I tried to keep my excitement to a minimum today as I anxiously awaited the arrival of Nick and Charlie, but it was hard to contain. Nick pulled the ultimate surprise by bringing Ross and Kurt along with him, completely unbeknownst to me. This was better than any surprise party one could ever imagine. All of a sudden, welcome to the first Spring Wisco. New and unchartered territory, especially given the recent dramatic weather pattern shift preventing us from playing pond hockey.
I had learned from talking to the bartender than an all female metal band was going to be playing that night at The Local, the closest bar to the cabin, located at the crossroads of County Road A and County Road H, as part of the big St. Patrick's Day celebration. We had planned to grace The Local with our presence, but after a trip down to the lake to enjoy ice beers, followed by a Stammtisch (defined in Fritz Lang's "M" as the German word for a gathering of men smoking, drinking and talking politics) in the sitting room and a Ross mandated game of Vampiro, the potential of operating a motor vehicle at that juncture seemed ill-advised. We instead decided that it was in our best interest to stay at the cabin cancelling Rhinelander "Shorties" and consuming bratwursts.