Lessons

We've enjoyed all three of our long road trips, but we realized that one of the pleasant things about the first one, to Santa Fe, was that we took a full two weeks and were able to stay in one place -- Jamie Morris's lovely casita -- for nearly a full week. That was a bit further, of course, so the respite was perhaps more necessary. We would gladly have spent another day or two at the Speckled Hen and in Madison -- especially since the weather cooled off for a couple of days -- and definitely would have liked to stay at our pretty resort hotel in Door County for a longer period.

In general, while dual line highways are great for making time and getting from place to place, a trip is more enjoyable if you can spend more time on smaller roads. The operative phrase is "more time."

We got very little use from the large cooler we lugged around. We only needed to keep the two cans for feeding Ziggy, some limes for our gin and tonics, and the little bit of cheese and sausage we carried along. Our gray cooler bag, which we also had in the car, would have been amply sufficient for the purpose. So that's what we'll try next time.

Otherwise, everything functioned pretty well. Our system for packing and unpacking the car was quite efficient, and the luggage racks available most everywhere made it a breeze. There may be a way to pack so that we can take just one or two bags in on a quick overnight stop, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Can't wait for the next one!

Roadtripping

Some random observations after out trip:

Roads: Obviously an important component of a road trip. It's amazing the thousands of miles of paved road in this country, from turnpikes to scenic routes. In particular, the opportunity we had in Wisconsin and Michigan to travel some very beautiful two-lane roads with hardly any other traffic made for an enjoyable trip.

On the turnpikes and interstates, however, there was an amazing amount of work being done, though none of it really slowed us down. It's probably good that this much upkeep is going on.

The only real problem we had was Chicago, which was the most horrific traffic experience of my life. It took us fully four hours to get through Chicago. Freeway traffic leading into what we have since learned is an infamous interchange known as the Circle was at a virtual standstill. After an hour of crawling only a couple of miles, we saw an electronic sign that time to the Circle, just a mile away and almost visible, was 22 minutes, so we opted to take a free lane to get off the freeway. However, every other route was similarly jammed.

Not only was it Friday the 13th in early rush hour traffic punctuated by cloudbursts of rain, it was also the middle of Taste of Chicago. But, we were told afterwards, traffic at the Circle and in Chicago in general is always terrible. It's a shame. I've always had Chicago in mind as a great city to live in, but you'd have to be crazy to put with traffic like that. There's no excuse for inadequate infrastructure like that. It may be stupidity or incompetence, but I have to suspect it is simply corruption that accounts for lack of adequate planning. My brother said no one has any money to build new infrastructure and my retort -- unfair to him but part of my general frustration with our misguided political priorities -- was, Is that because we're such a poor country? The answer, obviously, is no, but way too much money has gone to making some people super-rich at the expense of a huge economic inefficiency that afflicts the millions of Chicagoans who have no choice but to put with hours lost in traffic.

Bottom line for me: Avoid Chicago like the plague. Don't drive near it or through it. I don't even want to fly in and out because of the traffic to and from the airport. It may well be a great city, but I can live without it.

Food: This may turn into another rant, but I'll try to keep it short. For whatever progress is being made in some trendy cities toward healthier eating, the food available to the traveler is by and large execrable. That fact lays bare the reality that except for those privileged enough to afford alternatives, industrial food production is the only choice for most people.

So dinner our first night at was at Roy Rogers at a rest stop. Our mantra was it keeps body and soul together, but in fact it is a bit soul-killing to eat food that bad. The rest stops in Pennsylvania and particularly in Ohio are new, modern, clean, efficient. But the ubiquitous fast food outlets are hopeless.

Things aren't much better elsewhere with bread, potatoes, grease and fat an important part of every oversized meal. Aside from the great but hugely expensive meal at L'Etoile, the best meal for me (aside from Darras's excellent grilling at the RV) was the fish boil in Door County, a refreshingly simple and hugely inexpensive meal. As I detail elsewhere, the food at Vinology was too gussied up to be completely enjoyable. By far the worst restaurant meal was the one on Mackinac Island at the Gatehouse, which is supposedly affiliated with the Grand Hotel. They should be ashamed of themselves and I would never trust them for anything after the poor excuse for a brisket sandwich they gave to us.

Global climate change: Visible everywhere in the dead grass and stunted crops brought on by a drought that has made one-third of the country an emergency area. Killing heat that limits normal recreation. Climate change deniers are in the same category as Holocaust deniers, imho.

