Day 8 - Laying Low and Day 4 - Are We Having Fun Yet?

Today was a day off the bikes for us. I walked around the property this morning making it out to the end of the pier on the lake.  To be clear, this is Lake Winnebago.  The lake my dad grew up on and that played a central role to my childhood summer vacations.  It was beautiful and peaceful.  Here's a few pics I snapped on my walkabout.

We finished up laundry. I went on a walk that I thought was similar to what I do at home but ended up being twice as long as I expected. We went to the Holyland to play crazy rummy with my Aunt Mary and Uncle John.  A pretty low key day for us it seemed.  That was until we were leaving Mt Calvary to go back to the lake house in Fond du Lac for dinner.  That's when we heard the village siren go off.  About that same time all of our cell phones alarmed with a National Weather Advisory of tornadoes in the area.  The report detailed there would be high winds, heavy rains and possibly hail.

With the bikes parked outside, it was a race across town to get back to the house which is on the west shore.  We were determined to make enough room in the garage to fit the two bikes in. We were within a mile of the house when the rains hit and the wind picked up.  I went for the house to grab the fobs while Torrey and my mom went toward the garage to open it up and start making space.  The yard/drive was already a mucky mess.  By the time I hit the door from the garage into the house the power was out.  Found the fobs and rushed back out through the garage.  Torrey jumped on the wet seat of my bike and rode it into the newly found space.  With a few more strategic moves rearranging garage items, we had enough room for the CVO Road Glide too.  By now the rain is pouring down in buckets  We all made a run for it to the house. 

The rain and wind subsided in about 30 minutes. It took an hour for the power to come back on.  We could see from the windows of the house there were several trees in the yard and the neighbors yard that fell in the storm. I went out to survey the damage.

 
My sister Kristi brought her kids (my niece and nephew) over and we all had dinner together.  While we visited we awaited word from Cami, Rudy and the Storks to hear how they were doing.  The weather radar indicated they should be clear of the storm, but we waited for confirmation from them.

Total miles today: 0
Time to travel that distance: 0
Total Cumulative miles: 2472 still.
Tomorrow: Meet up with the other riders and get into Milwaukee.

Cami-O:

Are we having fun yet?
I'm not sure where the world draws the line between the West and Midwest, but I can tell you there is a distinct difference at the border of North Dakota and Minnesota. That is where amber waves of grains give way to farm houses, corn rows and the ripe smell of cow manure. The closer we got to WI the more wooded the roadside became, which made me more and more excited as we traveled.

Funny moment today: The guys want to road name me Sheep. I said, oh hell no."  Deb  says, "Whyyyyyyyyy not?!" 

Most of the day was largely uneventful, which was nice when compared to yesterday, but it wouldn't be any fun without any excitement on the road.

 

The Storks almost got hit by sparrows.
It started raining about an hour out of Superior.
Rudy had 2 full size deer dart across the road in front him. Luckily, we had slowed for a stop light prior to the deer making their jaunt from our left to our right.
For two days in a row now I have wanted to say that so long as you're willing to dress like the Michelin man, motorcycling is not so bad, but I don't really know if I feel that way after getting drenched for the second day in a row.

Rudy finally broke down and put on a second hoodie today, but never did find a warmer pair of gloves in the Harley store in Grand Forks.  The average temperature today was 53 degrees. Rudy and Rick said this is more like an October day, than the hot August days we were hoping for.

 

 One of my favorite sayings from my Dear ol' Dad is: You've gotta have a bad day to know when you're having good ones. 

Just in case any of you are thinking I'm being a pansy on my maiden voyage, let me let you in on some of the things that have occurred.
Glacier Pass now has snow on it.
My sister, Kristi, shared the MPR report this morning the indicated, "Evacuations underway as major flooding hits SE MN and Western WI.

 My sister, Nicki, reported tornado warnings in WI at 3:51pm. She then reported the power out at 4:19pm. Then sent a picture of the flooding occurring in Wilkum's lake house yard and a map of all of the road closures according to 511WI. 

So back to the original question...We are still safe and compared to yesterday, I'd say yes, I'm having fun and today was a good day!!

Total miles today: 411
Time to travel that distance: 10.25 hours
Total Cumulative mileage: 1647