Somewhere in Wisconsin...

So the journey was actually pretty uneventful and rather dull. We arrived at Heathrow with hours to spare, I managed to get issued with the wrong boarding pass - they neglected to give me to one for the Chicago section! - but that was quickly sorted and we managed to fit in an extremely pricy air-side lunch before departure.

The flight was apparently delayed by an hour, although I failed to notice this because I closed my eyes for a few minutes after boarding and the next thing I knew we were over Greenland & someone was offering me a vegan meal with my name on it. After reading for the rest of the journey - including Patrick Rothfuss' extremely wonderful The Slow Regard of Silent Things - we were in Chicago.

After a short layover we caught a small but full 50 seater to Eau Claire, which I again managed to sleep through, and landed somewhere after ten local time. G drove the final leg of the journey in a hire car - Apple maps FTW! - and we finally arrived at our hotel somewhere after eleven, by which point we'd been on the move for 22 hours.



My room has a striking view of the forecourt, WIS 124, and McDonalds on the far side. Still it's comfortable and quiet and the wifi is staggering fast...

A good first day

A nice first day here in Wisconsin with the weather a balmy -21 Celsius. Which isn't quite as shockingly cold as you might think, mainly because it's very dry and there isn't much in the way of wind. Add a breeze and take away the sun - a rare think round here, so the locals say! - and I imagine you'd quickly find yourself in serious trouble if you failed to take the right precautions.


I don't think this is going to come as a great surprise to anyone, but we're currently based at a certain computer company named after Chippewa Falls' most famous son:


Dinner was at a Mexican place downtown - L has been here for a while and has already got the best veggie places taped - with a striking colour scheme and big portions - I think I'd've been fine with just salad and the guacamole, never mind the burrito and quesadilla that came with it...