RELAXING IN HODAG COUNTRY

Rhinelander, WI

(August 2011)

The picturesque view from our deck

I had roughly five full days in Wisconsin, and we all wanted to make the most of it. 

My mother, in her excitement at having all her kids home at the same time, decided to celebrate by hosting a giant family barbecue on my first day back, which meant we were put to work the minute we woke up Saturday morning.

I awoke relatively early—one of the first out of bed—and started unpacking all the gifts I had brought. Once the gifts were removed, I practically had an empty suitcase. 

My mom and I ventured into town (we live about 10 miles outside of town, surrounded by the woods) to do some last minute shopping for the cookout. We also made a stop at Kids Korner Pizza, my favorite stop for fresh cheese curds. I had to stock up now that I had an empty suitcase! I also picked up some tomato-basil cheddar cheese to try, and it ended up being one of my favorite purchases. Delicious! (I love it so much that my mother just recently sent another pound of it my way. Yay!)

Once we got back home it was time to prep for the cookout. The vegetables were cut up, the dips made, the chips brought out, the hamburger patties made, the brats were boiling, and the beverages were on ice in the coolers.

Second only to cheese curds, one of my favorite Wisconsin foods is beer-boiled brats. Trust me; they are delicious.

I remember years ago, at a friend’s cookout, she insisted I do my beer-boiled brats, but when I got there, a guy manning the grill, thinking he knew best what to do with all the meat, opened up the brats and went to put them on the grill. I immediately took them back and said I had to work my magic; he looked at me skeptically before handing back the brats. After I did my work,  he tried one, apologized to me for thinking he knew best, and said I needed to come to his next cookout. That’s right, folks. They are that good.

My dad grilling up the brats

BEER BOILED BRATS

Ingredients

Brats

1 can or bottle of beer (I like to use American beer)

One large onion

Water

Large pot

Chop up the onion into big slices. Fill a large pot with onion, water, and beer, with enough room to add the brats so they won’t overflow the pot. 

Boil the brats in this mixture for about 10-15 minutes. Cook on the grill.

After cooking the brats on the grill, you can put them back in the onion, water, beer mixture to retain heat and moisture. If you intend to do this, I recommend boiling them in water first to cook them a bit, rinse out the pot, and then boil them in the onion, water, beer mixture for 10-15 minutes. That way you aren’t putting cooked meat into a raw meat solution.

The new siding

This cookout was a good excuse for a number of things: 1. We would be able to celebrate four of the little kids’ birthdays, 2. My parents could show off their brand new kitchen and the new siding my Dad has been putting on the house, 3. It provided for a really big family reunion. For the first time in a long time, every single one of my aunts and uncles on both sides of the family would be together. I can’t even remember the last time that happened. It was really great! Some of my aunts I hadn’t seen in over ten years. Not many of my paternal-side cousins were able to come to the cookout, but 13 of the 17 cousins on my maternal-side were able to make the trek. What a turnout! 

My immediate family

The cousins on my mom's side of the family

My mom's family

My dad's family

Tons of people started showing up, and my dad started cooking. Unfortunately, it kept raining off and on throughout the day, so we were forced to pack ourselves onto the covered deck or go inside to escape the rain, repeatedly. The little kids had a blast, though. Rain won’t deter them!

We took tons of family photos, and as the sun began to set, we started up the bonfire, grabbed the S’mores ingredients, and started roasting marshmallows.

The fog rolling in

Time for S'mores!

By the time the last family member left, we were all so tuckered out that we practically fell asleep on our feet, but Josh and I stayed up a little later to continue chatting, as he would be leaving for the airport very early in the morning.

We woke up the following morning, and my brother was already gone. My dad’s mom and all his siblings stopped over for some breakfast before they hit the road back to the Sheboygan, WI, area, so my mom whipped up a sweet batch of monkeybread. If you would like a recipe, click here.

Monkeybread

My sister’s goal had been to go swimming every day they were in Wisconsin (when you live in Alaska, swimming in the freezing cold lakes is a bit out of the question), but, unfortunately, the temperature was a bit too chilly to spend it at the lake. But it wasn’t too chilly to play in the sprinkler and to try to teach my nephew how to use a squirt gun! 

After we all got cleaned up, we had Jackson’s official family birthday party, and he opened up his gifts. I’m proud to say I had the favorite gift of all. While at the Milwaukee airport I found an airplane that lit up and made noises that sounded like the plane was taking off and landing. It was his go-to toy of choice for the rest of my stay in Wisconsin. Even during nap time we could hear the plane taking off and landing on a continuous basis through the baby monitor until the little pilot finally fell asleep.

