Demon Dawg

This is one terrified poodle coming down a slide for the first time ever. This event occurred on the way back from Sheboygan, Wisconsin where we were for three days preceding Labor Day. This same poodle (Saffron by name, and no, I did not pick the name) hates traveling in cars, turning into a quivering, vibrating, uber-panter regardless if she is being held, in her travel crate, or bouncing around in the car. Therefore, stops are needed to allow her to stop oscillating at a frequency that will eventually create a small wormhole and she will disappear into the void.

We found a small municipal park in one small town we passed through that had these slides and Saffron followed Risa up the steps and by doing so, doomed herself to this traumatic form of returning to the ground. Though the dawg did not see the humor in it, the experience had us two humans laughing hysterically. Long hours on the road will do that to you.

The drive between Duluth and Sheboygan is seven hours long on a good day, traveling the main roads and not dilly-dallying along. On the way down, Risa demanded that we get there as fast as possible to hook up with one of her girlfriends and in return, she said that I could pick the route on the way home. We subsequently meandered a bit on the way home, traveling down some very picturesque two-lanes, winding our way through some of the most beautiful forests of northern Wisconsin. The only problem was that I turned a seven hour drive into a ten hour drive that had everyone a little cranky towards the end. Saffron proceeded to sleep for two days.

The reason for the Sheboygan trip was to say goodbye to Risa's mom and step-dad as they prepare to travel to India for the next ten months. They have a house under construction up in the Himalayan foothills not too far from where the Dali Lama hangs out when not traveling.

While there (in Sheboyg) we dined out a lot, hung out in smoky bowling alleys where an exotic beer might be Leiney's Red, sailed on a three-masted schooner, went to Elkhart Lake and the Road America race track where we saw gazillions of Porches in full race condition, and sat in a deep (I mean WAY deep) couch in a funky wine bar drinking Mangotini's. All in all, a good time.


Here you can see a picture of the schooner we were on as it heads out to "sea" under full sails. It is a relatively new boat, built in 2000 that calls Milwaukee its home port. She sails the great lakes in the clement seasons and winters down in the Carribean. The crew is mostly students, retirees, and water-logged hippies who conduct learning experiences for land lubbers and do research on the health of the Great Lakes.

Now we are back in Duluth and taking care of business (you know, laundry, bills, grocery shopping, etc.). In two days, I leave again to do more sailing. This time it will be on a 40 footer out of Bayfield, WI. We will be tooling around the Apostle Islands for a little bit of R&R before winter sets in with all of its fury. The leaves are definitely turning.

On the health front, I still have the nagging cough which is due to the chemo drug I am taking (I am pretty sure), but given the choice of horking up a lung oyster or two or seeing the lymphoma come back, it is an easy choice.

That's all for now boys and girls. Take care.