Madeline Island Pt. II - Boat Tour, La Pointe, WI

Time for the boat tour!!! For a relatively modest amount of money, you can find yourself on a 2.5 hour tour of some of the islands most interesting history, lighthouses, and ship wrecks. Oh yeah, plus the rocks... which means the Brownstone cut out of the islands to make some of the largest buildings in Chicago, at the time.

Let's start at the dock with the view of the boat...

And now for some of the sights along the rather fun route they've developed for this tour...

" 'Merica! "

These are the shots of the "famous" brownstone. It was placed there during the Ice Age from compacted sediments. At one time, Ashland WI was the 2nd busiest port on the Great Lakes, only deferring to Chicago, due to their exporting of all the brownstone. It was accessible on the islands, and could also be loaded onto ships and transported to places like Chicago with much less effort than other stone alternatives. Chicagoans will also know that this term, Brownstone, is what people call many of the two-family structures built in many of the city's neighborhoods.

One of the nice little surprises on the tour was that the boat was equipped with two viewing galleries, or wells, that allowed the folks to peer right into the depths. This came in very handy as we went over wrecks just below the water's surface. You got to literally see the old wooden sunken ships. Kind of cool really...

It seems one can also try their hand at some serious fishing off this island area - get yourself strapped in real good, and wear a windproof jacket. 

This touring company, Apostle Island Cruises, is right near the docks in downtown Bayfield. They offer other types of tours, one going as long as three hours. I would recommend them without hesitation. They were also selling out the boats to a max of 50% capacity, though mine was much less full than that even. Deckhands were also wiping down common touch points multiple times during the tours.

Madeline Island Pt. I - Ferry Me, La Pointe, WI

It only took about 5 years, but I finally got back to The Mad Isle! It's the largest island in the Apostle Island chain, and the only one not now owened by the US Government (there were too many private residences on it to afford the buy-back when they converted the island chain to a federal area).

For me, some of the most fun of this trip is getting to this island, because... it's by ferry! It was great to pull up and get across within a very reasonable amount of time. I left the car on the island for my stay and simply walked back to the very for a day-trip back in Bayfield.

See how the get across part works here...

This is not my set-up, but they take all manner of vehicles, big & small...

They don't usually waste space on these ferry trips, so it fills up!

More to come from the Island - including a peek at the boat tour I took part in, plus a real wacky night spot.

Past is Present

What I've quoted below is not a cry for help or being posted for any particular reason other than I saw this in a recent book I read and it resonated with me for a variety of reasons (ask me if you want to know more). It could also be timely with what has happened to and is happening to many people & families here in 2020. 

As Faulkner said: “The past is never dead. It's not even the past.” Every little thing that a human being has experienced comes with them into the present. Every experience influences every choice - and when it comes to traumatic experiences, the past takes up almost all of the available space.

- The Hypnotist, Lars Kepler

Pandemic Positives, Global Pandemic 2020

I wanted to think about positives coming out of this "interesting situation" we were all faced with, so I posted the image below on Instagram and waited for some replies. I then collated those replies, added my own, and made the list below.

Pandemic Positives -

- Better understanding of history - As I walked around my relatively good-sized town that was pretty much deserted during this pandemic, I couldn't help but think about how it must have been during World Wars around the world. So quiet, kind of eerie, but also with others walking around with you (though you didn't know them and you didn't talk to them). I think it gave me a better appreciation for the generations before us that simply "stayed calm & carried on" during those incredibly trying times (at home and abroad).

- Increased appreciation of/for teachers - I mean, having your kids at home all day (while many parents were also working from home), must be a very good way to see that being a teacher is a really hard job. I wonder if salaries would increase after this is all over.

- Reduced global emissions - with people not needing to take their kids to school or get to the office, the emissions around the globe basically plummeted. Nature started to creep back stronger than ever, and quickly. It gave many of us a real glimpse into what the world might look like without all the daily pollution.

- Increased appreciation for outdoors & sunshine - something about being cooped up most of the day is making any chance to be outside that much sweeter. It also seems like people are even planning their day around when they get to go outside.

- Renewed connections - I think many of us might have reached out to people we might not talk with all too often, but this pandemic seemed to make it much easier drop someone a note and check-in. I've reached out to family, friends, and former coworkers in ~6 states so far. Everyone does seem to be staying safe.

- Saving money - not driving to work, school, errands, etc. Not paying for gas. Not buying those METRA or CTA passes. Not much going out for entertainment or restaurants either. No real reason or way to even go window shopping, which can often turn into real shopping. Maybe a bit more beer and streaming content subscriptions though. Still, I think there's no doubt that we spend less when we stay home all day, everyday. And more on the gas point, not only are most people driving much less, but the price of gas has also dropped significantly, so when you do need to refill, it's costing less. Thank you, Coronavirus?

