So how can it get much better than that, you say?
Gil-Ezer had made plans with old members of the Temple, Michael and Lynn, (for those not in the know, my Uncle Yitzchak had been the rabbi in Temple Menorah in Milwaukee for 40 years, with my cousin Gil-Ezer as the assistant rabbi. My uncle tragically passed away a couple of years ago, and Gil-Ezer is now the senior rabbi, so they have tons of relationships with people all over the place - great for tickets to all sporting events!) who live on Lower Nemahbin Lake in Oconomowoc, WI. They invited everyone to come out and enjoy the outdoors and be able to go out on the lake. This would be in the mid-afternoon.
We considered doing something in the early PM, maybe the Harley Davidson Museum (a bit pricey), or Discovery World (to which Debbie and Gil-Ezer have membership so it wouldn't cost anything), but then we figured we would be under time pressure to get to the lake not too much later. So we nixed that idea and just hung out watching TV, doing some studying with the boys for their summer learning requirements, and some other stuff.
We would be having a bbq at the lake, so Debbie made burgers and packed up hot dogs, and a bunch of other things. Gil-Ezer brought his portable grill - same as ours, but charcoal. It took about 45 minutes to get there. We unloaded and had to shlep all the stuff down some rock stairs to the nice lawn overlooking the lake. It's a very nice house - Michael and Lynn live there all-year round with their dogs Cody and Bella, who are both very playful. They have a couple of kayaks and a nice boat. The kids all took turns donning the like jackets and taking the kayaks out on the lake.
They also have a few fishing rods. Cousin Lytal is a real pro at catching fish, but apparently doesn't like to unhook the fish once caught. That's where her sister Ariella comes in. Adina also took a liking to fishing, but found it to be a bit boring and wanted to take the rod out on the kayak so she could get to deeper waters. That wasn't going to happen.
Then we fired up the grills!! Well, at least Gil-Ezer did, since the charcoal takes forever to get ready. I don't remember the last time I used a charcoal grill. Gas is so much cleaner and easier. So after a half-hour or so, I fired up mine, let it heat up a bit, and the grill-off got underway! He did the hot dogs, and I did the burgers.
The food was delicious, not only because of the expert grilling, but for the company we were with. (Oh, my father - Saba/Uncle Itzy and Savta/Aunt Goldie - came with us too.) It was very comfortable out; the sky got a bit overcast, so there was no direct sunlight beaming down on us. And Yosef thought the burgers were the BEST he has ever tasted!
After dinner, Michael offered to take us out on the lake in his boat. He could take seven others with him. Adina opted not to go out - she would rather go fishing and kayaking. So it was me, Karen, Saba, Arie, Josh, Naama, and Rachie. We went all around the lake checking out the different houses and seeing lots of people having a good time water skiing, jet skiing, power boating, inner tubing, etc. There is actually an island in the middle of the lake that is developed. Debbie's grandparents had a house there at one point and her mom used to spend summers there.
So after we docked back at the house it was time to pack up and head to our next destination.
Another family friend of the Lerer's (Bob and Marsha) are prominent residents of Watertown, WI. They have a lot of land out there and have a large extended family spread around. Their house sits right on the banks of the Wisconsin River. Every year they put on a fireworks show for the whole family, friends, neighbors - just about the whole town I guess. They are fully certified fireworks professionals and actually have ATF permission to store loads of fireworks in a bunker on their property. It's not their profession, but they just have a love to have all their close ones keep in touch and show their appreciation for the great country that we live in.
We got to the house around 9:00PM, so it was already fairly dark out. The house and property looked pretty impressive despite the lack of proper lighting to see it all. They gave out those glow sticks and other goodies for the kids to play with while we waited for the show to begin, which would be around 10:00PM. There was a pretty big crowd there, as we settled ourselves down overlooking what looked like a big corn field.
The show began with the family thanking all for coming and all that mushy stuff, and dedicating the show to the large number of graduates in the family this year - law school, medical school, college, high school. A lot to be thankful for. This year they said they would be trying something new by playing patriotic music together with the fireworks display. As an "appetizer" one of the family members performed with those sticks that you bounce one between a couple of others, alternating sides and keeping it going. But this act had the stick in the middle on fire on each end. He did a really good job.
Finally, the show began. WOW!!! For a "backyard" fireworks display, this was incredible. We were sitting maybe 100 feet away from where everything was launched. And it was as professional as you would see at any town/city sponsored show, maybe even more so. It must have gone on for about 15 minutes straight. At one point they had a structure in the fields get all lit up and spelled out "CONGRATS", with a graduation cap also.
After it was done they had some more rockets fire off on the river. Bob and Marsha's son (HS graduate) gave a moving speech thanking his parents for everything they have done for the family and to officially recognize that. They made a big campfire, and kids roasted marshmallows. We had brought our own to roast, but it was already very late, so we skipped that. We packed up everything, trying to use whatever light we could to find all our belongings, and headed back to the cars. Back at the car, some more fireworks went off. I'm thinking they might have been ones that had some technical difficulties earlier.
We left the grounds a little after 11:00PM and got back to the house at midnight. We all went right to sleep as we would need to get up relatively early to head out to MN in the morning.
Overall, we had a great time in Milwaukee, and thank the Lerers SO much for their hospitality. We look forward to seeing them soon for Bat Mitzvah celebrations in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Edison.
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