A gloomy post, I guess. In spite of my reservations about this and that, however, it was a great road trip.

Roadfood

The final day of our trip restored some of my faith in the Sterns' guide to roadside eating. All three meals were at Roadfood sites and none of them involved hamburgers, barbecue or fried chicken.

We had breakfast in Ann Arbor at Zingerman's, a quaint little deli downtown that has become a major mail-order house for gourmet food. Granted you don't need the Sterns to tell you that Zingerman's is worth a visit, it was nonetheless among their listings for Ann Arbor. I had bacon and eggs and toast -- a decisive rebuke to the over-fussy efforts at B&Bs and proof that simple, high-quality ingredients with little adornment make for the best meals.

For lunch, we made a short detour to the New Sandusky Fish Co. in Sandusky, Ohio. It also gave us the chance to check off a fourth Great Lake, Lake Erie, for our roadtrip. I had targeted this Stern recommendation for lunch on our trip out, but the timing was off. The timing this time was not great since it came after our ample breakfast at Zingerman's, but the yellow perch sandwich we shared was really worth the detour. The amazingly fresh lake water fish had a lovely sweetness. Fried in a light batter on a roll with tartar sauce, it made a simple and satisfying lunch.

Although Hancock, Maryland is getting very close to home, we opted for an early dinner at the Park-n-Dine diner recommended in Roadfood. As promised, the restaurant offered a variety of tempting home-cooked Sunday dinners. I opted for the pot roast, which, though not as good as the one my mother used to make, was quite tasty and satisfying. The pie, however, was a huge disappointment. As Andrea said, if the Sterns don't specifically recommend it in their description -- which they didn't -- it's probably not worth ordering.

I still think the Roadfood focus is too narrow, but it certainly reliable within those parameters.

Vinology

This trendy restaurant in Ann Arbor has really good wine but the food was too fussy and complicated in a way too typical of wannabe gourmet temples.

The avowed philosophy at Vinology is to carry the best representative of each varietal -- surely an ambitious goal and open to discussion. But in fact they had some novel wines and everything we tasted was very good to excellent.

In particular, Andrea's flight of "The Whites Less Traveled" had some very crisp, flavorful wines, including one from Turkey -- who knew? My flight of reds, "When Dirt Tastes Good," was, well, a little muddier, but I got what I was looking for.

The white flight was 3 oz. each of Arneis, Riofava (Italy); Emir, Kavakledere 'Cankaya' (Turkey); and Gruner Veltliner, Turk (Austria, in spite of its name). The red flight was Pinot Noir, Arnoux (Burgundy); Cabernet Franc, Couly Dutheil ‘les Gravierres’ (Chinon); and Tinta de Toro, Familia Solana (Spain).

The food was not at all bad, just tricked out too much. The homemade burrata, for instance, was wrapped in some leathery casing and had too many herbs. A truly fresh, homemade burrata can stand on its own. I ordered the Radishes 3 Ways as a starter for the simple novelty of it, but the raw radishes were tough, not crunchy and juicy the way they should be, while the pickled radish was pretty good.

My main course, a Lombatello (hanger steak) alla caprese, was a tender enough piece of meat, but smothered in a balsamic demi-glace and some sort of pesto and surrounded by the tomato and mozzarella, while the crispy carbonnara pasta, baked into a crust, was heavy and probably superfluous. Too much stuff! Andrea's Alaska Sockeye Salmon was tasty but not exceedingly fresh. We were disappointed when our waiter said there was no ice wine for dessert, even though the online menu lists one and one of the Tripadvisor comments singled it out.

The restaurant had a warm cave (in the sense of wine cellar) like atmosphere, which was fine on a hot summer day and must be great in the winter. Service was prompt and efficient. It was full on a Saturday night and extremely noisy. All in all, especially for the novel wines, a good find.

Our first choice was Logan's, a New American just around the corner from Vinology, but when we called ahead the recorded message informed us they were on vacation just that week.

The scenic coastal trip along Lake Huron on the way to Ann Arbor was a culinary wasteland, but gave us the opportunity to have a delightful little picnic at one of the roadside parks on the lake. The cheese and crackers we had bought at Fromagination in Madison and solicitously maintained in our cooler served us in good stead.

Mackinac Island

A lovely little oasis of flowers and intimations of bygone luxury. We took the ferry (Ziggy's first boat ride!) to this island which has no cars (the only motorized vehicle above a couple of hp was an ambulance). Tons of bicycles, wagons, horse-drawn carts and buggies, and pedestrians like us.

