Terri and Peter's RV Adventures

With one last full day before heading to Racine and beginning time with family and friends, my next door camper friends, Kevin and Jen, the teachers I referenced yesterday, said there was a farmers’ market in Two Rivers. So off I went. I ended up seeing more of Two Rivers but no farmers’ market.

(Above: the trail a walk away from our campground. One of Lily’s many happy places.)

Just as I was about to turn around, I saw a mileage sign saying Manitowoc was six miles away. One of my college roommates had been from Manitowoc and I was mildly curious enough to go six miles. It’s an interesting town of more than 35,000 people and must be a county seat given the court buildings and bail bondsmen and defense lawyers storefronts. It definitely has more going on than Two Rivers, including a farmers’ market.

I’ve only seen white people since we’ve been in Wisconsin. And here, at the farmers’ market, it struck me as funny because this was where I found diversity. Every booth save one was run by a Hmong person. The other booth was managed by an Amish family and their produce was picture perfect. The other vegetable booths were very attractive especially to these eyes longing for real, fresh produce. Unfortunately, all the vendors were cash only and I had a whopping $4 in cash. (I’ve been living off credit cards since I haven’t found my bank for a few months.) This older Hmong woman took pity on me and threw in a zucchini with the peas I bought for $4. It was a lovely experience nonetheless and like the farmers’ market in Interlochen, gave me a feel for the community.

On the way back, we stopped at a long stretch of Lake Michigan beach and you guessed it, tried to wear out Lily once again. I noticed a car ferry that crosses the lake from Manitowoc to Michigan. I had no idea there were ferries that did that. Apparently the one from Milwaukee is the shortest, taking two and a half hours to cross. That gives you a sense of the enormous size of Lake Michigan.

The afternoon entertainment was an exciting thunderstorm but nothing like a few days ago. It rumbled, rained and left us with a warm, humid blanket of air. Yes, 92% humidity. I know I’ll be longing for this when we are back west in the dry desert air and heat. Right now it’s plain sticky and I’ve had to replenish my supply of bug spray.

After the storm, we grilled our Door County salmon, corn on the cob and asparagus, our summertime staple these days. Lily gravitated over to her adopted family, the teachers, Jen and Kevin, and their two young daughters. We struck up more conversation about how much drinking there is in Wisconsin (and they’re proud of it). They have a saying, “Drink Wisconsinably.” If you have to have a saying, it kind of says it all.

We also talked about the local favorite, cheese curds, that I guess I need to find and try. Fresh is best but of course everything can be fried. I’m not sure if cheese curds will be in my future on this trip but you never know.

Tomorrow, it’s Racine, a short two hour trip south along the lake and past Milwaukee. I may write tomorrow night but then I’ll take a break and not bore you with the friends and family and visiting my and Peter’s hometown of Highland Park, IL. Then, it’s Taos and Santa Fe for five days. So, maybe I will rejoin you in two weeks as Peter and I take two days in Ojo Caliente, a natural hot springs outside of Santa Fe before what I expect to be a three night trip home: Flagstaff, Kingman, AZ, Bakersfield and then home around August 6 or 7. Thanks for following along!