tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892565824542288032024-03-19T15:50:45.527-07:00Little While on the PrairieThe Rubies go travelling across the prairies of the midwest.Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-75621219898158925542011-08-29T15:26:00.000-07:002011-08-29T15:26:38.725-07:00And finally...So (there I go again!), this is my final blog post. I'm well and truly back now - all except for my bodyclock and goodness only knows where that is! However, I thought it might be good to do some summing up. Find a fitting conclusion to the tales of our travels and all that.<br />
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This was definitely one of the best holidays we have had as a family. The weather, company, experiences, scenery and surroundings were all...you guessed it: awesome! We met up with some lovely people known to us already, made new friends and enjoyed the company of passing acquaintances. <br />
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I fulfilled more life-long ambitions than I ever knew I had: paddling in Plum Creek! Taking an American road trip! Smelling the sweet prairie air! Drying my laundry in the prairie breezes! (I'm easily pleased and it's the small things in life that delight me the most.) Visiting Laura's houses! Finding out that the places I've read about since childhood really are just as I imagined...but better! <br />
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Just hanging out with Dr X. Dr Norton and Blondie, cooking in their kitchen, playing in their basement, admiring Dr N's fleet of vehicles, wandering down town and sipping a soda in the coffee shop, the fun of having a tray of hotdogs clipped onto your open car window, swimming in the cool, clear waters of the lake... all this made it a holiday - or vacation - to remember. <br />
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So, 'til next time, thank you to everyone who had a hand in our travels, thank you to everyone who read the blog. I'm off now, to work on my quilt while gently sipping an ice cold root beer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbRpUa_36Fbz-_hGKPx7lvTlPtjiRikUASKLUrR2tROlaZr8VEbP-v6_WZGm0hMhI24KdlzKqY_f-EBMSA9GhZj-cFyRnBgJSAstLu-AnTVFU0Ud3Q8O4gesVbDqCKuBwYvd6n1RCgLOf/s1600/IMG_7133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbRpUa_36Fbz-_hGKPx7lvTlPtjiRikUASKLUrR2tROlaZr8VEbP-v6_WZGm0hMhI24KdlzKqY_f-EBMSA9GhZj-cFyRnBgJSAstLu-AnTVFU0Ud3Q8O4gesVbDqCKuBwYvd6n1RCgLOf/s320/IMG_7133.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-84350118248159172532011-08-29T13:59:00.000-07:002011-08-29T13:59:07.369-07:00Gee, it's good to be back home again...although it's cold, none of us can sleep and our house feels...well...tiny! I've been using the nervous energy to do some de-cluterring. I reckon I'm getting quite good at it, although if the kids don't get over their jet-lag and start sleeping soon, I can't promise they won't be added to one of the piles of stuff! (Just kidding!!!!)<br />
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So (I may be back home, but I'm still using that little Americanism), we caught the flight home OK and were pleased to be travelling on a new Boeing 777-300 - mainly because we liked the touch-screen TVs! TR slept for most of the flight. The Mouse did fairly well, although she didn't sleep for as long as TR and had to resort to some early hours in-flight CBeebies watching. <br />
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Back at Heathrow we watched the rain teeming down (welcome home!) and then joined the passport queues. Mr Ruby and the children took great delight in bidding me farewell as they headed off for the fast-track queue (they all have newer-style passports), leaving me in the 'snail's pace' line. They were less delighted when they discovered that you can only use the fast-track lane if you're 18 or over, which meant them joining another slow queue. Obviously Mr Ruby couldn't sail through the queue on his own, because he now had charge of the children. Naturally I was gracious and only sniggered a little when I went through passport control ahead of them. (Heh-heh!)<br />
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My dad met us at the airport and it was good to see him again! He drove us home, while we tried valiantly to look wide awake. What time was it again? What continent were we on?<br />
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Since being home we have tried - and thus far failed - to get back onto GMT. Still, there's always GMTea, so it's not all bad. In fact, I think I hear Mr Ruby boiling the kettle now...Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com0Mytchett, Camberley, Surrey GU16 6, UK51.287976 -0.725909900000033323.448804 -60.491534900000033 79.127148 59.039715099999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-10896478214390588192011-08-24T13:56:00.000-07:002011-08-29T13:43:38.385-07:00Chicago! Chicago!On Saturday we all caught the train to Chicago. TR was very impressed with the double-decker trains and of course we all sat upstairs. The train was a little slower than usual as there were thunderstorms in the area, so we had to travel at 25 mph for part of the way. However, we got there OK and jumped in two cabs for American Girl Place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">TR and Mr Ruby relax on the top-deck.</span></td></tr>
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<strike>The M</strike> Bunny's eighth birthday present from us was a voucher to spend on clothes and accessories for her <a href="http://hopeitsnows.blogspot.com/2007/11/only-in-america.html">American Girl dolls</a>. She and I were very taken with all the little clothes and shoes and suchlike. While we immersed ourselves in the American Girl experience, TR, Mr Ruby and Dr Norton went to the Lego shop next door. Blondie and Dr X bought a new outfit for Blondie to wear on her first day in middle school. After much deliberating, Bunny chose a figure-skating outfit, complete with the cutest little pair of ice skates. Man, I want a doll to dress! (Bunny insists on picking out her own clothes these days and TR's really not interested.) She also picked out some doll-sized jeans and a notepad.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Felicity (the doll) models her new figure-skating outfit.</span></td></tr>
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After our shopping experience, we caught another cab to 'The Elephant and Castle - English Pub'. I reckon they made a pretty good job of that. Bunny had fish and chips and TR chose bangers and mash - pretty good English pub fare.<br />
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We then walked to the Sears Tower. Well, OK you're supposed to call it the 'Willis Tower' now, but it seems a bit silly to rename such a significant and iconic landmark. One older lady, who approached the tower just ahead of us, summed it up thus, although I'm going to have to leave you to supply the last word for yourselves: 'Willis Tower? <em>Willis</em> Tower?! What a crock of....!' Dr X and I were in hysterics.<br />
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We went up to the 103rd floor (we took the elevator - not the stairs) and a good look at the view of Chicago. It was funny to look down at what appeared to be train sets and Hot Wheels cars far below us. Most impressively, we saw a flypast, as there was an air show on at Navy Pier. It was weird being taller than the jets, too!<br />
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A new addition to the tower is some retractable glass balconies. The kids were utterly fearless about these, but the grown-ups were all seen to step out rather gingerly! I tell you, it is not right to be suspended so high above the city, in little more than a glorified reptile tank!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blondie, doing yoga, while suspended over the city.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Take a closer look - yep, all the way up there!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Aaargh!</span></td></tr>
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After defying the laws of physics, we walked back across the river to the train station and caught the express back 'home'. The thunderstorms had cleared by now, so we had a clear run back and were home in time for tea.Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com0Chicago, IL, USA41.8781136 -87.62979819999998241.6887156 -87.838101199999983 42.067511599999996 -87.421495199999981tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-55095142876717581262011-08-23T09:12:00.000-07:002011-08-23T09:12:58.249-07:00Guest blogger: TR<br />
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On Friday all the boys went to Dog'n'Suds to eat hotdogs and other things. If you walk, you sit at a table, but if you use the car you get to sit in it and have a tray clipped onto your window! I had a hotdog, some sprite and some chips. It was really yummy!<br />
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After Dog and Suds we came home. It was exciting because there were just boys. We played the X-Box. I played the car game and space invaders.<br />
