The Reunion, Day 6

Lake Delton, WI
63 deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 86 deg. partly cloudy, 20% chance of afternoon showers, NW winds @ 10 mph

Jim did get a photo of (from left to right) Thomas, Michelle, and Ed yesterday. They are the ones who drove here from Connecticut. Ed is Glenn's son. You might want to click on this next photo to get a better view of what's on top of this car. This guy must have really been traveling fast. :-)
Actually there's a bunch of these vehicles running around here in the Dells area. It's advertisement for the Moose Jaw pizza place here in Lake Delton. Oh, and Jim and Linda say their pizza is very good, so if you're ever in the Dells area, you might want to try it.

Not much new to report about the reunion. More visiting, games, shopping, kids going to water parks, adult going to the casino, and just enjoying time with each other. Glenn made spaghetti for dinner, and also heated up a few left-overs from the day before.

Again, everything was very good.

Did you know that at one time, in Wisconsin, it was illegal to serve apple pie in public restaurants without cheese?

The Reunion, Day 5 and Big News

Lake Delton, IL.
63 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 86 deg. Sunny, W. winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

Remember me telling you about Aaron and his 3 boys driving up for just a day's visit? Well, what I didn't tell you is that Debbie didn't come because she was about 8 1/2 months pregnant, and the doctor didn't think it was wise for her to travel. Yep, you guessed it!! Yesterday morning, Debbie gave birth to a bouncing baby girl!! Her name is Karlien and both Mom and Baby are doing well.

Congratulations Debbie and Aaron!!!!

Other than the big news of the new baby, not much happened at the lodge yesterday. People visited, played games, went shopping, or did touristy things. For dinner, Ed and Michelle made tacos, beans and rice, salad, and corn bread. Again, everyone said the food was really good.

You know what? I just realized that Jim hasn't taken a photo of Ed, Michelle, and Thomas yet. He had better get it soon, or everyone will be leaving, and heading home!

Did you know that in Wisconsin, it's illegal to kiss a train?

The Reunion, Day 4

Lake Delton, WI
66 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. 30% chance of showers and t-storms this afternoon, SW winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

I found it! It's not a real good photo, but it's the best I have of, (from left to right), Aaron, Gavin, Peyton and Aidan. About 10:30 yesterday morning, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck) and went to the lodge. When they got there, they found out that almost everyone was going to go shopping or something, so they decided to do some shopping too.

CLT told me the first place that they went was to Pierce's Grocery Store in Baraboo. Why did they drive all the way down there to go to a grocery store, You ask? Well, you see, Jim likes this certain kind of coffee that he can only get up here in Wisconsin. Wally World doesn't carry it, because is isn't a National Brand, so to get it, he needed to go to a local store. Anyway he got his coffee, and then on the way back to Lake Delton, they stopped at the Baraboo Candy CO. where Linda bought a bunch of Sugar-Free candy. The next stop was at the Market Square Cheese store in Lake Delton. They have a great selection of cheese and sausage, and also sell some very tasty ice cream cones.

Whew! I'm all worn out just hearing about all of this shopping!

Anyway, after they bought all of this stuff, they came back here, and put everything away. Then, because he was tired, and none of the family were at the lodge, Jim decided he could catch a little nap before heading back over there. He slept for about 1/2 hour.

When they got back to the lodge, they found out that Mary and Jeff were making pizzas for dinner. Jim and Linda both said that they were really good. After dinner, everyone played Trivial Pursuit until the game was over at about 10:00. When the game ended, Jim and Linda decided that it was time to come back here and call it a night.

Did you know that at one time, margarine was illegal in Wisconsin?

The Reunion, Day 3

Lake Delton, WI
63 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. increasing clouds, SE winds @ 10 mph.

As promised yesterday, here is the photo of Linda's cake, and of her opening her presents. Like I said, she was really surprised. This photo is of Glenn's daughter Mary, her husband, Jeff, and their daughter, Addy. They live up in River Falls, WI.
Jim and Linda left here about 10:00 yesterday morning. On the way to the lodge, they stopped at a Walgreens store and picked up a few items. CLT said that the traffic in the Dells was quite heavy, but he made it without any problems.

Speaking of traffic, for the most part, I don't think that there are near as many people here at the Wisconsin Dells area this year. Part of the problem seems to be the high price of fuel, and part of it is because there is no water in the lake. (Remember me telling you about the flood that they had here this spring?) Anyway, the fewer number of people and the lower volume of traffic makes it much easier to get from place to place.

It doesn't sound like too much happened at the lodge yesterday. Oh wait!! I almost forgot! Nancy's other son Aaron and his 3 boys came for the day. He could only get 1 day off of work, so he drove up here, (from Plainfield, IL), in the morning, and then had to go back last night. It was a lot of driving for one day, but he said that he wanted to make sure he got to see the family again. He also said that there is a possibility that he may be able to get a couple of more days off later in the week, so he may be able come back up here again.

I think Jim took a photo of Aaron and his boys. If I can find it, I'll post it here tomorrow.

Did you know that today is National Milk Chocolate Day?

Hmmm, haven't heard anything from Roland and Louise lately. Maybe Jim will give Roland a call sometime this week.

The Reunion, Day 2 and A Birthday Party

Lake Delton, WI.
61 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. becoming cloudy, W. winds @ 10 mph.

Jim took a few photos yesterday at the lodge. This first one is of Linda's brother, Glenn, and his pretty wife, Jeanette. They live up in River Falls, WI.
This nest photo is of Linda's sister, Nancy, (standing, center), David, (sitting), and David's 2 nurses, Shauntina, (left) and Victoria, (right). Nancy and David live in Plainfield, IL. and Shauntina and Victoria live in the S. Chicago area.
Jim and Linda left here about 11:00 yesterday morning and headed over to the lodge. They spent most of the day visiting, and catching up on what has happened in the last year.

