So, Iowa was basically just a stopover because Lake Winnebago to South Dakota would have been a *bit* of a stretch on the old sit bones.

Night before last, I caught a candid of the Thriller and his brother John, enjoying the evening from the best seat in the house (in the back yard, facing the lake).

It’s funny, hearing them talk, how siblings just pick up where they left off. From planets and stars to politics to conspiracy theories, they fell into endless yammering almost immediately. It was fun to listen to and watch.

John doesn’t do email, and neither brother is any good at phone contact, so they basically see and talk once a year, when we all get together at Mom’s. But to hear them chatter on and on, you wouldn’t know it.

Boys are silly.

The picture of the day, however, is courtesy of Wautoma, Wisconsin, where we had to stop and wait for some very special pedestrians to cross the road:

So it’s off to Mount Rushmore today, and we are excited to reach the forest and the lodge, where we’ll hole up for two days. Eight hours of driving today and we’ll be ready for some R & R. Good thing is that I have no idea what day it is, heh. The sign of a relaxing vacation.

FO

Or Paradise, whichever you prefer.

The largest fresh water lake in Wisconsin is home to the Thriller’s parents. We are enjoying the beginning of the Odyssey in fine style. I swear, I need to get out of here, though. If I eat many more of my mother-in-law’s meals, I’m going to have to spend a significant chunk of our vacation money on a new wardrobe. What a cook, oh my. *blerk*

It’s been incredibly relaxing, given the rather interesting way the whole thing began, heh. Some photographs of my incredibly stressful environment follow. I’ve left them in their original  huge-ish state in order to maximize your viewing experience.

Tomorrow, we say goodbye and head out to Iowa. If there’s anything wonderful to report, I’ll check in with photos then.

Ta! Back to the sounds of the waves off the lake.

We arrived at Milwaukee’s Hotel of the Arts (awesome downtown location) at 2 p.m. and checked in. Then we went to the Fire Pit restaurant inside the Potowatomi Casino, where we had a fantastic dinner with two of my old friends from junior high school. It was a beautiful evening.

I’d post a photo of our good time, but suffice it to say that while the Thriller has many talents, picture-taking with my phone isn’t one of them. So I’ll get a photo from Missy later.

In lieu of a picture of my face, I will instead show a picture of the sink I want for my bathroom:

Love it.

All right, on to Lake Winnebago, to relax with the Thriller’s mom for a couple of days. Looking forward to it. Happy Finkday!