Man, I am tired

I always joke about needing a vacation after a vacation and today is no exception. Scott and Bill came out to visit for the weekend which was a lot of fun. What it wasn't was a lot of sleep. I knew it was a bad sign when they arrived at 3am on Saturday at which point we went and saw a well-toasted Eddie. That night (or morning...) we discovered that dawn begins breaking at about 4:30am here in Sheboygan. Suffice it to say that it is very hard to sleep in in an East facing apartment when the sun is coming up as you are going to sleep.

The first day after no sleep is fine as Saturday proved. Scott, Bill and I helped Ed to spend his money on a nice set of deck chairs and convinced him to buy a nice table with a built-in fire ring (or beverage cooler) only to discover that it was not in stock at any Target in Wisconsin. The chairs were at least comfy to sit in for the first Michigander "Brat Fry" aka BBQ. The beer brats were great. Once again we were out late--I left them at a bar to walk home and took the jeep home around 12:30am.

By Sunday we were all dragging, but were fortified by a good greasy breakfast. Now consider this a warning, I have no pity for those who enjoyed their drinks a bit too much the night before. I led the gang out to Parnell Tower out in the Kettle Morraine which is easily the most beautiful part of Wisconsin I have seen yet short of sunrise on Lake Michigan. What I neglected to warn them was that there is a 300 or so foot tall hill to climb up to the tower and then that the tower is 200 feet tall and only has steps. I was being well cursed by the time we reached the top of the tower. At least I did not lead them on the hike which is 3.7 miles up and down hill. We left the tower for the beach which we found to be too cold to stay at. The Pistons game (very disappointing) was on that night so we chilled at the Box after a round of naps.

Scott and Bill left town after a brunch on Monday. I took a nap and then decided that it was too nice outside to sit indoors and went for a walk. About 5 or 6 miles later I got home. It was kind of like "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie". I went in search of a close view of the Lake and then found a trail down the bluff to the beach. Well you can't just go to the beach and stand there so I walked only to realize that it was about a 1/2 mile farther south to the next point where I could climb the bluff back to street level. Then I returned home having seen far more of the neighborhood than planned.

In short, waking up today was a challenge which is usually okay, but I had foolishly scheduled a meeting for first thing this morning. I can sleep in a bit tomorrow I think. That was the latest I have stayed up and least I have slept since moving here, but it was worth it.

Not to be Out-Geeked

Given that I can only e-mail and call so many folks on a regular basis, I have decided to join the world of the blog. As a friend put it I wouldn't want to be out-geeked by people who didn't study engineering.

This blog is intended to answer the Eternal Question "How is Jake doing in Wisconsin?". As of now, I am doing just fine. I drive a lot and see many cows in my travels. Otherwise I am on the phone, usually leaving voice mails and awaiting return calls that don't seem to happen. Thankfully there is good hiking nearby so that I can avoid both cars and phones for a part of every weekend.

One question for the day though, do kids ever go to school anymore? I swear that they are out of school more often than not. I remember having a handful of regular vacations each year. Now it seems that anything can be a holiday from school and we wonder why American students don't test as well as others around the world.

The saga will continue...but now I must eat lunch.