BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

Marion Robert Morrison was born May 26, 1907 in Winterset, Madison County, Iowa. He is better known by his stage name, John Wayne, The Duke, one of my heroes of the big screen. We visited the tiny home place where he was born; a small 4 room house on a corner lot next door to the John Wayne memorabilia gift shop, which, incidentally, wasn't there when the Duke grew up here. In fact, he was 3 years old when his parents moved away from Winterset, so he didn't grow up here AT ALL! The gift shop actually wanted $7 to tour his house. That was more than the National Eagle Center wanted to have a personal encounter with BALD EAGLES!

What is it with homesteads for young super stars? At the Abe Lincoln boyhood home, Obama closed the outdoor toilets because money was tight in Washington (sequestering). And now, Baby Marion's family wants $7 to let you look inside a tiny house where a 3-YEAR OLD ran around, and made it clear NO PHOTOS ALLOWED! What's with that?? HE WAS ONLY 3!! *sigh. I figure that in BOTH CASES it's all about money! (We didn't go in).

The BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY; not a very moral movie, but it did star Clint Eastwood! We stopped by the Chamber of Commerce and picked up an area map. The kind gentleman behind the counter was eager to inform us about even more cool things to see and do in Winterset, besides John Wayne's birthplace and the 6 remaining covered bridges of Madison County.

We visited only three bridges as we needed to hit the road for York, Nebraska as soon as possible. Our first stop was to see Hogback Bridge, built in 1884. The second bridge was relocated to downtown Winterset. It's called Cutler-Donahue Bridge, built in 1870. The third and last was Roseman Bridge, built in 1883. It was made more famous by the 1995 movie that starred Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.

From Winterset we made a beeline towards York, Nebraska. We were scheduled to take our good friend, Derek Poole, out to dinner at 5:00. Derek attends York Christian College and is one of our "kids" at our Oregon church. We picked him up at the college and headed for a restaurant that caters to "old people", according to Derek. As we gave him complete choice where he wanted to have dinner, we felt like this must be one of his favorite places to go.

We had a great dinner, even though they lost electrical power the whole time we sat there! Afterwards, Derek showed us around the York Campus, introducing us to some of his friends along the way.

We had a great visit! Derek seems to be doing well. He will get home about 4 days after we get home.

Tomorrow morning we will have breakfast with another young man from the Metro Church in Portland, then we head to the Black Hills of South Dakota!

WABASHA, MN

WABASHA, MN to AMES, IO

We wanted to visit a bonafide Amish Cheese Factory this morning, so we headed on a 20 mile country drive to Cashton, WI to the Old Country Cheese Factory. It was a beautiful drive along two-lane country roads and Amish farms. The small cheese factory buys milk from over 230 Amish Farmers to keep their cheese business going. You can buy cheese from them by visiting their web site. They ship.

After purchasing a few chunks of select cheese we headed north towards WABASHA, MN. Along the way, the giant Mississippi River was a beautiful sight. Here in the north country, this river is very wide, very deep, and very clear. The water is cold and clean; so much different from parts of the Muddy Mississippi in the South!

In Wabasha, we made our way to the National Eagle Center at the edge of town on the shores of the Mississippi River. They exist to keep our National Birds alive. The half dozen Eagles in their care are permanently disabled. Two were hit by automobiles and have damaged wings. At leas here, they get a chance to live. It was pretty cool to be only inches away from these amazingly majestic birds. I had never been around these huge birds before. Seeing them sit in trees across the Mississippi River was nothing compared to watching them up close!

Tonight we rest in the Comfort Inn in Ames, Iowa.

Tomorrow: The Bridges of Madison County!

SPARTA, WISCONSIN

SPARTA, WISCONSIN

Leaving Mackinaw City this morning, we headed north across 8mile long Mackinaw Bridge. "Big Mac" is the third longest suspension bridge in the world, spanning the Straits of Mackinac; Lake Michigan on our left and Lake Huron on our right. As we crossed the Straits we could make out the massive Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island about 10 miles away.

Near St. Ignace, we took Highway 2 West and enjoyed a quiet drive along Lake Michigan. The temperature hung around 42 degrees, dropping steadily to 36 as we drove west. Ice build-up along the shoreline varied in thickness. The winter in this part of the country was one of the toughest winters they have had in terms of snowfall and single digit temperatures.

We decided that breakfast would be in order and began watching for a place to eat. After a while we spied the White Tail Resort in Brevort, population about 650, with attached, inviting Cafe, serving home style cooking and breakfast all day!

We struck up a good conversation with the man and woman running the place and learned much about the area. This is a big recreation area for both winter and summer sports; lots of ice fishing and snow mobiles around. The waitress talked about how the citizens of Mackinaw Island and workers on the north peninsula would drive snow mobiles, or walk across the frozen Strait, a distance of 5 miles, during the cold winter. They would string out Christmas trees in a line between the two shores to give them a trail to follow. The shifting ice would cause a vehicle to be lost on occasion. It was a very dangerous crossing. She said you must drive at top speed in case there was a big crack.

