Madeline Island

   Many years ago we pulled up to the ferry landing in Bayfield, Wisconsin and watched the ferry loaded with cars headed to Madeline Island two miles out in Lake Superior.  The three boys were little then. I think we had been driving back to Wannaska from a visit to my family in Boston. I resolved then we'd get back someday. After forty years, we finally did it last week. I found out after our trip to the island, that one of the boys beat us to it ten years ago.

   Madeline Island is the largest of the Apostle Islands and the only one that has permanent residents. The island is fourteen miles long and three miles at its widest. Its irregular shape is replicated on post cards, carvings and pottery in the island gift shop. I even saw an island tattoo on a ferry passenger. The rest of the islands are part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. I thought the islands would be named Peter,  James and John, etc. instead of Oak, Bear and Devil. I thought Madeline was a misspelling of the female apostle Mary Magdalen but it's named for the 19th century native leader Madeleine Cadotte.

   So our friends John and Sue kept telling us about their friend Lucy who has a place on Madeline Island and that we should see it some time. We finally nailed down a few days last week and drove the seven and a half hours from home to Bayfield on Labor Day. John and Sue said most of the summer people go home after Labor Day and it gets quieter on the island. We drove our vehicle onto the ferry and enjoyed the view  on the 20 minute ride. 

Island ferry

   John and Sue met us at the landing in LaPointe, the only town on the island. They led us a couple of miles on a quiet paved road to Lucy's place set in dense woods. Lucy spent her summers growing up on the island at her parent's place on the lakeshore. That's when Sue,  as Lucy's classmate, started coming to the island. Lucy eventually bought a small place of her own and has been fixing it up and expanding it, adding three small cottages within view for her children, grandchildren and other visitors.

   There's a huge porch with sofas and comfortable chairs, good for relaxing or reading or sleeping. It was late afternoon so we started relaxing. Teresa and I were given the master bedroom which is its own separate building right next to the main house. Between the two buildings is an outdoor shower (with curtain). I hadn't had an outdoor shower since Boy Scouts. It was much nicer to have hot water running over me while a cool breeze shook the trees overhead.

    After a leisurely breakfast next day, we set out on our morning activity- a long hike in the combination town and state park. A boardwalk in the park traverses a narrow strip of land which divides a lagoon from Lake Superior. The boardwalk is a mile long and we continued on a trail to an overlook: total hike four miles. Back at the cabin, our task was rest and relaxation. It was our anniversary so we cracked open a bottle of prosecco and gathered around the kitchen island and made a slow pizza.

Down to the boardwalk 

   Next day was similar: long breakfast, four mile hike in a nature preserve, R&R back at the cabin then out to the local dive bar. But not to any dive bar. We went to Tom's Burned Down Cafe. This place burned down in 1992 the night before it was scheduled to open. It was not insured. On the day of the grand opening the beer truck arrived on the ferry. The owner, Tom, having no money, started selling beer out of his car. After clearing away the debris from the fire, he set up a big tent and gave the place its current name. Over the decades the place has grown into an open-air, ramshackle collection of trailers, decks, and circus tents. There are nooks for sitting, and a stage for touring musicians and karaoke artists plus lots of funny signs  

   I'm not sure what makes a place magical. Can a city be magical? Parts of it can. Nature has a better chance of it. It's mostly a state of mind and Madeline Island put me in that state. Magic can happen on your own or while syncing with others. This post is a thank you to John and Sue for making my long held dream of getting to the island come true.

The Magic Kingdom, cash only