Tiny Sputniks

Last weekend a friend of mine asked if I wanted to do anything. Every winter I go through the struggle of being completely bored but also not wanting to leave my bed and venture out into the cold. (Really, how did I survive in Russia for two years). I decided I should just suck it up and do something, but then came the decision of what to actually do. We have been wanting to go to Lake View Cemetery again, but it was too cold to spend more than 20 minutes outside. I then remembered this small cemetery I wanted to take pictures of, and it was small enough that we could get out for a few minutes and then get in and go to a warm coffee shop. My cousins also told me there was a geocache inside. I knew I had to try to find it because I had yet to find one in all the times I've searched.

South Ridge Cemetery, also known as Pioneer Cemetery, has an interesting history. The land was originally owned by Silas Antisdel from Norwich, CT who settled there in 1812. However, Elijah and Mary Hanks sold it to the town of Madison for $30. The oldest headstone belongs to Silas A'Tisdel Jr. who died on March 22, 1813. He was only 23 years old. We were really surprised how many people buried there were in their 20s or younger. One man buried there, Deacon Jesse Ladd, who died in 1816, was a veteran from the American Revolution! While many of the stones still hold their old charm, the cemetery was being cared for by a former neighbor. Some of the old stones have been replaced with new ones as well. This article has more interesting history on the cemetery.

Not only did we take pictures, but I knew it was my chance to finally find a geocache. We spent some time looking for it, but it was so cold that I was about to give up when my friend looked in the center of an old trees trunk and found the container. We had a little bit of trouble trying to open it - a mix of having cold hands and not being sure if it should be opened like a pill bottle or not (hint: open it like a pill bottle). Inside contained paper with a list of names of people who had found it previously, a little army guy (not pictured), some spider rings, and a little toy. We didn't take anything except a picture for memories. I'm so glad we found it and it rekindled my desire to find more.

Have you ever gone geocaching?

I don't know about your states but come summer there are county fairs and Catholic school festivals almost every weekend. While I'm not a county girl (country music is the worst and cowboy boots look good on no one), I do like the nostalgia of a county fair. Also, what's more American than a county fair? This summer happened to be my cousin's first time in 4H, so he had animals to be shown. My grandma invited me on one of the days to join her. I had just gotten back from Russia and was all for doing ALL THINGS AMERICAN. Also, I really wanted an elephant ear.

As you can tell from my photos, I'm really into the food stands. They're colorful, obnoxious, and remind me of olden day traveling circuses and side shows. I still don't know why I'm drawn to that kind of thing. Maybe I was a bearded lady in my past life? I really just wanted to take pictures of every single food stand but I felt awkward doing so. Towards the end of the night I sucked it up though and tried to take as many as I could because I knew I'd be mad at myself if I didn't. Of course that's when it was busier. Guess I learned my lesson for next year.

We spent the day walking around, petting animals, and eating lots of greasy fair food. My cousin had ducks and chickens he raised for the fair, and ended up getting a nice sum of money for them at the end. His ducks placed third (out of 3), but that's just a minor detail. At one point I lost my phone and literally was the most relaxed I've ever been about losing something because I kind of needed a new one anyways. My cousin was smart enough to remember about find my iPhone, and we found it on a table in the bird bard. I'm pretty sure it fell out of my pocket when I stood up and someone was nice enough to pick it up and put it to the side for me. We finished the night watching the horse pull (which I do not support) and eating elephant ears and kettle corn, both of which made me feel like I was about to explode.