Trip and Stay with My Sister In Two Rivers, WI.

                               Wednesday 7/31/2013

We had some last minutes changes in our route and an extra passenger. I originally wanted to go through Minnesota to Duluth, and take the roads around Lake Superior into Canada. Joe felt we didn't have enough time for that route, so than I suggested we go to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and then down thru Michigan. Since we decided this was our new route, I wanted to stop to see my little sister Nancy who I had not seen for 4 years. I asked my mom if she would like to ride with us to Nancy's (she would have to find a way back on her own like a bus) but she said no. Then my mom found out that Nancy was going to fly to Jacksonville, FL. a few days after we arrived to see her son Dustin and her grandson Bentley, so she decided she would come after all. She has never seen Bentley and he just turned two. We took Hwy 150 to Independence, IA., then we turned east on I-20 to Dubuque and crossed the mighty Mississippi. On the other side of the bridge we arrived in Illinois for a couple miles, than we entered Wisconsin.

The ride was smooth and after a couple of hours we looked for a rest spot.

We saw a BP gas station sign and pulled off the next exit.

If you don't have a kitchen on board, there is a restaurant at this stop.

We had a quick lunch stop, and then got back on the rode. As we left the Belmont BP, we saw the crazy cow flashing her udders trying to get our attention for a saloon stop. Not happening that day!

Back on the road, everything continued to be smooth. When we went through Madison, there were some hairy spot even with our GPS directing us. Once we got into the left lane for our exit, only to find out 2 seconds later we had to get in the right lane for the next exit. Try changing lanes quickly when you are almost 55 feet long. I have been through Madison several times in a car with my mom and older sister, and 9 times out of ten we have missed our turn. I thought since we had a GPS we would be OK, but even then, it was tricky. Shortly after we got out of Madison, I heard Joe say words that always makes my heart stop. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I knew it meant trouble. I had been on my I-pad, and immediately looked up, as our Nest went from 55mph to 30mph very quickly. A semi-truck and car went zooming by us on the left, as I notice something large in our lane and approaching us fast. Joe quickly checked the left lane in his side view mirror before he pulled over to miss the washing machine in our lane. Just as he switched lanes he saw the lid to the machine in the left lane, and managed to skim between both hazards just in time. Down another mile we came to a truck pulling a flat bed with rails and it had at least 10 washing machines piled on the back of it. It was pulled to the side of the road, and a man had pulled two other washing machine that had fallen off to the side of the road. Wow, I was so glad I called my angels before we left Cedar Rapids. Because mom was with us that day, our check and balance routine seemed a bit off. Just before we left CR, I told Joe I hadn't call our angles. I went outside and circled the Nest and Honda as I called our angles to come and to protect our Nest, Honda, Joe, Malllery, Mom and myself. I also take authority over Satan, in the Name and Blood of Jesus, telling him he can not touch us. I have done this every time before we hit the road on our 5 years of travel. Only one time did I forget, and had to do it while we were driving. This practice is something I learned from Kenneth Copeland Ministries from one of his many TV programs, tapes or meeting I had listened to or attended.
After about another 30 minutes, we hit an unexpected storm. The wind started to blow real strong, and it rained so hard, 3/4 of the cars on the interstate had pulled to the side. Joe slowed down to 40 mph and kept going. He didn't feel he had enough room to pull over, even though I told him I thought he should. He drove in these conditions for about 15 minutes. Then about 10 minutes later, Joe was changing from the left lane back to the right lane, and all of the sudden, a car zoomed in front of us from the right just in time, before we hit it. The car had got in Joe's blind spot and he had not seen it. In all our travels for the last 5 years, we have never drove in a worse storm, nor had to dodge something in the road, and never almost hit another car. I can't believe we had all three things happen to us in one day's travel. Thank you God, Jesus, and Angles for watching over us that day!

We pulled into the Beaver Dam Super Wal-Mart for the night and so glad the drive was over.

That evening this is the black looking sky we saw out our Nest window. Thankfully it was a quiet night for sleep, and must have pass on by.

The next day was a short drive to Sheboygan, WI on Hwy. 23, and than we turned north on I-43 to Two River, WI. As we  got close to Two Rivers, we got our first glimpse of Lake Michigan.

Two Rivers, WI. has a population of 11,712 and sits on the west coast of Lake Michigan.

My sister Nancy and her husband Jim, have lived in Two Rivers for 10 years now.

The town of Two Rivers is a quiet and cute little town, and the towns people seem to take a lot of pride in their maintenance of their yards and homes.

We pulled up along the road in front of Jim's garage and city farm. They bought this lot that is to the right and behind them, so they could have a larger yard for another garage and a place for his garden.

We were going to park in the drive of his extra lot, but the drive look pretty narrow and a challenge to back into without hitting the board lined drive.

This view shows the walls and sidewalks, Jim has been working on in their lot next to their garage/screened in porch. The garage also has a loft, which they haven't decided what they are going to use it for, and a fruit cellar below the garage.

This is Nancy and Jim's home from the front. You can see their extra garage with the screen porch behind and to the right of them.

Nancy, Jim and Mom were going to Milwaukee in a couple of days to their neighbor's daughter's wedding. At the last minute, Jim decided to ask his neighbor's Jeff and Debbie, if we could stay in their driveway because they were leaving that afternoon for Milwaukee, and would be gone for 3 nights. As you can see they were nice and let us stay there. Nancy and Jim's driveway in front of their house is not long enough for our 40 ft rig. When we stayed here 4 years ago in our 36 ft rig, we just fit.

That afternoon Nancy had to go to work in Green Bay, and Jim worked on a ramp he was putting in behind his extra garage.

Mom shows us Nancy and Jim's well manicured backyard. They are big yard, flower and garden people.

The next evening we were treated with a dinner of grilled bruats, fresh salad & fix'ins, and green beans from their garden. For dessert we got yogurt with fresh blackberries and raspberries from their garden also. (I put this first picture in to show off their yard patio).

The next morning Nancy, Jim, and mom left for the wedding in Milwaukee. They stayed in a hotel that night, then the three of them flew to Jacksonville, FL to see Nancy's son Dustin and her 2 year old grandson Bentley. We packed up the Nest the morning they left for the wedding and went to a campground in Two Rivers, where we currently are.