August 5th-7th; MN/WI/MI
August 5th
The plane trip on Northwest was relatively uneventful (I'll save you the details on the goofy family that sat near and around me). Upon arriving at the MSP airport we (meaning Teresa's grandmother, Karen, and I) by no baggage and no one to pick her up. The baggage arrived at the carousel an hour after we did, and no one ever did show up for Granny.
So poor Granny had to hoof it around the airport, take two elevators, a tram, and walk about 1/2 mile (or so it seemed) to the car rental area.
After I dropped off Granny in Blaine, MN at her friends house (now I know why she went! The Champions Tour was in town, and she was looking to bag a rich old pro golfer!), I hightailed it out of MN to WI. I made good time (making up for the lost 2:30), and got to Eau Claire in time to relax a bit. One comment about and to the government of Blaine: TWO STREETS (89th Avenue NE and Van Buren Avenue NE) INTERSECTING AND CREATING FOUR RIGHT ANGLES CANNOT, LOGICALLY, HAVE THE WORD "NORTHEAST" IN THE NAME!!!!!!
The hotel has a pub called O'Leary's. I should have been "leary." The pub/hotel was hosting a 10th year high school reunion, and a sort of combined bachelor and bachelorette party. Additionally, some cover band kicked off after 9:00, and it appears that O'Leary's is a bit of a hang out for locals as well.
The early part started off okay as I watched the Packers' Family night scrimmage on television.
Then things got weird. Not dangerous, just weird. I'll leave those details for private discussions, but you can probably create a good story in your head that is just as interesting and entertaining.
August 6
After a good sleep-in, I headed off for Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church in neighboring Altoona. It was the first time that I had participated in a Latin Mass in person. I can understand why so many Catholics, even ones who cannot stand the trendiness of today's Church, do not want to go back to the old Rite as they may "feel" that they are not part of the praying of the Mass. However, given the abuses that are ever growing, especially in Los Angeles, I'll take the old Mass anyday. Even if they just convereted the old Mass into English and stopped fiddling around we would all be better off... okay, enough!
I then ventured off to Medford, WI for the night. Medford was almost closed. Not "Pecos closed" (for those of you who remember my TX adventure in 1990-1991), but it was the last day of the Taylor County Fair which is held in downtown Medford. So, almost all of the restaurants, and every bar, was closed. I guess in order to have a fair, very few people can actually work or the competition will shut the fair down.
August 7
I had planned on eating breakfast after about a 30 minute drive to the birthplace town of my mother, Sylvia. Silly me! The only restaurant in town that serves breakfast in Athens is closed on Monday's during the Summer (as posted on a sign in the window).
The town does, however, have a large WW II era tank in the park (thankfully pointed away from the local
Catholic Church and school).
Before I reached Athens, I saw an old Amish woman driving her horse and buggy. I also saw a pelican. I am not sure which surprised me more...
I then began my drive towards the U.P. hoping to find something to eat in Little Chicago. Little Chicago is too little to have food conveniently for sale. It is so little that the town sign doesn't even bother to tell me that it is unincorporated (which every other bump in the road "town" has in WI). It does, however, have an open Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealership.
I eventually found a Hardee's (Carl Jr.'s brother chain in the midwest).
I think the town that got my attention the most was Watersmeet, MI - Home of the Nimrods!. Now, really... shouldn't they change the name of that school's mascot? Now I know that orginally the term was a positive one, but its modern usage is usually one that calls into question one's intelligence.
Not too soon after that I passed another little sign that indicated I was now in the Easter Time Zone. This seemed to really rattle the driver of the minivan in front of me as he began to weave for about 1/4 of a mile.
So as to not forget late, I decided that I should change the clock in my car and on my watch...and I began to weave. I think I will change my watch and the car in the clock prior to departure on Wednesday.
I wandered a bit (by car) around Houghton and Hancock before checking into my hotel. I even drove around the campus and athltetic fields of Michigan Tech.
Tomorrow I will venture out a bit on foot to visit some sites that may have been of attraction to my ancestors.
