So I'm on my lunch break and decided to take a moment to update my blog. :) I have a bit of a cold. I can't figure out what it really is because my left ear really hurts and it runs through my left side of my throat and nose. It really sucks. I sneeze and I feel like my head is going to explode. Not fun...
I came back from Wisconsin Monday night at about 11pm. I got home and situated for bed by 12:30am and I was truly worn out from my travels. So I emailed my supervisor telling him I would not be coming in and would make up the day Saturday.
So my trip to Rhinelander was a blast! I had a great time with Sam as well as my other friends Marc and Jess and their adorable little boy Eli! Sam and I searched for plane tickets that were cheap so I ended up with a lot of stops. On the way there I went from Ontario to Salt Lake City to Indianapolis to Minneapolis finally to Rhinelander! On the way back it was worse! I went from Rhinelander to Minneapolis to Indianapolis to Atlanta finally to Ontario. Pretty much both days there and back took the entire day to get there.
Friday I relaxed since Sam had to work. We ended up meeting up with Marc and Jess for dinner in a place called the Hideaway. Now this place literally was a hideaway! It took a while to be seated but once seated the food was great. We didn't do much more then that.
Saturday we met up with Sam's friend/coworker Dave and his wife Amy to go shooting at the handgun range that Sam has a membership for. I took a few pictures and will post them. Amy was fairly young looking but she was in her early twenties and was pregnant with their 5th kid! I was shocked! But it was cool going to the range and hanging out with Sam's friends. While I was there my friend David Berry called to inform me he had just scored us tickets to see Depeche Mode in Vegas on April 30th! I was totally stoked! Woohoo! I'll be going to see Depeche Mode twice in one tour! YAY! Hehe So after the gun range we drove around so I could get some scenery shots. Sam showed me around his town and all the history that he had learned about his new home. I loved the place. It was great. The weather was cold; in the 20's, but bearable if you were dressed right. I had to buy boots earlier that morning so I was set. There was so much snow but it was beautiful and clear! That night we ordered pizza and hung out and watched movies together.
Me at the gun range -
Sam, Amy and Dave at the gun range -
Sunday Sam drove me out to the other office he works at in Crandon, WI. It was great, a small town with one main street. It was what I pictured Rhinelander being since Sam had made such a big deal about how little his new home was. But I was impressed with Rhinelander. An entire city based on a mythical creature and owes much of it’s prosperity to that creature is an interesting place to visit! Check out the history of the Hodag Here. Anyways, the sky was cloudy and it started to snow! I loved taking pictures. I took a TON. You’ll see them eventually. I took over 300, and most of them were scenery shots. We went and bought stuff to make dinner and brought it over to Marc and Jess’s. Sam made his famous burritos for us and some of Marc and Jess’s friends.
Sam and me
I fell in love with Marc and Jess's house! They actually live in the house of the person who made up the mythical creature the Hodag! They live in the smaller "you're-in-trouble-go-sleep-on-the-couch" house. hehe And they own the barn that comes with it. The barn is three stories and I believe is like 3,000 sq. ft! And it has so much character and history! Marc came out while I was shooting pictures and told me about the basement being rented out to a bottling company. And the cave in the back was where the original owner caught the "Hodag". Then Marc explained all that they wanted to do with the barn, hoping to make the basement spare rooms and the upstairs into a game room with lofts on the upper level for a home theater. Turns out, there is a passage from their house to the main house and the barn, which they used to heat the three buildings before indoor heating. They were closed up when they sold the property separately but Marc and Jess get along with their neighbor and they have all decided that they are going to open up the secret passages and that way when they build the spare rooms they will have a way to walk to the house without having to go outside. I think it's awesome. I can't wait to show you pictures of this place.
Me and the Hodag
Well my lunch break is over. More pictures will be coming soon.
posted by Charity at 3/09/2006 02:47:00 PM 
