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June 17th through 28th, 1998

It was a little rough and warm when we arrived. The warm would stay. The rough would fade. It would seem like the long, hot days of July came a few weeks early this year. No one complained. Along with an early July came several little ducks. They seemed to enjoy the lake and the weather almost as much as we did. Our littles can't quite ski yet, but are big enough to be tossed into a tube and towed around. Initially there was more than a little apprehension, but after the first run that nervousness was replaced by big smiles and a little sunburn. It was agreed before this visit to Lucerne, that there were far too few card games going on under the lake. A table was made, a pack of plastic coated cards were opened, and the game was on. In some ways, playing under the lake is similar to terrestrial card games with the dealing, turn taking, and and me getting hands that shouted "Red Death!" In other ways, playing underwater is very unlike cabin based cards. Cards under Lucerne has a complete lack of table talk, soggy snacks, and a stronger fear of drowning than any land game we've ever played. There were some subtle differences, too. We've almost never had to shoo away passing fish back in the cabin. Then there was the whole warmth thing. After just half an hour, those that chose to tan on the dock seemed much more comfortable and less shivery than the three players in the water. Back in the cabin, the men were putting some finishing touches on the installation of a wood burner. No out of the water shivery card games for us,  even in January! At some point in the week, we challenged the huge pancake at The Log Cabin in Crandon to a gastronomic duel. Giant pancake: 1. Insufficiently hungry diner: 0. The way the eagle that has been effortlessly gliding around the lake, it was clear that it did not enjoy any colossal pancakes. The way that the pine limbs did not snap off as it perched was also a clue to its great pancake-less-ness. Near the end of the week, having grown restless of the breakfast fair in Crandon, we journeyed to the fabled Copper Kettle Restaurant in Eagle River. In addition to the "Pancake Hall of Fame" we were impressed by "The King Kong Breakfast". Having learned that there is NO Empire State Building shaped table at which to sit while the staff shoots paper bi-planes at you, we declined the "The King Kong Breakfast" and went with waffles instead. There were also some sausages involved. There was also a thunderstorm. The lightning was mostly behind the clouds, but the patient photographer could be rewarded with some bolts.  Warring with getting a good image was the fear of electric death. It turned out that the urge to flee was smothered by too much waffle the previous morning. Sometimes it's hard to go back to work. This was especially true of this lake visit. That is not to say that customer requests, networking issues, and user demands don't have their charm, but they don't have the beauty, quiet, and waffles of the northwoods. In addition to all mentioned in this summary page, there was a trip to the Three Lakes Winery and the Dells of the Eau Claire River in Marathon County, both of which were amazing. Last week altogether, an unprecedented over 350 points were earned in the 1998 Summer Fun Schedule. We'll be back in 2 weeks to get more peace, points, and maybe a pancake or two.<br><br><br>-Nemo's still walking off that waffle weight.

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