Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Two Rivers

Aug 2014.  We were parked at the Elks Lodge in Sheboygan, WI, but I realized I did not get one picture of the area.  Sheboygan is home of the Johnsonville Brat.  But we spent most of our time in Manitowoc and Two Rivers, which is just up the road a few miles.

We rode the Mariners Trail from Manitowoc to Two Rivers, then caught the Rawley Point Recreational Trail out to Rawley Point Lighthouse.  Round trip about 34 miles.  But we had lots of stops along the way.

At the Manitowoc Mariners Museum is a submarine.  Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company built 28 submarines and employed 7,000 employees in the early 1940s, providing subs for WWII.

One of the lighthouses along the way.

I'm a human sundial.  

The Rawley Point Trail was mostly wooded.

Rawley Point Lighthouse.  You can't get too close because it is currently inhabited and the residents like their privacy.  It was built in 1894 and stands 113 feet tall.  It was manually operated until 1980, when they converted it to an automated station.  The light can be seen 28 miles out in the lake.

Getting our feet wet in the ocean of Lake Michigan.

The Washington House, an 1850s hotel, saloon and now a museum and visitor center.

It also houses a replica of Ed Berner's Ice Cream Parlor, home of the ice cream sundae.  They claim to be the originator of the ice cream sundae, back in 1881.  One day a customer asked the owner to top his ice cream with some chocolate sauce (which was only used for sodas).  It became popular and were known as ice cream sundays because they were only sold on Sunday's.  Later, a 10 year old girl insisted on having her ice cream topped with sauce, but it wasn't Sunday.  Her response was, "Pretend it was Sunday."  It finally became known as the ice cream sundae when a salesman ordered the bell shaped dishes and called them 'sundae dishes'.

The outside of the Washington House.

The Mariner's Trail was along Lake Michigan.

We had to prove we were there, didn't we?

This eagle on its nest also keeps the other birds from bothering this flower garden along the trail.

It was an all day excursion because there were so many places to stop and see along the way.  There was even an antique car show to stop and peruse.