Memorial Day 2011

Last Memorial Day weekend we took our first big bike ride of the season on the Rawley Point and the Mariner trails in Two Rivers and Manitowac. (To keep away confusion, it was the first ride of the season, but actually our second Memorial Day ride on this trail) We decided then and there that we would make this bike ride an annual one on Memorial Day weekend, so despite cloudy skies and cool temps, we rode one of the trails. We opted not to ride the Mariner trail this time due to the windy conditions but the Rawley Point trail is by far our favorite anyway.
Here I am ready to take off. I was dressed in layers consisting of my biking shirt, a t-shirt, a hoodie, and finally my green windbreaker jacket. I decided on my jeggings at the last minute and I am so glad that I did. I was comfortable the entire 15 mile ride and didn't need to take anything off. Notice John's nice red coat? Not sure if it was my dad's or is my mom's but he grabbed it at the last minute and he was glad he had it, too. Here he is at the beginning of the trail.

Immediately we noticed a large amount of trees that had been uprooted or broken off. There must have been some very strong winds that whipped through our beloved forest. It was a mess. Here is one tree that was broken right off.

Here is our favorite little cabin buried in the forest along the bike path.

We finally made it to the concession stand and the beach. It was cool but still as beautiful as we remembered it from previous years.

After some snacks, we rode to the lighthouse.

Here I am with one of the uprooted trees. This one actually brought up some of the bike path with it.

Another uprooted tree along the path and I guess I did take my green jacket off at this point.

We headed over to Oshkosh where we were staying at the Van Auken Bread and Breakfast. The owners were in Iowa visiting friends so we had the house to ourselves. We rode the five mile loop to the point on Lake Winnabego before putting the bikes away for the day. Here is John out on the point.

And me out on the point.

We ordered Rocky's pizza and had some beers at the B and B. We had planned to go out, but once we hit the comfy couch, we both decided to just relax and eat in. It was a good decision. We were both asleep to the TV by 9:30.

This morning we took a ride around Oshkosh. We love riding in Oshkosh because it is so flat. I think we could ride for hours and hours there because of the ease of the terrain. We discovered some new areas today. This is a part of the the lake called South Asylum Bay. We saw lots of big fish jumping and many fishermen trying to catch those fish.

We stopped to take a photo by the statue of Carl Shurz which is just a few blocks from Courtney and Paul's house on the lake. It states on the statue that he is the most famous German American. Who knew?

We returned home after some shopping. The temps are still cool and the sky is still cloudy, but we did not let that dampen our Memorial Day fun. Tomorrow, the actual Memorial Day is supposed to very hot and sunny, so we shall see.