Here, There, and Other Places

This is the story of me taking the bus to Minneapolis, driving to Osseo and then Baraboo, flying to Philadelphia, interviewing for a job, driving to Chicago, driving to Milwaukee, driving to Madison, driving to Philadelphia, flying to Milwaukee, driving to Chicago, going to a wedding, driving to Milwaukee, flying to Philadelphia, taking a bus to New York, getting on a winnebago to Atlantic City, taking the train to Philadelphia, flying to Madison, throwing a party (topped with another party), doing a Sway, loading a truck with all my belongings, having my flight cancelled, driving to Milwaukee, flying to Philadelphia, and then taking the train home. Below, an incomplete pictorial:

Except for the fact that there was a snow storm winding down, the trip started well. I had snacks and coffees, and various other beverages.

Snacks/dranks.

Not to mention maps. Mostly of Maryland, but with a couple pieces of a some more useful ones mixed in too. Like this ⅔ of a Pennsylvania Official Transport Map I found in the door.

Maps/snaps.

By the time I passed Jersey Shore the snow was done. But so was the coffee. And the snacks.

Central Pennsylvania.

And then they shut down I-80. If there's one thing I'm not interested in, it's a truck-jam. Thank god I had that piece of a map handy.

A long line of TRUUCKS.

Chicago offered the Skoczenator, submarine warfare, and a chance to catch up on some of my kreepier correspondences. And then onto WI!

Notes.

I don't really remember anything else until I was at this train station last week, going to the airport directly from work for the second time in a month. This time I was carrying my Bag O'Bags. FYI: it turns out that 8 bags stuffed inside of one really big bag ends up weighing 61 lbs. It was worth the check-in lady telling me I was going to have to spend the night in Cincinnati to avoid the overweight fees she let me slip out of. 

Checked bag.

Enclosed bags.

It was nice to have all of 'em when we stripped my apartment down though. And just in time for Katie's surprise birthday party, followed a ½ hour later by my surprise going away party. Somehow these are the only two pictures from either event in which we don't look grossly unattractive.

Party #1: Happy Birthday Katie

Party #2: Goodbye Whitney

The measurin' wall, after its last measure:

Apartment heights: 5'2"-6'3"

What was left? Just to pack up this comically over-sized truck and send my dad on his way. Three days later he finally made it back to Philadelphia and my things went from filling a ⅓ of the truck to filling a ⅓ of the living room.

The truck of another size.

There's still room for that car I don't own.

Frog legs with a side of pickle.

A Wisconsin Circumnavigation

One time my dad came to visit for a week. We started off by riding Hank & The General around Lake Monona, then we continued by driving 1,100 miles around Wisconsin. This is our story—and this is our route:

First up, the Driftless Region. Wyalusing State Park at the confluence of the wide, brown Mississippi River with the wide, brown Wisconsin River, is described alternately as Wisconsin's most scenic, most historic, or most varied state park. I choose least surprising. Here's the view from atop the bluff, but don't bother looking if you've ever seen the Upper Mississippi before.

On the upside, there was that monument to Wisconsin's last Passenger Pigeon. And the 1st in my series: Whitney Jumping Off Things in Wisconsin While His Dad Takes His Picture. And this great field of goldenrods. You can't argue with that.

Next up, La Crosse! Home to Wisconsin's best drinking water, and generally recognized as Wisconsin's prettiest city. At which point I told the guidebook, "Fool me once shame on me, fool me... you can't fool me again." It would continue to vastly over-sell its sights during the remainder of the trip, but I had its number now. Go ahead, call Granddad's Bluff "550 feet above the back haunches of La Crosse", without question the #1 scenic spot in western Wisconsin. I'll draw my own conclusions. Like how awesome that neon light eagle head up there is. Why aren't you talking about that guidebook? 

From there it was north along the river. Surprisingly, we'd passed up the chance to walk "the longest main street in any town or village with only one street" back in Ferryville the day before. Even more surprisingly, Ferryville has more than 1 street. 

We didn't want to give up the dream of the quaint riverboat town though, so we made sure to take in the sights of Trempealeau and the Great River Road State Trail via bicycles. It's been years since I've shifted gears, you know what they say about a derailleur, but I am a sucker for wooden bridges.

Actually I'm a sucker for almost all varieties of bridges. Perfect for jumping off.

Last up on the Mississippi leg—Pepin, WI, childhood home to Laura Ingalls Wilder and pre-blind sister Mary. Otherwise known as The Little House in The Big Woods. Most noticeably missing of course are the big woods. Which just makes me wonder, how long was that winter really, Laura‽

Inland, to Menomonie and beyond! Chequamegon National Forest holds innumerable inscrutable forest roads, one of which eventually leads to the trail to Morgan Falls ("the prettiest waterfall in the state") and St. Peter's Dome (i.e. Old Baldy). Waterfalls are only good for 2 things—jumping into and jumping on top of, and this one was only good for one of those. 