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Mrs Ruby here. TR had a wonderful time on his 'lads night out'. The next morning, the first words he said were, *sigh* 'I wish it could be yesterday all over again.'<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFrYFCRcKOxbZx5pf4j8xTW7GQqXiVPHAw6cHbi7x4AMx3e3TK3SrKDsODPt1ftuprxfCTn2GBF_l7rPy9Kg2iv_nLbG1VSrHmRkHDU2AEAAj6M2bC5Zw1PRN2lLQZNMZNpLF4TEz22WG/s1600/IMG_7749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFrYFCRcKOxbZx5pf4j8xTW7GQqXiVPHAw6cHbi7x4AMx3e3TK3SrKDsODPt1ftuprxfCTn2GBF_l7rPy9Kg2iv_nLbG1VSrHmRkHDU2AEAAj6M2bC5Zw1PRN2lLQZNMZNpLF4TEz22WG/s320/IMG_7749.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-91453720707985196112011-08-22T23:11:00.000-07:002011-09-06T15:07:34.946-07:00The Age of EnlightenmentEvery year, Dr Norton, Dr X and Blondie head for Bristol (Wisconsin, not Gloucestershire) for the 'Renaissance Faire'. Since one of my favourite episodes of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viMevgEXuBc">Big Bang Theory involves a Renaissance Faire</a>, I thought we'd give it a go too. If you do the same, follow Raj's advice to Sheldon and pretend you are exploring a planet similar to Earth in the 1500s. It makes it all slightly less bizarre! Either that or pretend you've fallen into a Monty Python film.<br />
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For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of 'Ren Faires', you go to a place that's been decked out like Ye Olde Merrie Englande, dress up if you want to (Tudor garb would seem most fitting, but anything goes - I saw more than one pirate, crusade knight, fairy, and slapper of indeterminate historical era), watch jousting matches, shop for all kinds of ye olde thinges, queue for ages to use the portaloos, eat ye curly fries and drink copious amount of beer. You also see a lot of bosums, on account of all the well-laced corsets. If you're English, you get to reassure stall-holders that, yes, your accent is the real deal and, yes, every street in Britain looks just like this. I have to say, though, there were some <em>very</em> good fake accents going on! Better than my own, in some cases.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A man in a privy hands TR a magic stone. (Don't ask - Mr Ruby went with him and I have no idea!)</span></td></tr>
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Blondie, <strike>the Mouse</strike> Bunny and TR got into the spirit of things by dressing as a dryad, princess and dragon, respectively. (Contrary to malicious suggestions currently doing the rounds on the Internet, Mr Ruby is not in fancy dress. I bought him that hat, so <em>ner</em>!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">TR's dragon hat: two halves of a paper plate, sewn onto a sun hat. Is there no end to my talents?</span></td></tr>
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Bunny particularly loved the swing boats and trying to climb the pirate's rope ladders. TR loved watching sword fights and having a go at firing a cross-bow. We all got into the spirit of the jousting tournament! How we cheered for our brave knight! (Although I was slightly disappointed that we weren't assigned the young, blond one.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG8uQduBbPoeLkVDjU2mXXZs0JDKpn6FTh7hmF5W3l5YbAIm8TkkZGNpu_trVerUVCgEC3tsMol8aZi_3qTmWE0hoSLhjwiY9_lRjlTzy6_HRH2cCSFfZG85pZ_OnkZdEi9FbZ1Z0XIju/s1600/IMG_7701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG8uQduBbPoeLkVDjU2mXXZs0JDKpn6FTh7hmF5W3l5YbAIm8TkkZGNpu_trVerUVCgEC3tsMol8aZi_3qTmWE0hoSLhjwiY9_lRjlTzy6_HRH2cCSFfZG85pZ_OnkZdEi9FbZ1Z0XIju/s320/IMG_7701.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strike>Not the one I fancied</strike> One of the knights.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgP0Y2nK47z3dgfb2MJTY9SYIK25EzXgj2BDI38Cud-zS1QtDblZV61o7Cc43YI3V3B0v3dj0uXZ4xjBjPOU5qZgXb3YwggC49RRKBfjeHM725JNnSmC7lys1MNW0lNuQmHaNOSNi50Yp/s1600/IMG_7742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgP0Y2nK47z3dgfb2MJTY9SYIK25EzXgj2BDI38Cud-zS1QtDblZV61o7Cc43YI3V3B0v3dj0uXZ4xjBjPOU5qZgXb3YwggC49RRKBfjeHM725JNnSmC7lys1MNW0lNuQmHaNOSNi50Yp/s320/IMG_7742.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Two fairies meet.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>We also got to meet some of Dr Norton and Dr X's work colleagues - the 'Abbotteers' - and what a lovely bunch they are!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCo_HZPayHR1yoOON1HvUjTxvnI0IkydYGSKefAb7WyYxfSjiFSWEhBniqV_uq0R2Zb0q_p7OLaWa5m-U6TpApzIdTYGEJB8tNS-l1P_ViQs8Y1meSjEsw7P7PF5jQ8VV_8jpAkTkpQqMQ/s1600/IMG_0729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCo_HZPayHR1yoOON1HvUjTxvnI0IkydYGSKefAb7WyYxfSjiFSWEhBniqV_uq0R2Zb0q_p7OLaWa5m-U6TpApzIdTYGEJB8tNS-l1P_ViQs8Y1meSjEsw7P7PF5jQ8VV_8jpAkTkpQqMQ/s320/IMG_0729.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">'Uncle' Harry, Brian and Tomas.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTB18-ZxcYf2ADlQs87UEEZSWXQGVl5Pa8lglxl-ZdS7Il3BEn_f6xmgs7B4fkCpOGydICK1VIsbV0CwdYQ3dHKgW3OPlUOKn0cfBt0BThd7B6FtMICgkFJhYFFX3yU6pzs50XqcUTzf6G/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTB18-ZxcYf2ADlQs87UEEZSWXQGVl5Pa8lglxl-ZdS7Il3BEn_f6xmgs7B4fkCpOGydICK1VIsbV0CwdYQ3dHKgW3OPlUOKn0cfBt0BThd7B6FtMICgkFJhYFFX3yU6pzs50XqcUTzf6G/s320/IMG_0731.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Brian, Tomas and Tracey.</span><br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Here's how I ended the day. Yes, it looks like a cucumber on a lolly stick because it is. $1.50 for a dill pickle on stick. You can't say fairer than that! I have to say, it was delicious and very refreshing. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQKDUsNL_LiZ8V_lNjFewkDbZtg8yXTACKEqnaEurtWywTKjymf7B62L5rJ0LaLatE4e5bvRa60-XG-HbuIjGLsOKyp07HKNw3m0pkPeGWMSwiUwt-O3A-O5cZWDImNFllTYWFm-uzExd/s1600/IMG_7800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQKDUsNL_LiZ8V_lNjFewkDbZtg8yXTACKEqnaEurtWywTKjymf7B62L5rJ0LaLatE4e5bvRa60-XG-HbuIjGLsOKyp07HKNw3m0pkPeGWMSwiUwt-O3A-O5cZWDImNFllTYWFm-uzExd/s320/IMG_7800.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">And to think I got excited over a Spongebob popsicle!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-9496870184076871242011-08-22T13:32:00.000-07:002011-08-22T21:54:05.624-07:00How not to fall off a pony.Hi Bunny here, thats the Mouse's new name.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbjn8W1Vx4xrSZdu2z979q8OlrsWrwqX5i1PUk7xP6MUD9BNsVFJcZ_eRLwz4pjSIlbB_cTTkYacMGX7WnOuNGsjL_To_UdDjRc7E4ZvvG0yit9DR0q4uhvVnZ8fxJhA9KxQlM9i1yHyX/s1600/IMG_6674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbjn8W1Vx4xrSZdu2z979q8OlrsWrwqX5i1PUk7xP6MUD9BNsVFJcZ_eRLwz4pjSIlbB_cTTkYacMGX7WnOuNGsjL_To_UdDjRc7E4ZvvG0yit9DR0q4uhvVnZ8fxJhA9KxQlM9i1yHyX/s200/IMG_6674.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>On Friday I went horse riding with;Mrs Ruby, Dr.X & Blondie. It was so much fun!<br />
I was led around on a little pony called Popcorn, by Blondie, whilst Mrs Ruby rode Billy, Dr X's horse, and Dr X rode the other Popcorn, Blondie's horse. I learned some balancing tricks, how to hold the reins and how to make Popcorn trot. Sort of half-way through Popcorn broke into a run because one of the barn kittens ran out in front of us. I wasn't even holding the saddle horn - I was just holding the reins! I'm just glad Blondie could stop me before I fell off. But I still kept riding! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Me and Popcorn.</span></td></tr>
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Later! (As the Bratz would say.)xxMrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-4630422806469339202011-08-21T20:21:00.000-07:002011-08-21T20:21:58.679-07:00Happy Birthday, Mr Ruby!Thursday was Mr Ruby's birthday, so we celebrated in relaxed style. TR and the Mouse had been busy the day before, making him a card (the Mouse) and a jigsaw puzzle (TR). On holiday in Door County TR painted him a small ceramic fish, so all the gifts and cards were wrapped and ready for him. Of course, Mr Ruby had planned a nice lie-in but the children had other ideas and were eager to help him unwrap his gifts as soon as they awoke. Best laid plans, eh Mr Ruby? Still, I did take them down for breakfast afterwards, so he didn't have to get out of bed for a while.<br />
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Once downstairs and breakfasted, the Mouse busied herself by baking her dad a chocolate birthday cake, which she and TR later decorated with a selection of Lego minifigures, GoGos and Moshlings. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dr Norton took the afternoon off work, so he and Mr Ruby busied themselves geting Dr Norton's motorcycle collection out of the garage. Mr Ruby, TR and I had a go at sitting in them. The Mouse was busy with her dolls.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-etZSit9RgKlREUNIHNllzhMBW0Y14IBczqIySVDTTka54Veo_QtJ8Mg7mQIExliZF9UZn_dcTnS1yABtFWMiHHt_cs71VgAOx-vXMTWltbEE4M7ASgxULkmC3LcfMVWydcdCTpM3PIv/s1600/IMG_7507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-etZSit9RgKlREUNIHNllzhMBW0Y14IBczqIySVDTTka54Veo_QtJ8Mg7mQIExliZF9UZn_dcTnS1yABtFWMiHHt_cs71VgAOx-vXMTWltbEE4M7ASgxULkmC3LcfMVWydcdCTpM3PIv/s320/IMG_7507.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT00gvmbFMUhZEVwLyaTg0gy2hs5Sd88q2AIVYYmpn1UK-K6hnTH4P3rg054YN0Uiw-tUU75R7gJNuxVSPUxHStaq85V-hfiI6c9YEsOxisqIoQ4H52SMrlSaQKAaozLozcQfog5mrCB7L/s1600/IMG_7513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT00gvmbFMUhZEVwLyaTg0gy2hs5Sd88q2AIVYYmpn1UK-K6hnTH4P3rg054YN0Uiw-tUU75R7gJNuxVSPUxHStaq85V-hfiI6c9YEsOxisqIoQ4H52SMrlSaQKAaozLozcQfog5mrCB7L/s320/IMG_7513.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Don't even think about it, TR.</span></td></tr>
