Our own private beach and million dollar views

We met Amy and the girls at Point Beach for some off road biking, picnicing and swimming.  The weather was beautiful.  It took two vehicles to get to our adventure today but we parked at a bike trail head about 3 miles from the beach and headed through the ridges and swales under the cool cedar canopy of late August.  It was an undulating terrain like the kids have never ridden before and their brakes did get a good work out.  Merrick did spin out and scrap up a knee pretty good but was able to shake it off with his tougher than nails attitude and we continued on to the way to the beach.  With a persistend 30 mile an hour breeze at the beach sand was everywhere.  But there were sandcastles and pits to be made and wading to be done in the  too-cold-for-adults temperature water.  Crystal blue skies and no one else on the beach for as far as we could see.  A private beach of such magnitude would be multimillion dollars but on this Monday it all ours for free.  We did play some football and chase some seagulls after our sandwich picnic, heavy on the sand,and after several hours we hit the trail and biked the 3 mile deep woods route back to our rubber armada.  We did swing by Washington House, the home of the Sundae, to partake in the cold confections and bovine lactations that make summer so grand before wrapping up the evening with a delicious taco meal and some reflection of how fortunate we are to have not one day like this but so many and so often.

Squinting Through the Dog Day Rays

 
The summer is quickly fleeting as we start to gather our school supplies, new shoes and pack a little extra fun into the few days remaining.  Our old rubber tramping friend called for a meeting at the Zipping Pippin, and we could not refuse.  It was his first time and the kids hate to miss ridding the wooden coaster.  We had three quick rides to get our blood moving on Saturday morning, well Merrick and my blood.  Sophia had already went for a run.  We then headed down town to see the Tall Ships.  The great sail clothed beasts were surrounded by a flotilla of kayaks swarming the river for an upclose look at these simple machines.  It was still not even noon and with the sun high in the sky and driving into our eyes we swung by another friends house to help him unload his moving truck of furniture and legos.  The kids were great helpers hauling the lighter boxes and totes and freeing up us adults to move the furniture.  We made it home in time for a brief rest and then cleaned the house for grill out with yet another old family of friends.  busy day indeed.  The kids splashed in the pool and tossed water balloons with occasional breaks to warm up reptiallian style on the over heated drive way.  The night was not late but the day was certainly full enough to completely satiate us.  With the new morning sun peaking through the windows we decided that we would load up the canoe and head out to a small inland lake for a little bobber fishing.  The kids caught some small blue gills and I had a long-distance release on a large mouth bass.  The final count was Merrick 2 and Sophia 1.  The breeze was blowing towards the landing so after we were fished out and our gear unloaded I let the kids take the canoe back out by themselves.  The handeled the 17 foot aluminum lady with great precision and I found myself smiling at them from the dock in the midday sun.  Our ride home required us to turn around and go back to a thrift sale that we almost passed, and lucky we did.  Sophia's eye was immediately drawn to a couple of porcelian dolls.  The man said they were his aunt's dolls and she had collected them her whole life until her death at 98.  He also said because Sophia was the only one to show in interest in the dolls all summer that she could have them.  With the new dolls under our arms and a few other treasures that we could not pass up we loaded up the car and started heading for home yet again, but it was a short trip and we were soon detoured by the custard shop and creamy heath flavor of the day.  The rest of the day is going to be filled with those quotidian tasks of domesticated life and Sophia has a friend on the way over to spend the night.  We have a few days left before the smells of new pencils and old desks fill our noses and we are busy making plans to keep them filled as well.

Hike 'em!

