Vacation from the vacation.......

Hi super summer friends.  We have begun our official month of separate lives and separate children.  Codie has been sticking with Mabel feeding her heaping spoonfuls of pureed chicken and broccoli in Omaha while I have been gallivanting around Wisco.  We're switching in about a week.   So I'll let Codie update on Mabel's progress and I will jabber about how amazing Wisconsin is.....because I know you are all dying to know what you are missing......:)

Nico and I have been spending most of our Midwest time in Delavan where I grew up.  Update!  They have 20 new historical murals painted by a group called the Walldogs that travel around the nation and choose towns to paint murals in based one how rad they are......Delavan is pretty rad.  There are murals showcasing the Wisconsin School for the Deaf's football team in the 1940s and the Circus headquarters but also others that have highlighted the mafia influence on the resorts in town, Latino potato farmer collectives, Harry Houdini, Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture on the lake and the artists communes existed here in the 1870s.  Yep....my hometown is pretty great.

We have been doing a lot of fishing around Delavan.  In Wisconsin, fishing does not mean wading down a stream casting every three minutes and becoming one with the current.  It means throwing your line in with a bobber and staying sober enough to see if it drops below the water.  Nico has mastered the fine art of feeding worms to small sunfish on the side of the pier.  I have also been drinking a lot of Spotted Cow with my Dad.

This is where I run in the morning.  Former cross country route.....

Downtown Delavan

Nico was NOT into standing by this creepy clown statue and the statue of "Romeo" the elephant.

Nico caught about 37 fish this size.

Lots of swimming in aforementioned fishing lakes.

 

 

We also spent a weekend in Madison remembering why my cheese clogged heart goes pitter-patter when I think of it.  Madison is so cool.  I miss it.   The zoo is free.  My sister is there and was an amazing aunt.  While I was there both the New Pornographers and Shamir played free outdoor concerts.  Cool friends live there.   People hang out and drink beer and eat food that is bad for you.   Gush gush gush......

I

The Bloody Marys all have amazing garnishes and all are served with beer.  (Ex #1= a giant piece of local beef jerky (as long as the glass!), a pickled egg, cheese curds and a house cured pickle.  Example #2 included pickled everything in the world, summer sausage, 4 types of cheese.)

I was a part of eating 5 separate orders of deep fried cheese curds.  One basket at the Union Terrace.  Nico approves.

The finale of Madison awesomeness was maybe one of the best 24 hours of my life.  I drank beer at the Union with old friends, Old Fashions at the Plaza, ended up playing Smashing Pumpkin covers on borrowed instruments at Smart studios (of Nirvana, Smahsing Pumpkins, Death Cab, L7, etc fame......)with my former roommates before the English Beat's drummer and singer showed up and we played Steve Miller covers until 3am (they are from England and asked what famous musicians came from Madison).  I realized I can play a surprising number of Steve Miller songs on guitar.  Then I got a ride in a Porshe to State Street to eat breakfast burritos at a randomly weird restaurant.   6 hours later I was watching Favre pass to Chmura with my Dad and sister.  Pretty great 24 hours.  Madison made a hard sell for moving back......sigh.......love.
Mabel update soon!