Family Adventure to Luzern

On Saturday, the family woke up early and jumped on a bus and a train into Luzern for their weekly farmers market, to stroll the lake walk, and the vendors at the Blue Balls Festival. Geno did surprisingly well on the train and needs to sit by his sister preferably in a window seat so he can point out all the cows, water, and trees that he sees along the way.

Once to Luzern, we made our way out of the train station to the old part of Zug and spent the morning browsing all of the different products available at the farmers market. Along the lake walk, there were several other vendors selling jewelry, clothes, sweaters, and hand made crafts as well. We ended up spending a little time in the park where Geno and Coretta had a chance to swing and sit on the rocking horses. Horses have become one of Geno's new obsessions ever since he saw Cari, better known as Coretta, riding a real one while back in America.

We then decided to have lunch. Nick suggested that we try some of the food vendors down by the festival, but these were not up and running for lunch. I, then, suggested that we venture out and find this wonderful Mexican restaurant we ate at when we were in Luzern a year ago for our Look See. We walked around for quite a while, without any luck. We found the park where many people gather around and play chess, but no restaurant. Finally, realizing the window we had with the kids before their starvation meter turns on was expiring, we decided to head back. It was during this stroll, that we came across the restaurant almost by chance. Or not chance if we factor in that I was praying to Saint Anthony. When I told Nick this, he said "You need to save your prayers to Saint Anthony for the big stuff." I said "No, way. Something was lost that we needed to find. It was just as I had remembered it with it's Spanish murals of women dancing painted on the walls, the red leather chairs, the open airy feel. I now know that the name of this restaurant is the Pacifico: Mexican Cantina and Bar located at Pilatustrasse 15 in Luzern. Once we were seated at our table, Geno was fairly well behaved and waited for the food. Our waitress graciously brought us a basket of bread after seeing the famished look in our children's eyes. In fact, Geno was horded pieces by the two's or three's. The food was just as we had remembered it exactly one year ago. Fresh and lots of it. Coretta and Geno shared the chicken quesadilla which actually resembled more of a fajita, Nick had some kind of chicken dish with mole sauce, and I had their traditional burrito which had chicken and potatoes in a red sauce. 140 CHF later we left satisfied and happy.

We then were going to take a boat ride home, but realized that Geno may not hold out for a boat ride two hours in length, so we jumped on the next available train back to Cham and then a bus to Hunenberg. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

A Day at the Beach in Hunenberg, Switzerland

Today since it was so hot, and I promised Coretta, we headed down to the Hunenberg Badi which consists of a swimming pool. lake, diving tower, slide, wading pool for little ones, and a restaurant. We arrived around 10 am and stayed until 2 pm. I wasn't sure how Geno would do considering last time, he was running away from me and taking people's toys and towels, but he did much better. He actually wanted to go swimming in both the wading pool and the swimming pool, and was well behaved. We had lunch there and the kids and I shared chicken strips and fries and had ice cream for dessert.

Geno, being the boy that he is, was trying to sneak a peek at the girls across the way, so he found the perfect place to spy: in between the stairs to the slide. He also made a friend and they enjoyed watching the ducky float down the current.

Coretta, being the mermaid that she is, would jump in, swim laps, do hand stands, as well as entertaining her brother and myself. Looks like this may be a regular thing.

Geno riding his trike today

Lucinda Williams Concert

Last night Nick and I were able to attend the Blue Balls Festival in Lucerne and see Lucinda Williams perform live. Earlier in the day we were unsure if we were going to be able to go because every one of our babysitters were either in the United States or busy. Nick talked to one of his co-workers Amy and somehow convinced her to take the kids over night so we could go to the concert. I was so glad she did, because the concert was one of the best concerts I have been to in a while. The band playing with her was called Buick 6 and they were amazing as well. I have never been to a concert where they sounded so good live before. Aferwards we walked around the lake and saw several fire jugglers and vendors along the way. It was a great time had by all.

Coretta the Skateboarding Queen

Coretta has finally decided that skateboarding is something worth giving a try. For months, she has been using her scooter at the skate park, and with the francs Grandma Marilyn gave her, she bought her first skateboard. She has been outside practicing every day since, and watches videos on tricks you can do with a skateboard.




For now, we are sticking to the basics however, but her Dad jumped on her skateboard and showed her some of his old school moves and she was impressed. Her other hero: Tony Hawk. Here's a couple photos and a video.

