Pictures from the Midwest

Bob and I both enjoy getting back to the Midwest. We like to see the corn and the fields that stretch out for miles over flat land, enjoy the slower pace of life, and feel the humidity. Just kidding about the humidity!

A few weeks ago we enjoyed a brief trip to the Midwest. Our first stop was Wrigley Field, which Bob has always wanted to visit. It was raining all morning the day of the game, and we feared the game would be rained out. Fortunately, the sun came out, and in the midst of the 2 hour rain delay we got to watch the elaborate system the Cubs have for draining the tarp on the infield and mopping up the outfield. I don't think the Dodgers have that system quite so perfected! :)

During the rain delay, in our (covered!) seats

Then, we went up to the Wisconsin Dells for the weekend with the Baughman clan. If you are not from the Midwest, you may not have heard of the Wisconsin Dells, but we learned that it has been a (local) tourist destination since the 1860's! One of the main attractions is the water sports and recreation around Lake Delton, which completely drained last year when a deluge of rain caused a retaining wall to burst. With some help from the government and the Army core of Engineers, they have made a remarkable recovery and the lake is now back to its former levels after just 1 year. That meant that we could ride the Wisconsin Ducks! The Ducks are WWII amphibious vehicles, and today give a brief tour of the land, river, and lake around the Wisconsin Dells.
Since we are Americans, a lake is not good enough for us, so there are a plethora of water parks around the Wisconsin Dells. (We seem to want everything bigger and faster, right?) We enjoyed swimming with cousins and trying out some of the water slides!

We really savored the opportunity to see family and friends, and enjoyed some of the classic midwestern aspects of life, like picking rubarb, jogging in the wind and the humidity, and watching Shakespeare! :)

Bob got to pick and cut rubarb from my parents yard

Our picnic before the play at the Bloomington Shakespeare Festival