Cross Plains Segment and Another Boat Ride

 

Today after Mass, Travalon and I saw a car in the parking lot with an Ice Age Trail license plate. Then we went to Cross Plains to get a little Trail Magic (discounted coffee and lunch) and to walk on the boardwalks in town, which are part of the Ice Age Trail. It was very sunny and there was little shade there, plus a railroad track goes right by the paths but we didn't see a train, so it was not quite as wonderful a walk as yesterday, but it was still great to get out and enjoy the sunshine so late in the season. It was so warm that we wore shorts! Here are some photos.

We rushed to my drum lesson, and I was afraid I'd be late, but the "real" drum group was having a membership meeting that ran long, so I was fine. Today we just grooved, and I got to play the big drum again. I like that because it's on a stand, and also because the rhythm is so simple (just the offbeat) I get a chance to listen to all the other drums. I'm lazy, and I love the sound of the deepest drums, so it's perfect for me. While I was drumming, Travalon was out fishing, and he caught a fish!

He didn't keep it.

So... I lied about Friday being our last boat ride, because today after my drum lesson we went for a boat ride out into the marsh. Usually in October it's very clear back there, because the lotuses have died back, but today there were thick mats of algae or some kind of gunk gumming up the whole place. Gross!

At band practice tonight we worked on Cajun tunes, although right at the end we did some Irish jigs. We practiced at our newest fiddler's house, and her five-month-old baby was lying on the floor, rolling around. When we would play, he became very quiet, and his eyes got huge. I guess he likes Cajun music? Then her four-year-old came home from playing with his buddy Max, who is a girl. She's four too. He likes to play his little toy saxophone thing with us, but alas, he has no concept of playing in the same key. I do appreciate his enthusiasm. I wonder if this is how my drum teachers see me? "She doesn't really get what we're doing, but we love her spirit!"

Famous Hat

Welcome Breakfast, Drum Lesson, and Cajun Tunes

 

This morning Travalon and I went to church an hour early for a new member breakfast. We felt a little funny about it, since we have been going for two years now, but another couple at our table said they have also been going for over a year, so we weren't the only ones attending and not joining. After Mass we took a walk on Governor's Island, since it was such a beautiful day out. I felt a bit sad about missing the Scottish Fest going on this afternoon, but it was my first drum class of this session.

I got to drum class a half hour early because the cavaquinho player said he would be having a casual pagode practice before our lesson, but there was no sign of him, and the "real" players' practice ran long. I hung out in the parking lot with a couple who got the time wrong; I knew the woman from pagode practice on Friday night. A lot of my buddies came back to drumming school, and in fact there were no new people this time, so we just got into a groove. I played the marcaçao, which is the lowest drum, and sort of the easiest because you just play on the downbeats, and I kind of got into a trance until the stand my drum was on had some sort of structural failure. Fortunately I managed to catch it before it crashed. One of the teachers came over and fixed it, so then I was off and playing again. The leader of the women's pagode group was there, helping to teach. I love this group of people - they are so fun and chill.

Afterwards I was quite tired. Travalon and I went to a park on the lake which I can never remember its name, and we debated going on a boat ride, but I was just too beat. I sat on our porch and prayed a rosary, and then I felt rested enough to go to band practice. We worked on Cajun music again, and the hostess's grandson came in and then left because I'm sure there's little more annoying than bad Cajun music. Even when played well, it's kind of whiney, which I love but some people hate. And believe me, we were not playing it well at first, but we definitely improved over the course of our practice. I have no idea why we are working on Cajun music; I am not aware of any upcoming Cajun gigs. Though if you know of any, drop me a line - we might be up to speed by then.

Here are some recent acquisitions. Travalon got this tiny British engine.

And he got me a model NYC subway car with graffiti, different on each side.

He also got himself a new railroad shirt.

As we were walking on Governor's Island, I saw this bright sumac leaf from a distance and thought it was something manmade, since the color was so vibrant.

And when we stopped by my parking lot on the way back from my drum lesson, we saw this graffiti.

And here are screenshots from the second half of Travalon's video from Thursday.

There were several cars where it looked like they might have painted over graffiti with some boring grayish paint somewhat like the color of the car, and if that's true, what a shame. Why not enjoy free art instead of destroying it? Someone posted a video on social media of a train with some cool graffiti, so maybe tomorrow I will post screenshots from that.

Famous Hat

Willy Street Fair 2026

 

Since we went to Mass last night, Travalon was able to watch the Wolverhampton game this morning, and they won! Sadly, there was a brand-new mural someone had pained with some of their star players on it, and a guy from the other team defaced it - it wasn't even 24 hours old!

Then we went to Willy Street in time to catch the parade. It was surprisingly cool today, and I was trying to think how to be extra in warm clothes, when it occurred to me that I have that silly thing that looks like a fuzzy, three-eyed blue monster that sits on my head, and I can make the ears move. Is it a hat? Is it a stuffed animal? Yes. 

We watched the parade, and I made the monster's ears move in time to the music. I could see that some of the Brazilian drummers saw me and laughed. Travalon made some videos, and I compiled them into a movie but am having some technical difficulties so watch for that hopefully tomorrow. Here are a couple of photos. Sorry, my monster hat is not in any of them.

