Day 2: Wisconsin Bound

 My only goal for our first full day of travel was to make it into Wisconsin, the first new state on our list. That was the theory, anyway.

On Saturday morning, Bonnie woke us up at 6:30 for a potty break, but we crawled back into bed until 8am before heading down for hotel breakfast. They had French toast sticks, which were delicious. What I didn't realize at the time was that we'd skipped coffee by mistake. 

It was raining when we hit the road, but it didn't matter much. I didn't have any stops planned until we reached Wisconsin. Mike and I have been as far west as Illinois together. I have specifically spent a fair amount of time in Ohio over the years, so I wasn't worried about "missing" it. Saturday was about pushing as far west as possible.

If you've ever met me, you know I don't have enough chill to stick to a plan like that. 

We started off by skipping a place called Mosquito Lake. 

As I scrolled through the map, I noticed that Cuyahoga Valley National Park was nearby. I have to be honest and admit that I had no idea there was a national park in Ohio. I immediately started researching.  

My Googling revealed that this park may be worth coming back to experience more fully. 

Notes for next time:

• There are 125 miles of trail
• Horses are allowed!
• There is even a scenic train ride

Of course, all of that was too much to take in while simply passing through, but it didn't take me long to figure out that we did have time for a quick stop at Brandywine Falls. 

We detoured to the parking lot, where the rain eased up just as we turned the truck off. This would become somewhat of a theme for the drive out. 

The week before the trip, I got a fortune cookie that said, "This week, trust that everything happens for a reason." I tried to take that attitude with me as we traveled. I am still trying to embrace it as I grieve the loss of my horses.

Brandywine Falls was definitely worth the detour. The walk was about three quarters of a mile, which was very doable on a tight timeline, but also gave Bonnie time to stretch her legs and get some sniffies. 

I enjoyed reading about the history of the area and learning about the geology of the falls. We even got our family photo taken by another couple. The rainfall meant the falls were roaring and also kept the crowds at bay. It was a great first official stop of our trip.

Larger than expected.

I appreciated the accessibility of the falls. The boardwalks and rails were lovely.

We had plenty of privacy as we explored.

Soon we were back in the car, then back on Route 90. As usual, I continued reading out loud about everything we passed. 

Another glance at the map revealed that Lake Erie was right there. Mike confirmed that he had only seen Lake Ontario. This was the perfect excuse to find another stop.

I am a lover of lighthouses, and there were plenty of those to choose from. I settled on the nearby Huron Harbor Light, and we exited the highway once again. 

As we drove through vast, flat farmland, we chatted about lake-effect snow and how tough winters out here must be. I remembered driving out to visit Christine in college and learning about the Snow Belt the hard way as we found ourselves driving through the night during an unexpected blizzard. 

We arrived at Huron Harbor just as the skies opened up. We watched people flee the beach for the shelter of their cars. Then we waited as the downpour softened into a fine, misty drizzle. Once again, the weather worked in our favor, and we had the place almost entirely to ourselves, save for a few hardy fishermen huddled along the pier.

Huge waves crashed against the breakwater as we walked along the pier, reading the signs about the history of the light and the various ships that have called the harbor home. We spotted a loon with what I assumed was its baby. Some further research revealed that it was just a standard duckling. It appears the loon adopted the duckling, which was very sweet. 

I was disappointed we couldn't walk all the way to the lighthouse. Had it been dry, I might have been tempted to explore beyond the posted signs, but it wasn't worth risking the slippery rocks of the point. Still, we got a great view of the lighthouse before moseying back to the truck. 

Hello, Lake Erie.

As you can tell, Bonnie cares deeply about lighthouses.

Different from other lighthouses I've seen.

Bonnie trying very hard not to get her feet wet.

We were back on the road around noon and took the scenic route back to the highway, crossing over the Thomas Edison Memorial Bridge along the way. 

What I didn't realize was that Sandusky Bay boasts a very dense eagle population with over 100 active nests. There were eagles everywhere! I failed to get any photos, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

We also saw the most intense fog I've ever experienced. It felt like a glitch in the Matrix. As we looked out the window to the left, we just saw nothing. It didn't even look like fog. It looked like reality just stopped. Very creepy. 

