in Park Falls, WI. With no streetlights on the path, it promises to be a lovely evening under the majesty of a starlit sky.

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