We headed out on Saturday morning, and here’s how our few days went:

• Fred Smith’s Wisconsin Concrete Park
• Visiting cousins (2)
  • + First cousin once-removed & his fiancee
  • + Stevie the blind pet squirrel
  • + horses, pigs, alpacas, sheep & goats
  • Taking possession of Grandma’s photos
• Meeting up with high school classmate
  • Returning book borrowed in 1976
• Visiting uncle
  • Maddy embarking on an impromptu paddle in the kayak
• Climbing inside Looking at a giant musky over a fence & through some trees (things have changed)

The first stop on our trip was in Wausau — for an estate sale, and for lunch. We both scored some things at the sale, and lunch at Red Eye Brewing Company was yummy & worth the short wait.

Onward… unfortunately, we arrived at the Concrete Park just as the visitor center closed — Maddy saw them flip the sign. But the grounds are always open, so we wandered.

It was totally worth the stop. I love a museum gift shop, though, so will have to make it a point to stop again. I’m pretty sure I’d find something there that I couldn’t live without!

That’s “Mable the Milker” directly above. One of the few among over 200 with a posted name. Most animals are recognizable (even with their humorously skinny, straight legs), but ol’ Fred apparently had a whimsical period now & then.

The Budweiser/Anheuser Busch wagon was the last & one of the largest sculptures that he made.

There’s Maddy for scale.

There’s so much to take in!

Horses with skinny legs! Interesting observation: they all have real horseshoes.

Fred had a tavern right next door, and this was before the age of canned beverages, so he had a lot of “fodder” material for his sculptures. I was really intrigued with the use of stacked “bottle bottoms,” as above. It’s really amazing that so much of these have remained intact — especially those with the vulnerable full bottles.

Our destination/base camp was in Hayward. We stayed at a Holiday Inn & had a lakeside room with a little patio, table & chairs — it was nice!

The McDonald’s in Hayward — ONLY in Hayward!

Used to be, the giant fiberglass fish was just part of a public park… now it’s part of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and can only be accessed with admission. We weren’t that interested. heh.

On Sunday, we drove over to Solon Springs to visit with my cousins, Gail & Gordy, who are neighbors; Gordy’s son Trent & his fiancee Amy also joined us. Gail & Gordy both have a lot of interests and amazing workshops/barns, which were fun to tour. Gordy, and Gail’s husband John, are into saws, mills, planers & the like. Gail has an enviable workspace for her Rock On Jewelry business, as well as an area for creative endeavors with driftwood… not to mention shop space in the barn for her welder, plasma cutter & accoutrements. Not gonna lie, I’m a little envious (or a LOT) of all that dedicated space!

Gordy has a pet squirrel, Stevie, who is blind in one eye & also suffers from seizures. He built a pretty great habitat for him.

After lunch we stopped at the farm across the road where Gail boards her horse, Nutmeg — she’s the cutie on the left. She’s only two, I think. There are both types of alpaca on the farm, those above are Suri.

Madeleine the animal lover!

John, Gail, me, Gordy, Maddy. I should have stood on a crate! haha.

Gordy could not find the old photos of Grandma’s, but had run across them in the not-so-distant past & knows they’re somewhere… he will send them to me when they turn up again.

I messaged & texted my classmate… turns out, she only gets messages on her iPad & she mistyped a digit of her phone number, so never received my text. Next time, I guess!

On Sunday night, there was a loon family out on Hayward Lake. The “baby” was nearly full-size, but different in color — and definitely not interested in getting its head wet! It just floated along, waiting for mom/dad to swim over with a tidbit. It was fascinating to watch them fish & swim — they’re so fast under the water — and one of them swam right under the dock where we were sitting.

We’d learned of a Monday flea market from a couple we chatted with on the dock, so we checked that out before leaving Hayward, along with a thrift shop, and those were also worthwhile stops.

On our way home, we made our planned stop at Uncle Jimmy’s on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage. Jim is my dad’s youngest brother — only about 10 years older than me, so of course he was our favorite uncle.

Maddy spotted Jim’s “fishing” kayak & he half-jokingly asked her if she wanted to go for a paddle. Um, YES! She went around the island and took the long way back.

We had a very nice visit, chatting about neighbors, relatives (some are both), dogs, bats, kayaks, and making maple syrup, which Jim does every spring. We brought home syrup for all!

It was such a fun getaway with m’girl!

Today is her last full day at home. I’m cutting out of work early & am making BBQ ribs tonight — one of her favorites. Every time ribs have come up in the dinner conversation, I’d say “wait until Maddy comes,” so now’s the time! She’ll spend a couple of days in Milwaukee before flying back to Australia on Sunday or Monday. boo.