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Oct. 20th, 2009 09:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogThe lovely ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
moiracoon and I got back from our trip to parts west yesterday, around nine o' clock. It would have been a bit earlier, but we just had to stop at a couple of Goodwill stores on the way through. The entire trip was just wonderful. Wonderful. It was only a little vacation; we left on Sunday morning and got back Monday night, but it was the best couple of days in recent memory.
We left home Sunday morning, heading for the harvest festival at the Dells. Though things were on the way to being packed up and shut down when we got there (and it was only early afternoon), there were still a number of things that were attractive to raccoons. For my part, I had so much fun at the petting zoo! The ram was so goofy-cute looking! I loved the goats and ponies and the llama too. Then the two of us bought a giant bag of kettle corn to share, which lasted the rest of the weekend (and there's still some left; I grabbed a handful on my way out the door this morning). That stuff is really far too good.
Oh, speaking of edibles, I forgot to mention that, on the way out, we stopped at a place called The Mousehouse Cheeshaus for some cheesy comestibles. I tried very hard, but failed, to resist buying a quarter pound of twenty-one dollar a pound ten year aged cheddar. The offer a sample from the woman behind the counter sealed the deal. I then spent a few minutes in the car, as Andrea drove on, fantasizing about a grilled cheese sandwich made with ten year cheddar and gorgonzola picante. I'll probably never be a wine drinker, but I adore an excellent cheese.
But since I also needed some firmly mediocre cheese to snack on in the car, we stopped at another cheese place a little further on (Wisconsin state law requires one every half a mile on major thoroughfares) for some garlic cheese curds. Mmmm.
But that was before the harvest festival. Afterward, there was a quick dash into Knuckleheads where I played a game of Percussion Master, followed by Lord of the Rings pinball (and a couple of photos of Moira in magic hour light that really made her face glow). We drove southward toward Dodgeville and the Don Q, seeing the giant plane in front of the hotel looming up on the road ahead of us around dusk. We checked into our room, unloaded a couple bags, and went out for food at the local pizza joint and bar we discovered last year, the Red Room.
They were closed, so we moved on to another restaurant in town whose name I can't remember. Turns out they were out of pizza dough. Oh noes! Moira was craving pizza, so we resorted to Pizza Hut. Our food there was surprisingly good! And they made the wrong kind of pizza (thin instead of pan) and gave it to us for free. We enjoyed, and tipped very well.
Back at the hotel, we played in the pool. I called the front desk to ask if we could move the cover on the outside part of the pool past the swim-under channel and got the ok, so we got to stand in nice warm water out in the cold October wind. We had the whole pool entirely to ourselves, this slow Sunday night. We enjoyed the hot tub for a while too, until retreating to our room to check out the amenities there. The copper cheese vat hot tub was pretty awesome. The sharing of good cheese and yummy fudge while lying in bed is a very pleasant memory too. It was a wonderful, relaxing day and evening of silly, kitschy fun.
Next morning, we grabbed some food at the continental breakfast, spending a leisurely morning packing up and munching. I took some pictures of the room and the hotel. I used one arm as a paddle to get the water spinning swiftly around the cheese vat before pulling the plug, creating a deep cyclonic vortex that danced over the drain for twenty minutes as the tub emptied. I love that!
After we got everything packed up and we were out at the car, I walked over toward the road to get some pictures of the Don Q. While there, I realized that the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was open for visitors. Last time we were there, with all the snow on the ground and freezing temperatures, it wasn't, so I didn't get to see the inside. I excitedly climbed the stairs and looked around. I saw the seats and bunks for soldiers inside, the wall display of pictures of the plane's history, and the vast array of switches, dials, and gauges in the cockpit. I even sat in the pilot's chair for a minute. So nifty! I got some images, but I want more next time I'm in the area. I think I could do better.
We made a stop in Dodgeville for gas, then trekked northward toward The Forevertron I've been there, what, three times now? Four? I could keep going for years. It's beauty and magic; a piece of some other world. It was my first time being there with the new lens and, just as before, my pictures were ok, but I think I could have done better. I wish the light had been better. I said something about wishing I could be there at dawn, and Moira suggested I just drive out there some weekend early morning. I'm actually thinking about it. I didn't talk to the good doctor this time, but Eleanor Every was there, painting the base of a sculpture with black Rustoleum, and I chatted with her for a little bit and got a few pictures of her working. I wish talking to people came more easily to me. I'm trying hard to work on it, but it's hard, and it makes me sad that I can't get to know people like that better.
While we were there, of course, we perused Delaney's Surplus just next door. It's home to a staggering variety of things of every description, and it's always a treat to wander through and see what they have that particular moment.
Next was a jaunt back to the Dells, were we ate at our old standby, Pizza Pub, and looked at all the Halloween decorations around the town. Particularly silly and memorable was the great Trojan horse at Mt. Olympus that was covered in white fabric mummy bandaging, and which had glowing red eyes and vampire fangs. Awesome.
I think I've touched on all the highlights. I only wish the trip could have lasted longer. Thank you dear one, for a wonderful couple of days with you.