Lucca Family Reunion Video 2009

Our Family Trip to the Gunflint

Once we left International Falls from the Lucca Reunion, we decided to take our niece Emilia with us for 7 days up the north shore, destination Gunflint. That day we had 7 hours of driving ahead of us which is not fun. Geno was pulling his sister's hair, so he needed to be separated from the girls, so we put the seats in the back and he sat alone with the luggage. Erin and Ryan drove with us most of the way and we stopped in Ely, MN for some lunch. Once we finished, it was back in the car. When we finally got there, we checked in and were pleasantly surprised by our cabin The Birch. We had stayed in White Pine previously, and knew we love it at Heston's. Once we checked in, we made dinner, had a campfire, and went to bed.

The next morning, Nick made pancakes for the girls and was about to cut Emilia's and pour syrup on the top. I proceeded to stop him because she likes to dip her pancake into the syrup. Nick looked at me and said "Emilia is flexible" which Emilia retorted "Well yes I am. I can do the splits for a whole 5 minutes!" Afterwards Erin Ryan, Emilia, Nick, and Coretta decided to hike to Magnetic Rock. Along the way, it was clear that the damage done from a forest fire had still left it's mark, but they also saw beautiful wildflowers. About half way down the hike, you see this huge rock which is coined the Magnetic Rock where people have actually put magnets on it. The question is, How did it become magnetically charged? After the hike, they came back and swam, did some canoeing, and had a campfire.

The next morning, Erin, Ryan, Coretta, Emilia, and I went on a hike to Caribou Rock. This one was a little more scenic and the terrain was difficult at times with debris, tree roots, and boulders in the way. At one point, we needed to descend a very small area that went straight down to get to the lake, but we did it. I have come a long way since the year I wouldn't go down the ladder with my fear of heights. It was so calm and beautiful down by the water that it inspired me to jump in. Since we all forgot our suits, I improvised by hiking my pants up and taking my shirt off (sports bra left on) and swam in the water. It was so clean and clear. Now, Emilia and Coretta weren't about to swim in their underwear, Erin (lets just say didn't have appropriate attire), and Ryan was just plain chicken. When Emilia finally stated that I was making her uncomfortable, I instructed everyone to close their eyes, put my dry shirt over my wet sports bra, and we climbed back up to our car. Along the way, Ryan stopped at the Trading Center and bought an ice cream treat for the girls. On the way back we were lucky enough to even see a fox. Once back, the guys went into the cedar wood sauna, we built a fire, had dinner,
and called it a night.

The next morning, before Ryan and Erin were set to leave, Erin ran out of feminine hygiene products and asked Ryan if he would go up to the lodge and ask Barbara where she might be able to purchase these. Ryan went into the lodge, proceeded to ask Barbara the question, and she answered with "we have them here. What kind would Erin like?" Ryan embarrassed fumbled for the right thing to say and said "I'll take the whole gambit." Barbara then proceeded with "Why don't you have Erin come up here." Erin never did go. Must be the Swede in her that causes her to get paralyzing fear of these types of situations, sent Nick. Nick went in and asked Barbara for the right product and said "How many men does it take to get a feminine hygiene product?" She laughed.
It was hard to see them go since I only get to see them once a year, but it makes the time we do spend much more valuable and special.

Emilia and Coretta horseback riding for the first time

Coretta and Emilia had the great opportunity to go horseback riding at the Gunflint Riding Stables while at Heston's Lodge. Ever since we drove by the stables on our way to the cabin, it was really all they could think about. The second day of our stay, I booked a one hour riding session for Coretta, Emilia, and Nick. Since the age requirement is seven, they must also be accompanied by an adult. Me being somewhat skittish of horseback riding, finally convinced Nick to take them. Geno and I stayed back and took some pictures before they left. As soon as we got to the stables the morning of the ride, Nick had to fill out some paperwork and then they brought all of the horses out.

Emilia was the first person to be called up and get her horse. Her horses name was Houdini, and was the biggest horse they had. They gave her a switch to hold in case he misbehaved, and went through all riding procedures previous to their assignments. Emilia mounted her horse and was off. Coretta then was able to mount her horse. Her horse's name was Daisy. At first Coretta was a little nervous, but slowly became comfortable with her horse. the last one to mount his horse was Nick. His horse's name was Sourdough. They then proceeded to the trail on the National Superior Forest for some riding and spectacular views. Once back, Emili and Coretta were trying to think of ways that they, too, could own a riding stable. Above is a collage of pictures with the horses.

