Racine, WI – August 28, 2008

Today started out overcast and windy. We had decided to stay another day and our first order of business was to get moved to another slip. When we arrived last night the marina office was closed and the night guard has us tie up to an un-occupied dock. This morning we discovered the entire dock was covered with bird droppings. We were able to move to another dock, one that was occupied, much cleaner and also closer to facilities.

Our TV hadn’t been working well and we wanted to get another. We checked into bus schedules and found we could get a bus from downtown Racine to close to a Best Buy. We walked to the bus stop, then had to wait 50 minutes for the bus. It seems that during mid-day they cut 1 of the 3 buses traveling on that route. The bus finally came and we got to see some of Racine. There are some beautiful, old houses here. We got off at a very large shopping center then had to walk several blocks to Best Buy.

After doing our shopping we were trying to find a closer bus stop and asked a woman who was nearby. She offered to drive us back to the marina. We accepted and on the way back found that her husband helped to design the marina we are staying in. She also has a grandson named Jackson. If we had been able to visit longer we may have found other coincidences. The sky had cleared up and it was starting to get hot. We were very grateful for the ride.

Racine is larger than we thought. There is quite a bit of industry here and the downtown has started to come back since the marina was built. Racine has a zoo that, until last year, had been free to see. Racine is also the home of kringle, an oval-shaped Danish pastry. It is 32 layers of flaky, buttery dough filled with a variety of fruit and nuts and topped with icing. It also takes 3 days to make. There are several bakeries here that still make this delicious treat.

The 6th annual Public Art Event was taking place while we were here. Past events have featured decorated dogs, cats, fish, birdbaths and lighthouses. This year large globes have been decorated by local artists and displayed throughout the downtown.