Rodney's Sweet Sixteen Birthday Party

Yesterday evening Travalon and I grabbed a picnic table right by the water’s edge at the Union Terrace for Rodney’s Sweet Sixteenth birthday party. Soon we were joined by Luxuli and OK Cap, who had run into each other near the brat stand, and eventually our numbers swelled to include the Single B-Boy, Jilly Moose, Prairie Man, and Richard Bonomo. We all got dinner there, but quite a wide variety: fish tacos, brats, cheeseburgers, and a chicken salad were among the choices. Prairie Man had a vegetarian selection, I believe a black bean burger. A lot of us got the Union’s delicious corn on the cob too, and of course there were the libations, including summer shandies and a pitcher of sangria courtesy of Luxuli. I brought chocolate-peanut butter cupcakes for dessert, and Travalon brought doggie treats for the two canine attendees, the birthday boy and Michaela. It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather, and at first a bluegrass band was playing some wonderful background music, but later there was an open mic with bands of varying degrees of competence taking the stage. Their degree of competence seemed to be inversely proportional to their degree of volume. Otherwise, it was a perfect way to celebrate Rodney’s birthday. Here’s to many more in his future!

Famous Hat

Dramatic Boating Rescue

Late yesterday afternoon, Travalon and I set out in our boat to explore Cherokee Marsh. We were very excited because this time there was a clear path cut through the lily pads, and when we came to a second row, there was another clear path, so we got through to the island with no problems. We went a little beyond the island and were planning to turn around soon when the motor conked out completely. Travalon tried and tried to get it to restart, but nothing worked. I said, “We’re just going to have to paddle,” so we each grabbed an oar and started paddling back downstream, but the wind was blowing against us much harder than the current was carrying us, and we didn’t make much progress. 

Just then we saw a boat we had passed earlier coming back toward us. It was marked “Limnology” but the graduate student driving it said he was actually from Civil and Environmental Engineering, and they were just borrowing the boat from Limnology. The boat was full of baby reed plants that he and another graduate student were planting in the marsh. We asked if he knew anything about boat motors, and he did not, other than how to start the motor on the Limnology boat. However, he did tow us back most of the way home, and we chatted amiably and found out he had lived in Oconomowoc for a couple of years, so we knew a lot of the same places. We promised to make a donation in his honor to the Civil and Environmental Engineering department to make up for the time and gas wasted on our rescue, then we tried our motor again but it still refused to start, so we paddled the rest of the way home. At that point we weren’t too far away, but it was still a good half-hour of paddling, which should make up for my skipping UGGH Club tonight for Rodney’s Sweet Sixteenth birthday party. (Rich, my arms do feel like they’re going to fall off.) 

This morning I found it was ridiculously easy to donate to Civil and Environmental Engineering, and they even had a space to comment on your donation. It’s like they expect grateful boaters to be thanking their grad students on a regular basis.

Famous Hat

No Boat Ride Last Night

Last night Travalon and I went out for a sunset boat ride, but the motor wouldn’t start. Travalon tried everything and even called Rich to see if he had any insights, but nothing worked, so we finally had to give up. Oddly enough, when Travalon tried starting the motor this morning, it started right up. I always wonder in cases like that if our guardian angels were keeping us from going out because something bad might have happened to us. I am a big one for trusting my instincts and sometimes don’t do something because I have a bad feeling about it. Hardingfele once asked me if I am ever right, and I avoided something bad, but there has never been a case that was obvious. I just assume my not being present kept the bad situation from happening. For example, if I had driven my usual route home, maybe I would have been hit by a car running a red light, but because I wasn’t there, the car didn’t hit anyone. I have never had an obvious situation like those people who just felt like going into work late on September 11, 2001, and they couldn’t explain why. Then again, maybe our boat motor is just finicky and it was too hot/flooded/who knows what last night but the problem resolved by this morning.

Famous Hat

Lemon Cake in the Tent with the Googly Eyes

Wasn’t this a beautiful weekend? I hope my readers enjoyed it as much as I did. Friday evening Richard Bonomo and I did Strength Training without Mercy at the health club while Travalon swam. Saturday a coworker was camping with a bunch of her friends at Kohler-Andrae State Park near Sheboygan, so Travalon and I took a road trip out there with Rodney. We took the plank path along the dunes to the dog beach, but it was a goodly hike so we were relieved when my coworker and a friend of hers were at the beach too, with a big black dog named Sophie. They gave us a ride back to camp. This group was a lot of fun, and we are hoping to camp with them next year. One sentence I uttered to Travalon that sums up the whole experience: “There’s lemon cake in the tent with the googly eyes.” We did go into Sheboygan to visit a tavern from the book and a brew pub that wasn’t, but that was really cool. Sheboygan is turning into a totally hip place! And it has a beautiful lakeshore area.

