Wordless Wednesday

 

Birthday Celebration At The Zoo

 

We had a family day at Como Zoo to celebrate the August Birthdays (mine and Nick's), and just about everybody was able to go. We went on a Sunday, the weather was gorgeous, and there were a lot of people there. Little boy did well with no meltdowns. And, there were plenty of other toddler meltdowns to be seen! 😂 I think it helped to not have any big expectations for the day, a good thing to do when there's a toddler in attendance. 

We ended up getting a few snacks and drinks at one of the food vendors, and that was not a great experience. Maybe the staff were overwhelmed, but Nick and Mark waited close to half an hour for theirs, and when Bruce and I went to get our drinks at the unsupervised fountain drink dispenser, it was swarming with yellow jackets, and we had to dodge between them to fill our cups. Bruce said he wondered how they could even be allowed to operate.

Little boy posed by the Sparky the Seal statue.

Then, back here for sloppy joes. Jake grilled corn on the cob, and we had apple donuts for dessert that Katie brought. We were all so full, that we each only had half a donut. The 7Up lemon lime cake didn't get touched until later in the week by Bruce and me. And it was delicious. 💕

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Crystal Gayle

Bruce got us tickets to see Crystal Gayle on my birthday this year! I've loved Crystal Gayle since the late 1970's, and I have several of her albums. I'm even sure I've spent hours trying to sound just like her when she sings. 😂 Anyway, he saw that she was going to be performing at the St. Croix Casino Hertel (in Wisconsin), and asked me if I'd like to go. Oh, yeah.

It was a road trip adventure to get there, with downpour of rain and rainbows. Renee said that we should stop at Burnett Dairy for ice cream along the way ... well, maybe just a little something ...

Siren, Wisconsin is the closest town to the casino, so we booked a room for the night at The Lodge on Crooked Lake. We dropped off our things, and walked across the parking lot to eat supper at Adventure's. We ordered the cedar plank salmon, and teriyaki glazed chicken with wild rice, splitting them both between the two of us. The salmon was a little dry, but together they were a good combination.

Off to the show we went, which felt a little like being in the middle of nowhere. The casino seemed smaller than we imagined it would be, and then we saw people waiting in line down the hill from the parking lot. Was the show going to be outside? We also noticed that people were carrying camp chairs! Were we supposed to bring our own seats? I'm thinking that we must be a couple of city slickers, because that would never have crossed our minds. Once we were inside the gates, though, it was all okay when we saw the metal bleachers to sit on. We had seats close to the stage, and I even had a napkin from supper stashed in my purse that we could use to wipe the wet seats off with. I tell you, life is good!

Crystal Gayle is now in her seventies, but she still has her trademark long, black hair that almost touches the floor. She's the youngest sister of Loretta Lynn, and her other sister, Peggy Sue, sang backup with her. At first it was a little disorienting to see her look different than the way I remembered her, but as the show went on, I was more and more impressed with how she can tour and perform like she does for someone in her seventies. And, Peggy Sue is almost eighty!

It was fun to people watch, it only rained on us once briefly, and then there was another rainbow to see.

I get tired of all the white and beige that so many places seem to have, but The Lodge had color and personality. There was a breakfast, not a fancy one, but it was just fine. Then we packed up and drove home. 

The next day was another birthday celebration with the family to the Zoo, but more about that later.