80: Making lemonade

Olivia and Marin

Just when you think there is nothing to write about the day, you see two darling young ladies and the lemonade stand. Oh, the glory of a lemonade stand! How many times have I been riding down the road, thinking, "I really wish someone had a lemonade stand out here today"?

Olivia and Marin were visiting their grandma (who helped with the making of the lemonade). And they had a stand with some righteous lemonade. So we had a chance to sit in the shade, and cool off for a bit, and help out these budding entrepreneurs. 

We also saw Rick, Conner and Kelsey as we arrived at the bike shop in Appleton. We first met them several days ago in Durand, and if all goes well for both parties, we'll see them on the ferry tomorrow. 

Rick, Conner and Kelsey

We had some banking to do - drive through is so convenient, don't you think?

Selfie with ATM

Wildflowers today included purple loosestrife and yarrow. One of the owners of the inn where we stayed yesterday is a Certified Master Gardener, and he said that despite their beauty, the loosestrife is colonizing all over the place and is now considered an invasive species. One plant can produce 1,000,000 seeds in a season!

It was a terribly muggy day, which really saps your energy. Both Roger and I were dragging, which is why that lemonade was so great!

Our Warm Showers hostess was running some errands around town, and rode up behind us while we were at the post office.  She was with a friend, who said, "oh, look - there are some tourists" - and then since we have little license plates with our names on them on the back of our packs, Michelle said, "oh - those are my guests for the night" and they chased us down!  We enjoyed visiting with her while enjoying some lunch at a local brewery - a delicious salad with fresh salmon on top! Oh, it's great to be in a city, where the food choices are wider!
Interesting little side note: one of the waitresses has a brother who will be competing in the Hard Rock 100 this weekend. It's one of those 100 mile endurance runs in the mountains. He currently holds the record for the Western States 100. 

Beer! 

We were there to get a couple more boxes . . . we are sending more stuff away: a box of warm stuff to my mom, which we will retrieve when we pass through, and our cooking gear. We just haven't camped enough, and when we do, we have been able to eat our meals at restaurants instead of cooking. So we decided to send the pots and the little cookstove home. It's always a gamble, but it does help to reduce the weight we're carrying.

Heed these words!

The day's report:  Amherst to Appleton, 61.5 miles/3,959 to date