Today OK Cap drove Jilly Moose, Anna Banana II, Richard Bonomo, and me up to Stevens Point, where we had lunch at Bullheads on the Wisconsin River. We sat at a wonderful table in the shade from which every one of us had a view of the river. I bought OK Cap a dessert in lieu of gas money, and then all the Rosary Ladies ended up getting dessert, either carrot cake or lemon cake. Here's a photo of our view.
This morning I drove Anna Banana II and Jilly Moose to Galena, insisting I could do it without GPS. I was fine until getting to Galena itself, where there's no sign pointing to where the historical part is (like there is in Mineral Point), but it turns out you just follow Highway 20 and it gets you right there. We managed to find a parking spot right downtown, and then we went shopping. We mostly went to different shops than I went to with Tiffy on Sunday, although we did go to the shop with some New Age stuff and lots of Hawaiian shirts, where I bought the "I'm not a Virgo" necklace, and the proprietress remembered me. Maybe with the hat and the tie-dye, I am a memorable person. Anna Banana II bought a jacket there much like one I bought there some time ago, and she promised not to wear it at the same time I wore mine, but honestly I thought it would be kind of funny if we were all twinsies. I mean, we don't look anything alike.
We had lunch at a place with mediocre pizza, and then they didn't take credit cards so I was going to pay by check, but the waiter said if I did, I would have to pay the whole bill instead of just my share. Say what?? So I did, and the others gave me cash, but Anna Banana II was pretty annoyed by that so she didn't tip him that well. She and I had leftover pizza, so we went to the shop that just sells every kind of root beer and asked if they sold ice. They didn't, but they did sell coolers and then would give us ice, so I now have a commemorative root beer shop cooler. Other shops: two sock shops, several tea shops, some cookware shops, lots of jewelry shops, a pasta shop (I got Wisconsin Badger pasta, which is just W-shaped pasta in either neutral or red), candle shops, candy shops, coffee shops, and even a sports memorabilia shop that Travalon would like.
We took a trolley tour of Galena, and Anna Banana II and I had trouble staying awake even though the tour was interesting. I think I need my own personal trolley for those nights I can't sleep. You know those nights: you go read in the living room, and after an hour you finally feel a bit sleepy. What if you could just ride a trolley and fall instantly asleep? They should have one that goes around town after hours for insomniacs to ride, and one of those night owl types could make good money driving it. After the tour we shopped some more, then we heard a brass band playing a free concert in a little park area. Here are some photos. Check it out - their phone number has an area code for our area!
Here is a photo from yesterday, when we were walking at Jackson's Landing. Anna Banana II and Jilly Moose are standing on the bridge by the canoe launch.
After our long walk along the beach, we wanted to get dinner in Port Washington, so Jilly Moose was looking up the best restaurants, and she said, "The bestaurants." I said, "That's it - that's my blog post title!" We ended up at one called the Beacon with a patio right on the water, on the ground floor of a hotel that had a gorgeous swimming pool and hot tub. Travalon and I might just have to make an overnight trip to Port Washington... It was a beautiful evening with the nearly full moon rising over the water, and a great blue heron flew by, squawking loudly. We could hear the gulls crying in the distance. Such a perfect vacation day!
Famous Hat
Today was my first official day of vacation, and it was also the first day that Travalon goes back to his school-year schedule of working in the afternoons, so we took the morning to walk on Governor's Island. I saw the Killer Building across the lake and joked that my coworkers might be looking out the window and see me, and they would be all, "Famous! Get into work!! We can't get anything done without you!" Then he left for work, and I met Anna Banana II and Jilly Moose for lunch. We sat outside at Cafe Hollander, and we each had a different kind of salad. I thought it was funny because I had recently seen an article about what each sign of the zodiac should order for takeout, and everyone else had some delicious choice like Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, etc., but Capricorn is just supposed to order a salad. At the time I thought, "F--k you, random internet astrology blogger! I like delicious food as much as the next sign!" but then I did go and order a salad today, so there you go. Then again, so did the Leo and Virgo with me. (Yesterday Tiffy was getting a bit impatient with me because I meant to google what restaurants were open for the holiday, but I got distracted by an article about what color nail polish each sign should wear during Virgo season. I'm supposed to wear emerald green. What? And Tiffy was like what? What restaurants are open??)
After lunch we went for a walk on Governor's Island, and again I looked over at the Killer Building and wondered if they were looking over at me. Then we went for a walk at Jackson's Landing, since both loops are almost exactly a mile, but then we were getting eaten alive by mosquitos. We did see a cute rabbit at Jackson's Landing and some crazy party boaters at Governor's Island, in Three-Foot Bay. Even on a Tuesday there are people there partying! And I couldn't believe how many pre-retirement age people seemed to be wandering around Hilldale this afternoon. Do they just happen to be taking a vacation day today like me, or what are they doing with their lives that they can just hang out on a Tuesday afternoon? I think some of them might be trophy wives. Once Hardingfele and I were talking about trophy wives, and she said it sounded like a really sweet gig, but I think it would be boring. Your only job would be working out all the time to look good so your husband doesn't dump you for yet a younger woman, like he dumped his first wife for you. And guess what you would eat every day for lunch? Salad!!! To that I say, No Thanks!