Oh, just for fun - photos taken this trip: 524.
moiracoon and I got back from our trip to parts west yesterday, around nine o' clock. It would have been a bit earlier, but we just had to stop at a couple of Goodwill stores on the way through. The entire trip was just wonderful. Wonderful. It was only a little vacation; we left on Sunday morning and got back Monday night, but it was the best couple of days in recent memory.We left home Sunday morning, heading for the harvest festival at the Dells. Though things were on the way to being packed up and shut down when we got there (and it was only early afternoon), there were still a number of things that were attractive to raccoons. For my part, I had so much fun at the petting zoo! The ram was so goofy-cute looking! I loved the goats and ponies and the llama too. Then the two of us bought a giant bag of kettle corn to share, which lasted the rest of the weekend (and there's still some left; I grabbed a handful on my way out the door this morning). That stuff is really far too good.
Oh, speaking of edibles, I forgot to mention that, on the way out, we stopped at a place called The Mousehouse Cheeshaus for some cheesy comestibles. I tried very hard, but failed, to resist buying a quarter pound of twenty-one dollar a pound ten year aged cheddar. The offer a sample from the woman behind the counter sealed the deal. I then spent a few minutes in the car, as Andrea drove on, fantasizing about a grilled cheese sandwich made with ten year cheddar and gorgonzola picante. I'll probably never be a wine drinker, but I adore an excellent cheese.
But since I also needed some firmly mediocre cheese to snack on in the car, we stopped at another cheese place a little further on (Wisconsin state law requires one every half a mile on major thoroughfares) for some garlic cheese curds. Mmmm.
But that was before the harvest festival. Afterward, there was a quick dash into Knuckleheads where I played a game of Percussion Master, followed by Lord of the Rings pinball (and a couple of photos of Moira in magic hour light that really made her face glow). We drove southward toward Dodgeville and the Don Q, seeing the giant plane in front of the hotel looming up on the road ahead of us around dusk. We checked into our room, unloaded a couple bags, and went out for food at the local pizza joint and bar we discovered last year, the Red Room.
They were closed, so we moved on to another restaurant in town whose name I can't remember. Turns out they were out of pizza dough. Oh noes! Moira was craving pizza, so we resorted to Pizza Hut. Our food there was surprisingly good! And they made the wrong kind of pizza (thin instead of pan) and gave it to us for free. We enjoyed, and tipped very well.
Back at the hotel, we played in the pool. I called the front desk to ask if we could move the cover on the outside part of the pool past the swim-under channel and got the ok, so we got to stand in nice warm water out in the cold October wind. We had the whole pool entirely to ourselves, this slow Sunday night. We enjoyed the hot tub for a while too, until retreating to our room to check out the amenities there. The copper cheese vat hot tub was pretty awesome. The sharing of good cheese and yummy fudge while lying in bed is a very pleasant memory too. It was a wonderful, relaxing day and evening of silly, kitschy fun.
Next morning, we grabbed some food at the continental breakfast, spending a leisurely morning packing up and munching. I took some pictures of the room and the hotel. I used one arm as a paddle to get the water spinning swiftly around the cheese vat before pulling the plug, creating a deep cyclonic vortex that danced over the drain for twenty minutes as the tub emptied. I love that!
After we got everything packed up and we were out at the car, I walked over toward the road to get some pictures of the Don Q. While there, I realized that the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was open for visitors. Last time we were there, with all the snow on the ground and freezing temperatures, it wasn't, so I didn't get to see the inside. I excitedly climbed the stairs and looked around. I saw the seats and bunks for soldiers inside, the wall display of pictures of the plane's history, and the vast array of switches, dials, and gauges in the cockpit. I even sat in the pilot's chair for a minute. So nifty! I got some images, but I want more next time I'm in the area. I think I could do better.
We made a stop in Dodgeville for gas, then trekked northward toward The Forevertron I've been there, what, three times now? Four? I could keep going for years. It's beauty and magic; a piece of some other world. It was my first time being there with the new lens and, just as before, my pictures were ok, but I think I could have done better. I wish the light had been better. I said something about wishing I could be there at dawn, and Moira suggested I just drive out there some weekend early morning. I'm actually thinking about it. I didn't talk to the good doctor this time, but Eleanor Every was there, painting the base of a sculpture with black Rustoleum, and I chatted with her for a little bit and got a few pictures of her working. I wish talking to people came more easily to me. I'm trying hard to work on it, but it's hard, and it makes me sad that I can't get to know people like that better.
While we were there, of course, we perused Delaney's Surplus just next door. It's home to a staggering variety of things of every description, and it's always a treat to wander through and see what they have that particular moment.
Next was a jaunt back to the Dells, were we ate at our old standby, Pizza Pub, and looked at all the Halloween decorations around the town. Particularly silly and memorable was the great Trojan horse at Mt. Olympus that was covered in white fabric mummy bandaging, and which had glowing red eyes and vampire fangs. Awesome.
I think I've touched on all the highlights. I only wish the trip could have lasted longer. Thank you dear one, for a wonderful couple of days with you.
Oh, just for fun - photos taken this trip: 524.
