WISCONSIN [continued...]

---

Had a quiet weekend spending time with my good friend Jenny and her family, seeing a bit of the town and watching some school football, NFL that is. Jenny's son was on the team and it was my introduction to the game in the USA.

We took a drive on the Tuesday, and came across a local honey harvester and manufacturer. Jenny, clever beaver she is, suggested i try to do a short documentary about it, and the owners and workers there were wonderful, only too happy to oblige. They showed us the entire process. From bee to hive, to collection and refinement to the final product. They don't do just honey either. They have products from beeswax moisturisers, to chewing honey, and honey butters, cheeses and ice creams. It's a cosy place, the honey is to die for, and they do a fabulous job. We were probably quite fortunate that their busy time was over, and had time to show us around some. They were happy to give us a few samples to try as well, and i tell ya, i am never buying chewing gum again. Chewing honey, or the waxy part of the honeycomb, easily passes for a good chewing gum, with all that honey goodness in it. We came away with a lot of knowledge and interesting facts about the humble bee as well. David, one of the workers, was nice enough to outfit himself in his beekeeper suit for the occasion, which was a nice touch.

Next, the plan was to find a good fishing spot. We had our fishing licenses, and stopped in at a local pub for our night-crawlers, which are big over here (a specific variety of worm), and went in search of a nice place to enjoy some leisurely time hunting a feed for dinner. The thing you notice about most of the town pubs in Wisconsin, and even some of the local convenience stores, is the abundance of fish and game trophies gracing the walls. It was kind of an eerie feeling to begin with, but then who am i to argue with local customs. Admittedly, i have wanted to try hunting myself, but being a bit of a animal lover, or maybe just a woose, i never have.

We found the fishing place OK; a series of connected lakes that was said to be full of fishing delight. But, what started out a fishing trip soon become a hiking one as we explored the surrounding bush for signs of a good spot to throw a line in. We enjoyed the wonderful scenery around the lakes, but never did find us a spot to cast. We enjoyed the day nonetheless. I got dirty, eaten alive by bugs and met my exercise quota for the week with ease. Ah, the great outdoors!

Wednesday, we seemed content to rough it again and do some more hiking, and had swim for good measure. Our destination was a place called Mondeaux Dam, and it was quite spectacular. You get this real feeling of living in a log cabin by the lake, being close to nature, and enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. It was another good chance for some good snaps with the camera. Ironically this time, we started out hiking, but found us a nice fishing spot.

The fishing was a lot of fun. We caught more than a half dozen fish between us, though small, provided for some good fishing action, and my first fishing experience in North America. Being a weekend fisherman back home, it was a pleasant itch to be able to scratch.

Jenny had told me about a local winery, and i was keen to check it out, so we took a late afternoon drive. Immediately you are overcome by the atmosphere of this place. Instead of a bouquet of flowers, you have coloured wine bottles sculptured in copper, dotted about the car park and around the various entrances to the main winery reception. Then you notice the man made beach they have, and the pond that services it. The water is a real fluorescent aquatic blue. It wreaks of a Caribbean flavour of sorts. It turned out, we were not to get drunk at that time, but there was an open night coming up for a serious wine tasting heading into the weekend. jenny and i looked at each other without saying a word. Right, it was settled, we would be in attendance.

Before calling it a day, Jenny showed me an old and historic church and cemetery close by, and spoke of some of the families that had migrated there at various times, and some of their stories. They were all buried together, entire families, and some many hundreds of years ago, several generations long. There were even some stoneheads for people still living, where their resting place, pre-determined, would one day be.

Thursday was Noah's Ark day. For those who don't know, and nor did i, it is the largest water park in North America, and the 4th largest in the world.

---