Trying to Get to the Apostle Islands

The Fog kept us in.

The Black Flies!

On my trip to Wisconsin, I was looking forward to visiting the Apostle Islands.  Situated in the very northern part of the state, it was a 5 1/2 hour drive from Madison (where I flew into).  I had allotted 3 days time in the area, thinking that was plenty to experience the small town, the lake, the islands and the area's natural beauty.  I had planned on several boat and kayak tours, hiking and exploring.  BUT, mother nature, with an assist from the airlines, had other plans.  I was delayed, fogged out, rained on and swarmed with biting black flies.  All of that was not going to keep me from seeing them - I had come too far!

Sea Caves at Devil's Island

The Apostle Islands are a more recent park in the system.  The National Lakeshore was established on the south shore of Lake Superior in 1970; it protects a collection of small islands off the northern coast of Wisconsin for their sheer beauty (i.e. their scenic, biological, geological, historical architectural and wilderness resources).  These low sitting islands checker the lake breaking the smooth water with strips of green.  A few of them still house historic fishing camps and others have lighthouses.

I had never been to Lake Superior.  I was ready to dip my toes in its waters,   I was drawn to the pictures of the flat coastal rocks.  I was looking forward to the sea cave system.  It looked peaceful.  And really, it was tranquil. That tranquility was necessary since my vacation began with stress - I missed my flight out of DC, my next flight was delayed and I missed my connection as a result.  I can't blame United since I would have made the connection if I had made my original initial flight.  So, I spent 5 hours in Chicago waiting for a 20 minute flight.  By the time I finally landed in Madison, I had just enough time to make it for my ghost tour in Bayfield.  Gone was my plan to stop at cheese factories and the Great Lakes Visitor's Center.  I need to power drive (all those drives up and down I-95 come in handy at times like these).

My plan when arriving in Bayfield was to quickly check into my Bed and Breakfast and run to meet my tour.  I made it (whew) and got my first taste of obstacles for the weekend - the small town was under construction and the rain and fog would not let go...  it made for a spooky evening, but was not ideal for my plans for daylight.  Still, the ghost and historical tour provided some great stories.  Apparently, the local B&B's look for ghost stories and histories in their accommodations; we were told a great story of how one proprietor went looking for one since they thought that they were at a disadvantage.  They asked other ghosts to come to their home.  When they finally got their wish, they ended up with a bad accordion player ghost.  See, cute!  We also learned some of the history of the area and the islands - founded for timber, brownstone and fishing; as the area was settled, farming took a foothold and the cows took over downtown!

My birthday was to be celebrated with the Grand Tour of the islands.  Instead, I woke up to thunder

and pouring rain.  By the time it was time to load the boat, the rain stopped (yeah), but a thick fog, Scooby Doo fog, started rolling in off the Lake (boo).  Our captain tried to wait it out.  Alas, it was not to be.  He called it off and also admitted to me that the afternoon tour of the shipwrecks would be a bust since the rain kicked up the silt.  Damn!

I contacted a kayak outfitter that could fit me in a tour.  I figured fog couldn't hurt if we weren't going out too far.  I was all ready to sign up for the excursion, when they mentioned wet suits... I did not pack a wet suit.  I did not have a bathing suit to wear under one of the generics they had.  I was going to Wisconsin, I wasn't planning on swimming.  And hey, I have kayaked in Alaska and never needed a wet suit... what was this about?  So, off to the Park headquarters I went.  There, the fantastic rangers told me to head to Madeline Island on the car ferry, there I could visit the state park (if I could deal with the mud).  So, off on my first car ferry adventure I went!

Searching for the Meaning of the Red Barn

I am back from my trip through America's dairy land.  And, while I must sit down, go through my pictures and sort through the souvenirs, I have really been pondering a common site that I passed in Wisconsin and Iowa - the big red barn.  Sure, it is the iconic image of the American farm.  The rolling green land waving in the breeze with a field of animals nearby and that Big Red Barn in the background.  I really thought that was pure imagery.  I have been through plenty of farmland - Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Pennsylvania... heck, I grew up in New Jersey and yes, there is plenty there too.  But I really never took that iconic red barn in like I did this trip.  It seemed like every direction I looked, I was staring out at the red barn.  That left me wondering - why red?

