56 miles, 1037′ of climbing (1360′ Down!) – to read from the beginning, click here.
Sad news this morning that my best friend in the world passed after a long three months in hospice with congestive heart failure. We had many discussions and goodbyes during his time in hospice and I’m glad we had that chance. One of the things we discussed was whether I should leave on this trip, and he was very supportive of me going ahead with our plans. I’m going to do a longer toast to Chris at the end of this post if you are interested, but for now will get on with the trip.
We left Steve and Jane after coffee & breakfast and our daily ritual of reloading the bikes. Our destination today was Van Buren State Park with a stop on the way at South Haven.
While we’ve been touting the flatness of Michigan, even we weren’t expecting to have more down than up. A good thing as the temps were really soaring today with a heat advisory for temps in the 90s. We’ve both been through that before and weren’t phased by the riding, but the sleeping? Well, more on that later.
We started off on the Kal-Haven trail, but we soon opted for paved, low traffic roads over the crushed limestone trail surface. It was nice, but trails are also more work than pavement when you have a load like ours. In South Haven, we got our first glimpse of Lake Michigan and we toasted Chris with his favorite drink — a Manhattan on the rocks — at Admiral Jack’s bar. We then made our way to Van Buren to set up the tent and head to the beach.
As promised by our Warmshower host David, we were allowed to camp even though the sites were all taken. And, it cost us a whole $20! We set up the tent and headed for the water. The beach is beautiful clean sand and the water was very inviting. On my first trek out, though, I stumbled on the rock garden that makes up the first 20′ or so. I put on my Teva’s and tried again and it was much easier. The water was so cool and refreshing that I took two dips. However, one out of the water, the heat and humidity swapped any residual coolness from your limbs. Due to poor planning, we didn’t have anything for dinner, so we rode back another 5 miles to The Lodge to get a meal and some refreshments. “Where the locals go” was their mantra and turned out to be true and a relief from the touristy downtown.
After regaling the locals with our touring stories, we headed back to the tent. We tried to get a shower, but the number of showers per camper was woefully inadequate, so we both took sink baths and headed to bed. It was so hot and humid though, neither of us could sleep, and my heart rate was up in the 80’s — not a good sign when laying down. Luckily we had some ice (I carry a Yeti equivalent and stoke it with ice each day) and I added some water, took off the tent fly, and that got temps and my heart rate down enough to get some sleep. Dana did a bit better in the sleep department, so she was a little better prepared for tomorrow’s challenge: getting to our Warmshowers host Stephen in Holland, MI (Chris’ tribute continues after today’s pics).
Chris Fahey
So, this is mostly for me, but if you’re interested , this is a brief history of my friendship with Chris. We’ve known each other since Chris escorted un-clearanced me into the S.C.I.F (Secured Compartmented Information Facility) when I first started working at the defense contractor HRB-Singer in May of 1983.
Since I couldn’t work on anything classified, I was given a non-classified portion of the project to work on while awaiting my clearances. Chris was assigned, or opted to, be my escort into the SCIF and the computer room from midnight to 6 a.m., so I could learn about the computer system (SEL32) while all the secret stuff was packed away in the vaults. For many reasons, political, religious, general attitude, and the fact that we were both alums of the Math-ComSci program at Lock Haven College, we connected immediately and started meeting out of work settings.
And that lasted through these 42 years, through job changes and layoffs and my fam’s move to Berlin for 18 mos., through sailing lessons (for me) at Lake Glendale, his life-changing motorcycle accident, and, and I could go on, and on, and on…. Suffice to say that he was my brother from another mother and he told his family that I was the brother he picked (he had 3 of his own!). I was lucky enough have him for a friend this long!
As his 70th birthday approached, he wanted to go to NYC, sit on a park bench and have me play that song. When I kept prompting for when to go, he said, “Ahh, too much trouble. And I’d have to walk in NY.” So, we never did that, but as my 70th approaches too soon, here’s a good stanze that describes us: “Can you imagine us years from today, sharing a park bench quietly. How terribly strange to be 70. Old Friends. Memory brushes the same years, silently sharing the same fears.” 🥹
Very sorry to hear of your loss Paul. Dana has told me what a great friendship you and Chris had and how you have helped him so much during these difficult months. I’m sure Chris (and Jesus) are smiling down on you for the kindness you showed Chris and also know you will see him again someday. Many hugs.
Thank you, Lisa.
Lovely tribute to a longtime and great friend. Rest well, Mr. Chris. You were always kind, friendly and welcoming to us and always made us laugh. We all enjoyed our time in your company, and will remember you fondly as you move on from here.