Not starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda

Friday was one of the longest days, at least in terms of how it felt, I've had in a long, long time. I took the day off from work so that I could go to a party in Wisconsin with Alma. Let's get to the action:

10am: I wake up a little later than planned. Quick shower.

10:30am: On the road to Milwaukee, with Alma driving. She plans to see if one of her colleagues can offer us a ride so we don't have to drive the whole way to the lake where the party is taking place.

12:00pm: We arrive and go over to her workplace. People are still to drive up, but the distance to the lake isn't as far as we thought, plus I point out that it's usually easier not to have to rely on someone else's schedule. We decide to drive up ourselves and I take the wheel.

1:00pm: We arrive at the lake and take the short boat ride over to the island where the party is taking place.

It was a really fun time. I don't usually get to do this kind of outdoor stuff, and I really made it count. They had a paddleboat that two people could get in and pedal around, and a kayak. Alma and I took two spins in the paddleboat, one a brief trip to and from the nearest island, and the second a longer trip around the island we were on (which, while not gigantic or anything, was easily the largest island in the lake). I also made the same two trips in the kayak, giving me a pretty decent workout for both my legs and my arms. (I'm just guesstimating, since I can't zoom in close enough in Google Maps, but I probably did around a mile in both the paddleboat and the kayak.) The kayak, which at first I was a little nervous about because I wasn't sure I would have any idea how to do it, was amazing. I spent the entire trip around the island mostly thinking, "Holy crap, this is so fun" and "I should totally do this more." Alma says you can take kayak lessons in Skokie (on the Chicago River itself), so that may be something we pursue. We also did a little bit of wading/swimming, but the lake was pretty green and murky so it was a lot more fun to be on than in.

I slathered on the sunblock, of course, as I hadn't spent this much time outside at the height of the day in a while. At one point, I swore I could actually feel the skin on the back of my neck burning - however, taking a look at myself after getting home, it was clear I hadn't taken on any significant color. I do think I burned the top of my head a little bit, though; it's hard to get sunblock on that skin because of all the hair, and yet there's not enough hair to really keep the sun totally out. Alma doesn't think it looks very red at all, but it's a bit tender to the touch. I think any future prolonged outdoor excursions will have to involve a hat.

There was also plenty of food and conversation to be had, so it was a good time all around. Eventually we decided to head back to the mainland. Astonishingly, we ended up only spending about five hours on the island, but it really felt like a full day's worth of activity - and indeed, when you compare it to most of my full days, it was at least that much and really a lot more.

6:00pm: Was the day over yet? Not by a long shot. We left the lake and headed back for Illinois.

7:00pm: Driving back down I-94, we decide that we might as well stop at the Mars Cheese Castle, just to see what the deal is. In a word: disappointing. They do have a lot of cheese, but honestly, they have just as much non-cheese food and an entire section just of Wisconsin-themed tchotchkes. Cheese is expensive, so we ended up not buying anything. Three highlights, though:

1. Wandering into one section of the Castle, Alma asks, "Why does it smell like cheese over here?"

2. Right as we arrived, a bus arrived to let off 50+ elderly people. Apparently the Mars Cheese Castle is an intriguing tourist destination even though it's really just a big store. (They supposedly have an art gallery, but I didn't see anywhere it could have been while in the place.)

3. On the way out, two women stop us to have their picture taken with the "Mars" sign on the side of the building. Clearly they had not been inside yet. Seriously, I was expecting a lot more.

7:30pm: We suddenly realize that one of our last unexplored mini golf courses north of Chicago - Kenosha's Congo River Adventure Golf - is on the frontage road just as we get back onto 94 after getting gas. We immediately turn around at the next exit and go back to play some mini golf.

The Congo River is a decent course. It's not mind-blowing enough to justify driving all the way up there under any other circumstances, I think, but it's very playable and has a reasonable par of 45. I put together a round of 38, my lowest score in relation to par since I started keeping track of mini golf scores, while Alma shot a very respectable 53 that included three holes-in-one (I added two more for an astonishing total of five). Her score would have been better if not for a 6 on the 15th hole, which was a par 2 that featured an awkward uphill shot around a jutting "rock." Her first three tries came back, and the fourth bounced past her and all the way down the slope behind the start of the hole, nearly into the parking area. It was a pretty steep slope, too, but I went down and got the ball with no problems. (Alma: "Ball is in parking lot. Would you like to play again?") Thank goodness there was no one close behind us. If you want to see what each hole looks like, click here for their virtual tour.

8:00pm: Back on the road.

8:30pm: Dinner at Chili's.

10:15pm: Finally back.

When you consider how full this day seemed - and was - it's mind-blowing (at least, it was to me) to think that the whole thing took just twelve hours. It felt like an entire weekend, and it wasn't even Saturday yet! Alma declared this our replacement 2.5-year semiversary weekend, since we didn't actually get the chance to do too much last weekend. It made sense to me. A long, perfect day of nothing but having fun with the woman I love. I couldn't ask for any more than that for an anniversary present.