We continued our drive across Michigan, passing though small towns, and into Wisconsin. Tonight we are staying outside La Crosse in Sparta. Most of the La Crosse hotels are booked up with a Blue Cross Blue Shield conference there.

Tomorrow we explore!

MACKINAW ISLAND

MACKINAW ISLAND

Michillimackinac, Mackinac, Mackinaw....No matter how you say it, the island of nearly 4 square miles has less than 500 residents....EXCEPT, during peak tourist season when more than 15,000 tourists per day flock to this tiny resort island to spend their money! Today was NOT one of those tourist days, however. We almost had the island to ourselves.

Automobiles are not allowed on the island after May 1st. They do come in handy on off season times for residents and workers who come to get everything ready for the tourists.

Ferry boat operators are kept very busy during the summer months. Today was the first day that SHEPLER's FERRY SERVICE opened to taxi between Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island. Our boat was loaded with workers and their luggage, heading to the island to live and work until April 30, readying the businesses for tourists.

Not much was open on the island today. There were a couple of restaurants open but no stores for shopping (yea!) for clothes or souvenirs. The horse drawn taxis were scarce. We found ONE after we had walked everywhere we wanted to go! It appears the horses were busy hauling supplies, building materials and appliances all over the city for the hundreds of workers who have flocked here to work for a few days.

The GRAND HOTEL is a magnificent structure; HUGE in size! It sets atop a 10 acre chunk of land overlooking Lake Huron. Opening in 1887, many dignitaries and famous people have visited the Grand Hotel, including U.S. Presidents, Thomas Edison, and Mark Twain. Six of the suites were designed and decorated by six different First Ladies.

The 385 guest rooms are often occupied throughout the summer. If you plan to stay a few days, make advanced reservations and take a fat wallet! The Grand Hotel boasts the worlds largest front porch. During season, it is filled with rocking chairs and guests relaxing and rocking, rocking and relaxing.

The Grand Hotel was made even more famous by a 1980's movie filmed on location. The movie was called SOMEWHERE IN TIME and starred Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer, and others.

Deb and I enjoyed a hot bowl of Tomato Bisque soup at the SEA BISCUIT CAFE. The little waitress admitted that Sea Biscuit's owner had never eaten there. He should have because I was excellent!

It was a cold, sunny day today. The temperature eventually climbed to 45. Ice still lines the shores of Lake Huron and piles of snow slowly melt in the cold air; the last signs of winter.....unless you also count all the snowmobiles still parked all around town!

Tomorrow we head north on I-75 across the 8 mile long Mackinac Bridge between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, on our way to Wisconsin.

Life is good!

FRANKENMUTH TO MACKINAW CITY

FRANKENMUTH, MI

Leaving Stow, Ohio, we headed North towards Detroit. It was a nice drive except the white knuckle driving through Detroit! The freeway was so dangerous with reckless daredevils, even the COPS stayed off the road!

Finally made it to the other side of town, pulled off the road, waited for the paint to catch up to the car, and grabbed a room at the Fairfield Marriott. Then just a few blocks away, we headed over to the home of the grandparents of our Vensel grandkids! Don and Vivian have a beautiful family. I think Vivian is Ami's favorite person, besides me, of course! She certainly is a nice mother-in-law to Ami.

It was great seeing them again! It had been several years since they came to Portland. As an added bonus, our good friend and their Daughter, Vonda was there visiting her parents, as their health has diminished! Vonda goes to church with us in Portland. It was good to hug on her again!

We were invited to join the family for dinner at the Blue Olive. There were quite a few who met there! They have a big family! The food was great; the visit was great, and before we knew it, it was over.

We stayed overnight in the Fairfield and left this morning.

Our first stop was in FRANKENMUTH. It's a German community where BRONNER's boasts the worlds largest Christmas Store! It was about the size of a football field! We have never seen so many Christmas things in one place! Standing inside and listening to the Christmas music; watching the animated toys; seeing the lights, one could almost believe today was Christmas! This would be a very cool place to visit during the Christmas season!

We heard about Tony's Restaurant from one of the Vensel family last night; about how good the food was and the ultra large portions! So we took a chance and went in. Debby ordered a Patty Melt that would have served two people. I ordered the Ham Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. There were enough potatoes to feed three people! The piece of ham weighed a full pound and covered the whole plate! It was quite a place! Their breakfasts are served with a full pound of Bacon! Ha!

We hit the road and headed for Mackinaw City. Debby pulled her hotel magic again and got us the $149/night beachfront room for $89 at The Hamilton Inn. Our room is huge with a large Jacuzzi in the bedroom! Crazy! The back sliding door opens to a patio barely 30 feet from Lake Huron! the edge of the beach is ice covered for 12-15 feet! Tomorrow we take the Ferry across Lake Huron to Mackinaw Island and lunch at the Grand Hotel. Should be fun!