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Saturday, September 30
Trip from Duluth to Bayfield, WI
We had thought to do a tour of Glensheen Historic Estate in Duluth before heading back east along the Lake, but when we got there, found out that not only would we have to wait an hour, but it would cost $24 apiece for an hour tour, plus another $24 each to tour the attic at an even later time. Nope. We picked up a few supplies we needed at the store, then headed out of MN and into WI, on our way to Bayfield.
We stopped at the tourist info center in Ashland, WI (and probably ate our packed lunch) run by the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, hoping to get some guidance on our trip through MI. We had heard this visitor center was really hot stuff, but the  folks behind the desk couldn’t offer us much more than brochures. We got more advice from a photographer exhibiting his work in a room upstairs. We looked around at the exhibits, listened to a couple of folk singers for a while, then continued on.
The fall foliage was a mixed bag. Wisconsin seemed to have a bit more red and orange color than MN or Canada. There were pockets that were very bright, but other areas appeared to have already peaked or had not started turning yet. Got a few photos of a fire department controlled burn of an old tavern we passed on Rt. 2.
We got into Bayfield around 4 PM and found our B&B (minus the second B), called Ole and Lena’s Place. It was up a hill in a quiet secluded neighborhood. The "cottage" we rented was actually a converted garage. The proprietors were very nice, but not actually named Ole and Lena, who we learned are fictitious Norwegian  characters about whom "dumb" jokes are written. (To wit: Ole and Lena got married. On their honeymoon trip they were nearing Minneapolis when Ole put his hand on Lena's knee. Giggling, Lena Said, "Ole, you can go farther if ya vant to"... so Ole drove to Duluth.) Frank, the husband, is Hungarian and very gregarious. George briefly met Julie, I didn’t. The cabin was very nice with TV, DVDs (movies and music), boom box, wireless Internet, etc. Too bad we weren’t there long enough to enjoy all that stuff. It was very quiet.
We walked around town a bit and took some photos of the harbor before having dinner at Maggie’s, a very pink, very eclectic place decorated from top to bottom with every conceivable sort of flamingo. Even the customers were pink (see photo above.) The food, not pink, was good. There appeared to be a lot of locals there, or at least people who seemed to be very familiar with the place. Frank had said it was usually packed with millionaires (though not him). Most were very nice, although we did get the hairy eyeball from a few who were on their way out, probably thinking, “Tourists! What are THEY doing here so late in the season!” The town itself was small, its attraction the pretty harbor. The shops were touristy with lots of junk for sale (i.e., if you looked on the backs of items, you might see "Made in Indonesia"). We were told that if we had tried to visit there the following week, it would have been "no room at the inn" due to the annual Apple Festival, which attracts over 70,000 people each year. I don't know where they would all fit.
Sunday, October 1
More Bayfield
Had to get up and at 'em early the next morning as we had a reservation on the three-hour cruise in and amongst the Apostle Islands. The hype for this rather expensive attraction ($32 apiece) was better than the actual event. Boooorrrring. The  islands were unremarkable, the fall colors dull. The boat was a backup as the boat normally used had blown a gasket, or whatever they blow. The backup boat was too slow to go all the way to the farthest north point, Devils Island, which probably would have been the most interesting feature of the trip with its sea caves. (We weren't told any of this until the boat was ready to embark, at which point we could get off if we wanted to—yeah, right.) The PA system didn’t work and no one could hear the narration, which was sparse anyway. Those of us folks relegated to steerage (the lower inside deck) were not supposed to mingle with the outside upper deck people, but no one paid  attention to those rules. And, last but not least, the "head" had issues with the toilet (it didn't flush) and the door (it locked in people, including yours truly). See photo of man on outside of boat fixing plumbing. It was a long 2 and 3/4 hours.
We were thinking about taking the 20 minute ferry over to Madeleine Island to visit La Pointe, but it looked like another tourist trap—$10 apiece for the round trip and what seemed like more shops with tourist junk for sale—so we decided to forego it.
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