Yesterday Travalon and I went out on the boat for our longest ride yet, to just past Governor’s Island (which is actually a peninsula). It was so beautiful out on the water. One of the people on the camping trip had mentioned a band called Steely Dane would be playing at Atwood Fest, so we headed down there and caught most of their show. They did, obviously, covers of Steely Dan songs, and everyone was getting into it, including a little boy who couldn’t have been more than three. Travalon and I wrapped up the evening by visiting the Tiki Bar at the East Side Club, watching the sun set over Lake Monona. It was a gorgeous, rosy sunset. “Red at night, sailors’ delight.” It bodes well for us to take another boat ride tonight.

Famous Hat

Live Music at the East Side Club

Last night I skipped UGGH Club to go see an ABBA cover band on the roof of the Monona Terrace with Travalon. However, when we got to the Monona Terrace, we could see the place was so packed that people weren’t getting onto the roof. I’d been to a dance like that before, where I got there early enough to be let in but then later people were turned away. Also, parking was incredibly scarce, so we decided to forego the dance and just head home to our boat. Then Travalon had an idea: why not check out the East Side Club? As we got closer, we could see a ton of people were there as well and wondered if we were going to strike out again, but we managed to find a parking spot. They had a bluegrass band playing, and there was a $5 cover charge to get in, but it was worth it to hang out by the lake, listening to live music. We didn’t realize, even now that we are official members, that they have live music on Thursday nights in the summer. A quick perusal of their website shows that it is not every Thursday night, but every other one. You don’t have to be a member to attend, so if any of my readers would like to go, let me know. It was a fabulous time with an amazing view of the sunset.

Famous Hat

Boating on the River and Lake

I love summer! It is so much more fun than, say, winter. Last night Travalon and I went out in our boat, since the motor is finally working. We went up the river into Cherokee Marsh for a short spin, but lily pads were clogging the path to the island so we turned around and went back out into Lake Mendota. By then the sun was beginning to set and the wind was picking up, so the waves were getting wilder. It was a perfect night to be out on the water, and the sunset was glorious. We saw lots of people eating outside at Mariner’s, just like we did on Sunday evening. We could see a couple of fake lighthouses from the boat, the one in front of Mariner’s restaurant and the one in front of the Mariner’s Cove condo complex. I just love living in such a “maritime” community! We haven’t canoed yet this summer, but Travalon pointed out that we had only acquired the canoe about this time last year and still did tons of canoeing, so we have that to look forward to as well. Tonight we may go out on the boat again but will probably go see an ABBA cover band on the rooftop of the Monona Terrace. I love summer!

Famous Hat

Early Music Weekend

My vacation continued on Friday when I met Tiffy for breakfast at Short Stack, a restaurant that only does breakfast food all day long. We checked out the Maxwell Street Days sales, then we met the Daughter of Denni to see the Participant Concert. Most years I have been in it myself. It’s amazing how good all these amateurs are. It was a very hot day, so we mostly stayed inside in the air conditioning. Rich met us for dinner at Kabul’s, then Tiffy and I went to the concert that night, which was Ensemble Peregrina, four women singing medieval chant and polyphony. They were extraordinary. Afterwards Travalon met the two of us at Hop Cat for a beer; we both got carded, but he didn’t, so we loved that.

Saturday Travalon had to work, so I met Tiffy and Rich for coffee, and then we hung out in her sister’s gorgeous apartment. Tiffy and I had lunch at a Peruvian restaurant, then I went home and spent some time with my poor husband, since he hadn’t seen much of me for the past week. We had the shrimp boil at the Nau-Ti-Gal for dinner, then he went to a movie while I met Tiffy and the Daughter of Denni for the final concert of the Early Music Festival. Such glorious music! I especially loved the Russian liturgical polyphony. Afterwards we went to Mr. Brews to compare it with Hop Cat, since they both carry many beers but Mr. Brews is locally owned. We all liked it better than Hop Cat, since it had a calmer clientele with more varied ages.

Sunday Anna Banana II came to Mass to say her goodbyes, and Jilly Moose came too. She joined us for brunch afterwards, then Rich, Travalon, and I went to our realtor’s thank you picnic for her clients. It was a cookout with delicious burgers and lots of stuff for kids, like face painting and a bounce castle. There was even an inflatable obstacle course which we decided to try, even if it was geared for children. Rich got through it without any problems, but Travalon and I were out of breath by the time we finished. Guess I need to go to UGGH Club more regularly! I haven’t been in two weeks… Travalon and I ended the wonderful week with a romantic dinner overlooking the lake to celebrate my selling the condo. And now it’s back to everyday life… sigh.  

Famous Hat