Wisconsin for St. Patty's Day: Spring Break 2014

My partners in crime.

Free casting during ice fishing season - new concept. 

Well, it was Spring Break 2014.  Lyssa and I continue to go on spring breaks together ever since we started college - since we're both still on school schedules (me a student, her a teacher) we continue to have time off to break away from the madness and hit a beach!  Usually because we cannot afford any vacation, our beach of choice is the Marsh Pond.  This year spring break fell on St Patty's Day, so it was a whole host of madness.  Lyssa picked me up from the airport and we enjoyed a few Maplewood Meats hot sticks.  There's really nothing better than a good hot stick.  After meeting up with Curty (who was of course at Menards), we went back to Menards to pick up some stuff for the remodeling project including all of the tile, grout and other building supplies.  Lyssa and I, like the children we are, both grabbed a Sprecher soda for the drive home.  You can't beat it.

How many polls can you fish with at once? 

Once we got back to Seymour it was time to cast a few lines with the Nagel Boys.  We brought over the expert ice fisherman to fish some trout out of the pond.  They put a few holes through the ice and we were able to catch a few nice ones!  I froze them up and brought them back to Pittsburgh!  So good.

FISH ON.

Friday the whole family - Lyssa included of course - went up to Joel's cabin to check on the place and  do a little snowmobiling.  Since the snow was melting rapidly and I hadn't been on the trails much this winter - it was my las chance to get in a good trail ride.  We went down to the local pubs and chatted it up with the always entertaining hosts.  We hung around Saturday for a bit while Curty was doing some odds and ends at the cabin and then headed on our way back home to Seymour to celebrate St. Patricks Day!

Fish slayers

Fishing captains!

After a moment to freshen up and scrunch my hair (per ush) Curty handed over the keys to his Chevy!  The van that I usually drive when I'm home was in Pittsburgh, so I had the luxury of driving the big beast to Lyssa's in BC.  Seriously, that 20 minute trail ride made me want to toss my Hyundai to the curb and big up a big Dodge. I felt like I could run over anything and everything.  However, I should have probably been sitting on a phone book, and maybe that would have helped that feeling. 

Notice Lyssa's snowsuit. Epic.

Deer at Buck's Camp

Curty let me take out the Chevy!!

 At Lyssa's we med up with Jeanne and Lizzo to enjoy the Palubicki residence before going to Appleton.  It was just like college and I was in love haha!  It was nice to see everyone in one place!  We went to the Stoneyard and boot stomped to a little Nashville Pipeline before heading back to Seymour to drop off Lizzo and see who was all at Jackson Point.  At JP we did some more dancing around to a band who was playing the cowbell like I've never seen the cowbell be played before.  

All in all, it was a wild spring break 2014 and I was stranded in Green Bay for one more night due to weather before making it back home to Paul in Pittsburgh.  Well, see ya next year Lyss!

Thanksgiving in Wisconsin with Dale

Dale flying coach, and my yellow travel pants.

One of my more adventurous moves included taking a brand new puppy on a plane to Wisconsin after having him for only a week and a half. What I was thinking, I have no idea. I gave him a little Benadryl in his favorite Little Cesar's kong and threw him in a fabric basket to put under the seat in front of me. I was pretty sure he was going to bark the whole way - but much to my relief he fussed around to get comfortable and continued to look up at me with sad eyes through his carrier the entire trip.  Also, I should note - Dale was not potty trained at this point - so much of my layovers were spent in the girls bathroom trying to get him to pee on pee-pads while he was trying to sniff the stall of the ladies next to me.  It was a ridiculous display.

Lyssa getting some lovin' from her new nephew.

Who can spot the pooch?

Luckily we made it in one piece and Mom picked me up at the Green Bay airport and was utterly shocked that I had a dog with me hahah! We thought we would never see the day. Dale took a pee and got to ride shotgun on our way to Appleton.  We went to show Kathy and the Anderson family the new pooch.  They were in love with the crazy terrier, and got to take care of him for a bit while we went to grab a crate and puppy essentials. 

Something I thought I would never see, my dad reading next to a dog.

Dale enjoying the snow of Wisconsin!

