July 1 - 15, 2001
Sunday, July 1, 2001 Milwaukee, WI
I had a rough morning today. Apparently the burrito at 2:00 AM was a new experience that my body wished I had passed on. I struggled through a slow recovery until about noon when I was at last ready to be up and about. My taste for beer never did return today, though I hadn’t really had too much to drink last night. I am convinced that the burrito was the culprit.
Christine and I loaded into her grandmother’s car and we followed Theresa and Doug in the car ahead of us over to Milwaukee to attend Summerfest. Summerfest is an annual outdoor music festival held in downtown Milwaukee along the shore of Lake Michigan. Lasting eleven days and covering fourteen stages, it is widely recognized as the largest music festival in the country.
We had made plans to rendezvous with Christine’s cousins, Terry and Wayne, and Megan on the festival grounds at 2:00. The seven of us spent the rest of the day walking around the festival listening to music and eating good food. In deference to Christine’s interest in heavy metal rock & roll we went to the ‘Glam Slam Metal Jam’ to listen to Quiet Riot, Warrant, and Poison. I finally begged off after Poison got started, and caught some performances by Johnny Lang, Dave Koz and Michael McDonald. There was truly music here for everyone’s tastes.
We finally called it a day at 11:00. We said goodbye to Theresa and Doug as they drove back to Madison tonight. We then found our way to Terry and Wayne’s house where we were to be their guests for the next two nights.
By Christine: What a great weekend it has been. Spending time with old friends is a nice way to spend a warm summer evening. Summerfest was fun. I had been looking forward to a day spent here for awhile. Thanks to Doug for not making me drink alone all day.
The first food break. From left, Christine, Wayne, Megan, Terry, Doug and Teresa.
Monday, July 2, 2001 Milwaukee, WI
Today was a workday for Terry and Wayne. So we slept in and then enjoyed a slower paced day. We caught a matinee showing of the new Speilberg film, A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). It was a long film with some intense undertones. It was very well done, but I’m not sure how much we actually like it.
We then drove over to Miller Valley to catch a brewery tour, but were turned away because they were already over their tour capacity. We walked around the visitors’ center and took in the exhibits there before going back to Terry and Wayne’s house.
We settled in for a very pleasant visit. Terry fixed a great dinner and we relaxed over a couple bottles of wine and great conversation. It was great to stay this second night and have the extra time with them.
A visit full of nostalgia for Joe.
Tuesday, July 3, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
We got a pretty early start today with the drive back to my in-laws. We then washed grandma’s car and returned it to her. I then spent the afternoon washing the bugs off of the RV. The front of the RV had become an overcrowded insect cemetery after a week of driving in Canada.
After dinner this evening we drove over to the 141 Speedway about two miles away to watch Christine’s cousin, Mark, race in an Enduro event. I had no idea that it would be so much fun. Picture 83 beat-up compact cars lined up on a quarter-mile oval track. The cars were cheap old Ford Escorts, Dodge Omnis, etc that were barely in condition for track use. Mark was driving a Toyota Tercel. This Enduro race was 300 laps (75 miles), but mostly it was a game of survival. Less than half the cars finished the race. The speed never got out of hand on the short track, so the wipeouts and pileups were harmless comedic pratfalls. Mark was moving pretty well until a blown tire took out his radiator. He hit the pits for a new radiator, but the engine had already overheated, so he wasn’t back on the track long before the engine finally seized. Nonetheless, it was all good fun.
Is Mark leading the pack or is it just good photography?
Wednesday, July 4, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
We celebrated the Fourth of July holiday with several members of John’s family. We met at Christine’s grandparents’ house and joined Sue and Joe, Margaret and Don, Bob, and the grandparents for a relaxing day in perfect weather. Meat on the grill and plenty of sides washed down with cold beer. It was the right sized group for keeping everyone in on the same conversation.
Thursday, July 5, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
We made today pretty productive. I knocked out several chores on my RV maintenance list, and we took the motorcycles off for a brief ride around the area.
By Christine: Today I washed my motorcycle, did laundry, and mowed the lawn. It felt good to be outside all day as the high was in the 70's, complete with sun.
I'm thinking I need to get back on the computer but I've been enjoying a much needed break after finishing my papers last week.
Friday, July 6, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
Another simple day of piddling around.
By Christine: Well, today was really a day of piddling. It has been a beautiful week in Wisconsin and today was just another perfect day. We would all find ourselves just sitting on the chairs on the lawn, petting Precious (the dog). Mom and I did things like walk up to the pond looking for the baby ducks and walking through the fields counting fawns.