The plane trip on Northwest was relatively uneventful (I'll save you the details on the goofy family that sat near and around me). Upon arriving at the MSP airport we (meaning Teresa's grandmother, Karen, and I) by no baggage and no one to pick her up. The baggage arrived at the carousel an hour after we did, and no one ever did show up for Granny.
So poor Granny had to hoof it around the airport, take two elevators, a tram, and walk about 1/2 mile (or so it seemed) to the car rental area.
After I dropped off Granny in Blaine, MN at her friends house (now I know why she went! The Champions Tour was in town, and she was looking to bag a rich old pro golfer!), I hightailed it out of MN to WI. I made good time (making up for the lost 2:30), and got to Eau Claire in time to relax a bit. One comment about and to the government of Blaine: TWO STREETS (89th Avenue NE and Van Buren Avenue NE) INTERSECTING AND CREATING FOUR RIGHT ANGLES CANNOT, LOGICALLY, HAVE THE WORD "NORTHEAST" IN THE NAME!!!!!!
The hotel has a pub called O'Leary's. I should have been "leary." The pub/hotel was hosting a 10th year high school reunion, and a sort of combined bachelor and bachelorette party. Additionally, some cover band kicked off after 9:00, and it appears that O'Leary's is a bit of a hang out for locals as well.
The early part started off okay as I watched the Packers' Family night scrimmage on television.
Then things got weird. Not dangerous, just weird. I'll leave those details for private discussions, but you can probably create a good story in your head that is just as interesting and entertaining.
August 6
After a good sleep-in, I headed off for Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church in neighboring Altoona. It was the first time that I had participated in a Latin Mass in person. I can understand why so many Catholics, even ones who cannot stand the trendiness of today's Church, do not want to go back to the old Rite as they may "feel" that they are not part of the praying of the Mass. However, given the abuses that are ever growing, especially in Los Angeles, I'll take the old Mass anyday. Even if they just convereted the old Mass into English and stopped fiddling around we would all be better off... okay, enough!
I then ventured off to Medford, WI for the night. Medford was almost closed. Not "Pecos closed" (for those of you who remember my TX adventure in 1990-1991), but it was the last day of the Taylor County Fair which is held in downtown Medford. So, almost all of the restaurants, and every bar, was closed. I guess in order to have a fair, very few people can actually work or the competition will shut the fair down.
August 7
I had planned on eating breakfast after about a 30 minute drive to the birthplace town of my mother, Sylvia. Silly me! The only restaurant in town that serves breakfast in Athens is closed on Monday's during the Summer (as posted on a sign in the window).
The town does, however, have a large WW II era tank in the park (thankfully pointed away from the local
Catholic Church and school).
Before I reached Athens, I saw an old Amish woman driving her horse and buggy. I also saw a pelican. I am not sure which surprised me more...
I then began my drive towards the U.P. hoping to find something to eat in Little Chicago. Little Chicago is too little to have food conveniently for sale. It is so little that the town sign doesn't even bother to tell me that it is unincorporated (which every other bump in the road "town" has in WI). It does, however, have an open Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealership.
I eventually found a Hardee's (Carl Jr.'s brother chain in the midwest).
I think the town that got my attention the most was Watersmeet, MI - Home of the Nimrods!. Now, really... shouldn't they change the name of that school's mascot? Now I know that orginally the term was a positive one, but its modern usage is usually one that calls into question one's intelligence.
Not too soon after that I passed another little sign that indicated I was now in the Easter Time Zone. This seemed to really rattle the driver of the minivan in front of me as he began to weave for about 1/4 of a mile.
So as to not forget late, I decided that I should change the clock in my car and on my watch...and I began to weave. I think I will change my watch and the car in the clock prior to departure on Wednesday.
I wandered a bit (by car) around Houghton and Hancock before checking into my hotel. I even drove around the campus and athltetic fields of Michigan Tech.
Tomorrow I will venture out a bit on foot to visit some sites that may have been of attraction to my ancestors.
posted by Matthew J. McKinley | 12:59 PM
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