Day of Shopping and Hanging Out at the Cottage

 

Today Anna Banana II invited Jilly Moose and me to hang out at her family cottage with her and her husband. We had lunch, and then we ladies took a walk around the neighborhood and went shopping in downtown Cambridge, where we explored all sorts of shops: clothing boutiques, antiques, crystals, chocolate, plants, and pottery. I bought an opal ring that looks like a lotus blossom.

Here it is on my hand.

This was in a crystal store with an "amethyst vortex."

We found the perfect pendant for Jilly Moose, and for only $5!

Back at the cottage, we prayed the Rosary together outside, gazing at Lake Ripley. It was so great to do it in person and not over Zoom for once! I used the new rosary I got yesterday at Holy Hill. Here it is with the new ring, so you can see how they're both opalescent, but they looked better in the sunlight than in this photo.

We saw this great blue heron land on the dock next door.

We saw this Sweet William in the neighborhood. It looked more spectacular in real life than in this photo.

Travalon went back to the wood duck ponds today and saw a blue heron himself, as well as a green heron and wood ducks and mallards.

Then he went to my future parking lot and took photos of train graffiti, which is currently my favorite form of art:

This graffiti is not that pretty, but I rarely see graffiti on these sausage cars (tankers):

Then he met us three ladies, plus OK Cap, at Nora's, a bar on Highway 12 with a good fish fry. He and Anna Banana II and I had the walleye, Jilly Moose had the cod, and OK Cap had the shrimp, and everyone thought it was delicious. On the way home I felt so happy; I took Stoughton Road instead of going on the interstate briefly, since my speedometer is acting weird at high speeds, and that way I saw the Airgas tower all lit up. I also saw the Big Bendy B Bus, and that made me happy too. Maybe it was all the chocolate I ate today giving me a little buzz or something.

I forgot to mention that during our Upper Dells boat ride, the woman sitting right behind me dropped her jacket in the water. I said, "I hope you had nothing in the pockets," and she said, "Just a tissue," so I said, "It is hard to lose a good tissue." We also saw trains on the bridge over the boat launch area, one when we were heading out and a second when we were coming back. Maybe they come really often there. The last two nights Travalon and I have been sitting on our porch when we hear a train horn, and it seems close so we hop in the car and run out to the crossing, but the train never comes. Of course, when we hear the horn but can't go see, like during the last episode of Colbert or during my Union meeting, then the train does pass by. It's so frustrating. But tomorrow we should see plenty of trains in Rochelle.

Famous Hat

Happy 80th Birthday (in Heaven), Pa Hat! And Farewell to Colbert

 

It's very late because we stayed up to watch the final episode of Colbert, but I did want to blog quickly tonight. Anna Banana II and I were going to go to the shrine in La Crosse to commemorate what would have been Pa Hat's 80th birthday today, since I know he has been to that shrine, but we were both tired and decided to go somewhere a little closer, Holy Hill. I lit a candle for Pa Hat and for Travalon's mom, then we went down to the St. Therese Chapel.

In the gift shop I bought a rosary (shocker!) and a T-shirt, using that $150 gift card I got through the wellness program at work. Then we drove back to her family cottage, and on the way we stopped at a rest stop with a "pet sauce walking area." Huh?

Then we took a walk from her cottage to the A-frame houses for old time's sake, and we passed this blooming tree.

It doesn't have a fragrance, but it's very beautiful, and my plant ID app says it's a "beauty tree."

Meanwhile, at work Travalon cannot escape Six Seven.

In the evening Travalon, Anna Banana II, Richard Bonomo, Jilly Moose, and I gathered at one of Pa Hat's favorite restaurants, the Essen Haus. Just a few months ago their bathrooms were just the same as they had been when I was in college, but today they were all modernized and not institutional and grungy, so when Rich said the restaurant isn't going to close after all, I wasn't surprised. Who would update bathrooms they hadn't bothered to update in at least thirty years if they were just going to get torn down to build yet more high-rise apartments? So that is some good news, at least. The waitress told us she couldn't sell us a whole chocolate cake, but she did bring us five pieces, each with its own candle.

When I tipped the small polka band (two accordions, one drummer, and endless corny jokes), they asked if I had any requests. I told them the sad story of how Pa Hat would have been eighty today but he died a couple of weeks ago, and they played a rousing polka version of "Happy Birthday" to Pa Hat. I had a very German dinner of jaegerschnitzel, potato pancake with applesauce, and red cabbage; however, the cake was not German chocolate but just basic chocolate. The pieces were so huge that we joked about how of course they couldn't have sold me a whole cake, it would be seven feet long and cost $238. Anyway, it seemed like a fitting tribute. I asked everyone's favorite memory of Pa Hat, and they all remembered his speech at my wedding to Travalon. If only someone had made a video...

So farewell to Pa Hat and to Colbert, who is not dead but was the only thing keeping me sane in this crazy time, besides Irish fiddle tunes. I'll just have to learn to live without the two of them.

Famous Hat

Lunch at Fitz's and Upper Dells Boat Tour

 

This morning Anna Banana II drove her mother, her husband, Jilly Moose, and me to Fitz's by the Lake as I directed her there. They all enjoyed the view and the food, especially the salad bar. Then we drove to the Dells and took the Upper Dells Boat Tour. We bought tickets for the 2:00 ride, although it didn't matter because if we didn't make it, we would have just waited forty minutes for the next boat ride. We got there just at two and were afraid we'd miss the boat, but in fact our timing was perfect because everyone was just getting on the boat, and there was plenty of room for the five of us. I was literally the last one aboard. The others sat down below, but Anna Banana II and I sat on the top of the boat. Here she is living her best life.

It was a gorgeous day, but a bit cool, so I was glad to be wearing both my new Horicon hoodie and my light jacket. We admired the scenery as the husband and wife team of the captain and first mate took turns telling us what we were looking at. I wish Travalon could have joined us - he could have gotten such fantastic photos with his good camera! 

Our first stop was Witch's Gulch. It was so beautiful and almost looked tropical, with the lush green ferns and moss clinging to the layered rocks. Here are a couple of photos.

And I couldn't pass these Jacks-in-the-Pulpit without taking a photo.

I forget the name of our second stop, but it was where a famous photographer took a photo of his son jumping onto a rock formation. Nowadays they have a dog do it. Here's a photo of the formation.

The first dog decided to go on strike, no matter how many treats they threw onto the formation, so they got a second dog. You can see in this brief video that she found the stash of treats they had tried to tempt the first dog with.

We also saw an eagle peeking out from behind a tree. This isn't the best photo of it.

And there were more Jacks-in-the-Pulpit.

This formation is called the Demon's Anvil. They claim that it was twice this size in the early 1900s.

When I told the wife half of the team about the Dubuque Monument, she said they love Iowa and have been to the Mines of Spain State Park but hadn't seen the monument, so they'll have to check it out. Then we all got back on the boat and headed back to port.

Travalon didn't get a chance to go to the Wood Duck Ponds today, since he had to be to work early for team building and a terrible lunch, but he took some photos yesterday and the day before. No other birds besides wood ducks, but it looks like maybe one of the elusive beavers some rando told us live in the ponds, since Travalon thought it looked too large to be a muskrat.

Still not sure if it's just a muskrat or an actual beaver. Feel free to debate this important question in the comments section.

Famous Hat