Twelve Feet, Six Continents, One Year

I wrote a couple of short posts about certain days during our two-week stay in Iron River, WI but I feel impelled to reflect on that time. It was exquisitely vacation-like and it will make me happy in the future to remember the things that created this. Let's do this Letterman style: #10: Hayward, WI Sometimes you need something to do. The kids are getting rammy. The house is feeling small. The weather isn't what you hoped. So we hopped in the car and drove about an hour to Hayward to see the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and a small-town amusement center. We skipped the latter and instead spent quite a bit of time on main street shopping, eating ice cream, eating dinner and also enjoying a small little city park along the river. Elise, Ali, Cate and Henry in the mouth of the worlds largest Muskie. This gave us the chance to see the banner advertising the lumberjack world championships later that week. This was an unexpected highlight of the trip so far. Hayward...

Another postcard today. Step 1: Feed kids silver dollar pancakes while they watch, first, their favorite fishing show (Chasing Monsters) and, second, the first half of Pocohontas. Step 2: Drive to picturesque Bayfield "Gateway to the Apostle Islands" Wisconsin and eat lunch overlooking Lake Superior while waiting for... Step 3: Take 3 hour cruise (covering about 60 miles) around the Apostles on the theme of "Lighthouses and Caves." Watch as kids nap in every possible position and/or make friends with strangers of all ages. Step 4: Take kids to awesome lakeside playground and watch them immediately befriend other kids. Step 5: Go to flamingo-themed restaurant and eat second fresh trout meal of the day. Step 6: Drive home while making two stops. First, discover gravestone of great-grandparents. Second, go to A&W for dessert even though kids barely deserve it. Step 7: Let kids prepare themselves for bed, once again in the tent village of the living ro...