Soon after that, we saw a sign advertising a drive or walk through safari. There was a lion on the billboard. We decided to pass on walking by the lions. "We can do that at home," I joked. 

We spent a long time driving through the marshlands, which had a very distinct and somewhat unpleasant freshwater smell. I'm guessing it's one of those things the locals are used to.  The marshes were full of sandhill cranes, including babies, which I also failed to get pictures of. 

Around 2pm, we started to get hungry. 

We had officially reached the middle of nowhere. I browsed AllTrails and found a surprising lack of parks and trails. In fact, there wasn't much of anything around at all. 

Mike and I started asking, "What do people do for fun around here?" This became a running joke for the rest of the trip. Any time we saw something unexpected, we'd say, "This must be what people do for fun around here!"

With the help of the internet, I found a spot to eat. It was called the Mill District Deli, located in the tiny town of West Unity, Ohio. We found street parking right outside the front door and went inside to find the sweetest staff in a very clean and well stocked deli. We had the place mostly to ourselves, which was a reflection of the town's population, not the quality of the food or service. 

I chose a sandwich off the daily specials. It was called the Gobble Gobble and included apple slices and cranberry chutney. Yum! Mike had something called the Sky High, and we split a raspberry lemon layer cake for dessert. It was a totally random stop and absolutely worth going. 

The towns kept getting smaller as we drove farther from home.

We almost made it out of Ohio without any further detours, but not quite.

Once again, I glanced at the map, then realized Michigan was right there. I've never been to Michigan, but it was not on our list for this trip. I was almost ready to let it slide since we have friends there and will likely visit them at some point.

Then I spotted the perfect excuse to stop. Tri Point Rock is located where Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan meet. I have been in two states at once several times. I have never been in three!

Away we went!

I'll admit Tri Point Rock was a little underwhelming. The three states come together on a muddy dirt road in the middle of some farm fields. The interpretive marker is located 130 feet north of the tri-point. The actual intersection of the states is marked with a tiny circle that gets covered in mud. We had to clear it to see it. 

Still, this is apparently a popular spot and we ran into two other carloads of people in the five minutes we were there. It brought me joy to see people out just enjoying their own road trips. I feel like humans were meant to explore the world around them. Instead, we invented taxes. 

So... technically, I've been to Michigan, but I'm not sure it counts.

Each of us is in a different state. Bonnie starts to think this trip is dumb.

It took us a while to get back on the highway after that, just because we were starting to get into some more remote areas and highway access ramps were few and far between. Got to see lots of flat farmland though.

Soon after we got back on Route 90, we had our first time change of the trip. On the way out, these felt like getting some extra time in our days. 

We picked up Route 94 and I took another glance at the map to find that Lake Michigan was right there. Neither Mike nor I had ever seen that one before so I started scrolling. As it turns out, we were near Indiana Dunes National Park- another one I didn't know existed!

Little did I know we were heading for our first disappointment of the trip. (When I posted this on Facebook, I think I offended some of the locals. Apologies in advance.)

Mike and I didn't stop at the main section of the park because we were short on time, and it looked like there would be a fair amount of hiking just to reach the beach. Instead, the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk came highly recommended as a quick stop with views of the Ogden Dunes.

Things spiraled from Instagram to Reality in a hurry.

What they don't tell you about the Indiana Dunes is that the park is bisected by a massive steel plant. The air quality reflected this fact, with thick smog and industrial smells all around. The memorial to all the steel workers who have died over the years was also sad and sobering.

Dunes on the left, Gary Works on the right.

Image from the video below. This place was massive. And terrible.

When we finally reached the beachfront, I was pretty appalled. The water looked filthy, which wasn't exactly surprising given the surroundings. Despite the murky water, chilly temperatures, and lack of lifeguards, plenty of people were swimming and wading in the lake.

Normally, you can see Chicago across the way, but the smog was too thick on this day.

I'll never take Island Beach for granted again. That's for sure!

Needless to say, it was a short visit. 

