Althouse: At the Picnic Café...

May 29, 2011

At the Picnic Café...

... you can hang out all day.

27 comments:

Trooper York said...: You better watch out or someone will come along and steal your
pic-a-nic baskets.; 5/29/11, 3:42 PM
DADvocate said...: I think you're safe as long as you avoid Jellystone Park.; 5/29/11, 3:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Can't wait to see the January Cafe series.; 5/29/11, 3:51 PM
edutcher said...: How secluded is it?

I can imagine a nice picnic lunch followed by a snuggle in the grass.; 5/29/11, 3:55 PM
chickelit said...: That branch looks like an accident waiting to happen. Don't people prune trees anymore--especially in public places?; 5/29/11, 4:07 PM
galdosiana said...: My fiance and I have been going on day trips all over the state and surrounding areas to visit historic towns from the 19th century. It's been an awesome experience so far, and a great history lesson. Yesterday's trip was by far the best. We went to Trempealeau, Perrot State Park (awesome view of the Mississippi River from the bluffs), then traveled all the way down Hwy 35 along the river through tiny little towns to Prairie du Chien. We crossed over into Iowa to visit Marquette and McGregor.

I highly recommend the Prairie du Chien/Marquette/McGregor area, to Ann/Meade and all of the commenters here. It's an area rich in natural beauty and incredible history.

Anyone have recommendations for some other historic towns we could visit?; 5/29/11, 4:40 PM
paminwi said...: Wisconsin ideas: Kohler/Terry Andrea State Park or (may need to be overnight): Washington Island or Bayfield.; 5/29/11, 4:46 PM
Anonymous said...: How secluded is it?
I can imagine a nice picnic lunch followed by a snuggle in the grass.

Given the proximity of the children's play area, if the snuggling went too far the snugglers would likely face criminal charges with mandatory sex offender registration.

Peter; 5/29/11, 4:55 PM
RuyDiaz said...: From the Instaman:

Italian Seismologists Charged With Manslaughter for Not Predicting 2009 Quake

I'm too stunned to even launch a stream of obscenities.; 5/29/11, 4:58 PM
Lincolntf said...: Everyone on pins and needles? Apparently Miss "GN" of Weiner-pic fame is set to release a personal statement soon. Following on Twitter, AoS is all over it, etc.; 5/29/11, 5:09 PM
windbag said...: Sullivan on how Palin stands a chance to win. Hilarious comments from the monkey gallery, including how negative Palin is.; 5/29/11, 5:49 PM
edutcher said...: ironrailsironweights said...

How secluded is it?
I can imagine a nice picnic lunch followed by a snuggle in the grass.

Given the proximity of the children's play area, if the snuggling went too far the snugglers would likely face criminal charges with mandatory sex offender registration.

Peter

Another reason to hate the Nanny State.; 5/29/11, 6:00 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "That branch looks like an accident waiting to happen. Don't people prune trees anymore--especially in public places?"

Anymore? That outstretching branch that troubles you got started in the 18th century. Who do you picture pruning it, back when it would have had to be pruned?; 5/29/11, 6:05 PM
Ann Althouse said...: If it were dead, it would get cut off. We cut a big low branch off our old oak tree this year.; 5/29/11, 6:06 PM
Penny said...: A big, low branch? ha ha That's a horizontal tree, for cripes sake.

Hope it doesn't SNAP!

Wisconsin legislators are entirely too busy these days to pass a law .. post snap.. or even hastily!

This is a job for our Chipper. A big, woody trunk please?; 5/29/11, 10:04 PM
AmPowerBlog said...: Linked: 'At the Vans Skatepark Café...'. And so I just borrowed your signature photo-blogging concept. I had some coffee, so what the heck?; 5/29/11, 10:54 PM
Methadras said...: I don't think that my tax payer money should go to rebuild a place like Joplin, Mo. if people are deliberately and knowingly living in tornado alley. That's what you have insurance for and I'm tired of paying for your misfortunes. I feel for you people, but if you continuously put yourselves in dangerous places to live, why should I be involved in helping you constantly rebuild? I realize this sounds callous and cruel, but bulldoze what's left, abandon it, and that's it. Same thing with New Orleans. If it happens to that place again, the fed should effectively not fund a rebuild project. Same for Detroit or anywhere else. It shouldn't be their role.; 5/30/11, 12:31 AM
jaed said...: There's pretty much no place on the North American continent that's free of destructive natural disasters, though. If it's not tornados it's earthquakes, if it's not earthquakes it's riverine floods, if it's not flooding it's blizzards or tsunamis or God knows what.; 5/30/11, 1:22 AM
Penny said...: True for North American and true for the world, jaed. Mother Nature is often without mercy. Quite like mankind.