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Mr Ruby had a go too. Here is he is, observing Illinois State Law. If you ride a motorcycle here, a helmet is optional but shades are mandatory. Insane! If his mum is reading this, he didn't actually ride it and we never took off his stabilisers.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the evening we all walked into Grayslake for a meal and some refreshing IPA at 'Emil's'. I don't know how strong that beer was, but Dr X and I had some difficulty in walking back up the hill! Blondie pretty much disowned us both. Who can blame her?</div>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-44272219326740969952011-08-18T15:33:00.000-07:002011-08-18T22:48:16.920-07:00Odds and EndsWe're back in Grayslake now. It was good see Dr Norton, Dr X and Blondie again! It was also good to know that Iowa was behind us. (No offence, Iowa, but that was one heck of a journey.) We've been catching up since we got back. Today's post is made up from all the odds and ends that don't fit anywhere else. <br />
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</div>In other news, I've been trying to spot licence plates from all the different states. The Interstate is generally a good place to do this, as are campgrounds. We've seen 42 so far, as well as 4 from Canada. We managed all four corners as well: California, Washington, Maine and Florida. I was surpised that we only spotted one from North Dakota though, especially given that we were only one state below. I can only think that North Dakotans don't often venture far from home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0ZA9S31AlQ3ZY1FVeXYOvzYADDbTYAV6_k4EFPM9kpsHN8nOmcgty5N5xxeGQfzne5wc15g0gNsx224S4ooKD8IGw_NLUcxS-UAw1Lfz4V-HmSSRJOqqvI5RcfruOsUe-9lbuSPn25UO/s1600/FC+on+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0ZA9S31AlQ3ZY1FVeXYOvzYADDbTYAV6_k4EFPM9kpsHN8nOmcgty5N5xxeGQfzne5wc15g0gNsx224S4ooKD8IGw_NLUcxS-UAw1Lfz4V-HmSSRJOqqvI5RcfruOsUe-9lbuSPn25UO/s320/FC+on+bike.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">When I saw him, he wasn't in the red suit, but in his civvies.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I've also been collecting oddities and curiosities: strange sights to remind you that you are far from home. For example, it seems to be the done thing in Nebraska and Iowa to put up signs in front of your cornfield, urging passersby to, 'Prepare to meet thy God!' Speaking of God, we've seen a few famous lookalikes too, including Jesus in Wisconsin - he was on the freeway, driving a battered old red car. Funny, because I always had him down as a 2CV driver, but I guess they're not all that practical on the big American roads. We also saw Abraham Lincoln in the Shipwreck Inn, Door County (he was having a beer) and either Father Christmas or the Grandpa from 'Dukes of Hazzard' in Iowa - he was on a Harley Davidson.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSt-UY5iMmC2rVyRioeezf0lQdY5sOSDtpu_ZMCdEunl8v2Lx1nUTeeBH1lw0vZhevl1doIquSEpcscrO7g8UQ5lLyxie3Q0k7ZXauNconrSFzy_l5PFrBTDZeuwvEyC-IqPtBn6h16zb0/s1600/Cornfield+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSt-UY5iMmC2rVyRioeezf0lQdY5sOSDtpu_ZMCdEunl8v2Lx1nUTeeBH1lw0vZhevl1doIquSEpcscrO7g8UQ5lLyxie3Q0k7ZXauNconrSFzy_l5PFrBTDZeuwvEyC-IqPtBn6h16zb0/s320/Cornfield+sign.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-9056526915747475842011-08-18T15:02:00.000-07:002011-08-18T15:11:47.316-07:00Nebraska is my nemesis!The question is: will Mr Ruby and I ever learn? On our first trip to Pepin, we decided to detour on the way back, just so we could drive through a little corner of Iowa and say we'd been there. It was dark, freezing cold, and the Mouse, who was only 17 months old at the time, got so bored she tried to drown herself. I'd given her a bottle of water to drink and she managed to unscrew the cap and tip it all over herself. Changing a toddler in the back of the car, in the dark, in sub-zero temperatures, is not the easiest thing to do.<br />
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So, what did we decide to do this time? Detour a little and just take the corner of Nebraska, 'just so we could say we'd been there.' You'll be pleased to know that while the Mouse did not try to drown herself, the Missouri River gave it it's best shot. The river had burst it's banks and whole fields were submerged. It looks very strange to see trees, telegraph poles and those crop-watering machines just poking out of the river. Unfortunately, the bridge we were going to cross, which was about five miles from our Iowa camp site, was closed and we had to detour to the next bridge which was 60 miles away! Oh well, at least we saw a lot of Nebraksa: good if you like cornfields and diversions.<br />
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Still, we appreciated our camp site even more, by the time we finally arrrived. Our pitch was right by the lake, where we lit another campfire and made yet more s'mores. The Mouse, TR and I played baseball, only with slightly rounders-like made up rules. (We have no idea how you play baseball. I just hope no one was watching.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mr Ruby and TR light the fire.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptOGMIqwtOYoiM2zwCpjryCgPOc3225v28ZbMXgzwICxmCVI4IdTf9RvymG7-Sk89pXwcifa-r987tuQ92aXZZqKslobQ1fSChSZaacykk0JIvl7Y5hxTmJPxCdtit9uYCOQlRnqxcaFM/s1600/IMG_7112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptOGMIqwtOYoiM2zwCpjryCgPOc3225v28ZbMXgzwICxmCVI4IdTf9RvymG7-Sk89pXwcifa-r987tuQ92aXZZqKslobQ1fSChSZaacykk0JIvl7Y5hxTmJPxCdtit9uYCOQlRnqxcaFM/s320/IMG_7112.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We packed everything into the RV...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The next morning we packed up early, ready for our big drive: right the way across the width of Iowa. Now Iowa, if you were wondering, is mainly cornfields. Miles and miles and miles of corn. So much of it that you wonder how much a nation can consume. I had imagined that it would be all flat too, but since we were driving, at least to start with, through the Missouri valley, it's actually quite hilly. I'd also imagined that TR, the Mouse and I could while away the hours by playing games and undertaking various craft projects. Well, we managed 'Campervan Baseball,' which is less destructive than it sounds. I blew soap bubbles, while the children tried to bat them with teaspoons. Nuts, I know, but kind of inventive, don't you think? After that though, we pretty much had to abandon everything. The cross winds on I-90 (the Interstate) were so strong that you couldn't really do anything much. TR was very nearly sick again, but we managed to persuade him to go to sleep and he woke up feeling much better. I'm telling you, that was a long eight hours! Still, it felt good to back in Illinois and to take a cooling dip in the pool. I confess this is the only way the Mouse and TR have got clean while on our trip: showering them in the RV is far too complicated and they only get dirty again. Dirt is good!<br />
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This was the last night of our trip. By now we'd run out of chocolate and graham crackers (they pronounce that 'gram' here), so we just toasted marshmallows and got eaten alive by giant midges. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjjCAL3xNbtRDZgy1zD-jGiPLn0Zbtbp_FqdowDXYLdY7O-iLu3hilGt98o8c1ygSydzJDqR4fxs3HRhavrhLimQyV4nLioaR4yOBi7_lVAgkkMzbd6aSO5SZpopUl6Co3wkbv3dUce_8/s1600/IMG_7461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjjCAL3xNbtRDZgy1zD-jGiPLn0Zbtbp_FqdowDXYLdY7O-iLu3hilGt98o8c1ygSydzJDqR4fxs3HRhavrhLimQyV4nLioaR4yOBi7_lVAgkkMzbd6aSO5SZpopUl6Co3wkbv3dUce_8/s320/IMG_7461.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our 'wagon'.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfgMVa0Q7TNGVV1ddSb_y2O6njfbPhIbV8R2_NgTICkpKL2WazICHi6tBMg7trg5PmIRaDSALqDl50a2flykNyLr0vLREqIWx7jzROg5Bz3lGb7_QvBT3C6BfdorEIgfftnQgwmHeiqhW/s1600/IMG_7485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfgMVa0Q7TNGVV1ddSb_y2O6njfbPhIbV8R2_NgTICkpKL2WazICHi6tBMg7trg5PmIRaDSALqDl50a2flykNyLr0vLREqIWx7jzROg5Bz3lGb7_QvBT3C6BfdorEIgfftnQgwmHeiqhW/s320/IMG_7485.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Mouse and TR shared their bunk.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvOEC8JgzpYwWjQSQrcRA5y12nUq9fKZmky3zH6KSJGreZKhFKifBR2gqP-DxXxlmTry5DnFLyk1GmMqszTliFk1sJYstSk3o__hxD-WcyikpcoxhjWhEe6t4qRuIWYHD8r3osg-sqEZ5/s1600/IMG_7480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvOEC8JgzpYwWjQSQrcRA5y12nUq9fKZmky3zH6KSJGreZKhFKifBR2gqP-DxXxlmTry5DnFLyk1GmMqszTliFk1sJYstSk3o__hxD-WcyikpcoxhjWhEe6t4qRuIWYHD8r3osg-sqEZ5/s320/IMG_7480.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">An early breakfast. Note the insect repellent!</span></td></tr>