For those of you reading this log who aren't family, my parents run a small Fallow deer farm. They are raising the fallow deer for venison. Fallow is a special breed of deer. The deer are smaller than White Tail and the meat is very low in cholesterol and fat. It is extremely healthy and tender. The history of the Fallow deer extends back to the 9th century B.C., when the Phoenicians domesticated them for quality venison. The first American Fallow deer farm was started in 1979 and the practice soon grew through farmers looking for an alternative and profitable land use.
The setting here at my parents is very relaxing and we find ourselves just sitting by the window watching the deer. We have counted 15-16 small fawns. Mom and Dad were hoping for more. The little ones are so fun to watch as they run and hop across the fields.
In the pictures below, you will see me feeding one of the deer. This is Layla. She is a one of the initial deer my parents bought and she was tamed when they bought her. The deer are wild animals and they will run as soon as we walk in the field or across the lawn. In order to tame a deer you have to take it away at birth and feed it with a bottle from the beginning. Layla has figured out that I love to feed her and comes up to this part of the fence a couple times a day. She likes peanuts, cantaloupe and watermelon rinds. The other deer don't quite believe this is an acceptable practice, but they will eat the food if I throw it toward them.
As many of you would guess, we are enjoying a time without driving. Joe is coveting the sofa and I can be found in the kitchen. My Mom is glad there are some things about a normal life which we miss. :)
1) Layla begging for more. 2) A brave fawn, it may be Layla's.
Saturday, July 7, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
Today we had plans to bale the hay from the back five acres that the neighbor cut for John on Thursday. The day was hot and humid, but promising. The neighbor, Joe Dvorak, came by this morning and raked the cut hay into rows. Plans were made to bale the hay after lunch. I was taught about farming’s dependence on weather when a light shower after lunch brought the baling to a halt just after it had begun. The wet hay clogged up the baler and the heavy bales would become a fire hazard in the barn after a few days of fermentation.
With the baling put on hold until tomorrow, we cleaned up and went out for a very nice dinner at a supper club on Lake Michigan. It’s amazing how much the temperature goes down by traveling the few miles to the lake.
By Christine: Mom and I went to the Manitowac farmer's market this morning and did some other shopping. The morning ended with a quick visit with Grandma before we headed home to help with the baling. It was a hot afternoon of waiting to bale, as Joe described above.
Sunday, July 8, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
Today was just as hot as yesterday, but we got the hay in. It was finally dry enough after lunch when Joe Dvorak returned with his baler. It took us about four hours to get the four hundred bales into the barn. We all wore long sleeve shirts and long pants to minimize the irritating effect of all the hay contact. All that clothing combined with the hot and humid weather made it a very demanding afternoon.
We cleaned up for dinner, but I had lost my appetite from the days effort. After excusing myself from dinner prematurely, I retired to my bed to recover. Christine woke me less than an hour later soliciting my help … the deer were out on the road. Somehow during the closing activities of today’s baling, a gate was left unchained to one of the fields holding the does and their fawns. In their curiosity the deer must have nosed the gate open and walked right out while we were sitting down to supper.
There were ten adult does loose on the road, but no fawns. This had never happened here before so there was a high level of stress about getting the deer back behind the fencing. These deer are still wild animals and cannot be pushed into a desired behavior. In the end the deer wanted to be back with their fawns, and we gave them more and more room to return on their own. After sacrificing a collective pint of blood to the mosquitoes, the excitement was finally over. The consensus is that we were very lucky. I was very eager to put an end to all this excitement.
Proof! Joe baling hay.
Monday, July 9, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
Christine spent the day with her grandmother while I ran around performing a few errands. We all turned in early tonight in preparation of an early wakeup call tomorrow to go fishing.
Tuesday, July 10, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
We got out of bed at 3:45 AM and were out the door at 4:15 AM when Christine’s Uncle Don arrived. Don, John, Christine and I drove down to Sheboygan to make our 5:00 AM fishing charter departure. The captain and first mate led the four of us out onto Lake Michigan for a five-hour fishing effort. As a charter, we sat by as all the lines were baited and cast. We trolled with fourteen lines in the water waiting for a bite. We would take turns reeling in the catches.