Still, I have to say the people here were all incredibly nice. That's one of my favorite things about the Midwest. Back home, people always seem to be in a hurry and can come across as rude or standoffish. In Indiana, everyone wanted to compliment Bonnie or strike up a conversation just for the sake of being friendly. Maybe I'd be friendlier if I lived somewhere life moved at a slower pace...

...probably not.

Around 5:30 local time, we entered Illinois. As I'd feared, we were in the outskirts of Chicago during rush hour. We wound up taking 294 to detour around downtown. 

Gas was $5.19 a gallon for regular! Talk about sticker shock.

Luckily, the rain had stopped by that point, and it was smooth sailing from the far side of Chicago to the Wisconsin border. We crossed into Wisconsin around 6:15 with plenty of daylight to spare.

Mission accomplished!

The original plan was to drive from NJ to WI on Saturday and then basically collapse into bed. Because we left on Friday afternoon, we were actually ahead of schedule. 

Despite buying a travel book about Wisconsin and reading it basically cover to cover, I did not have much of a plan for the rest of the evening. 

We decided to get off the highway and pursue scenic Route 113, which was also in one of my travel books. 

This proved to be the perfect detour. We stopped for gas, and there was a giant pink elephant outside the station! I love these kinds of roadside attractions, and I was delighted to discover that Wisconsin has selfie platforms at many of them.

Another silly family photo.

While we were driving through the absolutely gorgeous Wisconsin countryside, poor Eryca stopped at the barn to check on the horses at home. My insane former barn owner cornered her and berated her about the fact that the horses were out on grass and that she "didn't know" I was away. I had told her we would be traveling and that the horses would be on the big center pasture for one week while I was gone. She acknowledged this information without protest. 

I had a sinking feeling that this woman was going to do her best to ruin my vacation. (As it turns out, she wanted to ruin my entire life.)

I took a deep breath and tried to compartmentalize. There was nothing I could do from hundreds of miles away, so I focused on the present and tried to enjoy the trip.

As the sun started to set, Mike and I arrived at our final attraction for the day. Rather than taking the most direct route to the Devil's Lake area, we decided to take the Merrimac Ferry across the Wisconsin River. This free ferry runs 24 hours a day. It's about a seven minute ride, but was totally worth the detour.

We didn't have long to wait once we pulled into the line. They have the loading and unloading process down to an art and everything ran smoothly. The ride across was also very smooth. I was surprised by the complete lack of jostling on either end of the journey. 

There was something trippy about being on the ferry. When I stood on my own two feet at the railing, it didn't feel like we were moving at all, but if we sat in the car, you could really feel the movement! How bizarre!

The ferry ride ended up being my favorite part of the day.

Truck's first boat ride.  

Once we were across the river,  I started looking for a place for us to spend the night. We drove by Devil's Lake, which was originally my Wisconsin destination to explore. 

A friend's husband is very high up in the hotel industry and has all kinds of discount codes for Marriott hotels. He got us set up as I navigated to the nearest Fairfield. His timing was perfect and he got everything finalized just as Mike pulled into the hotel parking lot.

I went inside where a man who looked and sounded like Michel from Gilmore Girls was working the front desk. I asked if they had any vacancies, and with his delightful French accent he said, "No.... no...." with a look of pity that implied that I'm clearly an idiot.

Oh boy.

Back to my Hilton app I went. I was able to book the last room at a Hilton Garden Inn some miles away.

Thus we arrived at Wisconsin Dells. This was also in my travel book and I had it earmarked as a possible place to explore. 

While I had researched the various hikes and nature-adjacent activities in the area, I somehow completely missed the fact that Wisconsin Dells is the waterpark capital of the world. Sad trombone. This means it is a booming resort town. And we were there on opening weekend! No wonder there were no last minute vacancies to be found!!!

We got checked into our hotel, at which point we were too exhausted to face the crowds and go back out to dinner. Instead, we had a balanced meal of hotel lobby food. In my case, this meant a chicken wrap, an individually wrapped pickle, and a frozen Snickers bar, washed down with some Mountain Dew. Dinner of champions, friends. 

That night, we climbed into our separate queen beds, grateful simply to have made it to Wisconsin. Tomorrow's adventure would have to wait.