It’s just me and the loons. Or is it the loons and I? Am I a
loon? At 6am all is quiet in the middle of the woods, and I’m at peace with the
world. My wife is sleeping soundly in our honeymoon suite, and the girls are
upstairs in the loft, building up their daily charge. For the second year, we
are here in northern Wisconsin at my aunt and uncle’s cabin overlooking
beautiful Pear Lake. Nothing is better than this.
To my left is a cup of the best coffee I’ve ever had. It
wasn’t the brewing process this time; normally I only give that praise for
pour-over. This came from a simple drip machine, but on our way up we stopped
at a place called Fresh Start Coffee Roasters in Webster, Wisconsin, where they
roast your coffee for you wait, one pound at a time. I chose Tanzania pea berry
at a light roast and wish I had time to wait around for more of all they had.
The roasting took about twenty
minutes so we all wandered over to a little shop that peddled wares of a local
nature, and kids trinkets and whatnot. Right before we went inside, Emme
grabbed my attention and asked if she could go to her friend’s house which at
this point was well over two hours away. I said yes, and she was excited until
she became distracted inside the store. We all found some treasures and made
our way back just in time for the roasting to be done. Now, I’m a coffee snob
but only in the fact that I like good coffee and like it a certain way, I don’t
know how to describe to you the notes or flavors, I just know that this is one
phenomenal cup of coffee. But enough about that.
I’ve decided that I’m not
going to write about the wedding. We were there, it was beautiful. People kept
telling us to soak it up and be in the moment, and that’s what I did. If you
were there, you know how special it was, and I thank you for sharing your time
and lives with us, and I hope you have fond memories as well.
Amanda and I aren’t gamblers.
However, on our way up north, we saw a casino coming up and thought we should
give it a try since I had to pee anyhow. I allotted us each a crisp $10 bill,
and we went in one at a time. I have had luck the three other times I have
gambled in a similar setting, so I went to the penny slot machines and put in
the bill. I left the casino about five minutes later up a solid $12.50. When
Amanda came back, she was up $40. All-in-all it was a solid 20 minute bathroom
break.
The loons are calling, the
squirrels are playing, and the water is still. It’s a little chilly this
morning on the porch, but it’s worth it to be surrounded by tranquility. We had
a lovely fire last night during which two eagles passed us overhead a few
times. They were just above the treetops—maybe forty feet up—and I could hear
the wind passing through their wings and some low grumbling noises they were
making. They were playing, and I wondered if maybe they were on their
honeymoon, too. We are completely exhausted. We were in bed by 10pm, which is
still pretty late for me, but I’ve been up late and up early for several days
now and it’s been quite taxing.
So, now it’s time to relax.
I’ll share some pictures of the week, and maybe a video of our dance. But for
now, I’m going off the grid.
