July 10 — Chippewa Falls, WI

We spent a great night at Donna and Tuckerπs. Thanks for having us! In the morning we drove up the east side of Lake Winnebago to Sarahπs ancestral lands near New Holstein. Aunt Donna gave us a tour of the area known as the Holy Lands. The big discovery of the day is that Sarah has Jewish forbearers, and that she is related to the Kruegers. This seemed to answer many questions for us — mostly especially her love of bagels. We visited the graves of her great-grandparents, and grandparents and then had lunch at Rudyπs Diner, once owned by Great-Uncle Rudy and run by Sylvia and Fritz. After a delicious lunch of meatloaf, hamburgers and incredibly delicious pie, (butterscotch and rhubarb-apple), we headed west along highway 10. We soon got lost in an alphabet of county roads, and learned the lesson that it is hard to go cross-town in Wisconsin. In Osseo, Wisconsin we were pulled over by the local sheriff for not having a front plate. After kindly explaining that North Carolina does not have front plates, we wondered if we had been caught in a dragnet or if the Camper Van was being profiled. Big news of the day is, as we reached Chippewa Falls, Grey lost his first tooth! Hopefully the Tooth Fairy can find us.

Caption: The Grave of Sarahπs Great-Great Grandmother

Caption: Sarah and Aunt Donna at Rudyπs Diner

Caption: Grey eyes the pies at Rudyπs Diner with Donna and Tucker. Note the Muskegon Lake t-shirt, compliments of Char.

Caption: Setting up camp at the beautiful Lake Wissota State Park in Chippewa Falls, WI. Thanks for the Crocs, Julie! It was muddy!

Caption: Moments after the big event.