We fell into a charming seaside patio -- the Carriage House at the Hotel Iroquois -- and had a nice drink sheltered from the madding crowd outside. In retrospect, we should have just stayed there or come back for dinner, but the unimaginative and very pricey menu, along with the rigid seating hours of 6:30 and 8 (we wanted 7 or 7:30) turned us off.

So we wandered through the island, which is a bit like Cape May with its restored Victorian houses. There is a big lovely lawn in front of Fort Mackinac where we joined dozens of other foot-sore tourists in just sitting and looking at the harbor.

The most striking thing about Mackinac Island is the flowers. The entry way into the Carriage House dazzled us with the array of beautiful flowers, but it turns out that is a signature of the island, with every house adorned with potted flowers or beautiful gardens.

Dinner was a disaster. After traipsing around the island and finding most eateries very downscale and crowded, we discovered that we could no longer even get into the Carriage House. We ended up sitting outside without a lake view at something called the Gate House, which claims to belong to the Grand Hotel, the famous old hotel sitting on the bluff of the island. The food was terrible and even the drinks were bad.

The wait for the ferry, which switches from half-hourly to hourly in the evening, seemed long, but all in all it was a delightful little excursion.

Lake view

A hotel room with a lake view is particularly exotic. Last night in Sister Bay in Door County we stayed in the Country Resort Hotel, a modest hotel in a spectacular setting overlooking Sister Bay, an offshoot of Green Bay. We looked across to the marina in the part of town around the edge of the bay. It was a soothing view, both from our room and the terrace they had next to the pool with chaises longues.

Tonight is even more spectacular as we look onto the blue waters of Lake Superior from our Holiday Inn Express Lakeview in Munising, Michigan. The drive here could have been through Sweden -- a straight highway cut through the fir and pine trees with an open blue sky overhead and fluffy gray clouds. For some reason, Michigan is on Eastern time, so it was still light at 9:30 p.m. It was also awkward when we called at 7:19 about the 7:15 sunset boat tour to see the picture rocks along the coast here.

Fish boil

A terrifically simple yet oddly satisfying culinary experience, this practice of Wisconsin lumberjacks turned into tourist attraction is really a must-do for a foodie in Door County.

We went to the Old Post Office in Ephraim, one of a handful of places that do a real fish boil more or less daily. We sat on benches in a circle out back where a wood fire kept a big black kettle boiling. Earl, the "boilmaster," came out and tossed in the potatoes and onions. After a while he came back out with a big pan full of Lake Michigan whitefish, trimmed and cut into serving portions. After explaining that the fish are added about 20 minutes into the boil and that they must cook 8 to 11 minutes, he set the pan, which had holes like a steamer, into the kettle and amused us with corny puns while the fish cooked.

The dramatic moment of the fish boil is when they throw kerosene on the fire at the end, making it flame up, enveloping the kettle, and causing the contents to boil over, removing all the scum and detritus that may have floated to the top. They take the kettle contents -- boiled fish, potatoes and onions -- and serve it remarkably efficiently, with drawn butter, cole slaw and bread.

I thought the fish was great -- very fresh, with a delicate flavor more robust than from poaching. They come along and remove the center bone and the most obvious pin bones, so I encountered only one or two smaller bones. (Andrea took the fried chicken option because she doesn't like bones in fish.) The only drawback was that Ephraim turned out to be dry so there was no wine or beer unless you brought your own.

Wisconsin Dells

The term originally referred to the Cambrian sandstone cliffs along the Wisconsin River long before it became synonomous with tacky water parks.

The Dells Boat Tour on the upper river still conveys the pristine charm of nature, with the bluffs partly exposed and otherwise covered in pine. The two-hour tour was one of the highlights of our trip, with stops at Witches' Gulch, where the porous sandstone sucked up air in the narrow formation and lowered the temperature, and at Standing Rock, where the jumping German Shepherd, while corny, did convey some of the drama of the famous photo.

Capitol

The Wisconsin State Capitol building, which is the heart of Madison, is an impressive structure, said to be the largest capitol after the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Lots of marble and gold leaf, all recently restored. The governor's conference room was modeled on the Palace of the Doges in Venice, our guide said, and no king of France would have been embarrassed to use it.

It was of course interesting to see it after all the drama in the Capitol protesting Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union measures, from occupiers to fleeing Democratic legislators who left the state to deprive the legislature of a legal quorum. There was no sign of either governor or lawmakers when we were there.