Home now, I have time to look into this.  My first instincts was that red was a purposeful color choice.  I would have guessed that red was a color that was good for cows (because there sure were plenty of those in dairy land).  My second guess would have  been that red stands out well in the land of green and when you are out on endless acres of farmland, you just look for the red to head back.  But what do I know?  Well, I don't know squat about red barns... because after a bit of digging, I have found 2 main schools of thought on the choice of color (and one more in depth analysis):

1. The Historic Choice - (a) The area was heavily settled by Scandinavians, Germans and Irish.  Apparently the Scandinavians had preference for red farmhouses and barns (the famous Falu farg red paint, from Sweden's massive copper mine)... (b) The "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories:
   • Wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red.
   • Farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.
   Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse.
2. The Economic Choice - Red Paint is Cheap!!!  According to some, One of the biggest reasons for red pigment being cheaper is because it spreads much thinner and still produces an opaque coating. The pigment in paint, if opaque,  serves to absorb ultraviolet light thereby vastly extending the life of the coating. Red pigment, whatever it is always has the most opacity of any color. Equalling cheap in two different ways. Cheap to buy (just dirt) and cheap to use (goes a long way) bonus; paint lasts longer.
3. The Scientific Choice - Red Paint is Cheap!!   What makes a cheap pigment? Obviously, that it’s plentiful. The red pigment that makes cheap paint is red ochre, which is just iron and oxygen. These are incredibly plentiful: the Earth’s crust is 6% iron and 30% oxygen. Oxygen is plentiful and affects the color of compounds it’s in by shaping them, but the real color is determined by the d-electrons of whatever attaches to it: red comes from iron.  (like blues and greens from copper, a beautiful deep blue from cobalt).

I feel better now... even though I don't think we need blood in our paint mix, and last time I check all paint costs the same now... I am still stuck on why red persists today, except to guess that it is tradition and it looks striking.  Somehow I do not think that a big yellow barn would make the same statement.

(and thank you to howstuffworks.com, the farmers almanac, the Smithsonian and boingboing.net for help in me solving this pretty mystery).

Attack of the Black Flies in the North Woods

Quickly checking in from the Northern Woods of Wisconsin.  Mother Nature decided to celebrate my birthday with me!  I got thunderstorms, thick fog, gigantic swarms of biting black flies, and a supermoon...well, I missed the moon, but I heard it was great.  My plan was to spend the 23rd on Lake Superior seeing the Apostle Islands, the fog had other ideas, the back up plan of seeing the shipwrecks was defeated by the pouring rain that stirred up silt.  That is why it is good to have a 3rd alternative (or seek advice from the local park rangers.). I hopped the car ferry to Madeline Island and took for to Big Bay State Park.  And while the hike along the bay view trail was full of the fabulous views of the famous flat rock coastline, I had to balance my desire to take pictures with the need to swat the stinging flies.  The flies were so dense that you would have sworn I was wearing black pants.  A walk in the sand brought my toes in contact with the Lakes's 42 degree water....

Today I tried for the tour again.  It was a beautiful, warm day.  Perfect for a boat ride around the islands.  Well, perfect until the boat slowed down by Devil's Island to view the sea caves.  While idling, we must have drifted over a multivoltine hatch because the boat was swarmed by thousands of biting black flies!  We spend the whole trip back swatting, jumping and moving around.  The poor boat crew used vacuums to try and suck them up, Windex (since they say the flies don't like it), and offered free "Off", though I swear it does not work.

It wasn't all bad though.  The views were stunning.  Frogs sung me to sleep at night.  I saw a bald eagle drive for food-talons out and ready.  I heard coyotes and wolves howling in the woods.  I met a very nice family from Minnesota who celebrated my birthday with me.  I had a a fun ghost tour...and I took my camera out and might have gotten off a few god shots.  I will post them when I return (and hopefully you can't see the flies).  Now I am off to the big city - Milwaukee here I come.

Memorial Day on the Great White Way

I have been itching to see some new Broadway shows for a while.  While I have been in DC for 13 years now, I have never been able to stop mourning the loss of convenient Broadway.  I love the theatre and miss it terribly.  So, when the opportunity arises, I go and see a show… or in the case of this weekend I see 5 shows.  Before you think me truly crazy, know that only 3 were Broadway shows; one was an off Broadway production at Union Square and the last was something that I can’t quite put into a category… but still, 5 shows in 2 ½ days is a record for me, and I have done crazy Broadway binges before.

