Welcome to WI!!!

I’m so incredibly weary, having to get up before the sun rose this a.m. in order to catch my flight to WI. Judy J. and I ate dinner together at the Longhorn on Airport Road. We had an enjoyable time, yakking and 'dabbing' a bit, until it was time for her to drop me at the hotel. I got checked in and made myself homely after stopping at the snack bar to get a couple sodas to take up with me.

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I got myself ready for sleeping and then sprawled out on the king-sized bed before calling my mom. The room was quite cold and the A/C noisy, and no matter how I pushed the buttons on the thermometer, I couldn’t make it warm up or be quiet. At last, I got up close and personal to it, and discovered a button marked “fan”. As soon as I pressed it, quiet! No more roaring of the A/C forcing me to blare the TV over the racket. I have issues with certain types of noise, the equivalent to finger nails on the chalk board.

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In order to ensure waking in time for my flight in morning, I set the alarm (or thought I did!) on the night stand, arranged for a wake-up call with front desk, and set the alarm on my cell phone. Thankfully my cell phone woke me in time to run to the desk phone to answer the wake up call. The alarm clock was strangely silent, as apparently I missed a step in setting it up. So, so glad to have the cell phone with an alarm clock on it, and that I know how to operate it!
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In no time at all I was down stairs awaiting my shuttle ride to the terminal. At the Northwest gate, I was told no curbside check-in was available because I’d be charged a certain rate per bag, determined according to the size and weight of my luggage. Nuts! It turned out my bag weighed about two pounds over the established rate so the ticket agent asked me if there was anything I could remove to put it under the weight limit. Of course, the lap top would lighten the load in the checked luggage but would be so heavy to lug around the terminals. Instead, I grabbed the scrapbook about my mother-in-law, which I’d wisely placed in a garbage bag so it wouldn’t get damaged. The ticket agent found it weighed four pounds which put me under, so to speak. I’d made it, no extra fees! One man was quite displeased about the whole business of paying per checked bag and all that, but I suffered in silence…..well, not really silence, I suffered with a smile on my face, and arms full of stuff pulled from the suitcase!

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All I wanted to do was sleep on the plane, being hardly able to keep my eyes open. I realized my Dramamine was not the less drowsy formula I prefer and I hadn’t slept all that well the night before. Okay, sleep on the plane, why not? Not once did I open the Sky Mall catalog, which Justin would have abhorred. He simply adores browsing through the catalog, pointing out all the things he thinks I should have!
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We landed in Milwaukee to overcast skies and temperatures soaring into the near 60’s…..yes, that’s right, it’s a bit chilly here! In Wisconsin? Go figure! There were substantial delays at the rental car desk, where I nearly launched into Jerry’s routine about reserving a car. “You don’t seem to understand what a reservation does.” “Yes, sir, we do.” “I don’t think so, or you’d have a car for me!” And, again, cooler tempers prevailed, mine anyway. Another guy was chomping at the bit for his car as he had an appointment to make and was on a deadline. He finally settled for a lesser car in order to make his appointment.

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I misunderstood the rental car location and proceeded to drag my heavy suitcase up and down and all around that rental car area until my right arm ended up longer than my left. Finally a nice man helped me find Dollar, which was cleverly concealed on the far end of the lot, behind the Budget rentals. I liked my cute little car, some sort of Suzuki compact, but hardly so. I think Justin will fit nicely into the seat without rubbing his head on the ceiling.
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I just love leaving the garage with a rental car in the pouring rain but I wisely made myself familiar with the bells and whistles on my car, finding the lights, wipers, and AM radio station. Good to go!

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As I headed north for Manitowoc, navigating quickly the freeway through town, it was soon I had the road almost to myself. I could hear some honking, and realized geese were flying in formation heading back toward Milwaukee. This brought to mind my newlywed days in Milwaukee, trying to get back home after dropping my spouse off at work, AMC. When he called on his break to see how it went, I sorrowfully reported that people were honking at me as I drove back home. He wisely suggested, “Just turn up the radio!” Good thinking! I’m better at getting around on freeways but my experience back then was quite limited, especially at rush hour!

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Not only did I see and hear the geese, I also spotted a deer decomposing on the side of the road, and at one point, smelled a very ripe but unseen skunk! It’s great to be home!
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Mom and I headed straight to the brand, new Copps grocery store to stock up on poppyseed filled doughnuts, peanut squares, natural casing hot dogs, and my favorite sugar cookies. Yummy! Manitowoc has much to learn about pricing their Coke products, because it cost me nearly $15 for three 12 packs!

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Jill had called on my drive to Manty, wondering if I’d be coming by the ice cream parlor today. After shopping at Copp’s, we went to the parlor for a treat, something to go with the other treats from Copp’s!!! There were a couple ladies posing for pictures with the overly dressed giant cow in front of the parlor so I took pictures of them together. Manty is celebrating Sputnik Week, in commemoration of a piece of the satellite landing in the middle of the street on the north side. The cow is dressed in foil-type wrappers and antlers, and is being ridden by some inflatable alien. Apparently the Rotarians were in charge of this event, which called for dressing the giant cow as a space creature. A couple years ago this same cow wore leathers in recognition of the anniversary of Harley Davidson, so talk about versatile!
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Jami, I had the mint chocolate chip ice cream with raspberry sauce on the top, and cherry sauce in the bottom of the cup. I liked the raspberry the best. Believe me, I was thinking about you when I walked into the ice cream parlor!