Wisconsin

Welcome to Wisconsin! Hey!


We tried to go to the Miller Brewery, but it was too late in the day. We'll come back tomorrow.


We were lucky enough to stay with our friend Tanya, who we last saw in South Africa during the World Cup. We were pretty excited to see her, even if it was just for a few hours.

We went to supper with my aunt, uncle and cousins. Zoe is about to leave for college, and Josh is about to start work with the YWCA. Hooray! We had such a good time.

The Mandelas' new decor

For Tanya's last day in South Africa, we decided to visit Soweto, one of the most historically significant cities in the country.

We visited Vilakazi Street, which was neat to be on since we started the Vilakazi Foundation. Things have changed quite a bit. New sidewalks and paint have improved the location, and more vendors were around.

We toured Nelson Mandela's house. Leigh and I went there in 2007, but we returned so Tanya could see it. It was completely changed. Our tour guide explained that renovation began in 2008 to accommodate all the visitors expected for the World Cup. It was quite a lot busier than when we went three years ago. Most of the furniture had been removed from the tiny home to open up the space for more tourists. Photos were now allowed. The price went up. But the tour was much better. We learned a lot even though we'd been once.

We grabbed a beer at a restaurant down the street. We visited "The Koppie," a lookout hill nearby Mandela's house, and got a lovely view of Soweto.





On the way to the car I made two recordings: one of a boy singing the SA national anthem and another of four younger boys singing one of the traditional protest songs.

We wanted to go to Wandie's for lunch but the address we had was incorrect. We asked a group of police officers how to get there. "That guy right there will take you there," one officer said. He was referring to a police truck. Yes, we had our very own police escort.



I think this might have been the highlight of Leigh's life. The officers drove us across Soweto to the neighborhood where Wandie's was. We all felt like kind of a big deal. We debated whether it was appropriate to tip police officers or if that would be a crime. The officers pointed out Wandie's and made sure we saw it. Then they drove on. No tip necessary. Just being super nice.

We were greeted in front of Wandie's by a couple of street performers who could do such fantastic things as lick their elbows. And eat their feet:



Wandie's is a restaurant with traditional SA food. In a word: delicious. We had two kinds of potatoes, beans and chickpeas, beef, chicken, rice, greens, salad, bread and desert. My god. Yes. We also made friends with a couple of guys from Angola eating next to us. It was fantastic.

We stopped by the house before taking Tanya to the airport. Alfie reminded Tanya of her promise to fire the "pellet gun" that I like to refer to as the sniper rifle. No hadidas - SA birds about the size of geese but with short necks - were around, so Alfie had to settle for target shooting. He set up a dog bowl on the grill. Tanya hit it in one shot.

Then came the peer pressure. I caved and said I would shoot the gun, though I refused to aim at anything with a mother. I struck the dog bowl, and just as I turned around Carin walked in the door. "Caught in the act!" Alfie shouted. Carin looked at me like I had betrayed reason. I tried to explain that we were shooting at targets but it was of no consolation. I'd now switched sides from responsibility (Carin and me) to mayhem (Alfie and Leigh). Of course Alfie, Leigh and Tanya thought this was hilarious.

It was time to take Tanya to the airport, and we made a quick stop at a music store to get CDs we couldn't find at home. We followed the GPS to the airport, but it took us straight through downtown at rush hour. Leigh was a little worried Tanya might miss her flight, but we arrived in plenty of time. And we had the great opportunity to view downtown Joburg at sunset. It was actually quite beautiful.

We said goodbye to Tanya and returned home. We all fell asleep watching soccer. Fantastic.

I'm not an Algeria fan

It finally arrived - our first World Cup game! YES! We drove about three hours northwest of Joburg to Polokwane, a city that has been officially identified as the geographic middle of nowhere, like Woodward or Krebs. It is in the Limpopo province, which is known for the famous Baobab trees. I was hoping to spot one, but we didn't this time.

