Summer Solstice - 6/23

The summer solstice is important here because, being this far north and this close to the edge of the Central Time Zone, broad daylight comes somewhere between 4:00 and 4:30 in the morning. I'm hoping as the days get shorter it may stay dark until 5:00.


More of the same this week - free concerts and other community activities. We also moved our batch of wine from the bucket (primary fermenter) to a giant glass jug (secondary fermenter). There were three non-standard happenings this week. First, we lost water for about six hours one day. I suspected it would happen because a nearby restaurant had a sign saying they were opening late because the city was working on a water main. About an hour after we lost water our landlady knocked at the door to tell us we didn't have water and explain why. Another tenant had called her to complain.


"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was going to happen," she said. "The city didn't notify me. They knew the retail space on the ground floor was empty and they didn't realize people lived upstairs so they didn't leave a notice."


It seems at best we live in a building the city believes to be unoccupied. At worst it believes the building to be abandoned. 

My second activity was a search for a bar to have a quiet beer. The restaurant bars are always an option, but I wanted a place meeting my two criteria of cheap beer and a decent chance the bartender and I would be the only people in the place. From the exterior I identified five contenders, all occupying buildings between 100 and 150 years old that afforded little opportunity to tell what was inside without actually entering. I didn't want to go at night during what would be considered "prime-time" in a bar in case it was too rowdy and could actually pose a danger to newcomers from the wrong crowd. I don't know what my crowd is, but it's probably the wrong one. My plan was one beer per bar.

I started mid afternoon to maximize my chance of finding few other patrons and I had the foresight to use the bar farthest from the apartment as my starting point so I could just stagger home. Any fears for my safety were unfounded (as I knew they would be). One place did mimic a scene from the old west however. I entered a dimly lit bar with the bright sun behind me at the door making me only a dark silhouette to the people inside squinting from the intruding light. I heard talking and laughter as I turned the doorknob but all went silent as I went in. Every head turned toward me. For an instant I thought of saying, "Which one of you varmints shot my Pa?" I figured that would plant me firmly in the wrong crowd so I didn't.

The barmaid at another place said to come back a week from Saturday. They were having a birthday party for Whitey, one of their regulars. He was going to be 87. Whitey happened to come in while I was there. His drink and beer chaser were setting on the bar before he got halfway across the room. I was impressed both by the service and Whitey. I also won a free beer by matching a dice roll with the barmaid. This turned out to be my favorite place. Unfortunately it's also the second farthest from the apartment and at the top of a steep hill. We'll see just how dedicated I am.

We also went to the Giro d' Grafton. It is one leg of the Tour of America's Dairyland bicycle race. I'm not a big bike racing fan but I have lots of free time and Grafton is only about seven miles away. Also it's not like the Tour de France where they race 100 miles down a road. Here they keep circling a 0.8 mile loop through town. At the Tour de France a spectator waits two hours along a road to be able to say, "Here they come...There they go...Let's go home." In Grafton about every two and a half minutes I could say, "Here they come again."

The bike races were only my third favorite activity of the day. I found the four and five year olds racing big wheels to be more entertaining. I spotted several obvious strategic mistakes I could have helped parents with had they only asked. First, don't put your little girl out there in a dress. Even if they got the lead they completely lost their focus when the dress went billowing up over their heads. Second, wear a solid pair of sneakers. Every race the starter dropped the flag, little legs started churning, and flip-flops and sandals went flying through the air leaving a trail of lost footwear behind the racers. Someone in sneakers won every heat.

The highlight of the day was the adult tricycle races. Note this doesn't mean racing adult sized tricycles. These were adults on children's trikes. Terry wanted me to enter but I had three disadvantages. I'm old, I have long legs, and I have a big belly. I follow a strict three strikes and I'm out policy. It was exhausting just watching people pedal those bikes. I'm still seeking an athletic event designed for me.

An Uneventful Week - 6/15

Uneventful is pretty much what I was shooting for. We visited our bucket of wine to see how it was going. Terry looks much like a proud father at the window of a hospital nursery. Come to think of it the situations are pretty similar. They both involve new arrivals generating a lot of waste while all you can do is hope things work out OK.

We visited our first Wisconsin cheese factory. I briefly considered a cheese cowboy hat but thought better of it.

We went to the first of what will be many free concerts. The rock bands (like this one) always end up disappointed with the audience. Most people attending are either old geezers like us looking for free entertainment or couples passing the time while their kids work off energy in the nearby playground. Ultimately the young families leave early at their kid's bedtime and the geezers start to nod off - neither is a response the band was looking for.

Java Dock has become my coffee shop of choice. Some folks will realize how important this is. The upstairs room is usually not this empty. It was about 6:45pm and at 7 on Monday nights it's reserved for chess and Scrabble tournaments. My days playing games requiring that much thought are long gone so we left. If they ever have a Yahtzee night, I might consider it.

