Sheboygan, WI Dec. 14-17, 2014

Sheboygan, WI Dec. 14 – 17, 2014

 

Monday, Dec. 14, 2014:  RVing in Wisconsin in December

 

Mike and I leave home about 10AM in our friend, Candy, one of the first Advanced RVs, now updated with lithium ion batteries, VB Air Suspension and a luxurious bed.  Why go in an RV to Sheboygan, WI in December?  To visit Richardson Yacht Interiors, where they build furniture for high-end boats, to discuss their building selected interior components for Advanced RV.  Leading the design of these components are our friends from Cleveland, Michelle and Fred, whom we meet at a rest stop just west of Toledo. They are in their car on their way to visit family in Minnesota for holiday skiing so a stop in Sheboygan is on their way. 

It’s in the 50’s with no snow, so the first leg of driving, which I do, is easy.   Late in the afternoon, we rendezvous with Fred and Michelle at Indiana Dunes St. Park and walk the beach in a light drizzle, which becomes a cold, pelting rain. 

Mike and I are staying off the grid in this nearly deserted park. Michelle and Fred are staying in a hotel in Chesterton, IN, where we meet them for dinner.  At first, Octave Grill, which I find on Yelp, looks iffy.  It is a tiny place, with one narrow aisle front to back, and wooden tables and benches, but the people at the front desk are friendly and the diners look happy.  In a few minutes we have a table.  Across the aisle from us is a family with three small kids playing cards while they wait for their food.  We enjoy Chocolate Milk Stout from a local brewery, Cakebread Cellars Shiraz and the best burgers we’ve ever had.  For dessert we share one huge chocolate brownie dripping with locally made caramel ice cream. 
Check out footage of Marcia using the back-up camera while parking at Indiana Dunes St. Park. 

 

Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2014:  Enjoying December in Sheboygan, WI 

At an outside temperature of 44 degrees, Mike and I sleep warm and well but not long.  We depart at 4:45AM to avoid the Chicago morning rush.  When we call Michelle and Fred about 7:30AM they are still in bed.  Mike and I arrive in Sheboygan about 9:30AM, walk the River Boardwalk in a brisk wind and then share a breakfast burrito in a tiny river café.  We had reserved a spot at a state campground south of town, but we find there is no electricity, water or WiFi and the bathrooms are locked up.  The only activity is crews of guys trimming trees.  Despite the chainsaw noise, we pull into a camping spot and take a nap. We decide there is no point in staying so far from town with no cell or WiFi, so when Michelle and Fred arrive we head into Sheboygan for lunch.    Yelp helps again, guiding us to the Black Pig, where we enjoy their chili and their quinoa salad.  We discuss Advanced RV motor home design and share travel experiences. Mid afternoon, Mike and I go across the street to the large, quiet and accommodating public library, where I write Christmas cards and he catches up on emails.  In the late PM, we drive a few blocks to the YMCA for a light workout and hot showers.  We then park the RV at Fred and Michelle’s hotel, where the manager says it is fine for us to stay in their parking lot overnight.  Yelp lets us down tonight.  There is no restaurant at the address it

recommended, so in a windy, biting cold we all walk up to 8^th Ave. to Stefano Trattoria, an Italian restaurant Mike saw earlier in the day.  It is warm and welcoming, and the food is delicious. 

Getting Ready for a Good Night's Sleep

 

Back at the RV, with a temperature in the low 20’s and a howling wind, it takes about an hour to get the temperature inside the RV comfortable.  Note that in the newer Advanced RV’s we have upgraded the heating system design.  Winter tip:  Don’t wait until bedtime to start the furnace. 

 

Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2014:  Visit to Richardson Yacht Interiors 

It snows about 3 inches overnight and the temperature stays in the low 20’s, but in the morning the state of charge on the two lithium iron batteries reads 87% and 83%. Each night we used less than 20% of our battery power to heat and light Candy and brew coffee.  We slept warm and undisturbed.
 

 

We drive back to the Y where Mike works out, while I doze some more, and then make coffee and fix cereal and fruit.  At 8:30AM we meet Fred and Michelle at the hotel and caravan to Sheboygan Falls and Richardson Yacht Interiors.  We have a good discussion with Jim, Greg and Justin, and then a tour of this fifth generation company.  At noon, Fred and Michelle head to Minnesota and Mike and I drive back to Sheboygan and the Black Pig to pick up chili and quinoa salad for the road and a T-shirt for a friend that says, “So good you’ll squeal.”
 

I drive through Chicago in heavy traffic and then in the fading light past Gary, IN.  I wonder about the families in the densely packed little houses off the highway where the lights are coming on.  Are the kids home from school? Is dinner cooking? Are they excited about Christmas?   We stay overnight, warm and comfortably, at a truck stop about three hours west of Cleveland.  It was a good December trip to Wisconsin.