After the parade we went to check out the fair and immediately ran into the Kiwi from the Shamrock Club and his delightful girlfriend. Then another person they knew saw us and told us it was his birthday, so I sang him Happy Birthday in Basque, which he loved - he said, "That's a great birthday gift!" Travalon and I found the booth with the amazing kebabs, then we continued on and came across a band playing Latin music, so we sat and listened. They also did reggae and other styles - very versatile. Travalon got more kebabs and baobab shakes, then the Kiwi and his girlfriend joined us, and we split into two conversations based on gender. Then they went to check out other bands, since there were at least three other stages at the Fair, while we heard the whole set by that band, called Los Bad Hombres. Then we explored the Fair to the end, getting pork dumplings and coconut shrimp and hibiscus juice, and Travalon bought a pair of sunglasses from the local radio station just like the pair I bought last year. Somehow I lost a $5 bill. We passed a place selling gummies, so I bought a package and took one, since that was 5 mg, but it didn't seem to do much at first. 

We went back to the main stage, where a funky jazz combo called Rare Element were playing, and we listened to them. At some point the Kiwi and his girlfriend came back, and some guy gave them free little books, but he was gone so I couldn't get one. There was one of a poem of Gerard Manley Hopkins, my favorite poet, so I would have liked that one. They chose Dante's Inferno. They wandered off to hear a band called Yolk, and then the third band on the main stage played, I think they were called Automatic Lover. They also played funky jazz and Latin music, and at one point the lead singer asked, "Are there any Capricorns in the house?" I hollered, but nobody else did, and I felt a bit like that time at World Youth Day in Paris when the Pope was giving a shout-out to each country in French, and when he said, "Etats-Unis," Ethel and I hollered, but nobody else did for miles around, and the people around us asked, "Only you two from the US?" 

I saw a little kid looking at me, so I made my hat's ears move, and he was transfixed. Then someone brought over a baby to watch my hat. I had to keep doing it for so long that my FitBit said I got my steps for the hour just squeezing the paws of my monster hat to make the ears keep moving. Then we saw the Daughter of Denni, so I showed her how my monster hat's ears move, and she was as delighted as the children and bought us a beer. Part of a beer on top of the gummy did finally make me feel stoned, and suddenly the bassline in the music sounded AMAZING. Wow! Oh, I forgot to mention that at the place where I bought the gummies, Travalon bought an adorable stuffed bong.

So cute! Then on the way home we saw some train graffiti - thought I'd forgotten about that, didn't you?

We were enjoying the Willy Street Fair so much that I never got to the Slow Irish Session, and I would have had to miss the second half anyway to get to band practice. It was at our newest fiddler's house, and I stupidly didn't wear the blue monster hat, since she has a four-year-old, and also a four-month-old named after the Pope who was asleep the whole time we were there. We practiced some hard Cajun music that we had never played before, so I think the preschooler was annoyed. Cajun music does have a whiny quality even when played well, so you can imagine how weird it sounds when people are sight reading it. Travalon picked me up with a decaf iced pandan latte, what he always gets me when he goes to Leopold's. A wonderful ending to a wonderful day! 

Famous Hat

Stargazing on Rest Lake

 

This morning Travalon and I set off, and other than stopping for a quick lunch at Subway in Portage, we drove until reaching Rib Mountain. We took a vigorous hike at the top of it. Here are some photos.

There are more, but the internet is very slow here so it's taking forever just to load a couple of photos at a time. Then we stopped for a hike on the Bearskin Trail.

We got to Our Lady Queen of Peace just before the 5:30 Mass. The cantor had an especially lovely voice, but the priest from India had such a strong accent that I wasn't always sure what he was saying. Then we stopped by our cabin (the same one we have stayed in other years) before heading to Shillelagh Irish Pub for dinner. We just love their Guinness and mushroom soup, and we also had duck wontons, and Travalon had a shepherd's pie. There was a band playing oldies, a guy on guitar, his dad on drums, and a blonde woman whose relationship to them was not explained on the keyboard. After a while, Travalon and I were it for audience, so they started playing original tunes, which were actually pretty good. One pentatonic tune had a sort of Mideastern, psychedelic flavor. Then a group of Millennials came and sat right up front, and the band actually talked to them, asking for requests and urging them to sing along. Travalon and I were kind of bummed that we didn't get that kind of consideration for being such a loyal audience. They played the absolute weirdest version of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" I'd ever heard; the guitar sounded right, but the keyboard seemed to be in a totally different key and time signature. Also, they were a bit too loud for my taste, but it was still a fun way to spend a Saturday evening.

Once we got back to the cabin, we went down to the beach and gazed in admiration at the bright stars above us. We could clearly see the Milky Way, and perhaps some faint northern lights, and a number of satellites passing by. I took some photos with my phone, but they are not downloading to Boethius my computer, so they will just have to wait. Who knows if they even turned out? I wanted to do a Peter Cetera imitation like last year to get the loon to call back to me, but then some other people joined us on the beach, so I was too embarrassed. There were a surprising number of boats on Rest Lake at that late hour, and they made the waves slosh against the shore. I thought I saw a faint searchlight too, so maybe that is from the airport - there must be an airport in Manitowish Waters, since the Single B-Boy will fly up here and then bike around. He isn't here now - he and Cecil Markovitch are in Macedonia. I'd be jealous if I weren't in the North Woods myself. Nothing better than here!

Famous Hat