The next morning, mum and I got our hair did and I met up with Lyssa after school to cause some trouble in Seymour per-ush. We danced like crazy and came back to let Dale outside for a midnight tinkle. He was pretty concerned when I rolled down the hill with him - hey, I was just trying to bond. Then I let the pooch sleep with me in the futon and woke up to his rustling under the covers by the feet terrified that Lyssa was sleeping at the foot of my bed.  Needless to say, it was another classic adventure and my parents were entertained. 

Tristan teaching Dale a few new tricks, like how to be taller. 

The following afternoon was Thanksgiving, and we were fortunate to spend it with the Nagel family at Sue's house.  Dale came too, he's already spoiled. The food was excellent and I had to chance to catch up with their rapidly growing kids and Grandpa VB.  It's too bad the Packer's didn't win, but hey, can't have it all. 

Venison sausage. Seriously, to die for. (well the deer anyway)

No luck hunting, but it sure was fun!

That afternoon we went up north so I could do a little hunting in the woods with Dad. It was the second weekend of the season so the darn whitetails tend to wise-up by this time and only feed at night. However, we went out every morning and evening to try to get a glimpse of fresh venison. Nothing. We saw a few squirrels but unfortunately not a deer this year.  I'll have to try my luck again next year - skunked two years in a row is not a great sign.  Luckily Dad got a few with his muzzleloader so we had some meat for fresh breakfast sausage. So delicious.

Our peaceful back yard in Seymour. Miss this view every morning. 

It was so nice to be back in Wisconsin to relax over Thanksgiving.  Dale, mom and I took numerous walks and he played in the snow and destroyed numerous water bottles and peed in our house.  Classic Dale behavior really.  I think Dale secretly misses Wisconsin, and hopefully we'll both be able to go back soon!

DALE takes a SELFIE, and tweets that he's at Buck's camp.

Jay & Perry Visit Buck's Place

Dad in snowmobile heaven, sleds running with a fresh dusting of snow!

Last minute plans always seem to work out for the best.  (Sounds like I might be taking just a few too many lessons from my favorite man Paul...)  I'm the ultimate planner, but when Jay and Perry said they might be able to come up to Joel's for the evening - it was go time!

Thumbs up Curty!

Dad and I were planning on taking the day slow and heading home, but we were excited that Jay and Perry were finally able to see Joel's camp.  The last time Jay was up to the cabin, they were roughing in the sides or the concrete.  It was a manly adventure to say the least, which resulted in the water hose running real early in the morning I believe.

The last time we ran into Jay and Perry was visiting in Georgia and then spending some time at the beach in the Florida panhandle.  That was a great trip (read about it here)!  The weather was a bit different this time, and we were going to try out the trails to see if we could put on a few miles on the snowmobiles.  The trails had just opened - the snow was thin - but that didn't scare us off.

Jay, Perry, and I for a morning snowmobile run...

Perry and Jay out on the trails - snow fever!

It was so nice to catch up with Jay and Perry - especially because we know just how busy they are during their short time back in Wisconsin for the holidays.  How fortunate that we were able to pull such a thing off!  I cannot wait until the next time our paths cross!  Another Georgia vacation??

Northern, WI

Thanksgiving Weekend at Camp Fence

Dad and I in the trees waiting on a deer...

Blaze orange is very slimming.  So is camo.

You would think that during vacation would be the best time to blog, but time always seems to slip away on me when I'm home visiting.  Additionally, internet is hard to come by in Seymour, so I have to use my cellphone to power up my computer.  This makes for slow blogging, as you can imagine.

Dad and Tristan splitting wood, to keep us warm all winter.

Mum, Dad, Tristan, and me at Joel's cabin - Nov 2012

The Hunting MEN: Bill, Curt, Tristan

Anywho, I wanted to share some footage and stories from Thanksgiving weekend up at Joel's cabin.  Thanksgiving continues to be a time to reflect on all that we are thankful for and it's a time that I wish I could be close to Joel.  This year we were fortunate to be able to go up to his cabin and spend sometime surrounded by his favorite things: 

snow, hunting, family, and the outdoors.

The only deer I saw... behind a game farm fence.  Expensive mistake.

Excited to be in the woods.