Tanya, Leigh and I went to watch Slovenia take on Algeria. We opted to cheer for Slovenia for two key reasons:

1. Slovenia was the underdog.

2. Algeria probably would have lots more fans, especially considering South African fans are supporting all African nations in general.

Once we arrived in Polokwane we stopped at a Pep (kind of like Dollar General) and Checkers (kind of like Walmart) to buy supplies for our Slovenia-supporting shirts. We'd looked all over for the past few days for Slovenia stuff, but oddly enough, there was none to be found. We got white shirts and painted SLOVENIA! on them. Tanya was SLO, Leigh was VEN and I was IA! We made lots of jokes about Tanya being slo/w. After putting on these shirts, we had to stay in order for the rest of the day.

We drove around Polokwane, which didn't take that long, and found the stadium. Police blocked off streets within a pretty large radius around the stadium, so we decided to do the park-and-ride to avoid walking so far.

We parked at the equivalent of the city fairgrounds and got into line for the buses. The line was probably half a mile long and snaked through the rows and rows of cars parked on the grass. Though the line moved quickly, it was pretty clear that we weren't going to get to the game on time. After finally hopping a ride on a bus, we made the quick trip to the stadium. But we were all confused when the bus stopped about a half-mile from the stadium. Wasn't the point of the park-and-ride to AVOID walking? We hiked up the hill to the stadium, and by that time the game was well into the first half. We passed through three security checkpoints.

Then a television reporter stopped us after spotting our shirts. We cheered for Slovenia in front of the camera. She asked us to predict the score. Tanya guessed 2-1, Slovenia. Leigh and I copied her. Then I shouted, "Slovenia's No. 1!" It was pretty cool, even though we probably couldn't find Slovenia on a map.

By this time my leg was really tired out and my knee was bothering me. My physical therapist told me that often the mind tells the body to slow down to prevent injury. You aren't actually tired - your mind just wants you to think that so you stop using your injured limb. My ACL rarely hurts, but I was getting to the end of my walking capacity. I don't think this was a mind game situation.

We found an attendant and asked for an elevator. We rode to the top of the stadium, where our seats were. We bought beer, water and a hot dog and headed around.

Turns out, you can't walk all the way around the top of the stadium. You have to go up a specific elevator (or walkway) to the correct area. The attendant pointed us to the wrong elevator. We had to walk back across the area, go down and walk around to the other side of the stadium. We found the right elevator and waited patiently. A couple of media folks saw that we weren't officials of any sort told us the elevator was only for officials. Tanya stared at them, pointed to my giant leg brace and asked, "Is this OK for you?" The cameraman turned red and said, "Of course it is." Tanya is never afraid to point out the obvious.

We finally got to our right area but our section was no where to be seen. This is when I swore. We decided we'd just sit in open seats, regardless of where the hell we were. We walked into a random section and discovered it was actually ours. All the signs were labeled incorrectly. It was a miracle of God!

The second miracle of God? Halftime had just ended and the score was 0-0. We missed nothing!

Within minutes Slovenia scored! We jumped up, screaming, like we were actually from Slovenia. We couldn't help ourselves! It was so awesome! Other Slovenia fans in the sections near us waved and laughed at our shirts.

The game was absolutely awesome! It was really exciting to see it in real life. Our seats were great. Even though most spectators were dressed in South Africa green and gold, everyone was cheering and going nuts the whole time. The fans were bonkers. One Algeria fan climbed up on top of one of the light towers to wave his flag. Police officers in riot gear convinced him to come down. As he climbed down we realized that there was absolutely nothing behind him. One wrong move and he'd fall all the way to the ground. It was super scary! But he made it down safely and then started giving the police guff. Wrong move, buddy. They pummeled him and then arrested him. Yikes!

The final whistle blew without another goal, so Slovenia won 1-0. The Algeria and South Africa fans left the stadium and we drifted among the big blocks of Slovenia fans. We took photos with them and cheered with them. One of their chants ends with "Hey! Hey! Hey!" So we'd wait for them to say it all and then we'd yell the last three words with them. Everyone knew we weren't Slovenian, but they didn't care. We left the stands and the party continued outside. Tons of people took photos of us with our homemade shirts.