We headed out early on Monday morning making a congested drive down 41 and through Madison.  The view of the granite dome is still an impressive sight and worth a little extra traffic.  At any rate, this time we were only passing through the Capitol as we headed farther west to Gov. Dodge State Park to meet up the munkly Arky and the Bryan Clan.  The boys got there at the same time as we did and then it was time to camp, munkly Arky it turns out hadn't even left his house yet and he wouldn't show up until a great deal later.  We set up the tents and immediately headed out for a couple hour hike.  The park is beautiful and it was a nice topographical change to what we had become accoustomed to seeing.  The first night dinner basically took care of itself as we engaged in an age old event of stripping a wild plum tree of all its fruit.  In truth this time of year, there is little reason to pack any food as the woods is so bountiful.  We gorged on plums and Tuesday we supplemented the plums with black caps and couple not quite ripe apples.  Late in the day the call from "DuBecks" came in that she was on her way and it didn't take long to convince her to stay the whole trip as well.  The kids spent time practicing thier ax techniques by splitting pennies on a log, and riding thier bikes around the park and to the playground.  They also set up the screen tent and ate most of the snacks we packed while playing poker.  With campfires and smores to accompany the star filled sky we all rested quite peacefully, after the adults were reminded that quite hours start at 11.  Tuesday we headed out to find the Cave.  We bushwacked a trail behind our campsite down a 120 foot descent and then stated playing in driftless hills.  The cave was very cool, both literally and figuratively.  They kids had wisely planned ahead and brought flash lights so we could climb into a good sized cavern and check it out thoughly.  Our total changes in elevation were just over two thousand feet on that hike, thanks to the GPS recording and we returned with some calorie weakened legs.  We gorged on luch and slept off the lactic acid from the rapid hillside ascent back to camp.  Late afternoon we fished a bit and the kids continued to play in and around the campsite.  We chased around some coons in the early morning hours and after breaking camp we stopped for on more hike to a waterfalls.  It was cool, damp and bug free in the deep ravine into which the falls splashed.  A beautiful way to end a three day stay before making the long drive back home.  "We" did choose a different route to return by that took us through some beautiful rolling hills and old homesteads before a gas station lunch filled our bellies for the final push homeward.

Mad Town Rebels vol. 2

 
  I had a meeting in Madison so it was a good time to swing back through the capitol and have a lesson on civil disobedience.  The kids and I hadn't been in Madison since the big marches so earlier Friday Morning we loaded up our tribe of six and a couple copies of the Constitution and headed south.  There had been plenty of arrests in the rotunda for protesting, singing and just observing without a permit.  The kids practiced for the Capitol tour like two of the three monkeys from see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil.  Our drive was not without the occasional stop to refuel our bellies and Ella's Deli seemed like just the place to completely loose our focuse.  It is a treasure trove of mechanical dolls and table games and breakfast is served with a side of Carosel.  The Capitol was quite when we arrived and we just missed the guided tour but were still able to take a self guided tour.  We walked around the outside observation deck and the kids were able to sit in the Supreme Court, and because it wasn't in session, without fear of being strangled.  The Capitol, unbeknownst to us, also has several fossils in the granite so we did spend some time searching the stairs for the Capitol Starfish and other reminants of the Ordivician period. In the Rotunda a man recited a protest poem in an echoing voice and few ears as most of the crowd was outside.  We watched the protestors sing outside for a while and then when they marched in, we too marched with them.  We mostly watched but when they started singning "which side are you on?"  It was just too good of a tune to not join in with.  Sophia was hip to the idea of civil disobidence and we had a nice talk with an ACLU observer. The Capitol police did come out with a booming PA system to explain that it was an illegal protest because there were more than 4 people and no permits.  Sophia kept making air quotes when she used the word illegal. There were several people arrested but it was very peaceful. I biked over to my meeting and the kids headed to the Children's museum of exploration and ice cream.  We all meet up afterwards for some state street shopping and the kids were able to get a feel for the variety of people and circumstances the exist in their world.  The street musician was great and was able to make 2 ball appear in Sophia's hand where only one was before and not to be out done doubled Merrick's two as well.  A little food and a drive home rounded off the day nicely, a day that felt like three.

Packing It All into the Weekend

 
 It was a great weekend with gorgeous weather.  Lower temps and even lower humidity.  We did head out before all of our guests arrived to shoot.  Sophia is practiciing or the upcoming deer season and a couple of rounds from the 20 gauge certainly gave both her and I some confidence in her ability.  Merrick shot the big bore as well and then we all shot plenty of .22 rounds from their little framed Rossis.   The real fun began on Friday, Amy and the girls came up and we hit the thrift sales for some great deals including red Packer hats just for the game.  The clan Bryan arrived just around dinner time and we spent Friday evening and most of Saturday afternoon playing around the backyard wich now includes: slackline, pool, badminton, washer toss, soccer nets, driveway hockey, four square, swingset and some other odds and ends.  The favorite toy/game....dark.  The kids wait all day for it to get dark so they can play tag.  My flowers are trashed and we have a new set of crutches in the house.  Sophia hit a root at a full run directly on the bottom of her foot,  this inflamed the tendon on the bottom side of her foot and she couldnt walk.  We did some X-rays and it was all soft tissue damage, ice and time.  She did have to crutch her way through Lambeau however.  Saturday night was the Family night game, so us and over 63000 of our closest friends went to watch The Pack play against themselves.  The team looks about the same from last year and will likely continue to beat themselves, but the kids (and adults) had a blast.  We tailgated a bit before walking over.  I hugged a complete stranger and we we caught bratwursts that were flying through the air and called it dinner.  Life was good and we weren't even inside yet.  In hindsight Merrick could have done without the can of pop while tailgating and the bottle of water as soon as we got to the game, but I know the bathrooms very, very well.  The kids had a screaming contest with the rest of the crowd.  We watched the whole game, missed out on the jersey give away but watched some great fireworks.  Sunday morning was a little slow to start for most everyone and after such a full weekend, Sunday afternoon was pretty slow as well.

