It was a pretty chair. I flew two hundred miles to see it.
South central Wisconsin can be hot and humid in the late spring, summer, and into the fall. I don’t like heat and humidity. I start looking for an escape when I see forecast temperatures beginning with “9” (or “8” followed by anything greater than about “2.”)
No problem. Lake Michigan isn’t all that far from here. If twenty five years of life in Duluth taught me anything, it’s that the Great Lakes are a natural and absolute cure for heat. I can hop in a plane and land within biking distance of the lake in an hour or two depending on how far up the shore I choose to go.
The best candidates for a quick Lake Michigan flight from here are, if you hate big cities as much as I do, Manitowoc and Sheboygan. Both have airports relatively close to the lake and I’ve never spent any appreciable amount of time in either.
Sheboygan is a slightly shorter flight, so I canvassed it in Google Maps first. I found and noted the makings of an interesting day trip or two, but nothing really jumped out at me; nothing made me say “yes, I need to see this today.” So I swiped a couple dozen miles up the shoreline to Manitowoc.
Photos of Manitowoc looked very Duluthy, like a suitable place to cool down (maybe freeze?) on a day that was to be uncomfortably hot everywhere else. One photo in particular, of a chair somewhere along the shoreline, really drew me in. It wasn’t so much the chair, though, as it was the commemorative plaque behind it that caught my eye. It had a lot of words on it but they were illegible!
What does it say? Is this a memorial? Did a little old lady watch the sunrise from this spot every Saturday morning for the final ten years of her life? Is this her family’s enduring homage to her? Does it face the sunrise on a particular day? On the summer solstice? On the day she passed away?
There might be a story in those blurry words!
Off to Manitowoc I went. The flight was typical and uneventful. I biked from the airport to Wrap it Up for lunch, then headed to Lakefront Park where I knew the air would be cool. I walked out to the North Breakwater Lighthouse and took a few photos. Yes, this place is very Duluthy.
I headed north on Mariners Trail where I quickly found the chair.
It is a pretty chair, I have to give it that. It is (sadly?) not a memorial, however.
Although this rocking chair will not take you very far. It will allow you to rest your mind, calm your heart, and take a moment for yourself. We all need a little time to relax and revive our spirit. Managing our stress, and our rest is a sign of living wisely. We hope you enjoy this little piece of paradise
The smaller plaque on the face of the chair simply says “Donated by the Tollefson family.”
Does it face the sunrise on a particular day? According to the compass on my phone, it faces 117° magnetic. I suspect it is not oriented to the sunrise. The sun rises in front of it once around November 20th and again around January 22nd. These are not pleasant times of year to sit on the shores of Lake Michigan at sunrise.
“[This] rocking chair will not take you very far.” Not necessarily true. It took me more than two hundred miles today. It wasn’t a touching memorial but it was a nice place to sit.