Leave the Men at Home: LadyMoon 2012

I have a lot of friends who are just getting married and starting families, this would be one of the interesting aspects of getting married at 20 – most people my age are just getting to the point of settling down. Earlier this year as my friend Catherine prepared for her wedding and we talked about her surprise honeymoon I blurted out “I would love to go on a honeymoon…with my girlfriends.” This sounds a lot worse than my intentions.  As she talked about where she hoped to go, what her “requirements” were (basically indoor plumbing and good food) we began to think of how fun it would be to have a LadyMoon.

Then I sort of forgot about it.

But Catherine didn’t – and I love her for that!

Shortly after her fabulous honeymoon to New Mexico she sent out an email to a few friends, some of us knew each other while others had a connection to someone but not everyone. Soon we were brainstorming dates and locations and it seemed like everything was really coming together. But we were going to be in New York for several weeks and I was afraid it just wouldn’t be possible.  Thanks to some good timing it worked out and the ladymoon was on!

I consider myself so lucky to have made some wonderful new friends thanks to Catherine’s insight and knowing how to gather a great group of like minded individuals.  Little did we know the wild ride we were about to embark on. I hesitate to even tell you the stories because I’m pretty sure you’ll think I’m making it up – but trust me – I couldn’t make this up!

Catherine and I left early Friday for the drive to southern WI.  We were staying near Mineral Point at a “rustic lodge” I won’t name by name but have to shame in describing in every detail. There was road construction leading to the lodge so the owner asked us to meet him at his bar. We found it easily and he greeted us at our car. He shared his name, the same as WI’s Governor in the 1990′s, his license plate celebrated his moniker simply dubbed “The Gov”. After what felt like a forever ride over dirt roads, and across a VERY small construction bridge, some more winding road and a final descent through a narrow road that winded through corn fields we arrived.

Oh how nice a (scum covered) lake! Look no cell phone reception! (We were told before leaving if we were to climb on top of that slide we could pick up some reception) The cabin seemed alright from the outside and had all the trappings of a good hunting lodge inside.  Dead animals were aplenty. The Gov hopped out of his truck, beer in hand (oh yea drinking with an open container while driving -don’t worry it’s normal (he said)…)  A slight must hung in the air and furniture and beds were just a little on the damp side. Eek.  With a huge smile somehow plastered on our faces we were going to have a great time. Cath and I left our things and decided to take a trip to Mineral Point for some dinner and to wait for our fellow ladymooners to arrive.

The small construction bridge we took on our way in was our way out.  Except it was closed off with chicken wire and a cardboard “Keep Off” sign.  45 minutes of navigating back roads and we managed to find Mineral Point and Kusaka, a delicious Japanese restaurant.  It’s simple but authentic menu is delicious and it’s obvious everything is homemade. Soon we had to make our way back to find our friends.

We spent sometime catching up and getting acquainted that night but were ready to get some sleep. Before the trip we had all split up meals, assigning a “chef” and “sous chef” for each meal. As much as I love cooking it was awesome to have someone else handle cooking and cleaning up a few times! I’m going to share the recipes in future posts because they were amazing! With more good conversation, some napping and a walk to see the on-site “waterfall”

(This was the highly touted waterfall “The Gov” wanted us to see)

We also happened to stumble upon the business office – located in a tree house.

 Sunday morning it was time to eat a last meal together and begin to pack up our things. Although the surroundings wouldn’t have hurt to be a little more up to date, being surrounded by good friends and lots of really good food sure helped make up for the other shortcomings.

To Be Continued…