Rain, a canoe and a random brewery

First it rained. It rained so much during the last week of May and the first week of June, that I almost had to cancel my canoe trip. Glad I didn't though. The Wisconsin River in southwest Wisconsin is usually a slow river, providing many sand bars to camp. The water was so high our three day, two night trip turned into a one night, two day trip due to lack of campsites.

Nick and I rented a canoe from Wisconsin River Outings in Boscobel, WI and they provided us with transportation upriver to our starting point. We started in Lone Rock and ended in Boscobel which was nice because our car was there and we did not have to have a shuttle back to our car. Our route was about 30 miles.

We camped up on this large sand dune which was the only spot to camp for miles. We caught a few fish, ate one of them for our afternoon snack and made camp. Of course we had some Oscar Blues Dale's Pale Ale to make our trip a little more enjoyable. This was the first time using my hammock and it was much more comfortable than the ground, though it did get quite a bit cooler than a the tent would have been. We cooked up some Chicken Breasts with Sauted Spring vegetables and inevitably a little sand to add to the texture.

On the way home, we stopped just west of Madison in Mt. Horeb. We were both getting hungry and you know those blue attractions signs on the highway that say 'Food'/ 'Gas' / 'Lodging'. Well one of them said The Grumpy Troll Brewery. Usually I do not get excited about these types of places along the highway, but this was different - it was really good. I highly recommend this brew pub and their beer battered fires.

Libertad

It was date night last night so I took Mrs. HappyMapper to Libertad, a new latin inspired restaurant in the North Shore's new hot spot - Skokie. I don't know what you think about when you hear the word Skokie, but dining mecca doesn't come to mind. Libertad will change that. As soon as we walked in we felt as if we in the city (Chicago that is). It is a small place with a big vibe. Cocktails were fantastic and were not your run of the mill standard. They had flair and spice not seen in many places and also make candied ginger as a component in some of the drinks. As we were leaving, it seemed as if everyone working there was our best friend - possibly our new neighborhood joint not in our neighborhood.

Our favorite dish:
Tilapia with mushrooms and Peruvian mash potatoes

Down the Crapper

I tried to keep up with blogging during my current schedule - work, grad school, family, and football but something had to give and it wasn't going to be football. So instead of dumping my random thoughts and weird happenings into this blog, I have been removing toilets after a little boy happened to flush a ball and a frog down, clogging the crapper.

I guess I have to look at the positive and be thankful that the crapper didn't overflow. Now I am back to blogging.

Fish Boils

Just got back from a week in Door County Wisconsin, staying just a stones throw south of Whitefish Dunes State Park. When I came to Door County, I had two things on my mind - beach and cherry pie. Little did I know that when I left, all I had was one thing on my mind - FISH BOILS. Better yet, I have the 'boil over' on my mind.

I shot this video while attending Pelletier's in Fish Creek.

Bear, Ninja, Cowboy

This week I attended my company's annual retreat at the Abbey Resort in Fontana, Wisconsin where leadership, creativity and team building were on the agenda. But the real story of the week was bear, ninja, cowboy - a full body version of rock, paper, scissors. Just remember:

Bear beats ninja
Ninja beats cowboy
Cowboy beats bear

Denver & Red Rocks

Went to Denver last weekend and enjoyed everything the area has to offer - music, beer and the outdoors. Saw OAR at Red Rocks, visited Oskar Blues brewery and took a hike at Castlewood Canyon State Park.

Adventures in Missouri - Garage Saling

The family and I just returned from a week long adventure in wilds of Missouri. After baking ourselves in the 100 degree heat in Lake of the Ozarks, home of Party Cove, we drove back to the flat lands of Illinois. We took the scenic route back, covering many rural communities and enjoying the rolling hills of good ole Missouri. If we hadn't taken this route, we would have never found these: Busch Bavarian beer sign and 2 two gallon Western Stoneware jugs.

 Pretty good score in the middle of nowhere!

And this wasn't the best part. After small talking with the guy putting on the garage sale, he found out that I was from Chicago. Well, lo and behold, his wife is from Illinois, so obviously we have something in common or must know the same people! So now he is yelling at her to tell him where she is from since he forgot, but she is ignoring him. Next thing you know he is telling me she is from mile marker 148! Where the hell is that dude?! Like I am supposed to know where mile marker 148 is.