A three-masted schooner tied up in the harbor. Actually I have no idea what the true definition of a schooner is so it could be a sloop or a frigate. It could be a jet ski for all I know. I don't know who they were or what they were doing but I overheard they were just going to change crews and head back out.




A new city park opened about two blocks from us so I went to check it out. It's called Harborview Park. While you can see the harbor in the distance you have a much better view of a funeral home/crematorium and its associated parking lot. I noticed a 15' yellow circle in the driveway entrance. I didn't grasp it right away since it was upside down from my vantage point, but it was a giant, winking smiley face. I cropped and rotated it so you can see it better. I'm not sure what I would expect to greet me if I were pulling in for a funeral, but a smiley face would be pretty far down the list. The yellow face may be a custom somehow be related to Wisconsin cheddar cheese, but that's pure speculation on my part.

I'm not sure how often I'll be doing updates. You've pretty much seen what my life will be like for the next 2 1/2 months. Festival names and towns will change. Band names and venues will change. Other than that things will be about the same. I'll post some periodic updates, but I doubt they will be more than weekly at best.

Pirate Festival - 6/6

Port Washington's Pirate Festival (#2 in the festival hierarchy) was this weekend. I ran into my landlord during the week in a coffee shop and asked if she was going.

"Oh, no. We used to but it's gotten a little wild. With some of the costumes the women wear - well we have a 13 and 14-year old and they just don't need to see that."

My expectations soared. A Key West Fantasy Fest would be too much to hope for, but maybe it would compete with a good old-fashioned New Orleans Mardi Gras. As it turned out she had no need to worry. It was much like a Renaissance Fair along the shoreline - music, food, bands, stuff for sale, beer, shows, fireworks, and a lot of people who took their costumes WAY too seriously. I had a good time although I ate too much, drank too much, and the weather was less than cooperative. I've reached a point, though, where 9:30 is a late night so I couldn't get in too much trouble.

A pirate ship invaded the port with cannon fire. The militia responded with shore batteries and muskets.

 

 Anyone dressed like a pirate could participate in the Sunday parade.

Terry and Gary Gallo - 6/4

 Friday we started our batch of wine. Winemaking is a much easier process than I expected. It may be slightly more difficult if the first step involves someone pointing you toward a vineyard with grapes on vines, but when the first step is opening a box containing a plastic bag of juice and several packets labeled one through four, it's not that bad. We split the job up so I did anything involving strength and science while Terry handled adding ingredients and stirring. First  I transferred the bag of juice into the primary fermenter. You may notice the primary fermenter looks much like a big plastic bucket. My view of winemaking as an art form was fading fast.

 Terry successfully added "Packet 1" to water and did an admirable job blending the two together. We were well on our way.

With the able assistance of Jim, our trained professional, I checked the specific gravity which determines the alcohol percentage in the final product. It may look like I'm studying the results of a home pregnancy test but trust me, no urine was involved in the process. All of the temperature and other checks were exactly as planned. I have no idea what happens if they're not.
 

Terry added the yeast. I think we were up to "Packet 3" at this point. The yeast will deserve all the credit if this works out.

At this point most folks are done and come back in six to eight weeks to put the wine in bottles and slap some labels on. Being the hands-on people we are we plan on coming in periodically to do the intermediate steps including such precise tasks as transferring the wine from the primary to the secondary fermenter. That means siphoning it from the big bucket to a big bottle. There are other steps as well but by now my head was spinning with all the added information in my new life as a vintner.

Friday also marked the beginning of Pirate Festival. Several partiers stopped in the winery to get a head start.

Community Day - 5/30

Port Washington Community Day

Sunday was Community Day. Of the five warm-weather festivals in Port Washington, I would put this at number four. The town blocks the main street, vendors sell beer, wine, food, and anything else folks might buy, and various organizations publicize their presence. Terry spent time talking with someone who transferred to the area about ten years ago. He said, "With about three months of good weather, everyone takes every opportunity to get outside and do stuff. The winters are brutal." I can confirm everyone getting out in the summer, but I'll just take his word on the winters.

On the Fishing Boat

Several charter fishing boats gave short rides out into the lake so we took advantage of the opportunity. It was all I needed to quash any desire to rent a boat for a day. I love going out on the water but it doesn't take much time to satisfy the urge. From experience I also know the best boating is always on someone else's boat.





Entertainment included various bands and students from a dance studio. 
 

Hole in One Contest Across a Harbor Leg

Port Washington "Homeys"

First Brat of the Trip

 

We've started walking the Interurban Trail - a 30 mile paved path that was once a rail line running through the county. If we get really ambitious we'll walk the entire length but I'm not making any commitments. So far we managed two miles. Next we'll drive to where we stopped and do another two miles. Either that or I'll just get a beer instead. It's kind of a toss up.

Taste Test

A winery in town offers wine making classes. We signed up and begin on Friday. If all goes well we end up with 30 bottles. As preparation we bought bottles of three varieties and conducted our own blind taste test to decide what to make. We decided on a Washington Riesling. At least I think that's what it was. Things got a little fuzzy about half way through the test.