Best. Toy. Ever.

The next day the temperature warmed up a little bit, so we went over to my aunt and uncle’s cabin on a lake. I learned firsthand that my nephew is a bit of a baby about getting dunked under water, but he has no problem with pushing me under the water. In fact, he thought it was pretty funny. We wrapped up the afternoon with some pizza by the dock and headed home for a relaxing evening. 

Jackson, Daddy, and Grandpa, after a boat ride around the lake

Jackson pouring water over me before pushing me under water

Colten with his Grandpa. Similar hairstyles...

Jackson with his Grandma, looking at the fish

On Tuesday, the temperature was, again, on the chilly side, so we headed over to the Newbold playground, almost right across the highway from our house. Rhinelander is split into townships, and we happen to live in the town of Newbold. We grew up going to Newbold Elementary School, but years ago the school closed its doors due to dwindling enrollment. The playground equipment was donated to the town of Newbold, and a beautiful playground was built right next to the Newbold fire department, just down the road from the school.

My sister and brother-in-law loaded the kids into the truck, my dad hopped on his bike, and my mom and I walked over to the playground. While my parents had fun playing with Jackson on the slide and the swings, my sister, brother-in-law, and I decided to take Colten for a walk down the gorgeous road, as it’s surrounded by lush forests and rivers. By the time we got back, Jackson had just a little bit of play left in him, and then we headed home.

On our walk

Jackson, contemplating life with Daddy

Later that night, while Jackson cozied up to my mom with his cartoons, my dad, sis, bro-in-law, and I headed in to Dairy Queen so we could get Blizzards. Living in New York City, there are no Dairy Queens, and I am always craving a Blizzard, so it’s a requirement to get one when I go home. After the Blizzard, I met up with my oldest friend, Jami, and her beau for a quick drink and to catch up. I say she is my oldest friend because our parents met in Lamaze class-- we consider each other womb buddies. We had a great night playing catch up with each other’s lives.

The next day marked my last day in Wisconsin. We headed back over to the cabin for some more swimming, stopping first at Culver’s for lunch and another of my requirements: deep fried cheese curds.

After a quick swim, we headed home, and I packed up my bags and headed to the airport. 

I had five short days but got my fill of family, brats, and cheese curds, to last until my next trip home. Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later...Just click your heels three times.

There’s no place like home.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Hodag Country, Rhinelander, WI

(August 2011)

There’s nothing quite as lovely as northern Wisconsin in late summer, other than the splendid colors of fall, and luckily for me, I was born and raised there. A week after I returned from Puerto Rico, I was boarding a plane on my way to my hometown for some family time.

Northern Wisconsin is home to fabulous glacier country, where thousands of years ago, glaciers crept through the land, creating hundreds of lakes and rolling hills, which are now surrounded by thousands of trees, giving it the nickname The Northwoods.

My family with the larger-than-life Hodag

I grew up in a small city called Rhinelander, home of the infamous Hodag, the mythical beast of northern Wisconsin, and by saying that those of us from Rhinelander are very proud of our Hodag would be an understatement. The tale states that the Hodag is approximately seven feet long and four feet high with green, scaly skin, large white horns, and white spikes traveling down its back. Its eyes glow red, and it has sharp, menacing fangs. Its favorite food is said to be the white bulldog.

The legends of the Hodag are many and date back to the late 19^th century, but two stories have stuck with me through the years. One states that it was folklore with the lumberjacks, a story they would tell around the campfire whenever a new member joined their ranks, and upon telling the story, a few men hiding in the woods would start making noises and rustling leaves in order to scare the new guys. Another states that a local lumberjack claimed to capture the Hodag in the woods, and he put it on display in a hooded cage as proof. Little more than the eyes and a silhouette could be seen, but people came from all over to see the creature, until scientists from the Smithsonian came to investigate. It was then revealed to be a hoax—the man had created a puppet that he would move intermittently in order scare the already nervous viewers.

Since that time, Rhinelander has adopted the hoax as a legend and the Hodag as a very auspicious mascot. I must admit, I am a very big fan of the Hodag and carry a lot of pride in my heart for it.

The Northwoods

My sister and her family, who currently live in Anchorage, Alaska, were coming down to Wisconsin to visit all the family in the “lower 48,” as the Alaskans call us, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet my newest little nephew, Colten. We were even able to convince my brother to take a break from his work in Idaho and fly in for the weekend, since very few of us had seen him in a few years. 

