where cider meets condensed milk: Wisconsin Fun: Next Exit

where cider meets condensed milk

Monday, August 21, 2006

Wisconsin Fun: Next Exit

Bullet trains, aeroplanes, rented automobiles... I eased back into US life with a week in Wisconsin with my mom's side of the family. Wisconsin state, aka American's Dairyland, has lots of exciting features, like corn and cows and Culver's Frozen Custard. We saw this sign for Wisconsin Fun several times, but the fun was only to be had at that ever-elusive Next Exit.

Classic farmland scenery, with Jesus Light pouring through the clouds. After flying for 2 straight days and nights from Japan to Korea to Chicago on no sleep, I boarded a bus at 6am for my grandparent's house and was seated next to an older man. Struggling for something to keep me occupied, I pulled out my library of trashy magazines: Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Marie Claire. (The classics.) Casually flipping through articles on how to test your boyfriend's fidelity, and the trendiest underwear for the summer season, the man next to me pointedly flipped open his cell phone and started dialing away.

Man: "Hello, Marilyn? Father Charles here. My flight was delayed, so I'm just leaving Chicago. Go ahead and let everyone know I won't be back in time to do mass this morning....*chuckle* ...well, I reckon I'll have to hear the choir next time... "
Me: *guiltily slipping magazines into my backpack and pulling out a dusty copy of Wuthering Heights*

Okay, okay, he made his point. And he made it loudly, so everyone on the bus knew that they were in the company of Father Charles. Had I no shame I might have kept on reading my glossies like I wanted to, but the implied neon SINNER sign buzzing above my head was too hard to ignore. The early-dawn Jesus Light, spreading equal doses of sunshine and guilt, might have been a sign as well.

Liv and I spent a night in Aunt Gale's shiny new house before we all headed Up North. Say, that's a nice looking fridge there. Could it be a... Sub-Zero? Better make sure the Viking stove is polished when the CRIBS camera crew arrives.

Our cabin was on Little Martha Lake, and Heidi and G-pa stayed busy catching lots of little fish. Martha Lake was just down the road. Big Martha Lake was closed off due to low self-esteem issues. Although it wasn't made explicit, the self-icecream therapy for said issues may have, in fact, compounded Big Martha's problems.

The Otterson cabin crew: BRAM/UJ, Mom, Gale-o, Aunt Sue, Aunt Ruth, G-pa, and G-ma. (Emma and Heidi sneaking into the frame on the right.) We celebrated Keely's 13th and G-pa's 80th birthdays on the last night, and every member of the Otterson clan was there except Abelle and Sarah. The cabin was nice and roomy, and the whole week was relaxing. I blame jet lag for forcing me to stay up til 4am watching Degrassi High on TV and sleeping well past noon every day, but the hours during which I was awake were all spent in excellent company.

We headed out one afternoon in search of a mythical waterfall, and tromped through buggy grass before arriving at this oversized puddle. We eventually found a nearby river with iron-red banks that had some weak rapids. The Dadster is now sporting all Montana State gear in honor of Sarah's new school, and with cooler shoes could be mistaken for an overgrown frat boy.

We drove an hour into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Say Ya to the UP, eh?) in order to splash on the banks of Lake Superior. It might have that name because it's up north, or maybe because it just thinks it's better than Huron, Ontario, Michigan, and Erie. It's really big, and pretty Great, but... I've seen better.

Hayward (where we visited in past summers, and quite the hopping tourist town) and Hurley (above) have a reputation as being brothel towns from the days of yore when the railroad was being used to transport timber. Hurley currently has a grocery store, Dairy Queen, and large assortment of gentlemen's clubs near Main Street. I reckon there's a reason they say "Hayward, Hurley, and Hell" after all...

posted by Raychaa @ 4:15 PM

1 comments:

At 8:16 AM, pallaver said…

Hey recharu,
nice fam pics. Boston life is going along nicely. looking for engineering work, meet any VPs or CEOs of tech companies while nerd-viewing in Akihibara?