I'll just dive in...
...much like Rigby: Todd was selling his boat to my dad who was planning to come to Wisconsin to pick it up. Before he arrived, Todd wanted to make triple sure it ran ok, so we took it out for a ride. He put Rigby in the boat and as he pulled away we heard **SPLASH** and there was Rigby swimming to shore!
Let's check the logic: The river is less scary than the boat...??
Landlubber!
So, we discovered Rigby can swim - and that the boat doesn't sink...
Todd came back for me and another try for Riggs. We forced him into the boat again and took off. He did much better but was still pretty tense...
Two discoveries in Wisconsin for me, well, four, after Rigby's swim and the boat working well, were pickled brussel sprouts and cheese curds. The first I had never heard of and the second I had heard tons about, but had never tried. The brussel sprouts are delicious! They're used as garnishes in drinks like Old Fashioneds and I couldn't get enough!
I have wanted to try cheese curds every time we've been in Wisconsin, but we haven't gotten around to it. Todd and I picked this package up at the grocery store and let me tell you they're also a very yummy treat. These were still slightly warm and, as I found out, the fresher they are the more they squeak on your teeth when you chew! Yes, squeak. It's kind of like the sound of tennis shoes on a gym floor, only nowhere near as loud.
In fact, the back of the package says:
"You can be fully confident that when you select our cheese curds that they will be the freshest and the squeakiest available anywhere!"
We took my dad to a good ol' Wisconsin fish fry at this place. Yes, it was meet the parents weekend (sans my mom who was getting ready for the family reunion), so my dad and Todd's mom got to meet!
All week in Wisconsin we packed...
And packed some more! My days of packing and unpacking are just...endless. We were in Wisconsin to help his mom downsize and take some things back. My dad helping load the U-Haul while Rigby oversees the job...
Then it was down to Illinois for my family reunion! We always have it at New Salem State Park, one of those living history places where people are dying yarn and chopping logs for cabins...
Some of the fam walking the Village...(note the guy chopping a log)
Todd and I toasting with lemonade at the Temperance tent...
The spread at the reunion!
Some of the crew. By the way, it was like a sauna that day. Literally. I can never, ever, EVER live with that kind of humidity again. I know what the good life is like and there's no going back!
Saying the prayer before digging in...
Todd competing in the "washers" tournament...
On our way home, Todd and I stopped by Chimney Rock outside Scottsbluff, Neb. The 300 foot formation served as a landmark on the Oregon, Mormon and California Trails. I'd never been before and really wanted to see it...
You couldn't drive right up to the base, but there was a dirt road that took you part way. Todd hesitated because we had the U-Haul hitched to the back. I told him if Conestoga wagons could make it this far, so could we...
On the way up there's a little cemetery. Todd said this is where other people who had tried pulling U-Hauls up there were buried...
This was the oldest grave we found. Pretty neat...
We finally made it home about 9 p.m. after 2,700 miles on the road.
I am so happy to be here. Mess and all.
1 comment:
It was a fun trip - we are headed to mom and dad's lake for the 4th (the kids and I).
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