Friday, June 01, 2007

Day 11: Another GREAT day at the Cedar Creek RV Owners Rally!!!!!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!! What a GORGEOUS morning here in southern Wisconsin!!!!! If you haven’t been to the Wisconsin Dells area…….plan a trip up here. Oh yeah……it is a touristy trappy area with all the money making establishments that I discussed in a previous posting, but……..it is also a very attractive area, at least at this time of the year.

This morning we HAD to arise much earlier than we normally have been doing: I got up at 6:30 and the 1st Lady was up and going by 7am. WHY???? Well…..we were going with the Club members to the Cass Valley Cheese Factory…..about 25 miles west of here…..and we had to leave by 8:45 this morning.

It looked like a parade of diesel pickup trucks as we pulled out of the cg….and headed up the highway. Can’t imagine what the sound must have been with all of us in our noisy diesels!!!!!! Nevertheless…..it was a very, very pretty trip through the green fields and hills of this part of Wisconsin…….lots of dairy farms with those wonderfully marked black and white cows! I thoroughly enjoyed the drive…..sooooooo clean…….sooooo neat……and everything arranged in it’s proper place on the various farms. Reminded me a lot of the Amish area of PA!!!!

Arriving at the Cheese Factory…….it turned out to be a very small operation, HOWEVER…..they have won many blue ribbons and other awards for their outstanding cheeses here in Wisconsin and around the country. We had to be split into two groups and our group watched and listened to the “worker” as she explained how the wheels of cheddar cheese were dipped into the hot wax…..each color of wax for the different ages of the cheese wheels. Lots of information that I was not aware of and all pertaining to making the delicious cheeses which they sell.

From the this room we progressed to the front of the “factory” and watched from behind glass the processes taking place of making the cheddar cheeses, along with making the cheese curds which we all loved so much. After the tour and video presentation, we then had the opportunity to taste the various cheeses….whichever kinds we desired….and the to purchase them if we like them…..and of course, we did!!! The 1st Lady and I bought over $30 worth of cheese…….!!!!! I even bought a very good Garlic Cheddar Cheese block.

We then returned to Country Roads RV Park in Lake Delton….where all of our rigs were sitting and waiting very patiently for our return. This campground…….I haven’t discussed it, but I think it is a very clean and well maintained park! A bit of difference from others……the sites are all arranged in rows and the rows are circular….going around the cg and the various buildings which sit in the middle of the cg. It has a nice pool, laundry, and a great little porch on which to sit and rock in their rocking chairs.

BUT……their free Wifi sucks!!!!! It does not reach out nearly far enough to the various sites…..and if there is an RV between your rig and the main building……you cannot get the internet access!!!! This could be improved with better antennas, etc., etc. and SHOULD be addressed by the the owners/managers of the RV Park. Every night I have had to carry my little lappie down to the benches outside the restroom area so that I could get online to post on this blog of mine. With the large number of rigs that camp here…..not even including our many, many rigs here for the Rally……it wouldn’t take many $$ to get these improvements made. In this “day and age”……Wifi for all rigs in all parts of the park should be available!!!!!!!

This afternoon we just laid back and relaxed…..and visited with our Creeker friends. We then ALL left to go to the Paul Bunyan restaurant for a group dinner which is located in Lake Delton. Hmmmmmm……….how can I be diplomatic about the quality of the food???? It is a family style restaurant……with slaw, bread, coffee/water, applesauce all on the tables for 8 when we arrived. Then came the fried cod, the fried chicken, and the pasta with tomato/meat sauce……all served on large platters and refilled frequently. The fish was just not up to par…..the fried fish coating slipped off of the meat and left a rather slick filet of fish with not much flavor. The chicken was not too bad….however, the 1st Lady’s chicken was not cooked properly and was actually bloody in the center of the breast that she was trying to eat…….semi-raw chicken is not something that should be served to anyone! Being a fish lover…..I was very disappointed in the quality of the fish served here. Perhaps I am just used to the wonderful fried catfish that we eat frequently in Missouri!!! The flavor of the cod was just……well…..just barely any flavor at all! The fish was…as I said….just slick with the coating falling off of the meat on each piece.
Dessert was a piece of Wal-Mart type cake that had been refrigerated and not allowed to come up to room temperature……..not very good, at all! The service was swift, friendly, and more than adequate……a plus for this restaurant!!!! On a scale of 1-10.….I would have to rate this restaurant at a 3-. Not a good rating…..but there are many, many other restaurants of all kinds here in the Dells area…..and with competition everywhere, they should have made a better presentation of quality foods!

Returning to the Country Roads RV Park with friends of ours from northern Illinois….Jim and Judy(we visited them while we were all in Arizona last winter)…..we took a walk around the park….and found ourselves at the rv of our good friends…Jim and Sherry. What a great couple…….and what a great time we ALWAYS have when we are with them!!!!!!! They only live a little over an hour from us in Missouri…..and we MUST get together more often once we return to our stick and brick!!!!!!

And soooooo, another day has passed on our trip to the International Cedar Creek RV Owners Club Rally!!! Another GREAT day!!!! These Creeker friends are fast becoming just like a family to us. Being with friends/family makes the days wonderful…..and……

Life is GREAT…..and I hope it is for all of you, also!!! (Doug/Jaunita….come over!)

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