Happy birthday to my dear friend, Mel! Sorry to have missed
your birthday shenanigans tonight but I had to do the family thing and head to
the lakehouse for my grandparent’s 62nd wedding anniversary. SIXTY-TWO YEARS!! Process that for a minute. To be honest, I can’t
even fathom. Numerically, that’s not
even possible for me in this lifetime.
Unless I get married this year and live to be 102. So yeah, not happening. I love watching them together. Almost makes a girl wanna believe in that “L’
word and that some people mean forever when they say it.
The ride up here was, pardon my language, a complete
shit-show. It took me over 7 hours. Usually I love a good road trip. Music up, singing aloud, talking to myself,
yelling at cars (with the windows up) and working on writing projects in my
head. If “big brother” ever put a bug in
my car during a road trip, I would certainly be fitted for a nice, tight, white
jacket with velcro straps. Today, I did
not love the drive. I purposely left Des Moines early enough to avoid rush hour
in the Twin Cities. I’m a planner like
that. But alas, even the best laid plans
fall apart when there is an accident within a construction zone. 15 miles of inching along I-35 is enough to
wear on anyone’s nerves. 
But in the true
fashion of Lyndee’s Life, cue the music for intense thunderstorms amid this
already chaotic parade of cars.
Unfortunately, the rain would continue for the last three hours of the
trip.
As I crossed the bridge from Minnesota to Wisconsin my jaw
dropped at the insanely high level of the river. Note this, it will come into play soon. So along I drive on a two lane highway across
Wisconsin in the rain, through multiple “unincorporated towns”, aka villages, where
the speed limit drops from 55 to 35 or 45 while passing through. I’m in a line of cars averaging about 51
miles an hour that I can’t pass because of the rain, hills and curves. Insert the continuation of road rage here. No amount of Eric Church or Dierks Bentley is
calming my nerves at this point. When I finally
reach Hayward, lo and behold, the main highway through town is closed. I follow the detour, which has its own
detour. Why you might ask? Unbeknownst
to me, flooding and washed out roads from Monday nights storm which dropped
over 11 inches on this part of the North Woods.
My google maps lady voice is about to have a seizure from repeatedly
telling me she is recalculating the route.
I end up on some back country roads called mosquito avenue or something
ridiculous and eventually back to the highway I need. Finally, I arrive at the
lakehouse to see my family! I’m talking
to Dad on the deck while he grills and notice, hey, there’s a new dock! And
then realize, holy crap, the old one is almost completely submerged
underwater. All you can see is the top
of the bench that sits on top of it.
This is how high the lake is from the flooding. Daaaammmnnnn!
Ultimately, I enjoy a wonderful dinner and evening with my
family, finding my peace yet again staring at the water and listening to it lap
the shore. Tomorrow morning when I’m
done with work we will venture out for fishing, boating and four wheeling
through the forest. That is if we don’t
starve to death before then as there’s only enough food here for about 507
people to survive on for two months…
My eyelids are heavy now.
Maybe I shouldn’t have had that 2nd glass of wine but
whatever, it’s MY year and I’m in my happy place. #fearless40
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