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Vogels are Bike Touring 18,000 Miles with Kids

Vogels in Montana
A Wayword Journey

Read a story by Lynn Schnurnberger in Parade Magazine about the Vogels. They are a family that is over two years into a long bike tour from northern Alaska to southern Argentina. They’re traveling between 30-50 miles per day and riding about 15 days per month and are currently in Bolivia.

Check out their website, A Wayword Journey, to catch up on their progress and enjoy some photos and videos. Sounds like a fantastic journey and a great way to spend time with the kids.

Key Ring App Doesn’t Work

Key Ring App

I had such high hopes for the Key Ring app for my iPod Touch. It allows you to add frequent customer cards with bar codes to your device so you can go without the actual card.

I tried mine out with my Safeway card and my library card. Neither was able to scan and I had to resort to my backups. The program is very easy to use and I’m confident there is nothing wrong with the app specifically. The problem is likely with the very reflective iPod screen and bar code scanners have trouble focusing. I’ll continue to test the app, but the library card and grocery store card are my most frequently used.

Looks like I won’t be lightening my wallet yet.

Mackinac Island, Michigan

Mackinac Island is just off the Michigan upper peninsula in Lake Huron, about a thirty minute ferry ride from St. Ignace. The island is only about four square miles and there is a seven-mile road along the perimeter that is a very popular bike route. Since there are no cars on the island, the road is pure bicycle traffic with the occasional horse-drawn carriage.

Mackinac Island is a close second place behind Disney World as the most tourist-driven area. The downtown alternates fudge shops and t-shirt shops about every twenty feet. In fact. In a two-minute walk I noticed four different Ryba’s Fudge Shops.

We were there on a very sunny and crowded Saturday afternoon. The bike rental shops were raking in the cash hand over fist. Joan and I scored a tandem cruiser and circled the island. Our visit was brief, but I’ve got no complaints about an afternoon of cycling with views of the water and a break for ice cream.