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Showing posts from July, 2012

Squeaky Cheese and Other Such Wisconsin Things

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Once upon a time on a very hot and humid planet, I learned about squeaky cheese. I have now been to Planet Wisconsin. And yes, cheese curds do squeak when you eat them – not in a mouse “eek” way, but a sound they make against your teeth. It’s a little weird, honestly. When I told people I was spending a week in Wisconsin, they invariably asked “Why?” I told them I wanted to throw cheese curds at giant mosquitoes.I expected the cheese curds to be more like cottage cheese, which would have been quite a messy way to distract bugs. And I expected the mosquitoes to live up to “Wisconsin State Bird” status I’d been promised. The mosquitoes were completely overrated. I didn’t need a tennis racket to fend off the little vampires after all. Although both my grandparents were born, raised, and met in Wisconsin, I’d never been before. But the reason for this trip was joining the Tall Guy to visit his family.

Two Wheeling: Feather River Canyon

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Feather River Canyon. Cars above train above river. Destination: Quincy, California Mileage: Approx 500 round trip Food & lodging notes here... I'd been hearing about last year's Quincy trip ever since the minute everyone got back. So when they posted it to the Meetup schedule waaaaaaaay back last winter, it was a quick click click click, sign me up! Day 1: Ugly Fish & Pretty Rivers Route: Quincy via the Delta and Feather River Canyon The morning started with 50+ of us descending upon on an unsuspecting Livermore Starbucks from random bay area points for pre-ride caffeinating and safety talking. It's a funny thing, when that many motorcycles show up in a suburban strip mall, the coffee sales go up but the minivans seem to scatter. Go figure. We staged in four groups, each with a lead rider and a sweep rider. We're big on safety and small on egos. It's safer, less stressful, and therefore more fun. As for the sweeps, it's a bit like the

Quincy Trip Food & Lodging: The Good, The Bad, and the OMG!

In this post find out about food and lodging from our Feather River Weekend trip... Natomas Food: Virgin Sturgeon Quincy Food: Pangea Cafe and Pub, Courthouse Cafe, Cafe Le Coq, Morning Thunder Cafe Lodging: Spanish Creek Motel, Ada's Place Penryn Food: Cattle Baron's Click here to get the story about the trip. FOOOOD! Virgin Sturgeon   Natomas, California Right on the river, lots of parking, and very casual. They knew we were coming, so they were prepared for enough that 50 people in jeans and leather jackets didn't throw them for a loop. The pulled pork sandwich was great. No fries on the menu because the restaurant is actually on a houseboat -- no fryers on floaters. Learned something new on that one.