Trista and the flowers (Lily and Rose) picked us up from the airport in Rhinelander which is about 30 mins from where they lived. It was very exciting to finally meet!!! Trista was shaking like leaf by the time we finally got off the plane – Danielle was too tired to shake! When we got to their house we got settled in and had some lunch on their back deck. Tod came home for lunch and we gave them the few Australian gifts we had bought as a thank you for having us stay with them (so far Tod has been the only one game enough to have a piece of Vegemite toast. Trista has tasted a tiny dot of it but we have told her that doesn't count, lol). That afternoon we had a Nana Nap – we had been up for so long and were exhausted.
Lily 7 (almost!) and Rose 5
Trista and Lily
That night Trista and Tod had a party out on the their deck with friends and family. We had a great time meeting everyone and discussing the differences between our two countries. Danielle decided to walk straight into the CLOSED screen door on her way inside and preceded to bounce back a couple of feet to the shouts of 'Oooohhh's and Arrrrr's' much to her horror. Julian and Trista must have been the only people in attendance who did not witness this (much to their disappointment!) Danielle is supporting a slightly bruised nose. After everyone left Trista, Tod and the pair of us stayed up WAY too late talking (with the odd drink thrown it, lol) – we all paid for it the next day!
Back deck at the Tyler's
On Saturday the weather was pretty average (we had wear long pants and tops for the first time since being in the us). We went into town to check out the shops and have lunch. It is such a lovely town – heaps of character. We had lunch at a restaurant/bar with some live polka music. It was really good – the famous local (Skip Wagner) even played two trumpets at once! There were framed old record covers all over the walls – the décor was so cool. Julian could have sat here all day drinking beer :-)
BBT's
That night we went out to dinner to an Italian restaurant in town (once again live music). It was beautiful (once again the décor was really cool) but we all really struggled after our first big night, lol, and went home for an early night.
On Sunday we went out on a pontoon boat that their friends Kim and Matt owned. Tod had to work so wasn't able to meet us until later in the day. We cruised around on the lakes for ages drinking cocktails, talking and listening to music. It was beautiful and soooo relaxing. Poor Lily was sick all day with a stomach upset (we believe Julian passed on his New York bug!) and mostly slept on the boat. Julian on the other hand was firing on all cylinders. Poor Kim had lost her iPod and we spent some time where they dock their boat looking in the water and under the dock to no avail. The radio station played lots of good music though – AC/DC being one of the first numbers we listened to. Kim told us she had organised it just for us. Actually, nobody here even knows that they are an Australian band (along with Little River Band – they try to claim all our good bands, lol)
Kim - our hostess/2nd mate/entertainment director/DJ/barmaid plus more :-)
Matt and Julian
Trista and Danielle - penpals from forever! Thanks Mr Dunlop and Mr Bates :-)
Rose and Kim
Lily and Kim
A boat house for the mega rich – you can imagine their actual house!
We stopped at a landing that is on a golf course. Every Sunday in the summer they have live music, cheap drinks and food. We had a great time – just a fantastic day all round! Good old northern hospitality! :-) Good people watching all round, lol.
Us and the flowers at The Deck
The Deck
The view from The Deck
That night we thought we would have an early night after such a big day but before we knew it was once again the early hours of the morning. Tod was trying desperately to catch up on hours of drinking and is solely to blame for the turn of events. The quote of the night (to become the quote of the trip) was 'Just one more'. We laughed so much. Trista wrote down a list of saying's we use in Australia with the US equivalent and even noted down some of Julian and Tod's conversation. She will post some of it here at some stage. Tod couldn't quiet get the Aussie accent down on 'Bloody wanka' so put on a pommie accent – tooooo funny. We were all in stitches. Julian was going to bed a number of times before declaring “OK, just one more”. He finally got there 3.5 hours later, lol.
Monday was Tod's birthday and Julian went out fishing with him and Matt. They had a great day out on the lakes and caught a couple of fish and a couple more beers. Julian sure wishes he was back at work – NOT, lol. We gave Tod some Australian fishing lures for his birthday and he got a good laugh at some of their names – for example, 'The Stiffy – we've been soft for too long' and 'The Bloody Ripper'.
Julian's catch of the day
Trista, her mum Jo, her girls and I went to a flea market and then met up with Mr Bates and his wife for lunch. Mr Bates was the teacher that we had in Australia when our teacher Mr Dunlop went over to Eagle River (teacher exchange program) - the whole reason Trista and I became penpals. It was interesting to share memories from that time – he certainly saw things (as a teacher) differently than I did (as a student) lol. We got caught up on a few different teachers and students – he had his yearbook with him which was fun to look through.
Monday night we had a birthday celebration for Tod and Lily (her birthday is on Tuesday). We had pizza and cake and Jo came over.
Happy birthday Tod and Lily
Tod
Jo
Trista is just how I imagined and hasn't delivered any nasty surprises, lol. I love her but I swear she is trying to kill me (actually, that may be Tod's fault, lol). Tod is also wonderful (so funny!) and their girls are just adorable. They are so well behaved and polite. A joy to be around!
Lily and Rose
Eagle River and the surrounding area is stunning – we have never been anywhere quite so beautiful. You really have to be hear to appreciate how wonderful it is. You sit out on Trista and Tod's back deck and you are surrounded by nature – so peaceful. We can't thank Trista and Tod, their girls and their family and friends enough for everything they have done for us and welcoming into their homes and town with open arms, lots of hugs, laughs and the odd drink or two :-) It has been an unbelievable time up here in the Northwoods of WI!
Tod and Trista's house
Our final installation from Eagle River soon – it's also cocktail time and our last night :-(
Danielle and Julian xxx
2 comments:
See you both Sunday Morning:)
Looks like you had a fantastic time there!
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