- Increased appreciation for family & friends - I've heard during all this "fun", the term "social distancing" should actually be rebranded "physical distancing". The physical distance is what keeps one safer, and the social aspects of many relationships have actually increased during this pandemic. It's kind of nice to be reminded how many people are keeping up on your own daily life and wondering how you're doing.

- Increased dating app activity - let's be honest, if you were single during this, you had copious amounts of time (and possibly even if not single). So, it was clear that the amount of traffic on dating sites went up. It's not exactly super helpful, since you weren't really supposed to be meeting new people, but I suppose it could lead to some interesting meet-ups and connections once the restrictions on our personal movements are lifted. I'll leave this as, "TBD".

Jessica Vosk @ The Cabaret, Indianapolis, IN

Confession - I didn't know who Jessica Vosk is when I decided to attend her event at Indianapolis' The Cabaret. I will say, I reviewed her info from the Cabaret's website sometime this winter and marked her on my calendar as someone I thought I would like - cool story, relatively young, and potentially full of energy. I didn't know her whole life story, never heard her sing, never heard her sing in shows she's know for, didn't know her famous roles, didn't know she used to work on Wall Street and didn't know she started this career later than most. It turns out, sometimes you just go with your gut and it works out amazingly.

I've heard comments since the show and believe I know quality performances when I see them - Jessica Vosk's performance was above par, super high-quality, and something I will not soon forget, especially since you can download her "cabaret set" on Apple Music (just search her name).

Rather than go through each little song and change in the show, I will leave it simply with a few thoughts - she's a pro. She started out singing her opening number from the back of the audience, walking up through the crowd, saying "hello" to some lucky folks, then let a young girl in the audience sing a line of the song - this young girl knocked it out too, and the crowd went nuts. The show was kind of like that the whole time. Standard cabaret fare with such a fresh spin, and an inclusion of others and her own stories, that it is special. Jessica is very very accomplished as a singer of this genre, as is her support crew (I mean, they literally all are professionals).

The Cabaret was also new to me and I could not have been more impressed with how fancy it all is, yet approachable at the same time. Anyone can come and enjoy the show. Really nice space inside, excellent service & cocktails (didn't try any eats there yet), great staff, even an amazing meet & greet after for a select group of donors and fans.

And no, they asked us not to be on our phones taking videos or pics during the performance, so I acquiesced. I don't have any images of her or her crew from the performance. Might be my only regret.

At the end of the evening, we went into their small gallery space for the meet & greet and I was thrilled again by many large works of art known as "paper cuts". These are really large format, esp for paper. Maybe 5-8' in height and so delicate, so intricate, we cringed any time someone walked near them or brushed up against them. Beautiful stuff to cap off the night...

(for some reference on size, that's the counter of a bar behind this work)

Now, Jessica was so busy with people pressing up to see her at the meet & greet that we didn't actually get to talk to her or take a pic, but it's ok. She'd given us so much of herself already that night, that we were fine letting her end her night and head back to the hotel. 

If you can't tell, I will hope to be back to the Indy Cabaret any chance I get. It promises to be a great night with fun friends. Does it have to be Jessica Vosk? Mmmm, not really, but that sure would be fine with me.

Thoughts on IG, Global Pandemic 2020

In the spring of 2020, the world was faced with a new enemy that had at least two names - corona virus & COVID-19. During this time, many were told by their governments to practice "social distancing" and to "shelter-in-place", which means don't interact with others and stay home pretty much all the time.

I took to Instagram as a way to "talk" a little during my day. Some of these are posted below. Perhaps they show how someone gets over the course of 7-21 days "in-place".

If you'd like to see the results of that final image, head over to the next pandemic post on this blog.

2019/20 Illini Men’s Basketball - Final Home Game, Champaign, IL

Though I didn't know it at the time, I had a pretty major weekend very near the start of all the pandemic stuff. I traveled to C-U Friday night, which was Unofficial St. Pat's, then to Indy for one night to visit their cabaret. pretty sweet little weekend, with a drive back to IL on Sunday, as planned. BUT, during the trip, I was offered a ticket at the last Illini Men's basketball game on Sunday night. Hmmmm. What to do, what to do...

I couldn't pass that up! It did mean I would leave after the game and drive back to Chicagoland, but that's only a 2.5 hour drive at that time of night.

So, I did what any true Orange & Blue would do, I accepted the ticket and went to the game. Turns out it was a pretty good one to attend - the last Illini home game for the season and, I'm pretty sure, the last game the Illini men played for the entire season. They beat Purdue in a tight little battle. Even the last seconds were pretty nail-biting.

The stadium had been refreshed since my undergrad and grad days in C-U, so it was nice to see this new space and also see they have the same level of excitement as we did back in the early 2000's.

While our seats were pretty high up, we walked down near the floor after the game, to see what we could see...

They now have a small museum in the ground level of the stadium too. Pretty cool to spend some time here before or after you head to your seats for the games...