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If the Gramps is reading, the little yellow duck is 'Ducky 6', bought with the holiday money you gave to TR. He has some left and is saving it, he assures us, to buy 'Ducky 7' in Chicago.Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-60662762238308402202011-08-18T14:31:00.000-07:002011-08-18T14:31:10.157-07:00Little Town on the Prairie<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqBVH119sCFNRZAC44gcO_l10EV38DAf0ufQzXlGd3xdRUHyO6Wda2ZXg46mFlud1rfqywQvROkaLntEYvA-KAS1A7YZuFoBtS15eXFmI13vmX229pm5OfrP4PsmYAaRdWNZCnbjcC8nz/s1600/IMG_7039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqBVH119sCFNRZAC44gcO_l10EV38DAf0ufQzXlGd3xdRUHyO6Wda2ZXg46mFlud1rfqywQvROkaLntEYvA-KAS1A7YZuFoBtS15eXFmI13vmX229pm5OfrP4PsmYAaRdWNZCnbjcC8nz/s320/IMG_7039.JPG" width="268" /></a>I just realised, some of you may need a little crash-course in Laura-ology. You regret reading this now, don't you? OK, so if you've only ever seen the TV series, well... that'll do for now. The TV series was set in Walnut Grove, Minnesota (where we paddled), but filmed in California. It made out that Laura's family spent almost all of their time in Walnute Grove, whereas really they moved around... a lot. I'll spare you the full version, but they started out in Pepin, Wisconsin (where we saw the log cabin), moved to Kansas, back to Pepin, onto Walnut Grove, to Iowa, to Walnut Grove again, then to De Smet. They stayed in De Smet the longest. OK, that's enough teaching - time for recess.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Parlour. Not taken on the sly - I found it on the Internet.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>De Smet is the setting for her last four books. As well as the homestead, where we camped, they had a house in the town. We went to look around the town on Sunday. As with the homestead, it is not hard to imagine how it must have looked in Laura's day. De Smet is pretty small and one of the roads through the town just peters out at the outskirts and turns into a dirt track across the prairie. Some of the buildings conneced with Laura have been moved to a central location, including the surveyor's house, where they spent their first winter in Dakota territory, the school Laura attended and the one she taught. Her family home is a block or so away. You have to have a tour to see inside them, which the Mouse and I signed up for. We both really enjoyed that and I learned lots that I didn't already know, which is always good. I was a bit disappointed that you couldn't take photographs inside the houses, especially as they have been restored faithfully and based on photographs taken by Laura's sister, Carrie. They even had a company in California make the parlour wallpaper to match the one in Carrie's photo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdmkUCALRCaFa4v-2sHuhfBrb1x_ro7CONi1KRjaGQgkNYFOPqhi2deG2jWmqwI69lOr8eMLv4NH_khVKyTCHTFWmQSLT4x1OVGREFYjH9BbtslLdeiy374W645GSauWT5AkMqeEC6cSZ/s1600/IMG_7374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdmkUCALRCaFa4v-2sHuhfBrb1x_ro7CONi1KRjaGQgkNYFOPqhi2deG2jWmqwI69lOr8eMLv4NH_khVKyTCHTFWmQSLT4x1OVGREFYjH9BbtslLdeiy374W645GSauWT5AkMqeEC6cSZ/s320/IMG_7374.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Best friends for life.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>On the tour, the Mouse met another eight year old girl, also dressed in apron and sun-bonnet. Now if there's one thing I'm starting to realise about eight year old girls it is that they are the best at making friends. Within minutes, Mouse and Prairie Girl were best friends. We even exchanged addresses and emails and promised to meet up. They live very close to the Pilgrims, so we reckon there's a good chance of that. Later we met them again at the homestead. The Mouse and TR showed them around and I taught Prairie Girl's younger brother to braid a rag rug. <br />
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Later that evening we made s'mores and then Mr Ruby and I watched the usual incredible thunderstorms.<br />
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Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-43744700524622053812011-08-15T22:09:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:17:53.908-07:00Wide Open SpacesI'm typing this in Iowa, but for the past few days we've been staying in South Dakota, at the <a href="http://www.ingallshomestead.com/">Ingalls Homestead</a>. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Oregon or bust."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I've had the 'Laura Ingalls Guidebook' for a few years now and done a fair bit of armchair-travelling to the town of De Smet, SD, and wondered what it would be like to stay at the Ingalls Homestead. I'd always imagined it might be a little bit cheesy and overdone but still wished I could stay. Well, having done so, I am happy to report that it is a beautiful place, full of hands-on history and it still looks and feels much as I imagine it would have done in Laura's day. The people who run the place have faithfully reconstructed or transported period buildings, to give you an idea of what life would have been like. You are encouraged to wander round, climb on things, try out things and have a go at the many activities on offer. We had a covered wagon ride, attended an 1880s school lesson, made skipping ropes (currently in use as a washing line), corn-cob dollies, washed clothes pioneer-style (the Mouse put part of her finger through a mangle/clothes-wringer at this point, thus gaining herself an authentic pioneer-child injury - ouch!), ground wheat in a coffee grinder, twisted hay into fire-wood sticks, pumped water from a well, made button toys and had a go at braiding a rag rug. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAdsxn6Fe3J7jJmtXkILAY1HPR3VZAU2gr9MzT4_GsBqsJzCzUZd-P272ul9HpNwZ1dfmNGwVO1uMUl8pZLAczohpS7nT3Y2S5c-JhGRkLY85xqO-qiiAxFGTkW-1kE6M6uevrSOnq_MT/s1600/IMG_7245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAdsxn6Fe3J7jJmtXkILAY1HPR3VZAU2gr9MzT4_GsBqsJzCzUZd-P272ul9HpNwZ1dfmNGwVO1uMUl8pZLAczohpS7nT3Y2S5c-JhGRkLY85xqO-qiiAxFGTkW-1kE6M6uevrSOnq_MT/s320/IMG_7245.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Not quite the horsepower I had in mind, but still..."</span></td></tr>
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As campers, we were allowed to explore the buildings after hours, which meant that we could go and investigate the dugout (not just a hole in the ground, this one!), find all the kittens (Prom Queen, they almost rivalled your coterie of cats) and, the Mouse and TR's favourite: go and play pioneers in the claim shanty. TR loved 'doing the housework' and 'cooking and eating corn on the stove'. The Mouse manically worked her way through all of Ma's weekly chores, pretending to wash, dry, iron, mend and sew new clothes. She loved using the heavy irons and the treadle-operated Singer sewing machine. Since someone had to go down with them, I took my sewing down and sat at the table in the shanty, cheerfully hand stitching applique hearts onto Baby G's quilt, while admiring the beautiful view of the open prairie, framed neatly by the open doorway. I know: sometimes I am a parody of myself!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKI-vSN5xXfMs0bnlybDx7shd6XvMJwQgVpi_w_N8tkzPGKscKzAtjQY7lgB0VPWuHuoNSLW8T4Uikm9Kz76inkzq8qc200OurW39Sby2QJDZuQwQSE2l2AZNmOZSoGrWaLeuf5gykjr_B/s1600/IMG_7250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKI-vSN5xXfMs0bnlybDx7shd6XvMJwQgVpi_w_N8tkzPGKscKzAtjQY7lgB0VPWuHuoNSLW8T4Uikm9Kz76inkzq8qc200OurW39Sby2QJDZuQwQSE2l2AZNmOZSoGrWaLeuf5gykjr_B/s320/IMG_7250.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">TR tests his button toy while the Mouse sews the family's winter wardrobe.</span></td></tr>
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Speaking of prairie, when you drive through the midwest you don't quite get the view of open prairies, with their tall waving grasses that literature and the opening titles of 'Little House on the Prairie' might have led you to expect. Just about everywhere is ploughed and cultivated, so what you actually see are high-waving cornfields and low-waving soybean fields. However, at the homestead they have tried to restore and conserve some of the 'heritage' plants and grasses. There are more trees (including the cottonwoods planted by Pa - that gave me a little frisson, I can tell you!) and the view isn't quite the same as Laura's, but you do get a good impression. You can also still see the sloughs (pronounced 'slew') and even the 'Big Slough' mentioned so often in the books. What has remained the same are the enormous and ever-changing skies. There is a constant breeze blowing, which makes the summer climate very pleasant indeed. The sky really is impossibly blue, as a good friend of mine would have said, and the clouds are forever blowing across, grouping, re-grouping and changing shape. If all you did was looked upwards, you wouldn't tire of the view! In the evenings we watched incredible sunsets. Then after the sun went down we 'sat by the fire and watched the moon rise'. At night we watched shooting stars and, later still, spectacular thunder storms, so far away that we could see them but not hear them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Spectacular sunset gives way to...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEnkjtoc5tWCttfFrx-IU2ne4qfCKTQXSKXoLxnth5Gad6TCjDIsuR54lFREHl7Dix4P6AygYcDcPb3aokYXx0kPnM6HO27DnoBkndYpzqlf1SBwZNnMu0DpXYlludq2T_sdURXL2W5_j/s1600/IMG_7279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEnkjtoc5tWCttfFrx-IU2ne4qfCKTQXSKXoLxnth5Gad6TCjDIsuR54lFREHl7Dix4P6AygYcDcPb3aokYXx0kPnM6HO27DnoBkndYpzqlf1SBwZNnMu0DpXYlludq2T_sdURXL2W5_j/s320/IMG_7279.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">...a full moon over the Dakota prairie.</span></td></tr>