The whole thing was so great! What an experience! I can't even imagine what the U.S. game will be like on Friday.

We hiked back to the buses, rode back to the truck and headed out. The sunset outside Polokwane was absolutely beautiful - one of the best sights of this trip so far.

On the way back to Joburg, we stopped for fuel at a rest stop. (On an unrelated side note, South African rest stops aren't like American ones. They are huge and absolutely beautiful. The restaurants are awesome. The bathrooms are immaculate and usually involve marble counter tops.)

We passed up the first rest stop because it was absolutely packed. Apparently everyone at the game lived in Joburg, not Polokwane. So we drove back to the city at the same rate as everyone else. We had to stop at the second place because we were nearly out of gas. Leigh had to wait in line behind probably 10 other drives just at that one pump.

Tanya and I went inside to buy burgers at Wimpy (the SA version of McDonald's). In the to go area, metal railings allowed for a huge line to form. It was us, a family of locals, another guy from SA and a million Algeria fans.

Oh, Algeria. I'm so glad I didn't cheer for you.

It turns out that Algerians aren't big fans of the following:

1. Manners.

2. Standing in an orderly line.

3. Waiting patiently.

4. Using inside voices.

They do, however, enjoy the following:

1. Cutting.

2. Cutting overtly.

3. Shouting.

I excused all of this - it was a bunch of guys, their team just lost, it was late. But I was finally done in when one Algerian woman cut in front of me, Tanya and a SA guy. She just walked right in front of us like we hadn't been waiting in line together in that order for the past 20 minutes. It was insane. Who does that? Thank god for Tanya. She saw that I was about to lose it. She let me leave and she finished waiting in line. This was safest for all involved.

It took about an hour for Leigh to get through the gas line and for us to get through the burger line. We got the hell out of dodge and headed back to Joburg.

Mia stayed home with Sonja and Bradley, and I was ready to see her by the time we got home shortly before 10 p.m. I was so excited that she was still awake. Sonja looked pretty tired, but I was grateful to get a chance to hold Mia before she fell asleep.

The best way to eat pancakes

South Africans know how to do lots of things well, but they really know how to do pancakes right.
Syrup? Nah. It's all about ice cream. Alfie, Carin, Tanya, Gianna, Leigh, Mia and I went for pancakes at Hartebeerspoort Dam. I got the same as last time - caramel banana - because it is incomparably delicious. Tanya and Gianna dug the South African way of eating pancakes. But seriously, can you go wrong?

Afterward we roamed the flea market. Tanya negotiated like a champ; Gianna felt a little guilty. I totally understand; I felt guilty when I first started bargaining, too. But then when I realized that the price for Americans is probably double what it is for locals, I felt a lot less guilty about negotiating. We got lots of good stuff for Vilakazi and I made a fantastic purchase for our house. I bought a wood carving of three warthogs. It's absolutely beautiful! And I negotiated from R1,500 down to R500. I think I'm getting better at bargaining. :)

We stopped off to pick up some snacks at a grocery store, and Leigh caught Mia on video learning this nifty trick:



We dropped off Gianna at the airport, which was a total bummer. I wish she could have stayed longer, but I'm so glad we got to meet her and that she came.

We decided that after the madness of Friday that it would be best to watch the U.S. take on England at home. We ordered pizza and stayed in. It was fantastically calm. The U.S. scored one goal, and of course it was when I went to the bathroom. The game was a draw but it was still really exciting.

Feel it! It is here!

Today's Leigh's birthday and in keeping with Jacobs family tradition, Alfie served Leigh breakfast in bed. I also got to enjoy the fruits of that labor, even though it wasn't my birthday. Hooray!

Aside from Leigh turning 29, it's World Cup time.

The city has gone insane. Today is the day.