Camping along the Gunflint with the Bieter Family

The Bieter Family which consisted of Marilyn, Sarah, and Imania arrived towards the end of our week long stay. They came in around 4 pm, we had dinner, and sat around the campfire. Dinner was served outdoors close to the main lodge in an open fire pit oven. Barb and Greg (the lodge owners) would roll out homemade dough and give each person enough dough for a personalized pizza. We then were able to choose our toppings, which then Greg would put it back in the oven to bake. The pizza was fabulous. So much so, that Geno learned a new word Pia (pizza). Geno also made a group of friends his age and had a great time pushing a small trailer with wheels around with them. They reminded me of the show The Little Rascals. Marilyn, Nick, Geno, and I took the canoe out at sunset and saw some spectacular views as well as two loons (Marilyn's favorite). It is amazing to me how close you can get to wildlife in their natural state when canoeing. Once they got settled into their cabin that night, they played cards and had a good time.

The next morning, it was too windy to go canoeing, so Nick and I went for a hike to Honeymooner's Bluff. Marilyn was gracious enough to watch the kids. Although the views were spectacular, the hike itself was quite short. Once we made it back to the cabin, we learned that Auntie Sarah had taught Geno how to give "raspberries" where you press your lips onto the person next to you and make the equivalent of a farting sound on their belly, arm, leg, or neck. They were all sitting in a circle at one point giving each other raspberries and giggling hysterically. Sarah finished knitting some beautiful socks for Marilyn and Marilyn enjoyed putting a puzzle together. That night we all made food and shared it buffet style. Then we decided to sit in the cedar wood sauna and jump in the lake. It was exhilarating. I was the first one brave enough to jump in, and the the others followed suit. Afterwards we hung out in our cabin talking and listening to music. Sarah, Imania, Nick, and I never laughed so hard in all of our lives. They are truly missed and I hope we can do this again next year.

Lucca Family Reunion 2009

The Lucca Family Reunion was held on 4th of July weekend in International Falls, MN. We stayed at the Holiday Inn for two nights. The first night, some of the Lucca's were busy working on the float over by the Coca-Cola bottling company and others gathered at Grandma Lucca's to visit. That night, the family gathered at the Holiday Inn for swimming and the famous Border Bar pizza.

The next night, we had breakfast at the Holiday Inn and were told to meet my parents in the lobby at 11:00 am which we did, and we waited, and waited, and waited. It seemed that many more family members were waiting as well. It seemed that everyone had a different story and different meeting time/place, which obviously produced confusion and frustration. Once my Mom showed up, we were told to drive to the Coca-Cola bottling site which we would then board the float down to the start of the parade. Happens to be, that we loaded the kids, I drove down to the football stadium, parked, and walked to the start of the parade.

Once there, we noticed the sea of Lucca's on display with the dominant colors of red (Geno's family), lime green (Tranquillo's family), and blue (Livio's family). Many joked about which color was the most dominant which appeared to be ours, since Geno had fifteen kids, but Livio was not that far behind with ten. It was great talking and reminiscing about old times, because many of these people present had made a big impact on my life. Because my Mom's family was so big, they were very close, and I would spend two weeks of every summer there on Rainy Lake with my family.

Once the parade started, they chanted L-U-C-C-A what does it spell? LUCCA! The young ones on the float threw candy out to the spectators, and by the end we had won second place and received a 100.00 cash prize. Once the parade was over, we walked down to the park where the gigantic statue of Smokey Bear is, and walked around. It is here many years ago, I remember entering the races and winning first prize. It is here where my daughter enjoyed the carnival style games and won two stuffed animals.

Once done there, it was off to Rainer hall for buffet style food provided by all Lucca's, a short program, and time to visit and look at all of the pictures and memorabilia on display. Afterwards, many people went out to Sha Sha Resort where a regee band was playing and danced the night away. It was a great time had by all. I am glad we could make it.

Zorbaz Mini Class Reunion

Towards the end of our 17 day stay in America, I planned a small mini reunion to see some old high school classmates. We met at Zorbaz, had a few cocktails, and listened to the live band playing old covers from the 80s. My sister Bridgette was in attendance as well as Ryan Larson, Joy Anderson Rousu, Donny Rousu, Dion Alger, and Amy and Dennis Junes. It was great to catch up with old friends. Our 20th high school reunion is only 2 years away!