That said, I have to admit I am still on a buzz from seeing Pippen.  Holy Wow.  It was insanely amazing.  There is not a weak link in this show… the players, the show in a show, the circus, the colors and that incredible wall of sound.  The company blends and they just blow your hair back with their intensity.   If you are headed to Broadway – go see this show.

That is not to say that the other shows I saw were no good.  Each of our choices were award worthy.  The costume magic in Cinderella is enough of a reason to see the show the dress transformations left the audience audibly gasping.  But it was the voice of Laura Osnes and the character acting of Harriet Harris that really make the show.   They play off each other and the rest of the company to make the show shine like that glass slipper.  And then there was Once, a show about the love of music and how it transforms our souls.  Not a happy ending, but filled with talented musicians, singing and playing and just enjoying each other.  I would say the best thing about this show was the jam sessions the company had before the show and during intermission… worthy Irish pub music.

Planning to Bring My List to 6!

My desire to see all the states still remains.  Currently, there is a car commercials with a young woman on the same quest.  I have no doubt that there are many out there with the same itch.  I have met a few on my travels and everyone has their own interpretation of what a "visit" means.  For some, driving through counts, for others it is a layover in an airport.  I know someone that wants to go for a dip in a river or lake in all the states.  For me - my quest is to create a memory in each state.  I want to see something, do something.  I want to be able to tell anyone that asks what I have done in any state on the list.  Now, some states I cover better than others, but so far I have remained true to my rules (otherwise I would have 3 less states on my to-do list). 

It has been almost a year since I knocked Arkansas off my list.  It is time to pick a new target, so I started planning.  Next month, I will be taking myself on a one week journey.  I am visiting the lands of cheese and corn - I am headed to Wisconsin and Iowa.  Yeah me!!!!

Now I know some of you may be laughing but I have a full fledged trip planned.  I am headed in all directions in Wisconsin and will cross the border twice into Iowa for two different experiences.  The plan is to touch as many cornerstones of my travel wishes as possible.  First up will be a visit to 2 national park units - Apostle Islands in Wisconsin and Effigy Mounds in Iowa.  To counterbalance, I will be soaking up city culture in Milwaukee and Madison.  My love of aquatic life will be quenched by visits to three aquarium like facilities - the Great Lakes Center (Ashland, WI), the Mississippi River Aquarium (Dubuque, Iowa) and the state aquarium in Milwaukee, as well as tours of the islands.  I plan for art in Milwaukee and Dubuque Iowa; I plan for history in Mineral Springs and Bayfield. The sports lover in me hopes to get a turn this trip because I hope to grab a seat at the Brewers game (they are playing the Cubs).  I plan to go hiking and maybe kayaking.  I hope to be spooked and informed on a ghost tour in Bayfield.  And then I found some quirky stuff to visit- the National Mustard Museum  in Middleton and a troll lined Main Street in Mount Hoerob. Fun shopping from local artisians and urban neighborhoods should fill some evenings.   And of course, I plan to stop throughout Cheeseland to visit Cheese-making stores and Creameries. 

I know it is a lot of driving and an ambitious goal for a week... but I think I can do it all.  And with these states, I will be left with 6 states on my list.  The Great Lakes is my greatest cluster, so Wisconsin and Iowa will be a great accomplishment.  I hope to comeback with many pictures and stories... and then I will be ready for one of those vacations where you sleep on the beach all day!

You Don't Need Calgon for Quick Trips Away

For the last several months I have been city hopping.  Not spending too long in any location to write whole posts; just enough time to see 1 or 2 things in a place,  Enough time to “get away” and keep my mind busy.  These trips are typically in my urban corridor – I-95 – travel.  It is what makes living on the east coast a blessing to those that like all the features cities have to offer.  I can take a quick drive to Richmond to see an art exhibit at the Virginia Art museum or go in the opposite direction visit Baltimore, Philly, the Big Apple.  Sure, DC is great too, but with tourist season in high gear (Cherry Blossom festival, spring break and now schools getting out soon), the city can be a more trafficky than normal for this congested place. Add to this the fact that I am no longer traveling for work and I have been ready to bolt.   So, like I said, I have been trying to keep busy.