New Glarus brewery

The tour was nonexistent on a Sunday, but the beer was great and the ride out was pretty. Main thing is we all got to do something together. The charms of the town, a settlement of immigrants from Glarus canton in Switzerland, have been exaggerated.

The beer itself was really good. Served under ideal conditions in the tasting room, the beers ranging from Totally Naked to Fat Squirrel, with Spotted Cow and Two Women in between, had a fresh, sparkling taste. You get to keep the tasting glasses as souvenirs.

L'Etoile

L'Etoile is unquestionably a wonderful restaurant with great food, a lovely ambiance and excellent service. We had a great dinner there that was a real event for the eight family members who could attend. I would definitely go back. A special shoutout to the maitre-d, Nick, for taking my reservation well in advance of the normal time limit and thoughtfully seating us in a long booth partially shielded from other diners.

All that said, the restaurant is a bit caught up in itself. The food and service both are borderline pretentious. While my pork belly starter, a special, and the duck breast were both excellent, the menu choice was severely limited. For entrees, there was a whole branzino, a turbot fillet, the duck breast, a vegetable dish, and two steaks. Since none of us are vegetarians and Darras was grilling steak the next day, that left us with three choices for entrees. There was no pork entree, no lamb entree, no chicken entree. Why on earth not?

Amy's photo of the branzino before cooking

On top of that, the two fish entrees in this city less than a hundred miles from Lake Michigan were flown in from the Mediterranean and Chile respectively. Really? We had great fun mocking one of our (two!) waiters, who in presenting the whole branzino ordered by Amy and Fletcher held it out on the tray and said this was caught earlier today in the Mediterranean and packed in ice to be flown here. The next day, Darras presented out steaks in a similar fashion, saying they were slaughtered in Kansas and packed in a cooler three days earlier for our dining pleasure tonight.

None of this of course detracts from the actual dining experience, which was on a level equal to any place here in Washington. It's not for nothing that L'Etoile was named one of the country's top 50 restaurants by Food & Wine. It was a great splurge for mini-family reunion.

We tried all three of the entree choices available to us. I know Darras and I enjoyed the duck breast with creamy polenta, and he welcomed the chance to once again have a starter of the fresh sea scallops not available in Kansas. Amy and Fletcher had the squash blossoms as well as the whole branzino. The turbot and branzino got a big thumbs up from those who ordered the fish. The chocolate cake and the creme brulee ordered at the table were both excellent, as well as the cheese platter, and some of us enjoyed a cognac.

The wine list, while not enormously imaginative, had a varied selection in all price ranges. Because it was Bastille Day and that was one of the reasons for us choosing a French restaurant, we stuck with the French wines and found a Muscadet and a Burgundy pinot noir moderately priced enough that we could enjoy several bottles over a leisurely dinner.

Madison

Madison is one of those favored cities that everyone loves. State capitals and university towns in general are supposed to be the desirable places and here you have that rare city that is both.

Its geographic situation on an isthmus between two lakes adds to its charm and beauty. It is hip, progressive, and so on. We are not seeing it at is best. Temperatures are above 100 degrees and there is a drought that has turned all the grass yellow and killed many plants.

We managed to hit the only weekend in the six-month season when there is no farmer's market on the Capitol Square -- billed as the nation's largest such in terms of producer vendors. Instead there was an art fair that kept us from seeing anything else on the square and made it impossible to eat in any of the restaurants.

So instead of spending the weekend in Madison and then going to the Dells for a couple of days, we will spend Monday at least trying to see what Madison looks like without an art fair. The plan is to take the tour of the Capitol, do some shopping on State Street, and have a light supper at Memorial Union Terrace. We would visit the university art museum but it is closed on Mondays.

David is very funny about Madison. He doesn't like it and, as he says, people don't want to hear that. So they pester him about just what it is he doesn't like, but the simple fact is he doesn't like it and doesn't need any reasons. He wants to go back to San Diego. It's warmer in the winter, and it appeals to him more.

It's a bit of what you might consider the Portlandia effect. Madison is perhaps a bit too precious, a bit too full of itself. From my point of view, any state or capital city that elects and keeps Scott Walker as governor has one strike against it already. The protests and the recall effort can't excuse the fact that the state elected him governor and then gave him a vote of confidence in the recall. The people of Wisconsin, like those in Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey and Florida will get what they deserve from their right-wing Republican governors -- a lower standard of living, an increase in crime, growing inequality in incomes and perhaps the opportunity to greet new industry with lower wages and no protection against the predations of corporate bosses. I totally understand why Amy wants to move and get out of the red state that she lives in. It is an offensive situation to have somebody like Brownback affecting your life, however tangentially.

