The Mooses in the Dells

We have just returned from a wonderful weekend in the Wisconsin Dells, an area in southern Wisconsin that is known for both its beauty (our main interest) and for being "the waterpark capital of the world" (duly ignored). Our friends Lucy and Steve drove from Chicago to meet us at a small cabin, rented specifically for its pets-allowed policy so that Jasper could join us. Everyone arrived on Friday evening, and we had a very jolly dinner at the Moose Jaw Brew Pub.

On Saturday morning, much sleeping in was had by all, followed by a leisurely breakfast feast. Eventually we headed out to Mirror Lake State Park, just up the road, where Jasper had a lovely romp.



We spent part of the afternoon browsing at an orchard, tasting apples. Ended up with Braeburns and Russets to bring back to Rochester, and a caramel apple for Lucy and me to split in the car on the way home. The rest of the afternoon was spent lolling about, enjoying the company and some good books! (I finished a re-read of a favorite book by Lauren Willig, who writes delightful stories about English and French spies during the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, a la the Scarlet Pimpernel, and then jumped back in time to start a novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine.) Here's a photo of Lucy and me on the couch, in a position that must be incredibly familiar to all of you who knew us as children. (That's Jasper in the middle, trying to look inconspicuous. And succeeding.) Lucy and Hilary with their noses in books? Ah, some things never change.



Then things got slightly more active. Lucy and Steve brought their Wii, which comes with some really fun sports games. The boys took a turn first (that's tennis they are playing):



And then the ladies (baseball this time...Lucy won, we decided that this would foreshadow a Red Sox victory later in the evening, since she has red hair...or something...whatever it was, it worked!)



After further sleeping in this morning, we celebrated Lucy and Steve's 1-year anniversary with mimosas! Then we decided on another hike, this time at Devil's Lake State Park. It was very crowded, which unfortunately meant that Jasper had to stay on his leash, but the views were stunning! Here are Lucy and Steve on the trail:



The lovely fall vista from the top of the bluff:


At another overlook:


Lucy and Steve coming back along the lakeshore:


We ended our mini-break with a fabulous vegetarian meal at The Cheese Factory before going our separate ways. We'll hope to see Steve and Lucy again in a few months, maybe in a new condo in Chicago!