We couldn't leave Minneapolis without making a few more stops, like back to Great Harvest to grab some breakfast goods, and then some happy wandering around W 50th and Xeres...
It was great walking around this morning, because the air was charged, warm and humid... it's as though the atmosphere is getting ready for a guest and you can feel the anticipation, the suspense building. You know at any moment a storm will come bounding in, gregarious and lively. These kind of days were a welcome part of summer when we lived in our Richfield duplex, with the picture window facing Wood Lake Nature Center. William and I would sit, and roll, on the floor of the living room, enjoying the view and our play. It was easy, and sweet, to recall all of this on this new summer morning, 27 years later.
We went the scenic way to Spring Green, Mineral Point, Dodgeville...
then again, I've never traveled any way between Minnesota and Wisconsin that isn't scenic. The rivers were high, some flooding their banks, in Red Wing, around Lake Pepin. We stayed on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi, until La Crosse, and from there took even smaller roads to Spring Green. I could have taken a thousand pictures of barns, meadows, cornfields, riversides, bluffs, silos, wildflowers, clouds, and Main Street scenes. We definitely stopped for the giant Milton Cheese mouse... they were closed, unfortunately. And William and I couldn't resist a visit with a favorite icon, Smokey the Bear. By the time we reached Spring Green, we learned that Sunday evening is
too late for dining out. We couldn't find any place to eat, and finally ended up at
the Pig, in Mineral Point, and everyone chose something to fix at the hotel.
We swam in the hotel pool, we feasted on Amy's dinners and salads, and other market stuff, then settled in for a good night's sleep before our big day at
The House on the Rock. Here's another place that
we will bring all of our friends, whenever we get the chance.
We took a lot of pictures and videos, we took a lot of time, trying to take it all in, which is about near impossible. I am not going to share much, or say much... it deserves to be seen and appreciated without too many spoilers. It is
legendary, for us, for
Neil Gaiman, and American Gods. It's larger in scope than we can represent, in words or pictures, and it's strange
and familiar, for a family that has built a life around
making. This is why we daydream and fantasize about making a huge pilgrimage with friends and family... I want to name everyone I am thinking of, but I'd hate to leave anyone out. Let's just say...
if you like Neil Gaiman, or BOoMNerds, or cheese curds, if you are a collector, or tinkerer, or cannot resist oddities, then be ready to pack a bag, when we call and say, "Our ship has come in, we're taking you to The House on the Rock.
There'll be no need to explain, you won't hesitate... we will have no regrets.
This was hardly a peek, trust me.
(This post was back-blogged on August 1, 2019.)
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