Back and busy again

We are back from our trip to a pair of museums in southern Wisconsin.

Everything went well, but because of work and other distractions (new phone, hockey playoffs), I have had a hard time simply finding time to write everything up.

I did start a post about the first day of the trip and the Milwaukee museum, but I got bogged down halfway through. Have to get back to that. The trouble is, there's track meets now and Little League games, and my lawn badly needs to be mowed, and I have to take my wife to the store, and Thursday we're heading out of town again (a Taste of Home cooking show in Marquette; we aren't staying overnight).

Too much stuff. Too little time. Sound like a familiar phrase?

All things come in time. I'll try to have the story of the trip written in a day or two. Or three. Or over the weekend. Life happens. Gotta deal with it.

I've also got to deal with something unexpected. Since Betty isn't coming down to the Midwest for FreedomFest this summer, I had been planning to go there by myself. We were going to work it like we did last summer: I would drop off Janet at her sister's place near Ladysmith and then drive down to FF. They would enjoy a few days together while I was away.

Yesterday morning, though, Sheryl wrote me. She said she was looking forward to seeing me again. And she continued: "Just a thought...It would be nice if you could take us with you to the Sweetwood gathering in July. Trisha has never experienced anything like that, and it would be wonderful to camp with you again."

I haven't replied yet. Not sure. 1. How can we swing this with Janet's trip to her sisters? 2. What about my small car? Can we travel light? Really light?

I talked with Janet last night. She suggested they get a ride part of the way. Sheryl has a friend (Annie) who lives in/near Wautoma, which is near I-39. That might make the journey simpler.

Gotta work with Google Maps for a while, too. More studying. The funny part is that I raised that same idea (FreedomFest) a few months ago with them, and Sheryl said they may be going to Annie's place to shoot fireworks (along with other stuff) over the Fourth.

OK, Google Maps tells me Ladysmith to Wautoma to LaFarge is 282 miles and 5:23 of driving time. Iron River to Oshkosh to LaFarge is 317 miles and 6:34 on the road. Maybe I shave a few miles here or a few minutes there by changing the route, but that gives me a basic idea of the time and distances involved.

My car is another matter. One person + camping gear--that's easy. Two and camping gear: We made it work last year, with Betty's stuff. Three people and the gear? Is that too much to ask? Is it time to start thinking seriously about a new car?

For what it's worth, I have been looking online at used fairly new Honda Fits available in Wisconsin. Maybe it's time to click this up a notch or two in importance. I can make the Mazda last longer--I had talked about reaching 200K next year (we're at 181K now).

But nothing I can do will make the Mazda any bigger or add more cargo room. Is it finally time?