I biked from Pulaski to Shawano, WI (pop. 9,244) on Friday, 8/25, about 35 miles. It was a relatively short ride, but this was how far I needed to go to get to an Airbnb where I met up for the weekend with our son Joe, daughter-in-law Kelsey, Kelsey’s parents Ray and Tracie, and our three grandchildren, Jenny, Joe A. (Jo Jo), and Tilly. They live in Madison, WI, about a 2 1/2 hour drive away. I’ll tell you more about our weekend together momentarily.

It was interesting that this bike trip has taken me through two towns named Pulaski–Pulaski, NY (pop. 2,365), which I wrote about in my 7/29 post, and now Pulaski, WI (pop. 3,952). Both towns are named after the same American Revolution Continental Army General from Poland, Casimir Pulaski, who was killed in a battle with the British Army. But the town in New York is pronounced with a long “i” at the end (as in “sky”), and the town in Wisconsin is pronounced with the sound you make in naming those things you strap to your feet in the winter. I have no idea why that came to be.

As you might surmise, Pulaski, WI was so named because of the large numbers of Polish immigrants who settled in the area. There are also nearby towns named Krakow (after an important Polish city that was once the capital of the country) and Sobieski (named after the last ruling family when Poland was independent in the 1600s).

I stopped in Krakow for a sandwich.

Speaking of immigrants, I had dinner in Pulaski on Thursday night at the China Wok, which was walking distance from my hotel. The China Wok is owned and operated by a husband and wife who are immigrants from southern China. I spoke for a while with the husband, who was very interested in my bike trip. He told me his son just graduated as valedictorian of Pulaski High School with a 4.0 unweighted GPA, and proudly showed me a photograph of the medal he received for this. His son will be attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison on a full four-year scholarship to study electrical engineering and computer science.

About 25 miles from Pulaski, I had a short three-mile stretch on part of the Mountain Bay State Trail System–a dirt and crushed rock surface trail that offered a peaceful route through a wooded area.

My first hug as I hopped off the bike in Shawano was from our grandson Jo Jo.

Our Airbnb in Shawano is on the Wolf River, which you can see in the photo below. The Menominee Indian Reservation, the largest Indian Reservation east of the Mississippi River, is on the other side of the river.

This was a relaxing weekend, but we stayed busy. Here is just a partial list of the things we did…

We went fishing. No, we didn’t catch anything, but learned a lot about casting.

We built a fire and toasted s’mores.

We found some apples under a tree.

We spent a lot of time on a very challenging 1000-piece puzzle.

Yes, we successfully completed the puzzle in the end.

But the real joy was in the journey to get there.

We also had several delicious home-cooked meals.

And we learned that the bugle is not just a snack food, it is a musical instrument.

I spent a little time, as usual, working on my route and blog. Unfortunately, my Chief Navigator Trudi was unable to make the trip to join us this weekend, but she stayed busy on the home front continuing to plan my route west into Minnesota next week. I am so thankful for her exceptional attention to detail.

We assembled for a farewell photo in downtown Shawano this afternoon. I am very blessed that our Madison family members were able to gather here this weekend. What a very special addition to my bike adventure! Thanks, gang, for all the planning and effort that went into making this weekend possible.