Domes on the other hand are good for sitting on, looking from, and towering over. ✓, ✓, & ✓. I can see Superior from here! Joanna claims it's only her 2nd favorite Great Lake, but that presupposes that Lake Ontario actually is a lake.

Just look at these lake-cliffs. Sandusky's not going to give you any of that. 

Don't think it's over yet though, 'cause it had just Michigan! [say it. out loud.] That's right, we went to Michigan. We didn't plan to. And it wasn't even the real Michigan, just its upper mitt. They lured us in with promises of virgin forests and words like Sylvania Wilderness, practically irresistible when from clearcut PA. It turns out my timing is lost in Michigan. Or in virgin forests. Or maybe on Fridays. I don't know what, but this is the closest I could get to a jumpshot up there.

Being Friday we needed to get back to Wiscosin though. The fish and the frying were waiting for us, or at least we thought they were. Green Bay had pulled out an unforeseen haute supper for us, foams and gelées included, but no fries. They obviously knew I was coming:

North central eastern Wisconsin proved to be a full load of jumping for the series though. Lambeau, De Pere, Winnebago... they all had one in 'em.

There was only one thing left to do; Milwaukee here we come. Challenges of all sorts ensued. A tomato challenge, a trivia challenge, a hammering challenge, and of course a typing challenge.

I won. Except for the tomato challenge, no one really won that. We all equally avoided rogue tomato shrapnel.

Welcome to BikeTub

[BikeTub at its most vulnerable]

Rumor is there's another Milwaukee bike gang out there looking to hone in on BikeTub's territory. Don't worry, they have a terrible name. And no sound system. Also, there's no way they have as many photographic moves as we do.


















Our arsenal:

[The Floating Yoga]

[The HamTub]

[The Karate Hammer]

And of course, the all out assault:

Movin' On Up

The lab I work at on campus moved this month. Our old home, Hiray Hall, is getting torn down along with Unon South to make way for something new, so we moved into the old UHS building on Old University. Google tells me they are both exactly 0.5 miles from my apartment, although it will take me 1 minute longer to walk now. As a trade off, I have my own office. And I get to work in a building built in 1950 as a children's psychiatric hospital.

This is our hallway. We have 2 sinks and one non-functioning water fountain. As of yet we have had no word on its permanent status. You may recognize this pink tile if you've ever been to my apartment; it is an exact match of our bathroom tile, minus the pink flamingo accessories. I guess they would be sort of unprofessional, but I still think it would be nice to add a couple around the office. Maybe I'll just put one in the Single Stall Bathroom.

 

I was originally really excited about this men's room. I'm the only male working at our lab currently and I thought I'd have this cozy spot all to myself. Unfortunately we share the bathrooms with the lab on the other end of the hall, so I will have to lock the door after all. The single stall doesn't worry me though. If the worst does come to pass I at least have a discrete method of disposal. I wonder how many soiled little baby hospital gowns have been thrown down there?

Directly across from the linen chute is one of 2 elevators in the building. Both have indicators from 'B' to '7'  on the wall next to them. There are only 4 floors in the building. Every time I walk by them I check to see what floor they're on.

We're still in the process of unpacking the 115 boxes of stuff we brought with us. Last week I came across this little gem that's left over from our work with the baby Hmongs. If I had found the stagecoach that goes with it my afternoon would have been even less productive.

As it was, I spent some time playing with this late '90s ThinkPad I found in the back of a filing cabinet.

Other benefits of the new office:

big windows/not working in a basement

the non-pink floor tile

Price Check: He's 27

If you're reading this blog, you already know: I'm 27. It happened saturday night, sometime around 11/10 central. I passed that milestone alone, on my old curried leather couch, with some chinese takeout and a small leather pillow by my side. It was a reflective moment; a lot of really good things had happened over the past 30 hours:

☜ Joanna had acquainted me with another alternative menstruation device (A.M.D.), the PIMP. Only slightly less revolting than the Moon Cup, and just as terribly named.


"The fun colors and patterns keep me looking forward to the next party..."

☜ There had been a world geography quiz, allowing me to revel in one of my talents (i.a. geography/capitals, parallel parking, shellfish).

The winning entry, submitted by Schmatie, was lost in or around The Essen Haus. Instead, here is Martin's 2^nd Place submission. Africa, along with Eastern Europe and Central Asia, proved to be significant stumbling blocks for most in attendance. Not to worry, I'm currently working on a study guide to help with these problem areas.

☝ Beets!

☞ Beards, corduroy, jackets, elbow patches, ties, & sweaters. All in one place.

☝ A group march across Monroe St., with flags.

☜ Things in my 'stache.

Girls in 'staches. ☞

☝ Beer in boots; eye patches.

☜ A price check at the dollar store involving 2 cashiers, a trip back to the item's aisle, and at least 5 minutes. Turns out that cup was $1. Just like everything else in the store.

Final status of birthday 27: success.