One of the most beautiful spots that I have ever seen is just at the edge of the lake in Stone Lake, Wisconsin. It's up in the northwest part of the state about 90 miles north of Eau Claire and deep in the heart of G-d's country. My gentleman husband and his 6 siblings were lucky enough to grow up here as children, swimming and bathing in the lake, cooking hot dogs over campfires and picking berries fresh off the vines when they're oh so ripe and juicy. This is the view from the boat landing. The water is so clear you can see through it, and at this time of year, it's a little chilly.
During the first weekend in October each year the little town of Stone Lake, population a few hundred, grows exponentially to several thousand as it hosts the Stone Lake Cranberry Festival the quintessential festival of Wisconsin festivals.
It's a wonderful time, complete with a pancake breakfast at the Firehouse, where burly firemen serve up cranberry and potato pancakess, a parade, boxcar race, hundreds of crafters, delicious food, brats, ya hey, specialty wines and a pie and bake sale at the Lutheran church. I can personally attest to the deliciousness of the mixed berry pie which I savored with delight, every morsel, not a crumb left on my plate.
There are little shops in the town which I will elaborate on another time and plenty of things to keep a pastry girl busy for a few days. I spent a lot of time reading and a lot of time carrying a dead cell phone around with me. There's no reception in G-d's country for an ill fated Blackberry which upset me greatly for the first 24 hours. My husband diagnosed me with cellphone-aphobia for which there is no cure.
This type of disease has to be dealt with cold turkey, or with wild turkey whichever seems most appropriate at the time but since I'm a fan of neither I opted for a nice Riesling, and some veggie chips at the little wine shop, after which I purchased a few bottles of wine for home. My favorite was called 'Bitch Bubbly' a nice sparkling wine that I am looking forward to trying. I also purchased a Moscato D'Asti my favorite of the sweet wines and a Cranberry wine.
We talked alot, and walked a lot enjoyed the colors. The best part by far was my gentlemen husband, it was nice just to relax and spend time with him and he humored me in my quest for pie and coffee, bakeries and book stores.
There was sadness too, it's fall and in some respects things are coming to their final end and nothing reminds me more of that than falling leaves.
All the best,
Kate
No comments:
Post a Comment