Famous Hat
This weekend Travalon and I went our separate ways. He went with his buddy up to Hayward, where they went tubing for over three hours on the Namekagon River and stayed at a lodge right on beautiful Little Round Lake. This is his old college buddy who lives in Japan, the one whose wedding we went to in Hawaii. He misses Wisconsin fish fries, so they went to an excellent one on Saturday night at Long Lost Lake Lodge. Today they did a long hike on Rib Mountain on their way back south. He had a fantastic time.
Meanwhile, Saturday morning I sat on our porch, listening to the rain and watching the hummingbirds. When Tiffy came to town, we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then hiked on the boardwalks that are part of the Ice Age Trail out in Cross Plains before heading to the outdoor theater in Spring Green. We saw an adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility which was very enjoyable. We went to our hotel in Dodgeville, which seemed a little sketchy in that everyone who worked behind the desk always had a big, grim dog with them. However, it was a perfectly serviceable hotel.
Yesterday we went to Mass at St. Joseph's in Dodgeville, and it was a wonderfully short Mass because it seems the organist never showed up - they had hymns listed on the hymn board, but there was no music. The priest was young and lively. Then we had a light brunch at a cafe in town before heading to Galena. Tiffy really liked Galena; she had thought it would be a really bougie town like Kohler when I said there were a lot of boutiques there, but she loved how old and historical it was. The red brick buildings set into a hill overlooking the river really are very pretty. We shopped and bought crystals, then we sat on a balcony drinking chocolate avocado smoothies and listening to a woman folk singer do 80's pop songs. We had Tiffy's (early) birthday dinner at a Japanese restaurant, where we split a rainbow sushi roll and a hibachi for two and tempura green tea ice cream for dessert. We went back to the hotel and indulged in the hot tub (there was no pool), then we just talked for hours.
This morning we drove back to town and had brunch (and way too much Kona coffee) at the Pancake Cafe, then we took a two-hour hike at Cherokee Marsh with Rich and Kathbert. They were joking about the (imaginary) aboriginal marsh people, and Rich said, "They're Marshians!" (You might have to say that joke out loud to get it.) Tiffy and I recovered on my porch with bananas and sports drinks, and we watched the hummingbirds. One always makes happy squeaky noises, so I call her "Squeaky." There is another female one who never squeaks - at least I assume it is a different bird, because there are at least two that I have watched chasing each other. Now and then I see the male, who also makes no noise. Then we went to a Venezuelan restaurant for dinner, and then Tiffy headed home and Travalon returned and told me about his adventures. I got him a Yellow Submarine shirt at his favorite shop in Galena. One other thing I got worth noting: one shop had stone necklaces for each zodiac sign except Tiffy's, which she noted, and I said, "They're probably sold out because it's your birthday month," and she said, "Oh, yeah." I got the Capricorn one, which is snowflake obsidian (I'm wearing it now), and the proprietress asked if we needed anything, so I said, "My friend can't find the necklace for her sign." She said she had a secret stash, and Tiffy didn't like the carnelian necklaces, but I loved one and bought it, even though I am not a Virgo and in fact have no Virgo in my chart whatsoever. The proprietress said she could barely keep carnelian in stock because of a TikTok craze, so later I looked it up, and the TikTokers claim carnelian makes you irresistible to the opposite gender. I said, "Are you sure you don't want this necklace, Tiffy? I already have a husband. Besides, it has a Virgo symbol on it," but she doesn't like the color. She said, "Take the symbol off and wear it yourself. I don't like it." So maybe at some point I'll model my "I'm not a Virgo" necklace for my gentle readers.
Famous Hat
Today was crazy as I prepared for my vacation, but I did get to work from home, so I saw the hummingbirds. One kept having a fight with a wasp, and then two of them were chasing each other, and several times I saw the male with his beautiful dark red throat. They are so much fun.
Today was another crazy day at work, then Travalon came home and we played tennis. At first I thought I was doing pretty well, but soon I was back to my usual mediocre self. The cranes were watching us with their teenage offspring, until I missed a shot and hollered, "OH!!" really loudly. Then they flapped their wings and quickly fled. Guess I'm scary while playing tennis! This isn't the first time they've been really interested in our activity while we were playing, and I'm always glad there's a fence between us. A lady cardinal also watched us for a bit. Then when we were going back into the house, I noticed that the mandevilla that stayed at Rich's house all winter is blooming. Check it out.
More random than a rabbit on a B-17!
