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Friendly Islanders.......

petehowell

Well Known Member
Warm Saturday afternoon in Minne, the Twins are off at rehearsal for their theater production, the little one is off with the neighbors..... Our trip to Davenport for Minor League baseball fell thru on hotel logistics.... What to do..

I suggested we fly 40 minutes to The Apostle Islands up in Lake Superior for a nice little dinner and some aerial sightseeing. Andi likes lakes (and dinner), so we were on!
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The flight up was pleasant, clear blue skies and 25-30 kts right on the tail!
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We stopped at John F. Kennedy for some 100LL, Not THAT JFK, the JFK in Ashland, WI($4.90 - not bad)

A quick hop across the channel and we were downwind for 22 at Madeline Island. We parked, chocked the plane and headed down airport road into town. I commented to Andi that the Islanders are known to be friendly and will stop to pick us up. 10 cars scream by, nobody stops - the walk is 2 miles, so no big deal.

We decided on a little pizza for dinner and were catching up on the week. I decided to glance at the weather for the return, trip. Ut Oh(I might have said something stronger) This had started to crop up. Not the widely scattered the briefer had mentioned.
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and it would get uglier....
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We finished dinner and started back to the airport to check more weather and see if we could run around the east end, or tie down and sleep under the wings.

This time while walking, an Islander did stop to give us ride - Bud introduced himself and told us he lived on the airport road and owned a small "beer bar" (very legal, a Wisconsin thing) he dropped us off at the airport and told us to stop by next time we came up - he told Andi she could have a free beer if she could memorize the names of all the Apostle Islands when she came back......At the airport I looked at the radar and got a good long briefing. It might have been possible, but - I am a weather wimp. Briefer said tomorrow morning will be nice VFR. That did it, we were gonna be staying. Andi started to memorize the islands.... No clothes, no tootbrush, but a sense of adventure.

We walked to Bud's place, the Island Oasis, and told him our plight. He told us to come on in and we would figure something out.

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Andi immediately recited all the islands and Bud gave her a beer, he then started making some calls to find us place to stay - not likely on a summer Saturday night. I held down a barstool....

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We made some quick friends in the bar and no less than 2 couples offered us a place to stay, but by then Bud had found us a nice cabin for the night (really nice!)
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He lent us his van to get settled in and told us to come back, so we did!

We had a great time with his regulars and vacationers in the bar chatting and downing a beer or 4. We met some really nice people, and dogs in the bar!

Walking back to the airport in the morning, Bud came by again and told us he wanted pictures with us and the plane - maybe we'll make the wall of the Island Oasis!

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I love the big lake in the morning.....
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Makes you feel good to meet people like this. If you fly to Madeline Island, walk into town, and along the way, stop at the Island Oasis - Tell Bud that Pete and Andi sent you.

The Islanders turned out to be very friendly!!! Another adventure possible b/c of the garage-built contraption!!!

Stay Classy - It's Shark Week!!
 
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Pete, great story and adventure. Time to spare - go by air. And here is sit grounded...engine should go together this week, a couple parts on back order. Also, I've concluded that the most complicated thing in all of homebuilt a/c are hoses and the zillions of types and fittings.
 
I like that! Starting memorizing those islands...

Basswood Bear Cat Devils
Eagle Gull Hermit Ironwood
Long Manitou Michigan NorthTwin
Oak Otter Outer Raspberry
Rocky Sand SouthTwin Stockton
York... and Madeline!

The Island Oasis and people of Madeline Island were awesome! I strongly recommend a visit.
 
Basswood Bear Cat Devils
Eagle Gull Hermit Ironwood
Long Manitou Michigan NorthTwin
Oak Otter Outer Raspberry
Rocky Sand SouthTwin Stockton
York... and Madeline!

The Island Oasis and people of Madeline Island were awesome! I strongly recommend a visit.

Andi will do most anything for a free beer..........
 
The natives are not restless, but friendly

Pete,
Sounds like another great adventure. Have you noticed that RVers have all the fun. I am starting to study the island names.
 
My wife has always been skittish about flying. Her first -- and so far, only -- extended flight, however, was a couple of years ago when we took a Warrior up for a quick trip to the island. That was the first time she realized that an airplane can get you places. When an RV appeared overhead while we were on the ferry, she took that as a good sign.
 
Ah, the islands...

Recommended eats in Bayfield, if you feel like taking the ferry ride:

Big Water Cafe--steep prices, slow, but great breakfast burritos

Ethel's--great owners, great food, fantastic service. In a week, I think I ate dinner there at least 3-4 times.

The Egg Toss--breakfast, even for sleep-deprived, unshowered, thunderstorm-drenched sailor ruffians at 7am Sunday morning.

And if you're staying a little longer, Tom's on the island is worth an evening, and the deck at the Inn is usually somewhat boisterous. Racers have a special name for the deck...:)
 
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