Thursday, September 28, 2017
We started out at 9:15 a.m. heading for St. Germain. Cool sunny day, about 60 degrees, but should warm up. Peter drove almost the entire way without a stop. Took a rest stop at Lake Tomahawk, then proceeded to our destination. I always hold my breath when I'm not sure of what I expected. But Buckhorn Cabin exceeded my expectations.
We are right in view of the lake in a nicely furnished cabin, just perfect for the two of us.
Karen, the manager, checked in with us to see is we have everything we need. Peter is very pleased, especially after staying in the dumpy Alpine Inn. Why did we take so long to wake up? We have a picnic table and grill right outside our door and had our picnic after unpacking. We met our neighbors Anthony and Brittany from Milwaukee who were married on Saturday. We sat on the beach until the clouds covered the sun and it started cooling off. The forecast looks good for the next few days
Friday, September 29, 2017
Cool overcast day, mid 50s. After breakfast, we drove to the Lake Nakomis Cranberry marsh for the 11 a.m tour. We were 10 minutes late and need to be there almost an hour before the tour to get our place on the 19 - passenger bus. I bought some jelly and we drove to Lake Tomahawk to just kill time and look over the scenery. We got back just after noon and got our numbered tickets for the 1:00 p.m.. tour. Our guide was from Elm Grove and took us to one of the plots to see how cranberries grow and bite into one to see the four chambers that are hollow and make the berries float.
We were really impressed with all the information and seeing the harvesting process. To see a man pull on a very long collar to get the berries concentrated in an area for the men to scoop them into a truck looked like extremely hard work.
The colors were stunning, even with a few rain drops. The tour lasted about 45 minutes.
We drove into Eagle River and walked around the downtown. We bought some paper towels and a night light at a Dollar Store, and a small bread at Pick 'n Save. It was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, but I GOOGLE some nearby restaurants and we chose the White Spruce Inn on Hwy 45, where I remember eating many years ago. We deciding to have a drink at the bar before having dinner. We read the Today paper and I told the hostess to save a place for us by the window when we were ready to eat. I had a martini on the rocks, Peter had a gin and tonic before getting to our table strategically placed by a window.
I had a half rack of ribs, Peter a Jaegerscnitzel which we both enjoyed. It was still light enough to see some properties on the road beyond us. It was a very enjoyable day.
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Cheese omelets for breakfast. 30 degrees. We left at 10 a.m heading towards Boulder Junction with our picnic supplies and high hopes for warmer weather. We parked and walked through the shops up and down the main street. It was a nice walk and a lot of Northwoods merchandise. We set our destination for Star Lake, hoping to find a campsite for our picnic. It was nearing 60 degrees, double this morning's temperature. We found a nicely sheltered spot and spread out to have a leisurely meal. After eating, Peter found a sunny spot next to the water where we sat for awhile, and I did some knitting, until the sun shifted and we were feeling cold. We marveled at the serenity.
Peter wanted to locate a friend who summers on Little Lake Germain so we headed for the Northwoods bar and Grill, hoping he frequented there. Peter was directed to the Twilight Lounge which was our next destination. So much for serenity! It was very noisy: pounding, loud laughing, music and loud talking. Drinks were cheap, but I didn't think that I wanted to eat there. After considering the options, we ordered hamburgers and a second gin and tonic. The entire bill was $30. We had a very full day, which ended by watching the sunset. We played dominoes before calling it a day.
Sunday, October 1 2017
We were pretty well packed and ready to go last night, just for last minute cleaning up and emptying the frig. We went to St. Mary's in Saynor for the 9 a.m. mass. The priest was difficult to understand, seemed Indian so the printed sermon was unusual, but helpful. After mass we headed to the Northwoods Family Restaurant, but wound up at CC's. When I asked if this was the Northwoods Restaurant, the hostess gave me blank look and said there was DJ'S and something else. There was a wait, but then the hostess came out to the people waiting outside, apologizing that she lost her chef. We headed to DJ'S and discovered that it was the Northwood ' s Restaurant. We had another wait, but got some coffee served while we were waiting. I had eggs Benedict with a potato pancake, Peter had bacon and eggs. We got back to our cabin at 11:50, 10 minutes before check-out. Karen was already in our area, but Peter didn't recognize her. We cleared out the frig, and were out shortly after noon. When we thought about it, we could have checked out before going to church; we had plenty of time and we wouldn't have backtracked the same road.
Peter drove the entire way, even though he offered me to drive at a rest stop. We still haven't got the cruise control figured out, and I didn't want to experiment while I was driving. As we were heading towards Milwaukee, I suggested Su Casa for our meal, which sounded like a good idea to Peter. We shared a steak fajita, I had a margarita. It was very filling. We unloaded my luggage at Peter's house and I was on my way home to be greeted by Hello Dolly. It was a warm reunion.
