Thursday July 17th - last night in Green Bay
Randy's Pasta Spectacular
There's nothing like handmade pasta, and lucky for us, Uncle Randy is a pro at making pasta. Randy is also the master of cocktail hour. He comes home from work and then promptly becomes the bartender. See, he used to bartend in college at the Avenue Bar. I like this because there always a celebration about the end to a work day, even though I really haven't worked. See the drink in the martini glass in the background. Randy has mastered infusing hot fresh and dried peppers in tequila. These drinks are fantastically hot and delicious served cold. Mine is probably in hand as I chat and shoot these photos.
Ok, back to the pasta. Randy is very meticulous about cutting and shaping and drying and cooking. Like I said, he is a master and I am very pleased that he takes his time at it all.
Meanwhile, I work on the tomato, garlic, olive oil, basil mix. Aunt Marg grows the best herbs and basil is no exception. I like to wander out to the garden every hour or so, just to pick more to snack on. I'm even putting it in my water by the end. It's so good.
This tomato blends is my fave topping for pasta. It's so fresh and summery that you can eat it with a spoon. Don't skimp on the garlic, the basil or the olive oil. It's a critical part of the flavor explosion.
Oh, and parmesan. Don't forget that and use plenty. Wisconsin parmesan is very good. We even use it in Portland, as our preferred choice.
This shot is blurry likely because I'm so excited about how delicious this combo is going to be.
We also had this nice loaf of Italian bread that you cook in the oven. It was also very good.
The pasta making continues...
Randy actually takes the time to hang the pasta for some time.
Here's Randy now.
And more and more pasta rolling.
The final plating we missed, since the moment was so critical. I'm sad that I can't share it with you, because it was really really good.
After dinner, Marg had promised the boys a trip to the local frozen yogurt self-serve yogurt bar, Smart Cow. The sun was setting and here's my attempt to capture it on our drive to desert.
Water tower makes the shot.
Finally capture it, through the auto glass. I'm not driving here, giving me more time to focus.
Ok, back to Sassy Cow. This place has 16 flavors at any one time, you can sample as much as you like, and you do it all yourself. Amazing self control is needed to not eat your weight in the samples. Speaking of weight, once you finally get down to the flavors you want, you pick up a container and fill 'er up. You can add candy at the end. Rory is super pleased to be here. He loves a buffet - all you care to eat and total choice.
Just look at it.
What a day. Thanks Marg, Randy and Jonathan for all of the fun and delicious times. This would be our final evening in Green Bay and it couldn't have been any better.
Friday July 18th: Travel day from Green Bay to Cassville
On the final day of a stay, I tend to take lots of pictures of the garden. Here's the amazing lot that Marg and Randy have created.
Below is Evan's bird bath. It looks spectacular in the new box with plants.
Nothing better than edible flowers and leaves that are peppery. Love the Nasturtiums.
Chives, basil, sage, plus coriander in flower.
Uncle Jon's bergamot plant looks like it's in the perfect spot under the tree.
Blackcaps! Yum. We missed seeing these in Portland since we're away, but ate them every morning with breakfast. What a great patch, which also included raspberries too. Every household should have this feature. Seriously.
Jasper the wonder Boston.
Jasper is fast and hard to capture.
Marg's beautiful eggs. She's a pro.
Ok, this picture is out of order, but since Grandma's just moved to Green Bay, I have to evidence it. Here she is talking with Trudy, her Madison assistant, and resting on the couch. This was the day prior on Thursday.
Ok, back to our departure from Green Bay.
Marg and I pose for our only picture taken while here. She's off to her final day at UW-GB Music Summer Camp. She's pleased to have completed the week.
We look great in yellow.
Rory and I depart the house, about an hour later. This is the first time I've lost my keys on the trip. They were hidden in the food bag. No panic, just a bit of thorough searching. On this trip, we never panic. It's the journey not the destination.
On the way out of town, we stopped at Grandma's house, but she was out. We took pictures at her new door.
Rory's not so sure about the idea, but warms up to it.
Here come the smiles.
Downstairs at the Center, we find a pay as you find it garage sale next to the chip dispenser. I pick up a dream catcher (this could come in handy) and Rory finds "Something Special from Wisconsin" - Sour Cream and Onion flavored Potato Chips. Sadly, they had MSG in them and he had to let them go.
We don't know about the MSG in this picture.
On the road again...
Google Maps tells us that it will take us 4 hours. Realistically, we take 6, taking in all of the regional fun.
Red barns with silver silo - Classic Wisconsin scene.
Another water tower. This time, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
Shopko is also classic Wisco. Buy shoes, nailpolish, magazines, and twinkies. They have everything.
We saw this barn on the way up to Green Bay, but got the picture on the way back. So nice to see this message: Thank you Farmers.
Columbus, Wisconsin is home to a Louis Sullivan Bank. I've seen it before, and can't resist taking another look.
Just look at the details. Amazing, amazing and it's just concrete.
Louis Sullivan is considered by some as the father of the skyscraper. Frank Lloyd Wright worked for him in Chicago. It's interesting to see the integration of the red brick with the concrete.
Here's the car in front of the bank. Nice.
Rolling right along, we've found an unusual color for a Wisconsin barn in grey.
Hard to see in this image, but we've reached Dickeyville Grotto. We visit it later in another blog entry.
Almost there...we've arrived at Potosi, also covered in a prior blog entry.
And the images end here. We've arrived in Cassville at Jen and Jon's and the adventures begin.
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