Up at 4:50 AM. No one in our tent slept well, except for Ariann. I wonder how many other tents had that problem. Not the one that was on Tony's side. That person was snoring loud enough to keep Tony awake much of the night. Besides the train, maybe that is what kept waking me up, as well.
Packed up, took the tent down and loaded the gear, like logs, in the trucks. Then headed for breakfast. The eggs weren't very good, and after Tammy ate them, she didn't feel well. Her stomach was rolling. She lost her breakfast before we started riding, but still didn't feel very good. We rode out at 7:41 AM. Tammy brought along a copy of their local newspaper. If they display the newspaper while getting their picture taken, they get it in the paper. They also get it in this blog.
We stopped by downtown St. Joseph to look for some Pepto Bismal, but the stores were still closed. However we did get this pirate to pose for a picture with us.
Tony took a rest while we waited for Tammy, who was visiting a nearby restroom. She still wasn't doing very well, which is why she isn't in any of these pictures.
Kiersten looked the map over. When riding with her I don't really bother to look at my map much, she keeps us all informed about what is coming up. Great navigator. of course the markings on the road help too
Downtown St Joe is pretty cool. Lots of neat statues there, too many to take pics of all.
Located along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, St Joseph shares Michigan's border with Indiana.
With a story that began nearly 100 years before the American Revolution, St Joseph is steeped in history. The mouth of the St. Joseph river had it's first documented discovery in 1669. This river, laid along a key water route between the Great Lakes and the Missssippi River, played a big role in the growth of the area. In 1679, French explorer LaSalle and some of his men cleared some land and built Fort Miami on a bluff overlooking the St. Joseph River. That same year LaSalle and his men waited for the ship Le Griffon to return, but it never did. The ship was deemed last, and LaSalle and his party left the area by land. The forests and plains continued to be inhabited by mainly Native Americans. In 1785, William Burnett became the first permanent settler, when he built a trading post. In 1828 a treaty was established, and the area opened up for more settlement. Early residents of the area faced many challenges, malaria, also known as the "augh," and other sicknesses overtook many, and claimed lives of both young and old. Many newcomers, led to inflated prices of food and other staples, and many original settlers could barely afford to live in the area.
A mail ship ran between Chcago and the city starting in 1825. Having a deep water port was a big contributer to the growth of this place, being close to Chicago contribute too. As shipping grew on the Great Lakes, St. Joseph became a major shipping port. Later, the mouth of the river was straightened through a channel and piers were added. St Joseph was called Newbury Port, until 1834, when it was incorporated, and renamed St Joseph. St Joseph had the first lighthouse on Michigan shores.
Today tourism is large contributer to this city and others, along the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan. We were in for a day of pleasant sights.
After my unsuccessful attempt to locate Pepto for Tammy, we decided to head out, hoping to find a convenience store down the way. As we pedaled away, Kiersten prayed aloud," Lord please help us to find a place to get something for Tammy. " Just then, our prayers were answered and we saw a BP gas station, we pulled in and a few minutes later Tammy came out with some Pepto Bismol. After taking a big swig of it, she soon felt better. We were down the road about 5 or 10 minutes and we had some beautiful views of Lake Michigan. Meet the "Fearsome Fivesome."
Here was the greeter at our first water stop. Shortly after this Ariann, who is charged like the energizer bunny, and Kiersten rode ahead.
This church was to unique to pass by without taking a picture. I couldn't help but think how pretty it would look in someone's wedding photos.
No place to get lunch on the route today, but this year we were prepared and brought our own fixings. No empty tank for us. Tammy and Ariann had the same.
Kiersten's hubby isn't riding this year, so he joined us for our little parking lot picnic.
After our many months of planning, phoning and facebooking, together, about going to PALM, it warmed my heart to see Tammy enjoying the day.
Today was mostly cloudy and in the 80's, it didn't feel hot unless we stopped. We got into PawPaw about 2:30.
Kiersten's hubby, Jeff, had graciously claimed our bags and used them to save a spot for our tent. It was hot setting up and we were glad to have a shower. We rode 42 miles today, our shortest ride on the tour. We will have no problems sleeping tonight.
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