Philadelphia, how I love thee.  I went to grad school in the Philly area.  It holds a special place in my heart.  It is an underrated city too often passed over between New York and DC.  It is easy to stay in city center, where you are so close to so much – a short walk to the museums, Rittenhouse Square, the city hall cross roads…plenty to eat, lots to see.   I headed back a few times this year – once to take a friend to the Titanic exhibit at the Franklin Institute and another to see the orchid show at the Academy of Natural Science.  For anyone that has seen the Titantic exhibit – you know what this is all about.  You get a boarding ticket as you walk in and by the end of the journey (after seeing artifacts, and learning about the ship, its structure, layout and faults) you are told if you lived or died on the journey.  Now, I have never been a Titanic-a-holic.  I know some people are, and I imagine that many of the 20 somethings today that claim to be obsessed with the ship came at it from the movie.  I can understand that to a degree – but what I do not understand is the need to take pictures of yourself on a replica of the Titanic grand staircase.  Can someone explain that to me… to take a picture of yourself (or pay to have a picture taken by the professional) on a staircase replica of a ship that went down?  Seems strange to me.  If you want pictures – take them of the artifacts (there are lots), but please don’t smile on the fake stairs of a ship that went down in cold frigid waters sending people to their icy deaths.  It seems wrong!  The orchid show was filled with completely different kinds of fanatics – orchid growers.  I dragged my sister with me to look at pretty flowers and fantastic arrangements (pictures to come) and we even sat in one of the lectures.  I wanted to learn more about orchids to help my TWO plants flower again.  And it was at that lecture where we learned that we were out of our league… the lecturer referred to the casual orchid lover as those in the audience with 10-15 plants at home!  My sister and I looked at each other and choked down a laugh.  Still the show was gorgeous, we bought some stuff at the flower market and enjoyed ourselves as uber-casual observers of those with bright green thumbs! 

 Baltimore, close to DC but oh so different.  It is famous for its Inner Harbor and rightfully so.  You have a whole tourist weekend packed into that area of the city, bumping into Little Italy, Brewers Hill and Fells Point – shopping, eating, touring all connected by watertaxi and sidewalks (and regular cabs).  No need to drive all over.  One weekend, my sister and my niece came down for a trip to the National Aquarium and a special behind the scenes shark tour.  If you have never gone behind the scenes at an aquarium, I would highly recommend it.  Small groups, resident experts, special areas to visit – it is worth the money and it all goes to a good cause.  Our special tour took us to the kitchen, to the bowels of the facility where the water was monitored and processed, to the lab, and even to the catwalk over the shark tank.  It was funny to watch many of the kids tell the guide implicitly that they would not walk over the sharks… yet after our magic tour, every one of them did.  And after the tour, we saw the rest of the place.  It was my niece’s first time there, and the sheer joy in her face at the dolphin show made the day perfect.  Another trip to Baltimore had me meeting up with a Jersey friend for the day…we met at Fell’s Point on the day the Boston PD locked down their city.  And sitting at a restaurant for my friend, a television showed an interview with a Baltimore local – a woman who was the mother of a girl who was dating someone who went to school with one of the bombers… got that?  I didn’t.  Who wants that kind of attachment.  I watched her story of “no I never met him.”  “all the kids seem so nice.”  I realized that she was in taped in the very place I was sitting, in the seat I was in.  See, now I can say I sat in the seat of a woman whose daughter dated a guy that went to school with him.  That is no more ridiculous.  Anyway, the Boston bombings was all anyone talked about that day as we walked about Fells Point into the boutiques, galleries and bigger stores … that stuff knocks you to your core.  So when my friend and I decided to go to the movies, we were completely disconnected for 2 hours… and those 2 hours were when the whole capture went down… now, our dinner waiter was happy to fill us in while we ate fantastic Hawaiian food and we chatted our relief.  A city filled with strangers cheering for a city hundreds of miles away filled with people they really did not know. 

Sometimes it’s nice to live so close to so much… and coming up, I have a fun filled weekend in New York (I have Broadway shows to catch up on).  I have not been “home” since MLK Day so it is time!

Girls Weekend in Seattle

My closest friend moved to Seattle last summer.  While we chat, text, email, it is not the same.  Anyone that has had a good friend move, knows that sad feeling of losing a close confidant.  So, what is a travel girl to do?  Well, visit Seattle of course.  Before she moved, I had only been to Seattle once for an amazing weekend (with a "then" significant other).  I had done lots - seeing shows, touring underground, the riding to the top of the space needle, meandering market, and taking in general sites of this Northwest gem. 