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</div>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-43751129071843376282011-08-14T22:33:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:40:01.952-07:00On the Banks of Plum CreekAfter our sojourn in Wisconsin, we bade a reluctant farewell to the Pilgrims and, in true Pioneer style, headed West. Our next stop was Walnut Grove, Minnesota. En route we may not have had to swim across rivers or survive off cornbread and salt-pork fat, but we did have the more modern problem of TR being hideously travel sick. Thank goodness for baby wipes, is all I'm saying!<br />
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Walnut Grove is both the name of the fictional town where the TV series 'Little House on the Prairie' was set and the real name of the town where Laura Ingalls and her family lived for a few years. Book afficionados may note that this was the setting for 'On the Banks of Plum Creek'. As a child, this was my favourite book - not least for the wonderful story of Laura getting even with mean Nellie Oleson. (What child doesn't like to read about a bit of justly-deserved revenge?) I'd dreamed of paddling in the creek among the plum thickets and climbing up to the prairie above the dugout house, just as Laura and Mary did. I never thought I would, though. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpObNyC8aMf2LCc8onrLWcs_KX3CRDpZkMKK2Y63-NHZdXf0NRi2J0-md-4vVkOjM7CsF5-7-iPvN8BSHV7XDbn2FoSF3AZpVHfswPvyllZ9TrRaM2zrwu8HhBSu_m7oteCFO6Z1bOAeK9/s1600/IMG_7180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpObNyC8aMf2LCc8onrLWcs_KX3CRDpZkMKK2Y63-NHZdXf0NRi2J0-md-4vVkOjM7CsF5-7-iPvN8BSHV7XDbn2FoSF3AZpVHfswPvyllZ9TrRaM2zrwu8HhBSu_m7oteCFO6Z1bOAeK9/s320/IMG_7180.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Not so much 'On the Banks' as 'Right in It'.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Imagine my joy, then, when I got to do all of that. Even better, it was all just as I'd imagined it: the cool, clear water of the creek, the sweet-smelling prairie, and the sound of the breeze rustling the grasses and of the crickets chirping. Even Mr Ruby was impressed and he'd been very much sold the idea of Plum Creek being, 'a hole in the ground' (big shout-out to the Pilgrim Father, there!). He later commented on how quiet I was, which, to be fair, is rather unusual for me! To be honest, I was a little overwhelmed and somewhat choked up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlorEg8OfYATCniHT3H14sJ9vGgVasqP9FjuRdDwWFnTnB7plBhZehCaXc08QtugAXqDuDahWcrb3ObojoF7FZL2x7gChKwyWAYpcYHcB2WhkDpEYODlgVCIKAUzgDtf5o8fxXqTUuFM_O/s1600/IMG_7152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlorEg8OfYATCniHT3H14sJ9vGgVasqP9FjuRdDwWFnTnB7plBhZehCaXc08QtugAXqDuDahWcrb3ObojoF7FZL2x7gChKwyWAYpcYHcB2WhkDpEYODlgVCIKAUzgDtf5o8fxXqTUuFM_O/s320/IMG_7152.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Straight from my imagination</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1y1967lQ6qEcRpyAK3Rf0HTlU50tjdNByilKVKeO0CBRWuUXklbWIEAzirzzy7497K_CF3Sf454mrXa_ou95UFeYVnhavUaz-SegTT0_ZN6tb3OR0PS8hby-4wutQZQnX04KsfcIYBWXR/s1600/IMG_7167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1y1967lQ6qEcRpyAK3Rf0HTlU50tjdNByilKVKeO0CBRWuUXklbWIEAzirzzy7497K_CF3Sf454mrXa_ou95UFeYVnhavUaz-SegTT0_ZN6tb3OR0PS8hby-4wutQZQnX04KsfcIYBWXR/s320/IMG_7167.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mr Ruby is good with the camera!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Back to the 'hole in the ground' though, all you can see of their dugout home is a grass-covered hole with a sign by it, so the Pilgrim Father was right about that. Apparently your average dugout home lasts 6-7 years, so I guess expecting one to last 130-odd years is maybe a little optimistic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2c8e5xa4lA7eEGsHy53GS7jOSBIGb_IN4HYZ61Bq-Q9zdFZv9touff5x3eUao9V8Sr8BpiIk3xSRdssw39Mg4JYFP80cP7Z4Htued20IQZpNdKc_X7kW-fJkvgi7IiX_E9SiNhkcXY4H/s1600/IMG_7175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2c8e5xa4lA7eEGsHy53GS7jOSBIGb_IN4HYZ61Bq-Q9zdFZv9touff5x3eUao9V8Sr8BpiIk3xSRdssw39Mg4JYFP80cP7Z4Htued20IQZpNdKc_X7kW-fJkvgi7IiX_E9SiNhkcXY4H/s320/IMG_7175.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Me, managing not to fall in the Hole in the Ground.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We stayed a while at the Creek but didn't linger long in the town. It's a bit of a dive, to be honest! Like so many places we passed en route it had a big and rather ugly soybean processing plant, for the production of ethanol bio-fuel. This dominates the town somewhat and makes the surroundings all look a bit dingy. Now I'm not entirely sure how I feel about biofuels. I accept that we need an alternative to oil, but if you're using land previously used to grow food, in order to now produce fuel, where's your food coming from? As I say, I'm just not sure.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYd2Ft9gIXQbNaPymT2Avr8lGzCiYWrULFTUz7xyv6Bb5FjmJTblFM4BGJ_WB716lgFSCPc3cdc8n0OQ9DJLCnRQrNiht9oT3IAWHH8i5ERhiVShR07AhWHJo9zE9W3LejogTi19Tx7jT/s1600/IMG_7186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYd2Ft9gIXQbNaPymT2Avr8lGzCiYWrULFTUz7xyv6Bb5FjmJTblFM4BGJ_WB716lgFSCPc3cdc8n0OQ9DJLCnRQrNiht9oT3IAWHH8i5ERhiVShR07AhWHJo9zE9W3LejogTi19Tx7jT/s320/IMG_7186.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>So, it was back in the RV for the long drive to South Dakota. But who were those ghostly figures we left behind?Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-87263423549798555922011-08-14T10:19:00.000-07:002011-08-14T10:19:45.087-07:00The Opposite of CanadaExcuse the brief update: more detail - and pictures - when I have time and a more reliable internet connection. <br />
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We're staying in South Dakota, at the Laura Ingalls Homestead. If you've read 'By the Shores of Silver Lake', 'The Long Winter' or 'Little Town on the Prairie' (and if you haven't, get thee to a library!) you'll know what I mean when I say that we are camping right on Charles Ingalls' claim site. If you've no idea what I'm talking about, just take it from me that I am beside myself with joy!<br />
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Anyway, we are camping right next to a very warm and friendly family from Canada. They are taking a grand tour - starting near the Pacific coast in British Columbia, they worked their way across southern Canada to Prince Edward Island (a shout-out to all the Anne of Green Gables fans, there). Then they went down as far south as northern Kentucky and are working their way back home, via the northern American states. They will have been gone from home for 7 weeks in total. There are ten of them (two parents, eight children ranging from age 18 years to 18 months), all travelling in a minibus and towing a modest-sized caravan ('trailer' as they call it). That's why I've named them, 'The Opposite of Canada,' as they are a lot of people crammed into a small space.<br />
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We do seem to have been blessed in meeting with some very friendly people while on our travels. Last night we shared a campfire with them and cooked our dinner and more s'mores. Yep - Canadians like them too.<br />
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Off to the town of DeSmet in a minute, to see the house the Ingalls eventually moved to in town. Mr Ruby's getting a little Laura-ed-out, I think. Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-50299829560422618392011-08-11T22:05:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:42:04.185-07:00In the Big Woods of WisconsinTwo truly awesome things happened today. Ever fulfilled a life-long ambition and felt the buzz that goes with that? Ever fulfilled the same one twice and not quite believed your good fortune? That was me today. For the second time in my life (and not the last, according to the Mouse) I find myself in Pepin, Wisconsin. It's a sleepy little town, pretty much in the middle of wide Wisconsin nowhere, but it also happens to be the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Here are two photos of us at her birthplace. See if you can spot the difference: <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismu114N0LTpRYnbaN6d3DZYNu6QIDjeVs7rgtr0flx1GZwcLVUo-bpx01IN53tBegokAzn-ujjaOqFU7Ryulj6HXA4euLL9nOlij71XxULPZM1a2-u17DbdcyJCZmsEyRIKBctQamWI-X/s1600/Pepin+%252813%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismu114N0LTpRYnbaN6d3DZYNu6QIDjeVs7rgtr0flx1GZwcLVUo-bpx01IN53tBegokAzn-ujjaOqFU7Ryulj6HXA4euLL9nOlij71XxULPZM1a2-u17DbdcyJCZmsEyRIKBctQamWI-X/s320/Pepin+%252813%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Brrr!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Yes, it was a little colder last time, the Mouse was much smaller (that's her in my arms) and not a resident of the 19th century. Check out the pioneer outfit: my mum made that for me in 1977!<br />
