Price of gas: $3.77
Bayfield, WI
I love small towns. They’re so predictably weird. Where small-timers feel comfortable on their soapboxes.
It was wonderful today not to have to drive anywhere and I made sure I didn’t. I had some downtime today, which was also nice. This morning I went to town, but realized pretty quickly it doesn’t really open up until about 10 a.m., so I came back and took a nap. I was up too early anyway. I visited the library – a Carnegie library, this town looks so like Port Townsend in so many ways – and spent some quality Internet time. The town is really small – also like Port Townsend – spend an hour, and you’ve seen the main part of it. I headed for Madeline Island for the afternoon.
41 years ago, my parents came here for their honeymoon. Mom said the first night it rained, and the tent leaked, and dad had to use some kind of poker implement to keep shedding water off the tent. They were both soaked. Great start! Fourteen years ago, they came back and visited. They had dinner on Madeline Island and just had a beautiful time of it.
Fourteen years later, here I am. I took the ferry across. Here’s where the fun really kicks in. First of all, it’s a very small ferry. Small enough it turns around in the harbor before you leave to cross the lake. Small enough they don’t care where you stand or sit. Small enough that the people count down 5,4,3,2,1 and then folks just start walking off the boat, and when they are out of the way, the cars follow. Being from the Puget Sound and watching the ferry employees dictate everything, this was pretty funny.
I had thought about taking my bike to Madeline Island, but decided against it as I wasn’t sure where I’d be able to leave it or what kind of hassle it would be. Turns out it would have been totally fine. Madeline Island is only 14 miles long (and 3 miles wide), so even if I biked the whole thing, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Since I didn’t know that, I didn’t do it. I walked around the main town area, which is really also just a few blocks. But colorful!
First off I see a Unitarian sticker. I also see the people who belong to the car. I ask them if there’s a congregation around, and get a reply of, “Oh, no, but every so often we go down to St. John’s. And then there’s a UUC down near …” Typical. Ask a Unitarian a question, get six answers.
Then there’s “Tom’s Burned Out Bar,” which looks a cross between a circus tent and Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon.
I asked my waitress tonight the tale, and she said there used to be a place called Leona’s that burned. Tom had the partly burned out building moved to this site, attached it to the circus tent, and opened a bar. The tent is covered in random signs, highly liberal signs. “Putting the Sin in Wisconsin.” “Safety Third.” Lots of other quotes you’ve probably heard at some point. Looks like a fabulous place to hang out, as long as the weather is good.
Walking through town, there’s a handmade sign that shows that says Vote September Alan Ralph for assembly. And in small print it says, “Paid for by Alan Ralph for Assembly, Carla Ralph, Treasurer.”
One bar has a Green Bay and Jets flag and the bar next to it has a Vikings flag. Equal opportunity!
I love small towns.
There were some gems here, too. There’s a church-based organization that does weaving, quilting, pottery, etc. where I got my sister some yarn. The people who make it have their own sheep and make their own yarn right here on the island. I also went to dinner at Lotta’s and frankly wish I could go back there every single day for the next week, so I could try everything on their menu. I settled on a pork tenderloin with a juneberry/raspberry reduction with local vegetables – a wild rice risotto and local beets. Wow. I also had a blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream… mmm… so happy. But frankly I could have ordered anything on the menu and it would have been good.
I’m rather sated this evening. Good downtime. Tomorrow is about a 3-4 drive, but I’ll be checking out some farms on the way down, and then my meadery, so who knows quite how long it’ll be. It’ll be good to see family.
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