"Idiots Out Wandering Around"

 
 

  Counting the miles is much easier than counting the innumerable but memorable laughs and smiles.  We packed the explorer to its gills with humanity and luggage and headed west.  A detour through Valley Fair added only a few minutes to the total road trip time and was well worth it.  The heat was as high as the excitement for the big coasters and we headed straight to the wild thing.  Merrick, Ella and I forged a quick allegiance against the mighty coasters as the others waited in the wings.  It was great and with almost no lines we were able to ride the green beast twice in about 15 minutes.  The whole day felt as if it was our park alone. We weren't sure if the lack of lines was due to the heat or that it was a Thursday or maybe the maintence cut back on the rides.  Yup the restrictions have become a little lax.  Grace added 3/4 of an inch to her height for the Corkscrew but simply smiling at the young European worker.  Merrick and Grace were also riding the ocotopus, a large black scrambler with an altitude plane as well, when the ride abruptly stopped.  The worker told me they would be able to get the kids down.  Grace was standing up in her car and then Merrick too was standing up while still high in the air waiting to be off loaded, as the PA system sweetly played the country ballads of "anything can happen" and "we die young."  When they finially reached the ground the workers stated to work on their car.  Apparently the safety belts weren't holding them in!!  We hit all the major coasters, but finished with a big splash ride with the kids running loops for about a half hour on the same ride.  We told them final ride and as they were getting off, the next group of people was stranded on the watery ascent.  Back to the hotel and a greasy pizza joint before setting out again on our trail.  We didn't make it far before we made a stop at Minnesota's largest candy store (the yellow barn), for some morning sugar.  We made it to Sheldon in the early afternoon.  the pool was filled with kids decked out in Tyr gear.  There were canonballs for everyone including grandma and chicken fights across all age and gender categories.  If we weren't swimming then we were eating or wandering to the park for Ollie's birthday pinata.  The darkness of the evening didn't pull us from the water but rather like a moth to the flame, Kate tossed in hundreds of glo sticks for the kids to dive for in the darkening water.  Sunday found us ready to head home and although we missed the Spam museum everyone traveled very well and the hours quickly slipped away as we made the trek back with plans of doing it again.

Full swing summer

 

 Soccer has only next week left and the garden is in need of a legume harvest, so we are clearly in fully, smack dab in the middle of Cesar Julius' month.  Summer school ended last week so we have been shifting gears into full summer mode.  We did get out for a berry pick and have been spending plenty of time at local pools.  The kids are having a blast jumping off the high dives.  Not sure if I should be proud or a little apprehensive at the way Merrick has no fear and jumps with his little body from the 12 foot heights.  Luckily the winds have been light and he landed on course all giggles.  Sophia spendt last weekend tubing around the big lake at a friends cabin.  Merrick and I have a lot of dude time as Sophia really starts to spread her wings of independence.  We have been spending most of it outside, but did visit the library as well.  We hit the links early Monday morning to play some frisbee golf, but that ended when I lost my disc.  The second disc that course has swallowed up--it looks so open.  Merrick finished off the course and we just continued to walk and chat.  Truly a great time.  Caught a couple of grasshoppers for Mitch at our favorite field, but then I sent him into the store by himself to buy some more.  He came out all smiles at his independence.  His smile grew with his self-esteem and my pride as he beat me in chess later in the week, while Sophia was entertaining friends for a sleep over.  Chess and blackjack are still his games of choice and I think the math and promethian nature of the games must be good for his edutainment.  We are packing up today for our trip west.  Plan on hitting Valley Fair on our way to Munkly Arky's place to visit the whole family.