Being in-between jobs is weird. Like, I’m not unemployed – but I’m also not employed. What am I? Semi-ployed?!
Regardless of semantics, I’m loving it. Project tickets never really picked up this week, so after completing one final assignment, I walked to my boss’s office shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday and handed him my security fob.
“That’s it?” he said.
I told him I could stay the rest of the day, but I’d reached out to the account managers, and didn’t anticipate any more work coming my way. Why pay me for doing nothing? He agreed, and after a quick round of goodbyes, I walked out the door for presumably the last time ever. Such a weird feeling. The odds of me ever working in a historic converted tobacco warehouse again are pretty slim, so I will always be thankful for the opportunity. Everyone was sad to see me go, and they said the door is always open, though without that security fob I could pound until I’m blue in the face and nobody would hear me.
You’ll notice that my car was the only one in the parking lot Wednesday morning. First to arrive! Even on my last day, I’m no slacker. (You’ll also notice that I backed in, even though the lot was empty. Quit judging already.) That is (was) my cubicle on the bottom right. A pretty dark and isolated corner…just how I like it! In fact, when I walked in on my first day, they had my work station set up at the end of that aisle, next to a window, surrounded by other people. “This will not do,” I told my boss, and he let me move. As a writer, I like peace and quiet and minimal distractions. It made sense.
Up until Wednesday morning, I’d been considering a trip to Rapid City. Long story short: Tara got me a rock tumbler for Christmas. This was something I’d wanted desperately…when we lived within a stone’s throw (ha!) of the Black Hills, where quartz and agates are a dime a dozen. I figured I’d zip over there, do some rock collecting, meet up with the CenturyCo gang, visit my daughter in Fort Collins, and stock up on some South Dakota faves, like kuchen and bison hot dogs and Dark Canyon coffee. But it was all weather-dependent, and this weekend’s forecast put the kibosh on that idea.
I have no desire to drive in a snowstorm (and even less desire to dig up rocks in one), so I came up with a Plan B: a staycation! Well, sort of, as there will still be an overnight component to it. Basically, I mapped out an itinerary for every one of my 11 days off, and filled it with fun adventures.
Thursday, for instance, I drove out to Monroe, Wisconsin, a/k/a the southern gateway to Cheese Country and “the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA.” I mean, how could I resist the allure?!
Monroe, it turns out, is very charming. And like its neighbor New Glarus, very Swiss. Or very Irish. Kind of a blend of both, actually. The historic downtown courthouse oozes charm. Who doesn’t love a cow mural and random mermaid, too?
But, this being Wisconsin, I was there for the cheese. Opened in 1931, Baumgartner’s is the oldest cheese shop in the state. And again, this being Wisconsin, it’s also a tavern. Their claim to fame? Cheese sandwiches. (Chili, apparently, is a close second.)
Naturally, I walked through the portal.
Though it may not look like much, my grilled cheddar and salami with onions on rye truly was one of the best I’ve ever had. The chili wasn’t bad, either. Day one of my staycation was off to a rip-roaring start!
Day two was a little (okay, a lot) more physical. But I was able to finally cross Devil’s Lake State Park off my Wisco bucket list.
We’d tried to visit a couple of times before, but summer weekends…and summer…and weekends, for that matter…are jam-packed, at least from May through October. It is Wisconsin’s most popular state park, after all! Luckily, Friday mornings in March, when the temperature is hovering around 40º, are a lot less crowded. I was able to snag a parking spot easily, and I set out exploring the park.
I ended up doing two hikes: one easy, the other very steep and, NGL, a little scary if you’re afraid of heights. In retrospect, I probably should have done some research in advance. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve done a proper hike, and I had no idea what to expect at Devil’s Lake. I’ll tell you what I wasn’t expecting, though: a 500′ elevation gain up the side of a mountain, with kinda-slippery rock stairs and no railing whatsoever. With each step, my legs felt like jelly. Coming down was no easier; by the time I reached the bottom (hallelujah!), my knees and calves were aching something fierce. But it was totally worth the climb.
As you can tell, I am taking full advantage of my time off. Tara is taking a PTO day on Monday, and we plan to do some adventuring together. It’ll be a rainy day, so we’re doing something fun and exciting indoors. Stay tuned! And I will be traveling up to Door County for a couple of days of solo exploring, too. It’s a super popular destination in the summer and fall, but this time of year, hotels are cheap and I should have the place virtually to myself.
Not every day is go-go-go. We’ll be laying low this weekend, and I’m planning on doing a whole lot of nothing next Tuesday.
As far as Plan Bs go, I’m digging this one!
Mark My Words 
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