Day 60 Kochville Township MI to North Branch MI

August 16, 2023

It was 61° when we got up this morning but still not warm enough to go with just the biking jacket. The sun was out and we haven’t seen that for a few days. Dan made pancakes for breakfast and soon after we were leaving. Dan and Bonnie have lived in their house for 1 1/2 years now and still cannot get wifi. I find it odd as they are not in a brand new house. The cable companies just haven’t gotten there yet. They say it would cost 60,000.00 to run the cable. I would be so upset. When we left we were looking for a McDonalds so Hubs could down load the route to his GPS. We did find one in Saginaw so it was a win. We stopped at a Dollar General to get water and found the Core water was cheaper than Dasani water. Hmmmm, maybe we should start getting it at Dollar General instead of the gas stations. We also stopped at Tim Hortons to get bagels so we could have peanut butter on bagels for lunch if we didn’t find a restaurant. When we finally got on the road to pedal we went through Saginaw. It is a shame to see how this once bustling town now had so many older abandoned buildings. Hubs just could not get over how many there were. I noticed though that there wasn’t any graffiti or trash on or around any of them. Hopefully someday they will be revitalized. Luckily we had a tailwind, great roads and shoulders for most of the day. I’d say about 90% of the time it was pretty good rolling which was good as we seemed to be on a slow start when we left this morning. I happened to notice a Kroger and we decided to go into see if we could find sandwiches. We did and when we got to the register the cashier was in such a good mood. Hubs took the items out while I paid and I mentioned how she was in a good mood. We started chatting and she asked about our ride, etc. Then as I was leaving another woman asked about our ride as she and another worker snuck out to check our bikes out. They were so amazed when I told them where we started and where we were going. I got outside and next thing you know, the lady and a couple of others came out and then the store manager came out. He was so excited that he wanted our picture, so I said I wanted all their pictures. Then the manager thanked us for coming to his little Kroger in the town of Bridgeport MI. It touched me so much. I felt like we were celebrities. We’ve said it before and I know we will say it again, this is what it is all about. We can have bad days, rainy, days, tough climbs but when you meet the real people of this country and see how Wonderful they are it is Truly Amazing. As we rode along, we came to these 2 horses enjoying some hay. At first I thought they had their own little tent but their hay was in the tent and they stuck their heads in to eat. Pretty neat idea. I don’t remember what town we were in when I saw this water tower. I said to Hubs, waking up and seeing it everyday certainly would make me smile. Then we came to this huge silo but it was the stairs outside they made us wonder why they were so high. No way in Hell would you catch me climbing those stairs. We finally had to take a left hand turn off of our bike route 20 onto a dirt road to come to the Air B&B on an organic farm that we are staying at. Our B&B hosts are awesome. Doreen made us a delicious pasta dinner and it was great getting to know her, her husband Pat and her son Trace. They have been doing the Air B&B for 3 years now. She started in January of 2020 and actually was very busy during Covid. They have gotten people from all different countries and they have a gentleman staying here that has been here since May. He is from Nigeria. We love learning about people and thrive lives. Tomorrow we head to Marysville, MI.

Here are the Wonderful people from Kroger’s in Bridgeport MI. We always knew that the Midwest people were friendly (as we lived in MI for a bit) but these folks were so excited for us and our trip. It made my day. Nothing could make my day bad after meeting this group.

But realized the tent was for the hay and the horses stick their heads in to eat it

I told Hubs if you woke up and saw this water tower everyday it would make me smile

Why the stairs went to the sky for this silo we don’t know but they were high

This is Pat, Doreen and Trace. They run the Air B&B. Trace is their son

They wanted Gary to feel right at home. 😂💜

Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 1,178 miles (1,896 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	4

Phil/Ann DettwilerYour writings make us feel there IS hope in the world for goodness and kindness, friendship and trust.

And Pat, Doreen and Trace are my kind of people! Clearly the last picture proves it … a trip to North Branch, MI might be in the cards!

Thanks for spreading the love and goodness. …. And the camaraderie of the bird. Hope you shared about the powerful Eagle!

❤️A & P
Reply to this comment
8 months ago

Lois AlexanderYes, the people in this country Are Amazing. We meet them everyday. You and Phil prove it yourselves. That is what keeps us going on this trip and makes it more enjoyable.
Gary will always pass on your “Eagle” to everyone he meets. He loves it! 🤣🤣🤣🫱
Reply to this comment
8 months ago

Doreen WilcoxIt is great to see your journal and posts! What an awesome journey! We've been wondering how your day went. :)
Reply to this comment
8 months ago

Doreen WilcoxTo Phil/Ann DettwilerYes...they did share about the eagle lol that's great! hahaha! You're always welcome to come visit us in NB!
Reply to this comment
8 months ago