The vuvuzelas are playing nonstop. We heard them when we woke up with Mia this morning about 7. People are congregating on corners and blowing the horns as loudly as possible. Leigh, Mia, Tanya, Gianna and I went to the mall today to have breakfast and visit some of the local shops. The mall - the mall! - was too loud for a baby. Everyone was shopping at Big Blue, one of the best shops around, and I decided to take Mia out into the mall so she could crawl around on the floor. I left the store and the sound of vuvuzelas was too loud for her. Since when is a mall too loud on a Friday morning for a baby? Crazy.

We met Alfie at home and headed out to watch South Africa take on Mexico somewhere out in public. Leigh and I asked Sonja to babysit in case it would be too loud for Mia. Thankfully we left her home because everywhere - everywhere! - we went was too loud for a small child. We settled on a seafood restaurant in a large shopping center in Joburg. The vuvuzelas didn't stop in the hours before the game and during the entire match.

Watching Bafana Bafana play in the opening match made me realize why Americans don't do soccer. It's 45 minutes of concentration before halftime. Other sports have, like, 10 seconds of focus before a break. It was so intense! Everyone in every restaurant cheered the whole time. It was unlike any watch party I've ever been to. It was exhausting and awesome. South Africa drew with Mexico, 1-1. I can't wait to go to the games in person. It's going to be nuts.

We went out to dinner for Leigh's birthday at a fancy-pants Italian restaurant inside Monte Casino, a massive, Vegas-style casino in Joburg. The food was absolutely outstanding. I ate every single bite of my chicken and pasta and made a move on my creme brulee. I was too full, though, and Carin told me, "It's OK to give up, Carrie." I did. For those of you who know how much I love sweets, you understand how truly full I was if I couldn't finish desert.

While eating at this restaurant, the vuvuzelas didn't stop. Everyone walking around the casino played them continuously. I have a feeling that we'll be hearing vuvuzelas until we get on the plane.

After that Tanya, Gianna, Leigh and I went for a drink in Melville, which is kind of like a big Paseo district in Joburg. The streets were packed with the young and trendy. The district is full of hip bars, fancy bakeries, hole-in-the-wall dives and local shops. It's the cool place to be, especially on weekends. Leigh was so pumped to go out here for his birthday.

We went to a great club called Six and met four college girls who taught us how to dance. Well, to be honest, they danced, we mimicked them and they laughed at how white we are. Leigh just drank his beer and watched us make fools of ourselves. We had such a great time! We also learned that, in addition to the thumbs-up sign, spirit fingers are universal. A couple of guys from Durban hit on us and bought us drinks, which was nice. No need to worry: I mentioned that I was married about a thousand times. We also met Roy, a Duke college student from North Carolina, who was traveling alone. What a great age - when you're old enough to do stupid stuff and not old enough to know it's stupid.

After Six we moved on to a bar called Ratz. We met some cool folks from Texas. As the bar closed down Gianna and I left to find a cab while Leigh and Tanya paid our tab. We found a cab about a block down and turned to make our way back to the bar. Then we saw a fight - so scary. One guy slammed another into a parked car, and the injured guy's friend smashed a beer bottle over the attacker's head. It was pretty scary. The two friends tried to get away and the attacker pulled a 2-by-4 out of a trash barrel, snapped it in half and charged. He smashed the other guy silly while the friend could only watch. Within moments a private security force, carrying guns longer than Mia, pulled up. The police arrived shortly after.

The fight only lasted a few minutes, but it seemed like forever. Gianna and I stood frozen, trapped on the corner. The fight was between us and the bar where Leigh and Tanya were. We couldn't decide whether to stay or try to slip past the chaos and back into the bar. We decided to stay put. A local guy standing next to us told us it was just drunk idiots acting stupid. Melville was packed with locals and foreign visitors, and I think he was trying to tell us that drunk people are stupid everywhere - not just South Africa. It was sort of comforting. He was right. I've seen bar fights in the United States. I guess it just was more frightening because we were so far from home.

The police were still sorting things out when Tanya spotted a cab - someone took the one we originally found! - and we left Melville. I was so bummed that Tanya and Gianna had that experience in Melville. It's really a fantastic place. But stupid drunk people tend to ruin things worldwide. It's as universal as the thumbs-up sign and spirit fingers.

