Let me make it clear; I have never done anything that could be construed as remotely offensive to the gods or rain and wind. Never the less, it seems that every time Charlie and I plan a ride, we are plagued by high winds and torrential rain.
Take this morning as an example. We had reservations to for the 10:15 departure of the Lake Express Ferry. We left South Haven at 8:00 to arrive early enough to tie the scoots down and settle in for the two and a half hour ride to Milwaukee. On this particular occasion, it had been raining during the evening but had mostly stopped by the time we bid my daughter Kim and our friend Bonnie a fond farewell. All went well until we reached Holland; at which time the skies opened up in a blinding downpour. In all fairness, we were warned of the impending "rain" with a spectacular light show consisting of numerous air to ground lightning strikes to the accompaniment of thunderous clashes that would have made Tchaikovsky envious when he composed the 1812 Overture. We stopped at Perkins to gulp down a coffee and hoped the rain would abate. It did...kind of. We arrived at the boat just a little late, but took care of business and settled in.
The ride to Milwaukee was interesting. Did you know that there are people whose only job is to wander around the ferry's cabin collecting well used barf bags? Well, there are and yes she was busy. The stated wave heights were 5.2 ft, but both Charlie and I were convinced that this was a considerable understatement. Let me assure you there is very little to compare to the sounds of stereophonic ralphing.
We disembarked in cloudy but rainless weather. The rainless part lasted for all of half an hour when once again the skies opened (and stayed open) all the way to Madison, Wisconsin. The wind made for some interesting riding along this stretch too.
From Madison to Eau Claire it was pretty good riding, although hot and humid. At least it was dry. We opted to spend the night in Eau Claire because the thunder heads were forming again. It was about 5:00 (EST) when we signed in to the Heartland Motel. There were about 320 miles on the odometer.
Tomorrow we'll see how far past Fargo North Dakota we can get. However far we manage to go it's bound to be at least partly in foul weather.
Take this morning as an example. We had reservations to for the 10:15 departure of the Lake Express Ferry. We left South Haven at 8:00 to arrive early enough to tie the scoots down and settle in for the two and a half hour ride to Milwaukee. On this particular occasion, it had been raining during the evening but had mostly stopped by the time we bid my daughter Kim and our friend Bonnie a fond farewell. All went well until we reached Holland; at which time the skies opened up in a blinding downpour. In all fairness, we were warned of the impending "rain" with a spectacular light show consisting of numerous air to ground lightning strikes to the accompaniment of thunderous clashes that would have made Tchaikovsky envious when he composed the 1812 Overture. We stopped at Perkins to gulp down a coffee and hoped the rain would abate. It did...kind of. We arrived at the boat just a little late, but took care of business and settled in.
The ride to Milwaukee was interesting. Did you know that there are people whose only job is to wander around the ferry's cabin collecting well used barf bags? Well, there are and yes she was busy. The stated wave heights were 5.2 ft, but both Charlie and I were convinced that this was a considerable understatement. Let me assure you there is very little to compare to the sounds of stereophonic ralphing.
We disembarked in cloudy but rainless weather. The rainless part lasted for all of half an hour when once again the skies opened (and stayed open) all the way to Madison, Wisconsin. The wind made for some interesting riding along this stretch too.
From Madison to Eau Claire it was pretty good riding, although hot and humid. At least it was dry. We opted to spend the night in Eau Claire because the thunder heads were forming again. It was about 5:00 (EST) when we signed in to the Heartland Motel. There were about 320 miles on the odometer.
Tomorrow we'll see how far past Fargo North Dakota we can get. However far we manage to go it's bound to be at least partly in foul weather.
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