For the first time ever, we're renting a cabin in the woods and staying for a week up north, near Minocqua. Today, I checked out the local site, minocqua.org, to get some info on what to do in the area.
You can see from the screen capture above that the only option on the page, really, is to go back. This does not bode well.
Actually, I'm eager to try my hand at relaxing. It's not something I've ever been very good at. I love to read but even then I usually like to cram it in when I can and it feels more like a quest than a mellow pastime.
I usually return from my vacations in need of serious rest for sore feet -- from endless wandering around cities -- and sleep. A typical vacation usually involves visits to art museums, cafes, restaurants, bookstores, gothic churches and the like. So, the prospect of a week in the woods seems daunting, but I'm keeping a positive attitude, ready to discover a new life of vacation leisure.
I had hoped that the UP and Hurley were close so that I could explore the mining history and the story of the northern Italians that arrived there to work a century ago. But it turns out that on the small roads up there, trips to Iron Mountain and Hurley are longer than I thought they'd be.
Folks tell me that Minocqua's downtown is sorta like the Dells, with taffy shops and bars. So, I decided to have a look at the town's tourism site.
If they can't recommend anything but going "back," presumably to whence I came, that can't be good news.
Luckily, I'll have my family with me, so regardless of whether or not the woods and lake can amuse me and keep me happy, I know they can.
But, seriously, if you've got some good suggestions, let me know, as I want to make the most of the trip (see? I just can't stop!). In the meantime, I've ordered the visitor's guide to the area.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