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The cabin is a reconstruction of her birthplace, but it's in the right spot and built to the same dimensions. For a family of four (later five) it really is very tiny. I reckon our RV (that's 'Campervan' in English) is possibly slightly more spacious.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJv7UVI-YgRd78zyIDbEkx_QNikextqSGwq8-J7BW0kawDN4wJzkj_It_iep86onyTYjV8_xzy_hnUCD2O46P5l1xKj0-7DaVCGMr0rebmDiEn0T_QLQGlPW7C2KRKEkRgzJApmMVs9MQT/s1600/IMG_7048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJv7UVI-YgRd78zyIDbEkx_QNikextqSGwq8-J7BW0kawDN4wJzkj_It_iep86onyTYjV8_xzy_hnUCD2O46P5l1xKj0-7DaVCGMr0rebmDiEn0T_QLQGlPW7C2KRKEkRgzJApmMVs9MQT/s320/IMG_7048.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">That's not Laura: it's the Mouse in disguise!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>We had a picnic lunch outside. TR was very taken with the ants, who carried away his picnic crumbs, as fast as he could shed them. Mr Ruby explained that, were an ant the same size as a human, it could lift a car. TR was mightily impressed and spent the rest of our lunchtime exclaiming, 'An ant can lift a car?!' The notion of scale was too much for him. As far as he's concerned, an ant <em>can</em> lift a car.<br />
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The second awesome part of our day (not counting the car-lifting ants) is that we spent all of it with our neighbours from Farnborough, 'The Pilgrims', who now live in Minnesota. That's awesome, right? And so are they. Here's a picture of Mr Ruby, the Pilgrim Father and the Pilgrim Mother, cooking sausages over a camp fire:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptPhuF74VGY_IxrQHnr1sQ731MNbuDfExD7QKz80tCPjPglofXH3pQZDz07nE0LUuC8uwE9wpmFAutQ5jPwE3KBhjiWbtfUhwaFrChLA0GUUoytk6qnOja80YAgoCYwMpgFpChSDY2Rp9/s1600/IMG_7091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptPhuF74VGY_IxrQHnr1sQ731MNbuDfExD7QKz80tCPjPglofXH3pQZDz07nE0LUuC8uwE9wpmFAutQ5jPwE3KBhjiWbtfUhwaFrChLA0GUUoytk6qnOja80YAgoCYwMpgFpChSDY2Rp9/s320/IMG_7091.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Pilgrims school Mr Ruby in the ways of American campfires.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We also visited the Laura Ingalls Museum in Pepin, where the Mouse spent her holiday money on a pioneer outfit for her American Girl doll, Felicity, and the beach at Lake Pepin. Lake Pepin is really a wide section of the mighty Mississippi river. We had a go at swimming, but the dead fish rather put me off and I had to content myself with paddling. After that we stopped to buy sausages, which we later cooked on the fire. Then the Pilgrims taught us how to make 'S'mores': divine! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8V2PHntlvzxbxvkFErAG0WWUWpn1lFPzdYnH6bWvZzM95BopZl2HZaCAv4LyPu5g09XjXioBUf15o-74F6DV-NNXRLjPav0ptfDgvZQEoNBjJYMlX-GxWg79E4F8OG1hvhoYmAAed8tCY/s1600/IMG_7092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8V2PHntlvzxbxvkFErAG0WWUWpn1lFPzdYnH6bWvZzM95BopZl2HZaCAv4LyPu5g09XjXioBUf15o-74F6DV-NNXRLjPav0ptfDgvZQEoNBjJYMlX-GxWg79E4F8OG1hvhoYmAAed8tCY/s320/IMG_7092.JPG" width="320" /></a>In other news, I got myself a tour of a 1964 Airstream caravan. It is parked near to our RV and I've been admiring it. In the end I wandered over and asked if I might look inside. I probably wouldn't dare do that at home, but I'm finding the English accent acts as currency here and my host was most gracious and showed me all around. It really is a thing of beauty: looks like a tin can from the outside, but inside it is like a Tardis - so well thought-out and beautifully designed, with a lot of '60's glamour and charm!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0OZDp6-bW9wq3Lc-u9us83nVNNtV_TD673wzwQk5cDiVBXaWoWG9btKliNWgqFOeFqK9AG2riWH8cWqP6YIGhIf0TCZJ9Sb8ZJJvLl1jhB023aKZ2wtzvAGc-DCF9PUnoq-Hp6mkfDxJ/s1600/IMG_7103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0OZDp6-bW9wq3Lc-u9us83nVNNtV_TD673wzwQk5cDiVBXaWoWG9btKliNWgqFOeFqK9AG2riWH8cWqP6YIGhIf0TCZJ9Sb8ZJJvLl1jhB023aKZ2wtzvAGc-DCF9PUnoq-Hp6mkfDxJ/s320/IMG_7103.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Pilgrims and the Rubies. From L-R: The Firestarter, The Mouse, Pilgrim Mother, Tabi-Cat, TR, Mrs Ruby, Mr Ruby, Pilgrim Father and Hannah Minnesota.</span></td></tr>
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Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-10834857553939750342011-08-08T20:34:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:43:17.348-07:00Two goats and a gooseApparently it was TR's greatest wish that we all head off to Sister Bay today, for a spot of Crazy Golf, or 'Adventure Golf' as they call it here. I don't know: it was fairly crazy and at no point did I check to see if Bear Grylls was with us, so I think I'll go with the British term for it. First though, we stopped at Al Johnson's Swedish Cafe, to fill up on their delicious cooked breakfasts and admire the goats on the roof.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmsQsbd-KRNufN7Y2mlDoWh2XBtowg6XmQTs4LIICb4x1ZsfEZhXT5Xw-g0UH3bJ-3iduNrkMNBIHlfi7uP8dlnYZz_5s062tm2U5RNUmdrHzubV0DAXxy9yH1pz6FWRZYs5OljWdZTMo/s1600/IMG_6714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmsQsbd-KRNufN7Y2mlDoWh2XBtowg6XmQTs4LIICb4x1ZsfEZhXT5Xw-g0UH3bJ-3iduNrkMNBIHlfi7uP8dlnYZz_5s062tm2U5RNUmdrHzubV0DAXxy9yH1pz6FWRZYs5OljWdZTMo/s320/IMG_6714.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Actual goat on an actual roof.</span></td></tr>
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Door County has a decidedly Nordic feel to it, what with the fjord-like coastline (I know it's not actual coast, it's Lake Michigan, but it's so big it looks like the sea!), the many signs saying 'Valkommen! and the businesses and houses almost all bearing names like 'Jensen' and 'Lundqvist'. This is good for me as, in addition to my little love affair with America, I've also got a crush on Scandinavia. Two holidays for the price of one, eh?<br />
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Al Johnson's is very popular in high season, so we had to wait a while to be seated, thus ensuring that our breakfast became brunch and we all skipped lunch. This caused the Mouse some concern later, when at nine o'clock at night she insisted that we fed her lunch, because she'd missed out on that particular meal. This was about an hour and a half after she'd finished eating an enormous dinner, so we declined to oblige her on that particular request.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1pZqe36fFEL0L-n0YsQPMGCgklseBxKoFb3KPN8rl3lKC3gErqE7Dh2yHBGkQC37MchcEeM5Eac84CCF-5QBstnTEfzNprCmH17HtDPDtTT2UC_a8s3CrKJ-1nLyjXun8pSn2y5uRKFb/s1600/IMG_6716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1pZqe36fFEL0L-n0YsQPMGCgklseBxKoFb3KPN8rl3lKC3gErqE7Dh2yHBGkQC37MchcEeM5Eac84CCF-5QBstnTEfzNprCmH17HtDPDtTT2UC_a8s3CrKJ-1nLyjXun8pSn2y5uRKFb/s320/IMG_6716.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A big meal!</span></td></tr>
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After brunch we went to 'Pirate Cove Adventure Golf'. TR pronounced the whole experience, 'awesome!', of course. He was especially taken with the golfing greens with tunnels, where you could whack your ball into the water and watch it magically reappear on the green. Apparently these were the 'awesome holes'. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqIFpRTOmeGeOhu5HCt7OJ3pOSS3XTdTpTH7E2JTPOoutLJ5i-r69kkp3cztjnbUUToI5l8qP9ATc6T4-8-Y_3jobYZPbbqzKMTQ6NnZ-dTcm4B55xEa3Zo-dEWdJYaYYHZJrf0wCF-My/s1600/IMG_6726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqIFpRTOmeGeOhu5HCt7OJ3pOSS3XTdTpTH7E2JTPOoutLJ5i-r69kkp3cztjnbUUToI5l8qP9ATc6T4-8-Y_3jobYZPbbqzKMTQ6NnZ-dTcm4B55xEa3Zo-dEWdJYaYYHZJrf0wCF-My/s320/IMG_6726.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blondie and the Mouse marvel at the reappearing ball. TR lines up for a hole-in-several.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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Our adventurous golfing over, we feasted on Spongebob Popsicles and then went next door to the go-kart track. The Mouse and I declined to race but TR and Blondie played co-driver to Mr Ruby's and Dr Norton's race drivers, while Dr X sped round the track in her own kart. TR was delighted to have a ride in an 'actual Mario Kart' and declared that his dad was Mario and Dr Norton was Luigi. Blondie, Dr Norton and Mr Ruby then had a go at the softball batting cages. I'm pretty certain each of them hit a home run at some point.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuaBf7v2GvbSqhYa8YY9sbwnOK_M526OvKV5dwzG2tk9Dud-nV376dYODPRsyfNhX1Gskxehjnec77pHP1FMeQpeEa6ROOSG9J4GbyQy1V23_FZRtDjIrS6pyOc_ygWRZNRFdpe-7q5Fj/s1600/IMG_6739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuaBf7v2GvbSqhYa8YY9sbwnOK_M526OvKV5dwzG2tk9Dud-nV376dYODPRsyfNhX1Gskxehjnec77pHP1FMeQpeEa6ROOSG9J4GbyQy1V23_FZRtDjIrS6pyOc_ygWRZNRFdpe-7q5Fj/s320/IMG_6739.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Oh no: my teeth look like Spongebob's!</span></td></tr>
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After a refreshing swim at the motel, we walked into Fish Creek for a Fish Boil at Pelletier's. Fish Boils are a Door County specialty and I recommend you try one, if ever you get the chance. Small fires are built outside, over which are placed large fish kettles. The water in them is brought to boiling point and a basket of fish is lowered into the kettle. Just as the fire is really getting going, they pour kerosene onto the fire and the whole thing goes up like a volcano! The basket of fish is then removed and delicious cutlets of fish are served at your table, along with new potatoes, coleslaw, a sweet onion and rye bread. Awe...wait for it...some!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleOuorW4W3MregEw_VyAw9hNbGfs6xK0A8S8pWjYCyylua2KLaHTvJTTjtwVGvr7h4pm5TcjwbaWS58Y8oNB6UUmNkdtBwXHX7scxKxOCp18mgaKQTuXNVH9KDWD6WcDE3MXVWhJl1aRY/s1600/IMG_6828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleOuorW4W3MregEw_VyAw9hNbGfs6xK0A8S8pWjYCyylua2KLaHTvJTTjtwVGvr7h4pm5TcjwbaWS58Y8oNB6UUmNkdtBwXHX7scxKxOCp18mgaKQTuXNVH9KDWD6WcDE3MXVWhJl1aRY/s320/IMG_6828.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">All-American Girl</span></td></tr>