Kudus and concerts

For the second time on our trip, we drove within reach of some of the largest animals in Africa.

Leigh, Mia, Tanya, Gianna and I went to the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve outside of Joburg today for a drive-through. Leigh and I went there in 2007, and it's a small, private reserve with kudus, boks, water buffalo, warthogs, cheetahs, rhinos, lions and lots of other animals. We took plenty of photos, but I have to say, it was a whole different vibe from Pilansberg. Animals on the reserve are managed; it's not the open wild. It was cool, but it wasn't the same thrill. Then again, there really aren't any places like it in the U.S. Any rhino up close is a cool rhino - unless it's angry.

We wrapped up our day safari and headed to Soweto for the official opening ceremony concert. It was the best organized concert I've ever been to. We saw dozens of bands and the music never paused. Something was happening on one of the three stages up front the entire night. We saw the Kn'aan, Black Eyed Peas, Blackjacks, Big Nuz, The Parlatones, Freshly Ground, John Legend, GoldFish, Alicia Keyes, Leera and a bunch of uber-famous South Africans. We rocked the hell out.





And just FYI: Shakira is a lip-syncer. Yeah. That's pretty sad when you're set is only three songs long. Lame, Shakira.

And the coolest part: we saw Desmond Tutu! Yes - in real life. He came out and spoke and even danced a little. It was so neat seeing a peace prize winner in real life. It was definitely a moment I will never forget.

We parked on one side of the city and rode buses to the stadium. It was awesome because our cars where safe and we got to the stadium in just a few minutes. The process was absolutely efficient.

But getting back was a different story. A bunch of people parked in front of the buses outside of the stadium, so there was no way for those buses to go forward and leave. They were trapped. Therefore, we were trapped. We waited and waited and waited. Occasionally we saw buses that were already full of concert-goers pass by. Then the masses started walking away from the stadium and into Soweto. We waited some more and decided to go ahead and walk with the crowds. We asked security guards and police along the way where we were supposed to go and what was happening. No one knew. We just kept walking further into Soweto. One empty bus pulled to a stop near us and it was mobbed. People sprinted and pushed each other to board. This wasn't a good situation. We kept walking, blocks and blocks and blocks.

Eventually we arrived at a gas station that appeared to be an impromptu loading zone. As fans walked away from the stadium, buses were filling up further and further away from the official loading site. So this gas station had become the new loading zone. We finally got onto a double-decker bus. Hooray! When the driver pulled away, everyone clapped. It was about 12:30 a.m. - an hour and a half after we first left the stadium.

It was officially the first day of the World Cup AND Leigh's birthday! I made an announcement that Leigh had turned 29 and asked everyone to sing him happy birthday. They did! It was awesome! Leigh got pats on the back and loads of embarrassment. Excellent!

How South Africans parade

Today we went to a parade for Bafana Bafana. This was my first time to go to a South African parade.

The parade started an hour late, lasted about two minutes and was so loud I think people in Botswana heard. Oh, cultural differences.

We picked up our friends Tanya and Gianna at the airport today. It was pretty cool because we arrived on the right day this time. The airport is the loudest, craziest airport I've ever been to. I think everyone from Argentina and Mexico is now in South Africa. Everybody. They're all here. And they brought fancy drums and hats. We saw Germans in Leiderhosen. We saw Italians, Chileans and lots and lots of Brazilians. The energy in this city is awesome. I can't wait for the World Cup to actually start.

We drove from the airport to Sandton, where we picked up our FIFA tickets. The parade was set to start at noon, and of course, the soccer team only left their hotel to start the parade at 1 p.m. The crowd didn't mind one bit - all the more time to dance and play vuvuzelas. When the parade actually started I took Mia a block away and stood behind a wall. It was far too loud for babies.

We left the parade and came home for a braai. It was South African through and through - tons of meat. Alfie grilled up ribs, chicken and two kinds of sausage. Carin stepped in and intervened with potatoes and a lovely salad, making sure that the Americans had something green on their plates.

