Thursday September 18, 2025
Today’s journey was about 45 miles and took us six hours on the water. The lake was calm, with just a gentle breeze—a perfect day for cruising. That is… until the black flies showed up. 😡
But then, something adorable happened that totally made up for it.
As Jeff went full maniac with the fly swatter (he takes his bug battles very seriously), a young sparrow flew in—clearly attracted by the sudden buffet of dead insects. He landed on the top of the boat and began snacking away on the gnats and flies.
Inspired, I picked up one of the flies Jeff had swatted and held it out. The little bird fluttered right over and ate it from my hand! I was so thrilled, I had to do it again… and again! In total, he ate about five flies plus whatever other little critters he found. He rode with us for about 45 minutes before flying off on his next adventure. Absolutely made my day. 😊
Once we arrived in Port Washington, we dropped anchor and took the dinghy ashore to explore. The downtown area is super cute! We stopped by a local brewery for a break and some scenery, and Jeff was happy to find a solid lineup of craft beers. He tried a Salted Caramel Porter—surprisingly smooth and not too sweet. Win!
Side Story!
Back in Kewaunee yesterday, we stopped at Tug Ludington, where I noticed a group of seven bicyclists—one stood out in a ridiculously bright jersey. Later that same day, in Manitowoc (25 miles south), we were walking back from the Maritime Museum when—zoom!—that same bright yellow jersey flashed past us, followed by the rest of the group. I told Jeff, “Hey! That’s the crew from the tug!”
Fast forward to today at the brewery in Port Washington—44 miles further south—who pulls up? Yep, those same cyclists! We struck up a conversation and had such a fun time. They were curious about our boat trip, so I shared the blog with them and snapped a group photo (5 out of 7 were there) for the next post. They’re headed to Milwaukee next, same as us—so who knows, we may cross paths again!
Before heading back to the boat, we stopped at the local meat market for some jerky and beef sticks (necessities, obviously). After a bit of rest onboard, we decided to return to town for dinner and chose Twisted Willow. The food was fantastic—even if the waitress was less than attentive. A bit of a bummer, but the meal itself made up for it.
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