Speckled Hen Inn

After a horrific afternoon battling traffic in Chicago, it seemed a lot like heaven to arrive at our B&B on the northern edge of Madison. I had booked it early because it only has one pet-friendly room, the Madison Lakes room.

You never know quite what to expect from a B&B no matter how many photos you see or Tripadvisor comments you read. This exceeded our most optimistic expectations. The room was beautiful, spacious -- almost like a small suite -- cool, nice big king bed, and a wonderfully appointed bathroom with separate toilet, king-size shower, big tub.

We had booked three nights and Andrea's immediate reaction was to try to get the other two nights we were staying in the area. They only had one more night for us but we took that.

It is a farm and there is huge corral with sheep and two llamas. It turns out that the llamas are the guardian and shepherd of the flock. Ziggy has been only mildly interested in the farm animals and much more interested in the owners' cats. She settled in after the first day and is able to stay here by herself.

Our room has a separate entrance in the wing closest to the driveway. The porch continues to the main entrance, where there is a very comfortable lounge with coffee, cookies, and soft drinks, as well as wine for sale. The breakfast rooms are upstairs and the breakfasts have by and large been very good with eggs from their own (speckled) hens, maple syrup harvested from the farm and fresh-baked scones. The innkeepers, Patricia and Bob, are very friendly.

It has been a great haven. If it had a pool, it would be perfect. The bathroom is stylish, but clearly favors design over practicality -- the toilet is too small to allow the door to open and the mirrors try to accommodate a corner sink but are not practical for shaving. These are quibbles, though. The soundproofing is excellent, so that you really don't hear the nearby Interstate at all.

Moon guide

No, it is not a guide to the moon, but a series of travel guides on individual states. I've belatedly added the Moon guide to Wisconsin to our traveling library.

We generally get a new guidebook for our trips. If you get only one or two tips about sights or cafes or restaurants out of it, it's already paid for itself. It's also useful for validating your own planning.

In the Age of Google, you can quickly patch together your own guidebook. I'd already found out that L'Etoile is the best restaurant in Madison (and booked a table for July 14 in January!), that Devil State Park is great for a hike, and that Door County is wonderful and quaint -- but it's nice that Thomas Huhti, who wrote this guide, agrees.

And there will be details about Frank Lloyd Wright, about Milwaukee, and about the Dells that we simply couldn't take the time to research ahead of time. So I think it will be useful. But I didn't go overboard and order the one for Michigan, too.

Milwaukee brewers

When I was growing up in St. Louis, I knew that Milwaukee was our chief rival for beer brewing. We had Anheuser-Busch and Falstaff, while they had Schlitz and Miller. Both cities had a huge population of German immigrants, though Milwaukee kept more of a Central European flavor.

All that has changed, of course. Many big American brands have disappeared under the onslaught of imports and the change in drinking habits. But the craft beer revival should be able to build on this beer-brewing tradition in Wisconsin.

Traveling in Germany you knew that virtually every town and many smaller places would have their own brewery and one of the fun things about these trips was sampling the various traditional beers. I doubt that Wisconsin is quite like that with its regional and micro-breweries, but it looks like Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay all have local brews.

Gin and tonic

Gin and tonic is one of our summer drinks of choice and has proven to be a great companion on road trips. You get to that motel, unload everything, take care of the dog, suit up, and head out to the pool with a plastic glass of gin and tonic (we have often found the pools deserted and no prohibition for alcohol).

It is reminiscent of the late afternoons at the beach, when we could sit on the deck of the waterfront property after a long, hard day of body surfing, sunbathing and sitting on the beach. It is a drink -- must be the tonic! -- that is refreshing and relaxing. 

So on our trips we pack up a bottle of Bombay Sapphire, some tonic, and a supply of limes, as well as some plastic glasses in case no others are available.

Wisconsin, I suspect, with all its German immigrant population, probably has a wide variety of craft beers by now, along with artisan cheese. When we went to Palena for lunch over the weekend, they had a pilsner style beer from Great Lakes on tap and it tasted really good on a hot day (Great Lakes, Google tells me, is based in Cleveland, and actually fairly widely available in DC).