United States
City of Onalaska

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    • Day 38

      Das wars!

      November 1, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

      Gestern trick or treat (süßes oder saures) gemacht und Koffer gepackt und im Auto verstaut. Jetzt auf dem Weg zum Kalahari Wasserpark. Tschüss Cinnamon und Fosters Haus!

    • Day 2

      Weather Window

      April 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

      My mom, Grace Elaine Stuckey Brinker, is turning 90 this year. Her birthday is in mid August. Last year I suggested that we plan a trip together. "Anywhere you want to go, I'll get you there", I said. "Let's take a train across Canada or catch ferries up the inland waterways to Alaska. How about back to Central America? You always loved it down there."

      She said that she'd think about it.

      A week later she calls me on the phone and says, "Those sound like nice ideas, but what I really want to do is to go back to Ohio."

      Ohio. Where she spent the first 84 years of her life. Where her sisters live. Where her church community is. Where her friends still ask about her. "OK," I said, "but we're not going around your birthday, because it's 95 degrees and 95% humidity everyday in August. Let's go in April, when the birds are in migration, the daffodils and crocuses are blooming, and we have a chance of good weather."

      Right.

      My plane into Minneapolis was delayed for several hours due to 'a winter cyclone event' which dropped temps into the 20's, dumped over a foot of snow, and kicked up 40mph winds. See photo of the knocked over furniture on the deck of her senior living place. So much for good weather. All the Wisconsonians I've run across keep saying the same the same thing, "You should've been here last week! It was a sunny 75 degrees." Of course by now I'm on to them because they've said the same thing every time I've visited over the past 5 years. "Shoulda been here last week..."

      Right.

      I'm sure there are weekends in the late spring or early fall when it isn't freezing or hot or raining or something isn't biting you, but I haven't hit those precise weather windows yet.

      So, we're all packed. Grace has opened the gifts that I brought from Nancy. We've had a couple of nice meals with my brother Will and his spouse Beth. We have a bag of roadtrip food. Tomorrow we set out down the Mississippi for a 700 mile drive from Wisconsin to Ohio with a side trip to Pittsburgh.

      We're using Atlas Obscura's website to plan our stops. We're looking for experiences that can only be found in this part of the world.

      Stay tuned.
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    • Day 123

      AmeriKKKa

      September 6, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

      This motorcycle was parked at my mother's retirement village when we arrived.

      AmeriKKKa. Terrorizing people of color with a simple flag.

      This is who we are.

      Trump won every white economic and educational demographic.

      Good thing they're building that wall. It will keep the Americans in...
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    • Day 17

      On Wisconsin

      April 27, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ❄️ 1 °C

      Well. We made it. We're now back in Wisconsin. Twelve days and 2500 miles round trip with an almost 90 and almost 60 year old. Almost all of the driving was on small backroads. Our dashboard totem served us well as we passed through state after state in Trump's heartland (seems like a bit of an oxymoron using 'Trump' and 'heart' in the same sentence).

      Our first stop on entering Wisconsin was St Glarus. A small town settled by Swiss farmers which still holds some of the remnants of its founders. Life sized models of cows adorn the place, cheese shops abound, and restaurants serve fondue, raclette, and rosti.

      I fly out in a couple of days, but tonight we're expecting a late April blizzard (is that actually a thing?) bringing between 7 and 10 inches of wet snow. But it all fits with the Wisconsin state motto:

      'Should have been here last week, it was a sunny 70 degrees and nothing was biting!'
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    • Day 125

      La Crosse Wisconsin Wedding

      September 8, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

      Today we were honored to attend the wedding of our niece Zoe Ault Brinker to Jason Niemuth. The venue looked out from the banks of the fast flowing Mississippi. The weather was perfect. The couple looked radiant in their devotion to one another and the bride's dress 'was to die for.' That's pretty much been my response when folks started talking politics at the wedding. "Wasn't Zoe's dress just to die for." So far it has worked well for changing the subject.

      Nancy and I have been in LaCrosse since picking Augie up in Madison Wisconsin earlier in the week. Sophie flew in a few days ago. Madison was pretty cool. Lots of lakes in the city itself and a great bicycling infrastructure. La Crosse is a special town in its own right. It is located in the Driftless region of western Wisconsin/eastern Minnesota. The Driftless gets its name from tge fact that the glacial 'drift' bypassed the area leaving lots of pre ice age topography intact. Very pretty area. Worth a visit.

      Nancy and I were able to get in a few bike rides in the area. We took a ride up to Trempeleau Wisconsin along an old railroad bed trail today. If Trempeleau sounds French it is due to the Trappeurs making their way along the Mississippi bringing in pelts for the beaver hat craze back in Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Pre Louisiana purchase. Napoleon was trying to fund his armies and needed the cash, so he sold the rights to the center of the continent. Lots of French names still dot the area.

      Augie surprised me yesterday with an interesting invitation. He's off to southeast Asia next month. He asked me to join him in Vietnam for an epic motorcycle ride from Saigon to Hanoi. Not something I could take a pass on. We chose the Ho Chi Minh trail as a route. Here's a link to a blog detailing the route:
      http://vietnamcoracle.com/saigon-to-hanoi-by-mo…

      Tomorrow we're off toward Denver to visit Nancy's dad, Ed Wood, before heading into the Utah desert for s few weeks. We'll be back in Santa Cruz by late September.
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    • Day 21

      La Crosse, United States

      May 27, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Llama time at Will and Beth's. We missed the shearing which was quite an endeavor, but it was nice hanging out anyway. As usual the food and company were great.

      Sunset over the Mississippi.

      Nancy finished her beautiful year long #@!#*! shawl!Read more

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    City of Onalaska

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