We arrived in Hartford, WI in the early evening where my mom
awaited our arrival at my Aunt Helen and Uncle Karl’s home. The aroma of a home cooked dinner filled the
house and stepping in the door we were instantly “home”.
My mom is the 3rd of 4 girls in the Keys
family. Raised on a farm in Fond du Lac,
WI, they grew up with a mother who grew flowers in not only beds but in
fields. I remember going to Grandma’s house
to find her nearly hidden in the gladiolas.
Helen picked up that talent and has beautiful gardens surrounding the
house while birdfeeders attract all sorts of wonderful visitors.
Most of the next six nights we camped in the driveway just
outside the garage where their motor home resides just steps away from
continual special treats from fresh baked muffins in the morning to family
favorite apple raspberry pie. Friday night meant fish fry (it’s WISCONSIN, right?!) and we
did it right ordering all you can eat including fish, fries, potato pancakes, german
potato salad and cole slaw. Add that to
a wonderfully made old fashioned or two and you know you’re in Wisconsin for
sure!
Having spent the previous 3 ½ months with near daily
mountain hikes, Rob and I managed to a “balance the scales” (so to speak) with
hiking on the nearby Ice Age Trail that offered some gastric as well as energy
relief. We did different sections each
day to get our hiking “fix” with the Erratic Glacial Trail being a particular
favorite even offering some aerobic challenge.
Saturday we headed with mom in the RV up to Fond du Lac to
connect with the rest of the family. All
came out for a fantastic family barbeque with another Wisconsin standard,
brats, and all the fixin’s (we needed more food, right?!) We arrived early and cousin Midge and I got
to cooking up a feast as the family members arrived. By night’s end, we were 20 strong in number
and finished the evening watching a classic storm come in and put us to bed.
It was fun having Mom spend the night with us even if it was
in a parking lot on Main St! After a
noisy Saturday night on the main drag, we spent the next day helping Midge
around the house and in her garden before we walked up the street to Gilles’
Custard – an absolute MUST for any visit to Fond du Lac! My mom and dad met at Gilles’ where Mom was a
car hop and my history was made!
Needing to get back to Hartford for work on the RV in the
morning, we were back on the road. We
stopped to see Aunt Laurette on the way.
Her son Greg bought their family home where I remember picking
raspberries and riding horses as a child.
Laurette gave me a good ride on the tree swing while Greg showed Rob
their bee hives and sent us home with a quart of bee gold! Greg’s wife, Debby shared her special talent
on the harp and we left feeling richer in every way.
Back in Hartford with appointments for repair each day, just
being together was the order of business.
We shopped, we talked, we cooked, we ate. With our previous days’ bee encounter, we
thought it might be fun to visit the nearby Honey Museum. I love happening on unexpected
surprises! A quaint but determined
enterprise in the middle of nowhere, this little gem had fun, informative and
entertaining displays. Without going
into a full-on lesson in bees and honey, we came out not only more
knowledgeable but even inspired by these amazing creatures. 
After six days, it’s time for us all to get back to our own
business. Helen and Karl are off in their
camper headed for a big family wedding in Iowa, Mom is on to a special trip to
Germany with my sister and I have a date to sing with my gospel choir
Lowcountry Voices as they tour Toronto…and we’re on the road again!
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