TRAVELING DOWN THE ROAD

Coyote Roadhouse
Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin

I want Thanksgiving to be over!  I cannot escape the yo-yo ride of emotion that has been with me since the summer started.  As I have said earlier this would have been the 50th anniversary year, and I celebrate without my best friend by my side.  This past week I drove a friend out to Wisconsin to see her only son and daughter-in-law in their new home.  A journey for my friend turned out to be a sentimental journey for me….timing.   For it was Oct 7, 1966, that I moved from Ingleside, Illinois to Harleysville, Pennsylvania.  

Taking Audrey to her son in Wisconsin provided me an opportunity to drive through the place of my birth and where Pat, and I first met and fell in love.  I was taken back by the emotion that rose up as I drove through Belvidere Road…Gurnee, Rollins Road…places, and names that are permanently etched in my bank of memories.  

The spot where Lake Michigan meets Green Bay.

The trip had one of those serendipity moments too.  Audrey’s son and daughter-in-law manage the Coyote Roadhouse in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin.  The Roadhouse is one of those bar/eateries that locals love and where everyone knows your name.  As we walked in, although strangers,  we were greeted like lost old friends…a Midwestern attitude that I immediately recognized.  Great conversation, friendly faces, and some really good food made for an enjoyable time.  Later, talking to Carrie, Audrey’s daughter-in-law, she asked where in Illinois I lived. 

After telling her that I graduated from Grant Community High School in 1965, she indicated that her waitress Diane Pinkham’s family is from there.  It turns out I graduated with Betty, her sister-in-law.  Small world.  Smaller when you think of how everything lined up to make this moment happen.

Door County Wisconsin is a beautiful place.  If you look at a map and check out the area between the bay of Green Bay and Lake Michigan, you will see a little strip of land tucked up between these two bodies of water.  One could pick up that life was hard for those who lived there all year around.  Working every hour you could while it was tourist season carried you through the winter months when everyone went home.  

What I was struck with was how connected those who lived there all year round where.  Especially the art community.  Because I dabble in oil painting, Scott took us around to some of the many galleries in the area.  What I observed was how supportive they were of each other.  “Oh, you like oil paintings?  Then you should check out the gallery at such and such.”  I would get a history of the artists represented.  Did I like photography, then it was a must I see so and so.  In many of the galleries, we stopped they were artist owned and could found on premise for some wonderful conversation.  

It was a great trip with my friend Audrey.  I was glad to be able to take her out to see her son and his new home.  It was also a good trip for me.  I am reminded that life is still to be lived and there is much to explore.  And I look forward to the adventure of meeting new people and seeing new places…especially if they are all as friendly as the gang at the Coyote Roadhouse.  You should stop in if you get up that way.  They would be glad to see ya!