The first real bite didn’t occur until 6:30 when John grabbed the rod and spent a half hour working in a fifteen-pound king salmon. Shortly after John’s fish was in the boat Christine took the rod and spent less than ten minutes pulling in an eight-pound lake trout. That was the end of our fishing. We spent the next three hours with nary a nibble.
Once back on shore we waited for the fish to be cleaned. It was not a very fruitful outing, and by the chatter on the charter boat radio, no one else was being very productive either. The fish just weren’t biting much. We had lunch in Two Rivers before returning home. I was ready for a nap by then.
After a nap I awoke to a very pleasing cold front that brought perfectly comfortable temperatures with it. I spent the evening working in the RV.
By Christine: Joe was pretty shocked at the early wake-up just for fishing. I on the other hand knew what I was getting myself into. This afternoon, as Joe napped, Mom and I drove up to Green Bay to do some shopping. It was a nice afternoon.
Wednesday, July, 11, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
John took another day off work today so the four of us could spend the day exploring the Door County area. The good weather had held over, making it a perfect day for such an outing. We spent the better part of the day working our way north to Gills Rock at the tip of Door County, separating Green Bay from Lake Michigan. We stopped in Peninsula State Park before lunch and went for a hike along the lake for an hour.
The day was filled with inquisitive stops here and there as we visited the Door County Winery, shopped for fresh cherries, and sampled some ice cream. It was an all around great day. We stopped in Denmark on the way home for some fried chicken to round out our day.
Mom, Dad and Christine posing on Door County.
Thursday, July 12, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
John took yet another day off of work to take us all pan fishing for blue gills and perch up on the Machickatee Flowage just north of Green Bay. We had another very nice day for the outing. We celebrated part of Christine’s birthday a day early so that she could use the new fishing rods and reels that were one of her gifts.
In the end it didn’t really matter whether we had the new rods with which to fish; they weren’t biting anyway. We did enjoy our day on the water in John’s small fishing boat, but the only bite was a small bass on my line that I didn’t even get into the boat.
By Christine: Fishing is of course better when you catch fish, but on a perfect day such as this, floating in the river, trying to keep our baits out of the weeds was good enough.
Friday, July 13, 2001 Fond du Lac, WI
Today was Christine’s real birthday, and being on Friday the 13th had no ill effect. We busied ourselves this morning getting the RV ready for a camping trip with the extended relations on Carol’s side of the family. Christine planted the seed for this weekend over a month ago, and within a few days there were several campsites and cabins reserved at a KOA campground. The head count for the weekend was 28, 24 of which were part of the family; too numerous to name them all.
We picked up Aunt Mae and her granddaughter, Ashley on the way to the campground. We set up at one of the five campsites reserved for us and began creating ‘party central.’ Three picnic tables, a dozen folding chairs, and a fire that never stopped were key factors in accommodating everyone. We each cooked our own meats on the grill for supper tonight, and then just settled in for an evening of story telling and laughter around the fire. The weather was perfect with low humidity and cooling temperatures as evening came.
Saturday, July 14, 2001 Fond du Lac, WI
We awoke slowly to coffee and bloody mary’s as additional family members arrived to make the totals referred to yesterday. The big event today was the fish boil for dinner. John and Carol had waited until today to join us, so John took advantage of another opportunity to go fishing on Lake Michigan this morning. He added two fresh lake trout to Wednesday’s catch along with some fish that Uncle Don brought.
The fish were boiled up in a large boiling pot over a propane burner, along with red potatoes, onions and some seasoning. The fish boil was accompanied by a smorgasbord of side dishes brought by many of the others. Everyone ate until stuffed, and then ate some more. Why not?
The rest of the evening included a game of six-handed Sheepshead, and much more story telling and laughter.
By Christine: I can't even describe what an amazing weekend this was. All the cousins showed up on Friday and we had a great time all weekend. We drank a little, told a few stories and lowered the guard farther than it goes during the short holidays. I felt truly blessed on Saturday afternoon looking around the fire at the sisters talking, the group of guys playing cards, the kids running between the pool and the campsite, and the others just relaxing and chatting.
1) The four sisters enjoying the family get-together, Ruth, Carol, Mae and Arlene.
Sunday, July 15, 2001 Francis Creek, WI
No one was in a hurry to get underway this morning as we settled in for a great Sunday breakfast. Little by little items were gathered up, cleaned and stowed away as the noon hour approached. We all commented on the great success of this weekend as we exchanged hugs and began to go our separate ways. It was truly a great family reunion.
Continue to July 16th...