For dinner, Glenn and Jeanette cooked up some chicken strips, and served them with potatoes, slaw, rolls, and peaches. Then for desert, they surprised Linda with a Birthday Cake, with strawberries on it! Jim took a photo, and I'll try to get it posted on here tomorrow. They also gave Linda some presents and sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

Linda was feeling pretty tired, so about 8:30 Jim and Linda came back here, watched a little TV and then went to bed early.

Did you know that today is Take Your Houseplant For A Walk Day?

The Reunion, Day 1

Lake Delton, WI
65 deg. clear, light N. Breeze
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. clear, N. winds @ 5 to 15 mph.

Wow! This CG really filled up yesterday! I think every site in the park is full! Well, No, I'll take that back. There are a couple of sites that are not very level off to the side of me that are empty.

Yesterday Linda cooked up a whole bunch of BBQ to take to the Lodge where the family reunion is. Jim loaded up the cooler with drinks and ice, put it and most of the food that they had bought the other day in CLT. Then, about 3:00, Jim carried out the BBQ and put that in CLT too.

The lodge where everyone else is staying is only a couple of miles from here, so it was just a short drive over there. When they got there, the rooms were not ready yet, and everyone had to hang around outside until the cleaning crew was finished.

Who was everyone, You ask? Well, CLT tells me that there was Linda's brother, Glenn, and his wife Jeanette, (who live in River Falls, WI), Linda's sister, Nancy, her son David, (who has cerebral palsy), and David's 2 nurses, Victoria and Shawntina, that accompany him almost everywhere (who live in Plainfield, IL). Also there was Glenn's Daughter, Mary, her husband Jeff and their 1 year old daughter, Addy, (Also from River Falls, WI).

Quite a crowd already, and every one's not there yet.

About 4:30 the rooms were finally ready, and everyone started carrying their things inside. Once inside, they got David settled, and then the real unpacking started. While everyone else was unpacking, Jim and Linda started preparing the meal they had brought of BBQs, corn-on-the-cob, chips, dips, raw vegetables, and drinks. By about 5:30 everyone was sitting around the big table and enjoying the meal.

Then, about 6:30, Glenn and Jeanette's son Ed, his wife Michelle, and their son Thomas, arrived from Hartford Ct. Yes, they had driven all the way from Connecticut, (about 1100 miles) to be at the reunion. They were hungry when they got there, so they sat down and ate too.

After lots of conversation, Jim and Linda came back out here to the CG, (about 9:30), watched a little TV and went to bed. Today, they will go back to the lodge to spend more time with the family. In fact, they will be going there every day for the next week.

Did you know that on this date in 1788, New York became the 11th state in the United States?

Utica to Lake Delton, Construction, and A Great Park

Lake Delton, WI
66 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. partly sunny, 40% chance of t-storms this afternoon. SW winds @ 5 to 15 mph.

We left Utica about 9:30 yesterday morning and continued North on I-39. When we got up to the Rockford, IL area, we got into a lot of construction, especially when I-39 joined up with the Illinois Toll road just Southeast of the city. They are adding a 3rd lane in each direction, so they have squeezed the traffic down to 2 very narrow lanes, both Northbound and Southbound. There's really not a problem with cars and MHs/trucks being side by side, but when you get 2 MHs or 2 large vehicles next to each other, it gets really tight.

Everything was going well, traffic was moving smoothly, and then all of a sudden things slowed way down. After awhile, I found out what the hold-up was. Folks, I hate to say this, but it was a MH that was causing the back-up. I don't know if this MH driver was new, if he was afraid of the narrow lanes, or he was just plain dumb, but almost everything he was doing was causing people to get very upset. Especially the truck drivers, and there were a lot of them.

This guy was going at least 5 mph below the posted speed of 45 mph. He was in the left lane, using more than his lane of the road, and slowing down even more if a truck tried to pass him on the right. By the time we got to the end of the construction area, there were many, many upset drivers.

Now don't get me wrong. The lanes were very narrow, and there was a huge amount of traffic, but if this guy would have just moved over into the right lane, stayed on his share of the road, everything would have been fine. Either that, or maybe he shouldn't have been driving a large vehicle in the first place.

After the construction, we crossed into Wisconsin and continued North on I-39 up to Portage, WI, where we took I-90 NW for a short way up here to Lake Delton. When we got to Hwy 23, we turned off of 90 and took 23 West for about 1/2 mile, and to the Country Roads MH and RV Park. www.4countryroads.com

We pulled into the park at about 1:00 PM, so we were on the road for about 3 1/2 hours and traveled 203 miles.

What a great park! Jim learned about this park from reading Nick Russell's blog on his web site, www.gypsyjournal.net Nick and Miss Terry stop by here every time they get to the Dells area, and have always given the park high praise. So, when the park we usually stay at raised their prices by $10 per night, Jim decided to give Country Roads a try. We're not disappointed. There's lots of pine trees for shade, large level sites, a quiet atmosphere, free WI-FI, and the owners, Terry and Terri Michael are great people!

We will definitely stay here again.

After getting me set up, and resting for a little while, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Wally World (which is less than a mile from here), to buy a bunch of groceries to take to the family reunion today. By the time they returned, they were both really tired and decided to order a pizza for dinner.

For the next 7 days, I'll be setting here in the Park pretty much by myself. Jim and Linda will go to the reunion every day, and just come back here to sleep. The owners, Terry and Terri did tell Jim that the park would be full this weekend, so I'll have lots of company.

I can do this.

Did you know that there was once a town named "6" in West Virginia?