Wednesday, July 27, 2011

On Wisconsin!



I took the time to sneak home to Wisconsin to see my family in June. Hadn't been home for over a year so it was great to be with everyone.



I timed it to coincide with my brother Tony's birthday and we started downtown Milwaukee with some drinks, a walk on the Riverfront and what else, but BURGERS.





Headed down to Twin Lakes with my sister to see my godson Stevie, boy he just doesn't quit growing, then Jackie and I headed up to the Derse slice of heaven... Riley's Point in Door County.


One of the best things about Riley's Point is the fact that you can't move without bumping into a Derse relative. Growing up this kinda stunk as you couldn't get away with anything, but now, it's pretty great. My grandma is 91 now and that seems as good an excuse as any for starting cocktail hour at 3:30. Manhattens and Miller Lite here we come.



Grandma's cottage is right on the lake (so is everyone's on the Point) so here's Jackie, wading around in Lake Michigan trying to convince me that it's warm.






She did manage to suck me in for some crabbing (that's what we call crayfish catching) and we spent a few hours turning over rocks in the lake trying to find the buggers. I only got pinched by one of these guys twice so I figure the effort we put into the crabbing in the deliciously cool lake (nope it wasn't cold) was well worth it.












We were in the mood for frogs legs so we sauteed them in garlic butter, cooked up our crabs with some caraway seed (the old german way) and boiled some corn. Invite a wonderful brownie-bearing Grandma over and you've got a meal made in heaven.





Finish up the day with a sunset at Aunt Rita's watching the pelicans go by and you've got a little slice of heaven. If you're lucky you might even get ice cream!





Thanks to my whole family for a superior (oops I mean Lake Michican) vacation!!!