Wonderful Wisconsin

 July, 2023         Port Washington

          We arrived in Port Washington on July 6th after a brief cruise down from Manitowoc.  As I said in the last blog, we were assigned a t-head which we totally dominated.  Our first stop was a local restaurant /bar for a maneuver schlook.  Unfortunately, we chose poorly.  The beer was good - a dark brew called Moose Drowl- but the salads were certainly not worth what we paid.  

        We rode our bikes to the Coal Dock Park and then on to the original lighthouse up the hill.  Unfortunately the light house is only open to the public on weekends so we’d have to make a return trip the next day.

        The following morning we struck out early to ride to the Peir Lighthouse and then to the originalPort Washington Lighthouse.

1860 Port Washington Lighthouse

     We took the tour of the lighthouse and we’re pleasantly surprised.  It’s a very unique light.  It housed a 4th order Fresnel Lens that was lit by an oil lanter that was placed inside the lens.   To get to the lantern room you had to climb two ladders that basically went straight up.   We signed a release form before they would let us climb.  Others in our group chose not to attempt it.

Pierhead Light

    The Pier Head Light marks the entrance to  Port Washington Harbor.   It was built in 1935 to replace the original light up on the hill. It is still and active aid to navigation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

     Bob and I try to keep in shape by riding our bicycles every chance we get.  Port Washington was on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail.  We suited up and got our water and computers and hit the trail.   We rode to the village of Grafton, mostly through farm lands.   It was a pretty ride and we even saw some wildlife (deer and rabbits).

      I must say that the marina in Port Washington is one of the best we have stayed in so far.  They had all the appropriate safety gear, beautiful restrooms and the grounds were like a park.Too bad we couldn’t stay longer but it was time to move on.   Milwaukee and the Harley-Davidson Museum were next on our list.

 Milwaukee Lighthouse

McKinley Marina gas dock where we checked in and we’re assigned a t-head

Sandra’s Mom, Sandra Foppiano, and Clare

We had reservations at the McKinley Marina right downtown.   It just so happened that a great friend from Texas and sailing buddy was in Milwaukee visiting relatives.   It would be a double header for us. So we left Port Washington and cruised south to Milwaukee.

     WOW - This was one BIG. Marina.   They lay claim to 655 slips.   When we arrived they directed us to the fuel dock to get our slip assignment.  We couldn’t understand docking twice but followed orders.  We took up most of their fuel dock but there was no one waiting so we didn’t feel too bad.   Once assigned our t-head we left the fuel dock and head out to F dock.   Friendly neighbors helped us tie up  because there were no dockhands to be seen.  We decided to walk back to the main office/restaurant for a quick lunch since Sandra would be arriving in a couple of hours.   We’ll it became apparent why you got your slip assignment at the fuel dock.   The walk back to the office was about 1/2mile.  We bought a maneuver schlook and sat and watch people trying to launch their boats then walked back to Carolina for our lunch.  I’m counting that as exercise!

     We had a lovely visit with Sandra Foppiano and her mother .  Mom is not as spry as she used to be but she was a real trooper and climbed up our boarding ladder and onto the back porch.  Sandra took me to the grocery while Bob entertained Mom.  It was so good to see them both.  We would have kept them longer but they had a busy schedule before leaving for NC.

   The following day we brought the bikes ashore and figured out a route mostly on the Oak Leaf Trail to the Harley-Davidson Museum.  We stuck out like sore thumbs pulling into the museum on bicycles….but we did get to park right up front.

More bikes than you could shake a stick at!

A snappy little racer

Bob on a Fat Boy

It a wonderful museum with lots of static displays but we both wanted a bit more of the technical information.  We stopped at Grassroots Salad Co. for lunch and had wonderful salads.  Our salad chef knew what he was doing and we were very pleased.  The ride back to the boat was a bit shorter - we didn’t take Bob’s “short cut”.  Now it was time to prepare for a cruise further south to Racine.  Remember you can track us at share.garmin.com/PerkinsCarolina