I knew I was going to be home over Thanksgiving break and we were planning to spend it up north, so I thought it would be fun to sit in the tree and go hunting with Curty.  I used to hunt more when I was little after I so proudly aced my hunter safety course!  Whooot whooot.  The hunter safety course leaders announced that there was only one student to score 100% on the written test, and only one student who failed the distance test.... I was that person for both.  Dohhhh!  Ohh well.  So, I bought a license this year to try my luck.

Curty in his second home: the truck.

Breakfast sausage station.  Man land.

Dad and I went out morning and night until we were frozen, and we didn't see anything.  The deer were pretty smart at this point and would leave moments before we got to the stand in the morning.  There were fresh tracks all around and their daily corn was licked clean.  All I can say is... better luck next year!  I had a blast in the woods and hopefully can continue the tradition in the coming years!

"Did ya see Da Thurdy Pointer?..."

Turkey Day

Matt is carving the delicious turkey!

The night before Thanksgiving is apparently the most profitable night for local establishments… I remember hearing some of the crazy stories of how much people would make tending bar that night.  Mom, Dad and I stopped into see Grandma Marsh and I was able to spend time with Kyle’s kids.  They were having fun playing games and running around the house.

Afterwards we met up with Dan and Katie up at Jackson Point to grab some dinner before the band blasted our ears off and Lyssa and I went to downtown Seymour.  There were a lot of familiar faces out, and it was a blast to catch up with Dan and Katie to hear about their new puppy!

Thursday morning I made my wild rice with dried fruit and we had Thanksgiving with the Nagels.  It was so nice to see them all under one roof on Thanksgiving.  Grandpa VB even stopped by for a while after he had lunch with Grandma.  The food was excellent – I could barely move after dinner and didn’t have a spare ounce of room for dessert.  

After chatting after dinner for a while, Mom, Dad, and I took off for Joel’s camp to spend the rest of our Thanksgiving Holiday relaxing in Joel’s presence at camp.  It was nice to be up there to relax and reflect on the year that has gone by all too quickly.  I cannot even begin to explain the ways that life has changed in the past year, but I’m sure blessed to be surrounded by such supportive friends and family.

There’s always something we can be thankful for – I am thankful for the memories and special moments we had together.  Miss you more each day Buck.

Last Minute: Destination Wisconsin

The first weekend of our new gastroenterology course was a prime opportunity to sneak home for a mini vacation.  I made sure I had extra time in the airport this time around and was flying through Cleveland back to Green Bay.  After a minor delay, I was running out of the airport to find Haus’ Burb in the passenger pick up ready to take me to a fine local establishment to meet Lyssa, Liz, Kate, Marc and the boys.   Luckily everyone was in the mood for dancing and we were sore the next morning from the night of busting many wild moves on the floor.  

Brown eggs, fresh from the chickens' buns.

Saturday morning, Lyssa and I drove up to Joel’s camp to meet my parents and help my dad get some things ready for the up and coming hunting season.   Saturday night we migrated down to Uncle Johns to catch up with everyone after dinner and exchange stories and dance like Taylor Swift.  Lyssa and I got on a role telling stories from our college days and some of the adventures we got into with Windpants.  I was laughing so hard!  We also had Dad and big Whitey consider volunteering to be a standardized patient for a little extra cash – hahah!

Curty teaching Lyssa how to navigate like a northwoods man... GPS.

Getting a good angle on the bambis.

Helping Curty putting up the three stand!

Living off the land...

Sunday morning I went for a walk down the road at Bucks cabin to take in the rustic scenery and the farmland.  There were a lot of great photo opportunities to capture the remaining fall foliage and harvested fields.  Later that morning, we took a trip to the public land to help Curty put up a few deer stands in preparation for opening day and he showed us a few tricks to tracking down the big bucks.  Lyssa was navigating with the GPS and carrying a part of the climber.  It as a nice little hike back into the woods followed by a stop at the water falls on our way out.  We made it there just in time to take pictures and run back to the car before the downpour of rain!  Perfect timing!

Lyssa and I at the falls - WI

Curty, our local tour guide!

Lyssa in the midst of the waterfall

Monday afternoon it was down to Milwaukee for a late night flight through Newark and to Pittsburgh.  I’m sure glad that I was able to make the trip back to visit and catch up with everyone before the hustle of the Holidays!  I never turn town a weekend trip to Wisconsin!

Just another reason why I love Buck's Camp Fence...