Road Trip

20090512-road.jpg

My car. It has four bald tires. Two loose linkage thingamabobbers, a tail light that apparently doesn’t work all the time, and some sort of air pump that goes off right when I’m near people or stopped in traffic next to someone with their windows open, or next to a gaggle of pedestrians. The pump sounds like the loudest old fashioned bike air pump you’ve ever heard, and it’s horrible. I asked the fine folks at Fields in Northfield to fix it, and they claim that the sound is just fine. Between the bald tires and the air compressor and the warning light that tells me my TPM sensor is bad, it’s really quite a shiny hunk of German junk.

I am a horrible car owner. I admit to it, and I accept the label. I do not wash my car with regularity, and I do not clean the inside except, well, basically I have never actually cleaned the inside of my car. If that sounds horrible, it sort of is. However, my car, in all of its neglected former glory, is still far, far luckier than your shiny car. Your car, the one with four perfect tires and no alarms or sensors chiming about a problematic this or a broken that, your car, it’s a miserable thing. If it sits in your garage on a weekday while you take the train to work, that’s fine. But when it sits in your driveway on a Saturday before you drive it down congested roadways to the country club and then it sits there again after you return from your country club, it’s still miserable. Because you, and your citified existence, isn’t giving your car what it desperately needs.

And what it desperately needs is to stretch its legs. Driving a car down a city street for 8 blocks before parking it in your employer provided parking spot is not doing your car justice. In fact, neither is driving your car down a brief stretch of interstate on your way to or from the club that you spend so much weekend time at. Lake Geneva is close, and it’s accessible, and perhaps best of all, we have roads that you can absolutely speed on.

I’m not telling you this in order to get you in trouble with the law. I do not get a stipend from the state for every race-crazed Illinois plate I can lure north of the border. It’s Michigan who treats out of staters differently (check their property tax rates), not Wisconsin. No, instead of telling you this to get you into trouble I’m telling you this to hopefully save both your spiritual soul and the internal combustion soul of your neglected race car that is currently collecting dust in your super fancy garage. I tell you this because it is summer, and we are human beings, and even Al Gore likes the way his secret sports car sounds when he revs the engine inside his Green garage. To paraphrase a quote that from someone that I once read somewhere, “I like hybrids- cars that burn gas and rubber”.

And with that, this: Your car enthusiast guide to speed worthy roads in Walworth County. First up, your route to the lake. If you find yourself coming to the lake via the North or Northwestern Suburbs, and you typically take either 94 or 12, this is for you. If you take 94, I’d like you to exit at 173 and head West. The 50 exit is messed up anyway, so you’ll thank me for exiting early. Drive West to Richmond, then go North to Genoa City (joining those who are traveling North on 12), and escape the primary traffic route to County B. It sneaks out of the West side of Genoa City, and this road is speed worthy. It has at least four sharp turns, and it’s out in the country, so you don’t have to contend with any considerable traffic, or too many bike riders or wandering pedestrians. You can stretch your legs and warm up those Z rated tires along the way.

When you take this route, follow B all the way to Cobblestone Road, and follow Cobblestone to where it hits back up with B just to the East of Walworth. From here, you can find your way to your home or to your hotel, or you can find your way to my office where I can help you find your way to vacation home utopia. Once here, there are other routes to follow. I’d recommend you take the drive around the lake, on South Lakeshore, then North Lakeshore, then through Williams Bay before ending up on Snake Road and following that for a spell. While this is a nice route in any season, it is not a route you should ever speed on, because of pedestrians and bicyclists, and general populations. Save your speed for the next route, which finds you East of Lake Geneva in the Knobs.

There are homes here, so it’s best to drive wisely, but there are also lots of hills and curves and the roads are worth the trip. You’ll want to turn off of Highway 50 just to the East of town, across from Lake Geneva Country Meats, and follow Cranberry Road to the North. Here you’ll find roads like Berndt, South, Steele, and others. All are worthy driving roads, and all will satisfy your urge to hold tight to an inside corner. Drive over here, then drive back to the meat store and buy some meat. See Nick, tell him I sent you, and then you’ll probably pay a 10% premium for being affiliated with me, but even so.

Driving north a ways, one of the best roads in the area for warming up that thick, lethargic oil is north of Elkhorn. There is lots of space up here, and few people to make any sort of trip all that dangerous. Follow 67 through Elkhorn (it’s always best to drive all the way through Elkhorn if you ever find yourself in Elkhorn, like that country song when it talks about Hell), and follow 12 where 67 continues North towards towns like Eagle or Palmyra. Turn North off of 12 near a bike shop that marks your point of departure from the main highway. This is County H, and it’s a hoot of a road. Cling tight to the corners, and watch for bike riders, as they frequent this southern section of the Kettle Morraine. Coincidentally, if you follow H for a ways, you’ll stumble upon Rushing Waters Fisheries, which is the single best source for smoked trout and salmon in the entire world. Whole Foods sells their fare, and so do many of your favorite Chicago restaurants, so it’s worth a visit to their retail store. Turn off on Bluff Road for a twisty treat, and then get back on H and follow South, back to civilization.

If you’re on the West side of the county, near Darien, that means you’re likely lost. Don’t panic. Get on County X and drive towards Clinton, and enjoy that road. If, while driving on X, you cross a stream that looks suspiciously like it may hold a healthy population of Brown Trout, just keep driving. It doesn’t. And if you do get to Clinton, don’t stay long. Trust me. With apple orchard season nearly underway, Royal Oak Farm Orchard must be on the agenda. And when it is, driving there from Walworth, near Sentry, is at least part of the fun. Take Ridge Road off of County B, drive it aggressively, because it’s begging for you to. Any of the roads in that area- Lakeville, Alden, Swamp Angel- they all appreciate warm tires and hot oil, so drive like your car was meant to be driven. And then buy apples at the orchard.

The desire to take a road trip is programmed inside each of us, somewhere deep, deep inside of us. However, right along that desire is a strong hatred of driving far distances. This is why Lake Geneva is ideal. You can indeed take a road trip to Michigan, and be subjected to their pot holes and generally joyless existence, or you could drive all the way to Door County, stopping for gas at least seven times along the way and risking the proposition that they, like Wally World, may be closed when you arrive. Or you could just drive to Lake Geneva. We’re close, we’re cool, and your supposed sports car is begging you to put it through its paces.

About the Author

I'm David Curry. I write this blog to educate and entertain those who subscribe to the theory that Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is indeed the center of the real estate universe. When I started selling real estate 27 years ago I did so of a desire to one day dominate the activity in the Lake Geneva vacation home market. With over $800,000,000 in sales since January of 2010, that goal is within reach. If I can help you with your Lake Geneva real estate needs, please consider me at your service. Thanks for reading.

Leave a Comment