Although I do hold one more accountable than the other.

Don't you?; 5/30/11, 2:01 AM
Methadras said...: jaed said...

There's pretty much no place on the North American continent that's free of destructive natural disasters, though. If it's not tornados it's earthquakes, if it's not earthquakes it's riverine floods, if it's not flooding it's blizzards or tsunamis or God knows what.

That's the larger, broader point. I know I live in Ca. where earthquakes are our particular forte on the disaster chart, so if a major quake hits my city and my house become a causality, should I expect the government to come to my rescue? Nope. That's what insurance is for or at least, let the states deal with it, not the fed.

Denver is the least disaster prone place in the US.

http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/5-countries-with-the-lowest-risk-of-disaster/; 5/30/11, 2:27 AM
Almost Ali said...: Midnight Saturday, about 27 hours ago, I was in a car on Miami's MacArthur Causeway (#395 East). We were headed to South Beach... to see the crowds, the girls, and hopefully to consume a few slices of Diego's fairly-famous "Italian" pizza.

But the causeway was jam-packed, crawling, a million young party goers sitting in hot-wheeled cars, their taillights trailing red to the SoBe horizon, the island music bouncing their Mazda's and Honda's and VW's to the beat of the midnight pavement.

We’re in the middle of Miami's astounding version of midnight madness, two middle-age men going a long way to see beautiful girls and eat Cuban pizza. And it was ten years ago when we did exactly the same thing, and happy now to be doing it again.

But my, have things changed! The huge, ultra-modern buildings now looming directly over the highway as we leave downtown Miami, elevated trams weaving in and out and around corners - people, residents, 30-40 stories up smiling down from their sky-scraper balconies at the mob of traffic inching past like a great, colorful caravan - us, gypsies in glittering wagons, peasant girls waving from the windows, two old men mesmerized by the atomic atmosphere.

And not just the people, but the lights, the technicolor water gently flowing on either side, the city glowing in the night like some modernistic metropolis from a dreamy, Utopian planet.

But in the end we never made it across the causeway. It's a wonder South Beach didn't just sink into the ocean from all the traffic as far as the eye could see. We made a U-turn, turned around, waved good-bye to all the beautiful girls, and took a rain-check for Diego's. Because ten years ago he served us the greatest pizza in the known world, and we promised to return. Maybe next week, or the week after, but soon. Before we're too old to drive the hundred miles for a slice authentic, SoBe pizza, made with mysterious and wonderful ingredients imported from a galaxy far, far away.; 5/30/11, 2:52 AM
Iulian said...: Miss Ann what's your problem with cafe buildings??; 5/30/11, 2:59 AM
galdosiana said...: paminwi said: Wisconsin ideas: Kohler/Terry Andrea State Park or (may need to be overnight): Washington Island or Bayfield.

Thanks for the recommendations! We were actually in Bayfield last summer, but we didn't get to do the island tour then, and I really want to do that at some point. And Kohler Andrae looks really nice--we'll definitely make a stop there this summer!; 5/30/11, 7:16 AM
AllenS said...: galdosiana,

Any where in southwest Wisconsin is beautiful.

It might be too late now, but a drive down the Mississippi river, starting at Hastings, MN during the early spring, where you can see the rock formations before the trees leaf out. Take that as far south as you want, even into Iowa, then cross the Mississippi river and then go north on the other side of the river through WI, I donethat a couple of times, when the river was starting to flood in the springtime. Lots to see.; 5/30/11, 7:33 AM
Almost Ali said...: Oh, Fidel, forget the romance, South Beach is a “war zone.” Watch and listen to the 2-minute video, panic and gunfire amid the art deco. No doubt someone stole someone's girl. Like the bitch was kidnapped. Shoot to kill.; 5/30/11, 10:46 AM
galdosiana said...: @AllenS: Thanks for that suggestion! We haven't done anything on the MN side of the Mississippi yet, so we'll add it to our list of places to visit. We loved the Hwy 35 drive so much that we actually want to go back before the summer is over! This part of the state really is beautiful.; 5/30/11, 8:42 PM
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