Later the loudness continues when Mia discovered her diaper. Of course, she's been wearing diapers for the past eight months, but tonight she discovered that she's wearing one while I was putting her pajamas on. She'd look down, notice her diaper, tug on it and then squeal with joy. She was quite excited and shared the good news with everyone.



Tanya and Gianna were pretty tired from their travels, so we stayed home and visited. It was a quiet ending to the loudest day of our vacation so far.

Aiport, Take 1

We left Cape Town today at 6 a.m. and landed at Joburg at 8 a.m. All three of us slept the whole time, so the flight was a cinch. But then the real rush was on. We caught a cab back to Leigh's parents' house, picked up the truck and rushed to the other airport in Joburg to pick up Tanya and her friend, Gianna.

We arrived about 9:30 a.m., which was about two hours after their flights arrived. They knew we'd be late because it was the earliest we could arrive. But when we got there we couldn't find them anywhere. We looked all over the international arrivals area and cased the shops, banks and restaurants. Nothing. Great, we though. Our friends have been in Joburg for two hours and we've already lost them. We searched for two hours and couldn't find them. We finally gave up and asked for them to be paged. Turns out, airports don't page people. Fantastic. We decided that Leigh would go to the Internet cafe and email Tanya, letting her know where to meet us. Leigh came back shaking his head.

Turns out, Tanya and Gianna LEAVE on Tuesday. They don't ARRIVE on Tuesday. haha Oh well. We had a good practice run. Tomorrow, when our friends actually arrive, we will be absolutely prepared.

We decided to pick up our tickets for the World Cup games since we then had the day free. We stood in line at the FIFA office in Sandton and then met with a ticket official. We returned our tickets to the France/Mexico game. Hopefully someone who is a true fan of one of those teams will go. If the tickets don't sell, we can pick them up at the FIFA office and use them ourselves. Kudos to FIFA for having such a good return policy.

We got our tickets for the US/Slovenia and Algeria/Slovenia games. It's actually real! Time for the WORLD CUP! YES!

We spent the rest of the day hanging out. After a really busy vacation so far, it was nice to kind of be still for a day. Tomorrow we'll have airport, take 2.

Tickets and the swing

We got some good news and some bad news yesterday about World Cup tickets.

The bad news first: I won't be going with Alfie to see America play Slovenia. The category of tickets he bought require South African ID for each individual ticket - not just the purchaser as we originally thought. I almost cried but it's OK. There will be several games before this one to see if the rule is actually enforced. If not, Leigh and I will go. If so, it's OK.

The good news: we bought tickets to other games today. Leigh, our friend Tanya and I will see Algeria play Slovenia on June 13. Leigh and I will see France play Mexico. We don't know who to cheer for, so we plan to wear gear supporting the U.S. and Bafana Bafana.

Today was a nice, lazy day - a real vacation day. We slept in, played with Mia and grilled dinner when Alfie came home from work early.

I still haven't acclimated to SA time. I'm battling jet lag, but everyone knows I give in easily to the need to nap. Leigh is doing well.

Mia hasn't quite been herself on this trip. We aren't sure what's going on, but we think she isn't feeling well. She is normally a very happy child; she rarely cries, even if she's wet or hungry. But since we arrived she's been crying often and getting brief fevers. She might be teething or she might have an ear infection. I talked to the maid, Sonja, and she said she might just be feeling under the weather a bit. She said she and her son feel sick for the first few days they visit home in Zimbabwe. I felt this way when we came to SA in 2007. Hopefully this is the problem. Mia had some very good times today, so hopefully those will get longer and longer.

Speaking of feeling under the weather, Sonja's son, Bradley, was sick today. She told him he wasn't allowed to be around Mia until he felt better. He cried often because of this rule. He is so sweet. So instead he spent time with his mother. He pretended to iron clothes with a small toy iron while she ironed clothes with a real iron. He asked to help her carry things. He is a good boy, and I felt so bad when I told him not to cough on Mia. He would be so sad. He loves her so much!