I took advantage of my office’s summer Friday hours and boarded a plane at LaGuardia airport in the late afternoon. Unfortunately for me, I got a middle seat between two dudes—not men; dudes—who insisted on eating up all the armrests, leaving me tucked tightly into my tiny seat, and the guy to my right had horrible gas the entire two hour flight. Let me tell you how much fun that was…*ahem*… We touched down in Milwaukee, where I had a layover, and I was finally able to breathe again.

It had been many years since I had visited the Milwaukee airport, and it had undergone quite a change! Before, I was limited to the one long hallway with a couple dozen gates, a Starbucks kiosk, a bar with a limited food menu, and a little store selling snacks and Wisconsin memorabilia. Now, they’ve expanded the terminal to a second level, brought in a new, local coffee kiosk, turned the bar into a nice, sit-down restaurant, and added a Johnny Rockets. It doesn’t sound like much, but try being isolated in a lonely, small terminal with your only real food option being unappetizing, pre-made sandwiches, and then tell me seeing a Johnny Rockets isn’t the slightest bit exciting…

I can usually tell the moment I’ve entered Wisconsin territory, as everyone and everything is decked out in Packers’ green and gold. For my foreign readers out there, the Green Bay Packers are the American football team representing the state of Wisconsin. Much like Rhinelander’s Hodag-pride, Packer-pride runs abundant throughout Wisconsin. Just sitting in the terminal, it was very evident I was back in Wisconsin, but I truly had an “I’m not in New York anymore” moment while I grabbed dinner at Johnny Rockets.

A small, rambunctious group sat at the table next to me, and I, to entertain myself, eavesdropped on their conversations, chuckling to myself over the little jokes and one-liners they would pull out for each other. When they were packing up and cleaning off their tables, I slipped into my own thoughts, making mental notes of the things I needed to do. A voice broke through my thoughts, and I heard, “Are you all right, honey?” I realized the question was directed at me, looked up, and saw the large black man from the group who had provided me much entertainment, looking at me with concern. Whenever I slip deep into thought I tend to look sad/mad/everything in between—it used to get me in trouble in college, as people who didn’t know me tended to believe I was an angry individual. I quickly assuaged his concerns by laughing and saying that I, in fact, was perfectly fine, just lost in my own to-do list. He told me he was about to sit down and talk it out with me, all the while laughing his boisterous, shoulder-shaking laugh. It brightened my day. Living in New York for over a decade, having a perfect stranger check in on you is a rarity.

The short flight to Rhinelander was uneventful, and before I knew it, I was touching down in my hometown. I grabbed my carry-on luggage from the rack beside the airplane (a small plane means no overhead storage), and, having no other luggage, proceeded to the exit, all the while looking for my family…but no one was to be found. I called my house, and my mom told me that my dad was on his way and most likely there already. I walked outside to see if he was waiting in the parking lot and ventured back inside to see if maybe I missed him in the waiting area. Confirming that I had definitely not seen him, I walked back outside to see my dad parking the car and walking towards the entrance.

I had fun ribbing him for being so late, since our house was ten minutes from the airport, and I had landed and de-boarded ten minutes prior to him driving up. He thought I had just landed since I was walking outside as he parked. I then regaled him with my outside-inside-outside story. He was amused. 

The whole family was up and awaiting my arrival in the kitchen, including my two nephews; Jackson, the two year old, was snacking on fruit, and his brother, Colten, almost four months old, was about to go to bed, but I got to squeeze him for the first time. That baby was HUGE! He was already almost 20lbs—not in an overweight way, but in a solid way. He was a strong little sucker, that’s for sure.

My brother, Josh, and I exchanged pleasantries, and by pleasantries I mean foul jokes at the other’s expense. Ah, it’s so nice to be around family. Unfortunately, his wife, Cindy, wasn’t able to make the trip, so we were both without our travel buddies. 

Finally, all home together

I checked the fridge and made sure it was fully stocked with squeaky cheese curds, a Wisconsin delicacy. My family had also saved me some fish from the Friday fish fry they had attended that night—Friday fish fries are very popular in Wisconsin. Basically, you venture out to a restaurant and eat endless amounts of fish. I also confirmed that we were well stocked on brats for our weekend cookout, because a cookout in Wisconsin would not be complete without beer-boiled brats.

While the rest of the family started getting ready for bed, Josh and I headed over to the computer so I could show him pictures of my trip to Egypt, followed by late night chatting as we tried to catch up in the limited time we had together.

Then, it was off to bed, as we had a busy day ahead of us with a giant family barbecue. Lots to be done!