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Slightly less awesome was my faux pas at Pelletier's, when I accidentally goosed a waiter. Mr Ruby's response, when I confessed my crime, was, 'Not again, woman!' I can't help it: I'm clumsy and I wave my arms about a lot! His backside was sticking out as I walked past. It was an accident waiting to happen. Blondie wanted to know, 'What did he look like?' My reply was, 'Shocked!'Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-39086493648577949102011-08-07T21:40:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:44:18.140-07:00Awesome!We're staying in Door County, Wisconsin, having what I believe the locals would describe as 'an awesome time.' I think we have been awed by some of Door County's scenery...and the cherries and fish boils are definitely awesome!<br />
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Yesterday we took the car ferry to Washington Island and what a lovely place that is! It's green and wooded, with beautiful beaches (School House Beach being particularly awesome) and you can get what I now believe to be the best coffee in the whole wide world.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHwQ7zkgEpm9vpHWPYCv8cXzYYQ6azpR_aJYw9ookPIIfNS7tlRCyS4YPBF2SLi0dmHdG0TPPGVNM0Ly5vpxewXBp2zO-b4jyCeHEWeij0v98SkuBB-m1t4FC0lMxPYsZVU4_oUkVokCp/s1600/Red+Cup+Coffee+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHwQ7zkgEpm9vpHWPYCv8cXzYYQ6azpR_aJYw9ookPIIfNS7tlRCyS4YPBF2SLi0dmHdG0TPPGVNM0Ly5vpxewXBp2zO-b4jyCeHEWeij0v98SkuBB-m1t4FC0lMxPYsZVU4_oUkVokCp/s1600/Red+Cup+Coffee+House.jpg" /></a></div>TR and the Mouse loved the beach. They both had a go at sunbathing (it's OK - I had them swathed in UV suits, hats and Boot's 'Once' suncream), while their parents sat in the shade, and pronounced it a great success. TR also loved the ferry ride, although he was sad to leave and said he wanted to live on Washington Island. Mr Ruby said he'd like to spend his summers there, but come home to England for the winters. I quite fancy the idea of a home on Washington Island, complete with a Fisher Price-style farm and a small herd of dairy cows. (Obviously I'll need to employ a professional milk-taster.)<br />
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Here are some photos of our day on Washington Island.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">TR beside his stone cairn. (It was awesome.)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPi8poZtk4LL6UvZG3DLoxLQFDYibmXpbyvj6MyiUXfjQ2iliLXrQK5NZGwP0ZhOjq8eXPIdRZjQzDq3mFvM6ruTzn94RHyK8xbytgQJgHeHLmHN5I9G1gQSB04KICNI0JVbG3VFyaLQ2/s1600/IMG_6636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPi8poZtk4LL6UvZG3DLoxLQFDYibmXpbyvj6MyiUXfjQ2iliLXrQK5NZGwP0ZhOjq8eXPIdRZjQzDq3mFvM6ruTzn94RHyK8xbytgQJgHeHLmHN5I9G1gQSB04KICNI0JVbG3VFyaLQ2/s320/IMG_6636.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Mouse, looking lovely (as ever)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIscg3OQR13Y4D0J4H7Ls2v5KuLFjQa__f-3KqC-a9FLm1a47gSJ7kAUHMJnPl4-mNHLoVsX5FhyphenhyphenvWdcO2tg9ii3rTI9pXu2qlQgzIG7FZj-s-dtUrJhZQxeZ5-50NZoh_f24p-gIf2QP/s1600/IMG_6657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIscg3OQR13Y4D0J4H7Ls2v5KuLFjQa__f-3KqC-a9FLm1a47gSJ7kAUHMJnPl4-mNHLoVsX5FhyphenhyphenvWdcO2tg9ii3rTI9pXu2qlQgzIG7FZj-s-dtUrJhZQxeZ5-50NZoh_f24p-gIf2QP/s320/IMG_6657.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I will ask the Doctors and Blondie if it's OK to post pictures of them on here. 'Til then, you'll just have to make do with the Rubies. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQct6vbiofPUHvwEXjFqRtbbUvsrvxqc63qjCDk7PH2Squ3EMHjLnVakvaJl9QtKlDM77VG_qScbIUGOYz1Zj2AVCZJ-8FF_okW_FXvwfSY4YMkqO_opPC3IMSvLpdvfqC8_S8CbLpgr6/s1600/IMG_6683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQct6vbiofPUHvwEXjFqRtbbUvsrvxqc63qjCDk7PH2Squ3EMHjLnVakvaJl9QtKlDM77VG_qScbIUGOYz1Zj2AVCZJ-8FF_okW_FXvwfSY4YMkqO_opPC3IMSvLpdvfqC8_S8CbLpgr6/s320/IMG_6683.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mr Ruby strikes a Boden-pose.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo8KfZjT2iL1HBeNlm2o-Hyb0-n2lva8gHAf5P2Lt47Su7QfFxfXQf2rGhF4W0vAZSIN6euJ6917V4tQu_azpu7Ux6RJc24fGeziKmvlyQ78qV0QiPXs-zvgURCzgdDhyphenhyphenCnc8kXvuRNz2/s1600/IMG_6622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo8KfZjT2iL1HBeNlm2o-Hyb0-n2lva8gHAf5P2Lt47Su7QfFxfXQf2rGhF4W0vAZSIN6euJ6917V4tQu_azpu7Ux6RJc24fGeziKmvlyQ78qV0QiPXs-zvgURCzgdDhyphenhyphenCnc8kXvuRNz2/s320/IMG_6622.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-61923990857460687482011-08-07T20:46:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:44:47.995-07:00God Bless America!So, we were talking yesterday what America has going for it, what Dr X misses when she comes to England, what Dr Norton and the rest of us miss about England, and so forth. I'm 'into' America right now. I love the sense of space you get here, the self-assuredness of the people, the flag-flying and general patriotic, homespun knick-knacking that you find on every porch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsR6_4gvGPsY1LA7milgicz9Jh9MuU0UBQd3Z3W59rHcf14W_K1b8yFUuDrXcNVkcVKtUYaZfm3wzJFtEpZomBJhWyt7CE3lh9RUODAABYnA_73eJpyhM4Y4I_G6wJpzqV0k5pxSbUZBO/s1600/American+wreath.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsR6_4gvGPsY1LA7milgicz9Jh9MuU0UBQd3Z3W59rHcf14W_K1b8yFUuDrXcNVkcVKtUYaZfm3wzJFtEpZomBJhWyt7CE3lh9RUODAABYnA_73eJpyhM4Y4I_G6wJpzqV0k5pxSbUZBO/s320/American+wreath.png" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Patrotic homespun knick-knackery.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I love that everything is made out of wood - just because there's so much of it available. There's a solidity and permanence to American furniture, that makes our veneered cabinets look flimsy in comparison. Mind you, our brick houses look a little more solid than their wooden houses. I love the midwest climate: proper cold in winter and proper hot in summer - none of your constant dampness and drizzle and you can pretty much always see the sky! I love the taste and texture of corn and that cinnamon is widely used in baking. I love this nifty little conversation starter they have, whereby you can change the topic and introduce your little anecdote by beginning with, 'So...' How handy! So handy, I began this blog entry with it.<br />
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On the other hand, I would kill for a cup of tea right now! I'm having to get all my tea-fixes via iced tea, which is good... but not quite what I'm craving. I'm also not so hot about the gun laws here: I just don't get that. Plus, the whole 'the car is king' thing: I'm not so mad about that. I'm also a little homesick for sweets that aren't laced with artificial colourings. Ultimately, I'm enjoying my little love-affair with America and Americana, but I couldn't quite live here: not until I find somewhere that sells dairy-free, soy-free margarine, anyway.<br />
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Oh - and the things Dr X misses about the USA when she travels to England? Her capacious and quick-cycle washing machine (it is a thing of beauty, I'm telling you!), her efficient gas dryer (another marvel) and corn-based foods. Dr Norton misses family and someone to help him with car-projects, and marmite and salad cream. When Mr Ruby comes here, he misses the BBC and football - especially Brentford. You can get football here, of course, but it's called 'soccer' and there's no Brentford.Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-29523146383906769752011-08-04T20:55:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:45:22.179-07:00Eat Cheese or Die!The Rubies are now in Wisconsin, America's self-confessed Dairyland. Apparently their alternative state slogan is, 'Eat Cheese or Die!' A tough choice for the Mouse, TR and I, since we are allergic to dairy products. Eat cheese <em>and</em> die, in our cases. Ha-ha!<br />