Tonight Leigh grilled while Alfie and I sat outside in their patio area. It's beautiful and the weather was perfect. Mia was happy and giggling and smiling at everybody. Then Alfie decided she needed a swing. To be honest, I wasn't sure how this was going to shake out. But he managed to hang her car seat from a tree with a rope. Mia loved it! It was great!



All our love!

Lickety split

Mia had her first ice cream cone the other day. (She had ice cream for the first time when we visited Tanya in Eureka Springs, but this time it was in a cone.) Let's just say it's hilarious. There was no spoon and it was more like headbutting than eating the ice cream. She loved it!

North and South

Today Mia had the chance to meet people from Wisconsin, meet hippies and ride on her mom's belly instead of in her mom's belly. The three of us went to Eureka Springs to meet up with our friend Tanya and her family. They're from Wisconsin and spent a little vacation time in a cabin there.

A lot happened before we even made it to Eureka Springs. First, we saw a guy on a bicycle sitting on the shoulder of the highway in the middle of nowhere. No, he wasn't a cyclist in spandex taking a break on a bike designed for long road races. This was a guy with a mullet and jean shorts sitting on a BMX. It was bizarre. And just as we are trying to figure out what the heck that guy was all about, we come across this:

Yes, that is a white minivan with attachments that make it look like the shuttle. Unlike the guy on the bike, we actually made a u-turn to document this weirdness. And in case you wonder where you'd park something that amazing, we took a picture of that, too:

I don't know if you can read it, but that sign on the garage says "Not NASA." Thank god we clarified. It's hard to tell the difference between the world's greatest space agency and a trailer in the middle of the Arkansas woods.

Then we passed a Mercedes graveyard. There were a dozen rusted old Mercedes covered in leaves behind a row of trees. We didn't make a u-turn for that one either because we were worried if we turned around every time we saw something weird, we'd never get to Eureka Springs.

We finally got to town and gave our little front carrier a try for the first time.

As usual, Mia was a total sport. The only thing she didn't like was when her hat fell too low, covering her eyes. It was kind of hard maneuvering in the bathroom when she needed a diaper change, though. I'm sure that will get better with practice. We had lunch, met up with our pal Tanya and walked through the old downtown. It was really fun! Mia survived the whole day, including two creepy encounters.

1. A very, very high hippie lady freaked out about how cute Mia is. She gave a long monologue about how important it is for people to blend together, like colors of the rainbow. She looked at Leigh and me and pointed out what features of Mia's came from each of us. I think we were the first interracial couple to go into her shop. Or maybe we were the first interracial couple to go into her shop when she was that high.

2. Some lady touched Mia's toes. I wrote a column about it here.

Here we are just before we left.

We visited and had dinner with Tanya and her family at their cabin. It was so great to see our pal from Wisconsin! We were really happy Mia got to meet her.

The littlest Cheesehead

I discovered while shopping for a green shirt for Mia (to wear to the MSU watch parties) that there are no green shirts for girls. None! I'm not sure what this pink revolution is about, but I don't like it. So I moved to the boys' section to for regular colors, and what did I find? This! So, in honor of my Uncle Russ and Aunt Debbie, the entire Del Colle clan and our pal Tanya ... this one's for you!

Simko comes to town

Our pal, Ryan Simko, visited Oklahoma City! Hooray! In case you don't know Simko, he happens to be extremely awesome. He lived here a couple years ago and even though he moved away, we still are good friends. He came to our wedding! Here are two pictures. The first of Tanya, Simko, Jesse, The Captain and Clay. The second is of Simko and Leigh doing what they do best: drinking beer and getting in trouble.



He came to visit this weekend to see his girlfriend and all his Oklahoma City pals. We met up with him at Cuppies and Joe, though we had to leave a little earlier than planned because of an, um, "incident" involving diaper failure. It meant so much to us that wanted to meet Mia. He is a great friend! We met up with him later at Club Rodeo. (We got there as Simko and his pals were leaving, so we just said bye in the parking lot.)