In the fall of 2012, I made my first visit to see my relocated friend and in that trip I went back to the market (for amazing flowers, jewelry, art, food, and to watch the fish fly)… I was mesmerized by the curds and whey being stirred across the street at a cheese shop.  I quacked like a duck on a duck tour – and was exposed to Gas Plant Park for the first time.  It was this gorgeous park on the lake (with floating homes) – the plant was a deep copper that stood out against the green grass, the blue sky and blue lake.  It makes perfect sense as to why people would want a floating home (barring the real story of the too expensive real estate for dock workers back in the day). 

I headed to the main city park (home of the space needle) to visit the Chihuly Garden and remained lost in its colors for almost 5 hours (see the pictures in the bar on the right).  For anyone that has ever stared at a glass sculpture and marveled at the color and the shape – you have this man to think.  A pioneer in the glass blowing arts, his work literally takes your breath away.  This garden – both indoor and outdoor – covered many of his different styles from vases, to lighting, to the gigantic chandeliers, to the glass columns to the ceiling installations.  I almost did not want to leave – BUT I wanted to visit the EMP museum for Pop Culture.  It is just a stunning building; from the outside it reminded me of the Disney Concert Hall in LA.  On the inside, it is filled with pop culture artifacts and on this visit including a exhibit on science fiction with props, costumes and drawings from the touch-stones of Sci-Fi like Star Wars and Star Trek.  A special bonus was the special exhibit on Horror and Suspense and with that, showcased a prop from Buffy the Vampire Slayer … ahhh, yes, pop culture heaven!

Planning the March trip, I knew I needed it to be different, I was going for a more relaxed touring option.  I was in desperate need of some quality girl time.  Obviously, I knew it would be cold, rainy and most likely not great weather.  That was okay, because my friend cooked up a great cure for my blues... starting at "The Garage", we ate burgers while she and her new Seattle friends teased me about the surprise evening.  That could not start before we stopped by Molly Moon's for some fancy gourmet ice cream... It was unique, it was yummy and it came with a helping of snarky, rude generic Seattle hipsters.  Yep, can't be in Seattle without having judgment passed on you... and judgment they dished.  Here we are, walking out of the shop and down the street when 4 kids start with their commentary on how white-people love their ice cream (in any weather).  If they wanted to be snarky, I was going to let my Jersey flag shine - I just as "discreetly" told my friends that we needed to stop before I said something to the hipsters that must have missed the fact that they were (1) white and (2) dressed as ever other hollywood hipster presented... their uniqueness was just painfully bland and that they were trying too damn hard.  Ohhhh black boots, torn stockings, fitted jeans, flannel shirts, and hats... ohhhh!  Welcome to Seattle.  With that fun done, I was lead to my surprise...

 

And that is where the evening kicked into high gear and down an alley to the opening night of Brief Encounters.  Bringing me back to my college days where I worked off steam at club Shampoo (in Philly), this place was perfect.  Not too big and yet big enough to really let loose.  The dancers warmed up to us easily… my friends had met a few of them earlier at another local event AND we got there hours early.  It is true that sitting in a club with the lights on ruins the illusion, so the best way to stay distracted is good friends and goofing off with the dancers before the show.  The men made sure we remained happy – raining gifts and drinks upon us throughout the night… After the showcased dancing (and making our way through our singles), we stayed to get our groove on.  Dancing my stress away – I finally had to call it a night when the clock passed what was 5am on the east coast.  Sometimes it’s nice to know that I can still hang!

My Seattle trip last fall centered around a trip to Key Arena to see Madonna – don’t ask too many details… the concert was a big flop.  I had never been so disappointed in a show.  The most recent trip brought me back to the Key Arena – only this time instead of seeing a pop icon utterly fall on her face, we watched women on skates fall instead… YEP, we went to ROLLER DERBY.  If you have never been to a derby, I highly recommend you research your local team and head on over… it is a blast.  Rat City Rollers put on 2 matches with varying skill levels and talent.  The concept of derby is simple – you have one player (aka jammer) that must pass the other team on a circular course while the other team’s blockers do their damnedest to block her path.  It can lead to some spectacular take downs, maneuvering, and chases.  Yes, there is strategy in the game – with 10 people on the course, you can bet that the teams have plans… but if you ask me (or any of my friends in attendance), a chunk of the fun on roller derby comes not from the skating but from the creativity – you have some awesome names and some very creative outfits… so Derby On!!!