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We drove up to Door County today, for the first of our 'vacations within a vacation' (see how I have adopted the vernacular?). Drs Norton and X, along with Blondie, will be joining us later. I'm hoping the cool beers in the fridge of their motel room (we have adjoining rooms) will help to lure them here. We are staying at the Apple Creek Resort in Fish Creek, Door County:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJj3IDK0AuHFGg7WVsBRWWytpoa5J7quuV5ZV3jNJIsQ8oknM9X7NAVauPvunU_llRfh7UjD6fxnbwrQXqf_Rj7BAzOBHgIBFQ4grAV4cRXrZoTlSKh2qW6nK_wr846DGFq9uOkM0NfJo/s1600/Apple+Creek+resort+postcard.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJj3IDK0AuHFGg7WVsBRWWytpoa5J7quuV5ZV3jNJIsQ8oknM9X7NAVauPvunU_llRfh7UjD6fxnbwrQXqf_Rj7BAzOBHgIBFQ4grAV4cRXrZoTlSKh2qW6nK_wr846DGFq9uOkM0NfJo/s320/Apple+Creek+resort+postcard.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We stayed here once before, only that time it was in November and freezing cold. We have already swum in the hotel pool and picnicked in our hotel room. I baked bread before we left and, on the way here, we stopped to buy locally produced strawberry jam, German sausage (Wisconsin has a sizeable German community), and fresh cherries and raspberries. No offence, Waitrose, but those were among the best raspberries and cherries I have ever tasted. The wurst wasn't half bad, either! I am feeling slightly guilty, though, about the bread knife that I stole from Drs Norton and X before we left. Hopefully they haven't missed it and will forgive me when I present them with wurst sandwiches. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The journey here took us four hours. Luckily I was kept entertained by the twin joys of licence-plate spotting (Ooh - one from Maine - that's <em>miles</em> away!) and Americana-spotting ('Ooh - look everybody: a Fisher Price Barn! Maybe a giant-sized Fisher Price person will emerge from it in a minute!'). All Mr Ruby exclaimed was, 'You're very excitable, aren't you?' </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When my brother and I were little we amassed a whole village of Fisher Price toys. Alarmingly, they are now known as '<em>Vintage </em>Fisher Price'. TR and the Mouse still play with it all now, although the animals have mainly lost their legs. The farm set looks like this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzaB-YKn2dy4z9FtVstgUglCtitdS4cJ1SS5-g5V3wUUa8Lw1lhwKQHPGSxbWOXjoqhnKBMxxk1pfm3ZTSfSY8suWsvd0N3PkL9M6mRpQsdyCK6F35NzVKJnIOmnHekcuCP0AxEJtPKcE/s1600/Fisher+Price+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzaB-YKn2dy4z9FtVstgUglCtitdS4cJ1SS5-g5V3wUUa8Lw1lhwKQHPGSxbWOXjoqhnKBMxxk1pfm3ZTSfSY8suWsvd0N3PkL9M6mRpQsdyCK6F35NzVKJnIOmnHekcuCP0AxEJtPKcE/s320/Fisher+Price+farm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Similar to ours, but with more limbs.</span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And Wisconsin farms look like this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVBxrN8gKxlrBlyR9uinXbg4UNOs5XKu5PxzP8UJjSggJxKsEpua7CER823yy_kn_nwF0U0kT6Hkdggk6tzd1tVPbKlKs48EssjyNn_Qz-sHt5gsR6g3_AO2Nm6SIiS4Hg4taeecqMpAT/s1600/Wisconsin+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVBxrN8gKxlrBlyR9uinXbg4UNOs5XKu5PxzP8UJjSggJxKsEpua7CER823yy_kn_nwF0U0kT6Hkdggk6tzd1tVPbKlKs48EssjyNn_Qz-sHt5gsR6g3_AO2Nm6SIiS4Hg4taeecqMpAT/s1600/Wisconsin+farm.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To be fair, the cows on these probably still have all their legs. Quite a few things on this holiday have prompted a 'Just like Fisher Price!' from me, including fire hydrants and school buses. I keep hoping I'll spot a child on board one of those buses, with a saucepan stuck on his head:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vnjj9p3zpGtFe8afaIZ8fCfhtOQFMNjnrkd1nVx62I1N3vydMMHIiHk9-TkDkYnk626a-Izsb8Qw5v453Mf9uHAsj05SBuIi7fcBBG1Srr7z_ROyXN_kbn1PijetvYoym4IBrsEpoZf_/s1600/Fisher+Price+school+bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vnjj9p3zpGtFe8afaIZ8fCfhtOQFMNjnrkd1nVx62I1N3vydMMHIiHk9-TkDkYnk626a-Izsb8Qw5v453Mf9uHAsj05SBuIi7fcBBG1Srr7z_ROyXN_kbn1PijetvYoym4IBrsEpoZf_/s320/Fisher+Price+school+bus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nostalgia demands a pan. Reality has thus far failed to deliver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Well, that's enough excitability from me for one night. I must go and hide the bread knife before the Norton-Xs get here. With any luck, they'll never know!</span><br />
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</tbody></table>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-74174298376653055832011-08-02T20:47:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:45:48.919-07:00Swimming with the fishesThis morning Blondie took the four of us to the lake for some swimming. We swam in the lake at Jones Island Park. We also borrowed the neighbour's paddle board, which was a lot of fun. TR and the Mouse gained some more water confidence, thanks to their cousin showing them what to do. She also taught me to do underwater handstands. I think it's safe to say that the British Synchronised Swimming team won't need me for 2012. A-hem. It was lovely and cool in the lake and I managed not to freak out over the little blue-gill fish swimming around my legs. Thankfully I maanged to get it together as I emerged from the lake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIOXUIYmliak1KYupchYuYuZozSwqWZao_6fBclbR3LlAUHqRIrjJJjMgGwLwNf41TTlHtuGwMmMVGyuyuL5cN-_MJgxxWwXW4U40cIxht2EueoO-nswBVzua4vLusbvnpGA23FA_Edkk/s1600/Ursula+Andress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIOXUIYmliak1KYupchYuYuZozSwqWZao_6fBclbR3LlAUHqRIrjJJjMgGwLwNf41TTlHtuGwMmMVGyuyuL5cN-_MJgxxWwXW4U40cIxht2EueoO-nswBVzua4vLusbvnpGA23FA_Edkk/s320/Ursula+Andress.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Actual photo of me emerging from lake.</span></td></tr>
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Afterwards my hair decided to style itself in ringlets. So here's another photo of me, this time with post-lake hair:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqYv95Brs1YwyBkVis_PK1BO9MJpi_30q6xoqkEYUF556eruI1QDWge2vRv5Wu65-B9SWt0k1szmxSNQrEeN5tq3CULij9uc9yjYqRDJMmid_d3ZAp2BnRnPrdGCDCv65GU8Ukpc4hPrr/s1600/Ringlets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqYv95Brs1YwyBkVis_PK1BO9MJpi_30q6xoqkEYUF556eruI1QDWge2vRv5Wu65-B9SWt0k1szmxSNQrEeN5tq3CULij9uc9yjYqRDJMmid_d3ZAp2BnRnPrdGCDCv65GU8Ukpc4hPrr/s1600/Ringlets.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This afternoon we wandered into Grayslake centre. Boy, was it hot? We stopped for cold drinks in the coffee shop, 'Something's Brewing'. This evening Blondie, the Mouse and I cooked dinner for everyone, whilst watching a good ol' midwestern thunderstorm. I am happy to report that it is now a few degrees cooler here.</div>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-41834616274641085392011-08-02T12:10:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:46:16.787-07:00We've arrived!We've arrived! Our flight was long, but pleasingly uneventful. Our queue at US Immigration was almost as long - well, it felt like it anyway. Dr. Norton met us at the airport and when we finally stepped outside we were all a bit taken aback by the heat and humidity. The smell of hot humid weather makes me happy as it takes me back to my childhood in Kiribati. Actually, although it is hot and humid here (32 degrees today) it isn't oppressive. Indoors, it is air-conditioned and very pleasant. Outdoors, you do run the risk of burning your feet on the deck but it's still not unplesant to be out in. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKDUzsvD-P-oDbkv2KQkdUEGOimTCrsc-OvFetmgRBqDOMFIaoS3HindhtjDVecqzb7lu25DoRgl-uSBLqPY5iA1crGuI4TOH7AZVyCI0HEY4WMQzMk8SSiwdEejXPo094CVY8PLcxuTh/s1600/IMG_6566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKDUzsvD-P-oDbkv2KQkdUEGOimTCrsc-OvFetmgRBqDOMFIaoS3HindhtjDVecqzb7lu25DoRgl-uSBLqPY5iA1crGuI4TOH7AZVyCI0HEY4WMQzMk8SSiwdEejXPo094CVY8PLcxuTh/s320/IMG_6566.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">On the plane</span></td></tr>
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Dr Norton, Dr X and Blondie made us all feel very welcome and fed us delicious sausages for dinner - always a hit with TR and the Mouse. Finally we tumbled into bed. Goodness knows what time it was on either continent, but when TR hit his head on the kitchen table, that seemed like as good a signal as any to turn in. Clearly if your co-ordination has gone, you're ready for bed!Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89256582454228803.post-16605880747412251252011-07-30T01:45:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:46:40.798-07:00Almost packed and ready to goIt's been a while, but the Rubies are off again on their travels. We're off to America, to visit family, friends and explore the 'real America' in a camper van. (Must get used to calling that an 'RV'.) The Mouse and I have somehow persuaded TR and Mr Ruby that they want to visit three Little House on the Prairie home sites. Log cabins and holes in the ground, here we come! Here are some pictures, showing the states we plan to visit. NB: GoGos and Lego minifigs not to scale.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiImn-pIRxdLoiqFNDvAhuU0JF7yfMlQosfNRJkXu2zSgu7tLYPDdk-g5SUny-zOFYSG0Y5HbIz4gKjp3cT2RgQeCuThdpH_KrY969PrJyWc8ebymXUcP2Vptgvme19RyQP0fLxpigC-23/s1600/IMG_6535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiImn-pIRxdLoiqFNDvAhuU0JF7yfMlQosfNRJkXu2zSgu7tLYPDdk-g5SUny-zOFYSG0Y5HbIz4gKjp3cT2RgQeCuThdpH_KrY969PrJyWc8ebymXUcP2Vptgvme19RyQP0fLxpigC-23/s320/IMG_6535.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Wake me up before you GoGo!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaugBUrQs6NsAzO7Us778UWpjSeCq05bah_lV_QMJ0B_bWJ8wi9Ihaqv6rbjS2gcdZiiTHnd9vaAtJ0r12QJWNl1NuLUxLeaAQDIVzsql_F9Izj55ynd-m-X0U3INabnzMiJea-81FFGO/s1600/IMG_6550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaugBUrQs6NsAzO7Us778UWpjSeCq05bah_lV_QMJ0B_bWJ8wi9Ihaqv6rbjS2gcdZiiTHnd9vaAtJ0r12QJWNl1NuLUxLeaAQDIVzsql_F9Izj55ynd-m-X0U3INabnzMiJea-81FFGO/s320/IMG_6550.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Poor Iowa man: slain by Jedi mind-tricks.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Mrs Rubyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514200332616646567noreply@blogger.com1