Pout and Rally

If someone were running a hedge fund against my life, they would be filthy rich. Sunday night as I were laying down to sleep at my brothers place, a train rolled through creating a loud racket. I looked at the time and sure enough, it was the midnight train. I bet it could be going anywhere. I didn't know if that was a sign, but I knew I was in for a Journey.

Scott dropped me off in Tisch Mills and after a pep talk from Zig Ziglar and some Midol, I was back on the trail. Starting off on the Weber Woods segment was a treat. It was the first nice section of trail since I started. Thank you Katie for graciously allowing them to use your name! After that I was back to road walking. Looking at the maps, I eagerly anticipated coming to Assman Rd, just north of Mishicot. I got there and there were no street signs...utter disappointment. There may have been no signs, but a Cubs fan lived on the corner, sounds about right. I made it the Point Beach segment where I was assaulted by the worst horde of mosquitoes I have ever seen. I lathered up in two layers of bug spray and drank some DEET, but it still wasn't enough. I'd reapply the bug spray and the mosquitoes were like the killer gorillas in Congo. They'd send one or two in to test the outer defense and when they found a weak spot they would attack. Ugly gorillas! Amy good gorilla. I heard that section of trail is nice, but I couldn't see through all the skeeters. Horrible. To make things better I went for a swim in the big lake south of Gitche Gumee. Refreshing!
Later that night, I went to the shower building and looked in the mirror - Holy Cow... It had been cloudy most of the day so I wore my sweet American flag bandana. That may have been a mistake as I now sport a nice line on my forehead. It's tomato red on top and regular summer tan under. It looks pretty bad. This never would have happened if Joelle hadn't been wearing a bandana at a MSC project and I said "I think I'm going to start wearing a bandana." Thanks Joelle!

Aug. 3
Tuesday rolled around to find me still alive. I walked along Lake Michigan for a couple miles, taking the boots off and letting the cool water flow over my feet. I finally made it to Two Rivers and crossed paths with the SAGBRAW folks. I had saw signs for them the day before in Mishicot. SAGBRAW is a big bike ride around Wisconsin and they happened to be going along the shore today. A crowd of us converged at the Washington House in Two Rivers, the home of the original ice cream sundae! I had an excellent large strawberry sundae that my new biker friends bought for me. Score! I stayed longer than I wanted but the old ladies who volunteer there were just so interested in my hike. One of them brought out a file folder from the last hiker who came through a year ago. Perhaps I can add to that file. Once I got back along the lake, I met a couple from Texas (Dwayne aaannnd I cant remember his wife's name...). We talked for 20 minutes about how awesome Wisconsin is and about hiking in general. I think I like talking to people.

Next on the agenda was Manitowoc where all they talk about is their shipbuilding past. Nice job staying current Manitowoc, what have you got since building 28 subs for WWII? Nothing. Eau Claire is home to the pizzazz pizza maker! Take that! Actually, the people were very friendly, which I think may be due to their close proximity to Sheboygan, home of the assholes. They didn't want to be another shit-bag town full of assholes, so they decided they would go the Canadian route and be friendly. It's a nice juxtaposition on Lake Michigan. There was a farmers market going on along the river and I got a peach and carrot for free. I guess I looked hungry. Before the Hmongs arrived, who had produce to sell at farmers markets? I think out of the 20 booths, 15 were Hmong. Did farmers markets exist before they arrived? They do grow some good veggies! I'm writing this from the comfort of the nice library in Manitowoc and they have a map showing how far it is to different cities around the midwest. Did you know its farther to EC than Dubuque, Iowa from Manitowoc? Crazy. Time to hit the road, the only thing I wish I had now was a nice cold Sheboygan Summer. It's a wheat beer and should be hitting stores soon. I have more miles to walk before the night is over!