So my car was all packed up… jam packed. And I was headed north.
It’s always such a relief to finally be driving. The rush, the hassle, the panic of
prepping, packing & loading done. At that point, it is what it is. Now it’s just time
for an enjoyable road trip. And I love road trips. Beautiful scenery, good snacks
and great music to sing along with the entire way! And let me just say…
I sound pitch-perfect incredible when I’m singing in the car by myself.

As I was leaving Chicago, it was dark, gray and rainy! I had kind of hunkered down
and mentally prepared myself for a long gloomy drive. But when I got up to the Madison
area, the gloom ended and blue skies began. And the rest of my drive was beautiful!!!

The Fall colors were stunning as I was driving past them. You know I had to snap a picture!
Who needs to stop?… or slow down?… these were taken through the car window at 70mph.

And you know you’re in Wisconsin when you pull up behind this at a stop light…

As my drive continued and started to feel a little too long, I was treated to a beautiful sunset.
I had hope to get to Amy’s while the sun was still up… looks like that’s not going to happen.

By the time I finally got to the Rhinelander exit, the sun had gone down – and was casting
a beautiful glow across the sky. So moody with reflections across the lakes.

When I got to Pigeon Road, Amy had just gotten home from work and had bought take-out
Chinese food for dinner. My favorite part was the fortune in my fortune cookie.
One of the funniest I’ve ever gotten!!! Gotta save this one…

I’ve been “trapped” inside all day firing my kiln. It’s going well…
cones are dropping fast and I just started introducing the soda mixture. Then I
finally looked out the window and saw that there’s fun stuff going on outside too!!!

My next door neighbor Melanie sent me a picture of the sunrise she saw this morning
over Glen Lake, Michigan. Apparently, she was on the “other side” of gloomy!
Because this sunrise is stunning!!! And I’d rather be there…

It was a warm “sweltering” holiday weekend… so it felt great this morning to get out
for the morning ride and NOT be sweating before I started pedaling!!!
And so nice to see the lifeguard chairs back on the lakefront. A nice harbinger of summer…

And then the sun broke through…

As I was getting ready to head home, I stopped for gas and a grape pop… my favorite!
When I turned around there was an incredible sunset coming together on the airport’s horizon.
There was a huge storm coming through – and it looked like it was going to open up any
minute! Kinda looks like a scene out of “Wizard Of Oz”… before it turns to full color!

Well, it was a very long day… with a LOT of pottery!!! And while I was starting to wear down,
and needed a good night’s sleep in the worst way, we went out for dinner and were saluted
with this stunning sunset as a beautiful end to our day. Almost…

With a little after-dinner, second-wind we decided to head back to Bob Briscoe’s place
for a little Post Party! Every year he hosts a little get-together for the artists & friends.
It was great to go back, relax around the campfire and chat with a few more potters.
And then finally to bed… for some much-needed shut-eye before Tour Day Two!

Okay, so by now you’ve probably figured out that I like sunrises.
I may have taken a few photos of them over the years?! But I do like sunsets as well.
I just don’t get to see that many of the without a lot of “stuff” in front of it?! Living
in the city, it seems like there’s always a skyscraper or something in the way.

So I was excited tonight when the sunset exploded across the sky…
and there were only a few telephone wires in the way!

Well, the cable guy FINALLY came by and fixed my cable!
So I got a little bit of a late start headed off to The Hilly Hundred today.
My friend Chris was about an hour ahead of me… so I was anxious to make it
down there to check-in, set up our sleeping space, shop the Expo Tent and relax!

The ride was pretty uneventful through northern Indiana. Then in the center of
the state there’s great windmill farm… with a nice Dairy Queen in the middle!
As I got closer to Indianapolis, the storm clouds started to build. And by the time
I was getting off the beltway, and heading south on Route 37… the storm was brewing!

Luckily, the storm stayed in the Indianapolis area… and as I drove further south,
the storm seemed to dissipate and was replaced by beautiful clouds! A great sign
of the beautiful weather to come for the weekend bike ride!

Another day in the woods. Another day in heaven.

So while Amy did some more packing up & prepping for her art fair,
I once again hopped on my bike for another tour around the area. The roads are
in great condition and the scenery is breathtaking everywhere you go.

When I got back, we packed the cars and headed off to Land O’Lakes, way up there on the
Michigan peninsula border. My friends Pam & Pat have a cabin up on Moccasin Lake and
offered to let us stay there… since Amy’s art fair was going to be in Land O’ on Saturday.
When we got there, we were impressed by their cabin, their lakefront and their hospitality!

We played. We chatted. We relaxed. A wonderful escape.
We swam. We ate chips & salsa. We boated around the lake and saw a deer swimming
across, the loons and their newly born chick and a couple bald eagles flying around.
Which only made the loons scream and cry out louder… whimsical, yet haunting.

And so as not to disappoint, Mother Nature served up yet another stunning sunrise!

And oh, but wait there’s more… as the sun set, and I thought the sunset was over…
suddenly, the orange glow began on the horizon. Like a “freebie” second sunset!!!

Overnight, the temperatures dropped and we were faced with an incredibly beautiful day!
So we started the day with a wonderful, early morning hike along the McNaughton Trail.
Wonderful scenery, trees and that memorable Northwoods pine scent… and a beautiful
lakeside boardwalk with wonderful plants growing all around!

When we got back, Amy had some prep work to do for her weekend art fair…
so I head out on my bike for a beautiful ride through the Northwoods.

When I finally got back from my bike ride, Amy was ready for a break so we head off to a local
antique shop that she knew I would love. And she was right. Even as we entered the place.
I knew I was in for a treat… greeted by a mixture of bikes AND rust!!! Two of my favorites!!!

And that was just the entrance gate!!! And when we got inside, it was SPECTACULAR!!!
Whimiscal oddities & rusted antiques all around. I knew that a “few” of them would be
going home with me… and they did. The problem was narrowing it down…

Then we “returned to the scene of the crime” and went back to Amy’s friend Toni’s place
on the lake. Another dip in the lake, a kayak tour around the island… lily pads and all.

As the evening wore on, and we swam around the dock, the sun kept setting on the horizon.
And once again, it was spectacular. Beautiful colors… plus a couple locals playing
on the lake with some barefoot water skiing.

And there it was… the end of another beautiful day in the Northwoods!