Yoopers, eh?

Our time as yoopers (U.P.-ers) was a good one. It was the first week that really felt too short. Work-wise it was the most exhausting since our first week, at least for me it was. I'm not sure why, but by Thursday night I was in bed at 9:30 and didn't get out of bed until 9:30. My voice was also exhausted. There were a couple of groups that made us work harder than normal because getting performance-level energy and volume from them was like digging a hole in quicksand. In the end, the show was good and the crowds loved it, but Mallory and I knew that there were some kids who could have given more. It's a bit frustrating to see that potential come out during rehearsals but fade a bit come showtime.

So even though I was ready to be done with work that week, I really wanted to be able to take a couple of days to hang out with our homestay family. These were tremendously gracious people. Christi fed us like she was preparing us for the slaughter, the kicker being a burger from the local joint, Clyde's, called the "Big C." This was the largest diameter burger I've ever had, probably about six inches, and it was comprised of not one, but two thick patties. It just about did me in. And for those of you that know how much I can eat, that should give you an idea of how honkin' this thing was. And Coby and Rachel, Christi's two kids, aren't those kids that drive you nuts. They're kids you love to hang around because they're so much fun. Fantastic kids.

On Wednesday we visited a natural spring with a native name I won't even try to say, let alone spell. Fifty-eight feet deep but clear as a raindrop, the spring has a cable tow raft you can take out on the water to get a good look. Old, fat, lazy trout swim in the cold spring water, safe from any fisherman as the water bubbles from the earth like witch's brew in a cauldron. Very cool place. On Friday, we took Sea-Doos out on Indian Lake and tootled around with the kids. After tootling (what a word), we biked down to the Dairy Kream on an old tandem for some ice cream. Let's just say that a 6'4" me and a 5'2" Mallory look pretty funny together on a tandem bike. And once at the Dairy Kream, I got maybe the largest ice cream cone I've ever had, cherry-dipped and mighty tasty!

By Saturday night, I was spent and ready for a good rest, but still managed to enjoy a visit with the extended Ryan family. And wouldn't you know it, Christi's brother-in-law is a big Elvis fan so I showed him my fabulous Elvis and Nixon keychain. Lo and behold, he reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone with the very same picture proudly displayed as his wallpaper. Great minds think alike!