My first vacation!

Mom's family had a birthday party/reunion this past weekend and I got to travel to Wisconsin!

Not only did I stay in a hotel for the first time I got to meet lots of new relatives (well, they are new to me but they aren't new to anyone else ... in fact, several are quite old), see some beautiful countryside and hang out in some cool places.

The trip started out with Uncle Eric spending the night on Thursday. (What is it, whenever I'm around the Houstons I end up playing in my underwear.)

Friday we hit the road. Here I am stretching a bit at a gas station near Parkersburg. (Gas station stops seemed to be a theme this weekend.)

We arrived at our hotel in the afternoon then went to the National Mississippi River Museum where we met up with Aunt Jeanne and her family.

There was a lot of wildlife from the Mississippi River on display. I think I agree with Mom ... I'm NEVER swimming in that river after seeing the size of some of these fish!

Who knew that Dad enjoyed those silly face cut out things?! I had to humor him at the lizard exhibit.

From there we went back to the hotel. Here I am showing off my bed for the next three nights.

The next day started with a trip to Quality Bakery in Dodgeville (608-935-3812). This is the best bakery in all of Wisconsin and stops here are a family tradition. Needless to say, we loaded up on tasty pasty treats and bismarks.

For the uninitiated, a pasty (pronounced pass-tee) is a working man's lunch. Some say they first appeared in North America in the 1850's after a wave of immigration of English miners to the upper midwest. In some ways, they were the first "fast food" as they didn't need utensils to be eaten and were highly transportable. They are a hearty food for a hearty people and a real treat.

Since I was the "rookie" I had to carry everything. Uncle Eric said that if I did a good job I'd get a treat. (I'm still waiting.)

The next stop was for Dad and it was the most excited he got all weekend (other than at the museum when we did the lizard cut out face photos). This is the Five Point Cheese & Liquor Store (608-987-3248) in Mineral Point. It has everything you need and some stuff you didn't know you wanted. Deer license? Yep. Toilet paper? Yep. Cheese curds? Check. Beer from the New Glarus Brewing Company? Ya, you betcha!

Dad loaded up and gave me lots of tips for when I start shopping at this place he calls his Mecca of Joy (I know, weird.). Needless to say, there was much father-son bonding and this moment was quite special for both of us. (It was kind of odd, Dad got kind of teary-eyed, but when asked said it was "allergies". Hmmm.)

After that stop it was finally time for the party! I met so many people and had a great time. Grandma and I got to cuddle while she told me about her family history.

She and Grandpa had a lot of fun.

All of Grandma's brothers and sisters were there ...

... and I got to be in a picture of the kids and grandkids with Mom.

A highlight was meeting Zach Palzkill who is a couple of months older than me. Babies don't really shake hands so I thought the typical Iowa greeting would be appropriate. Apparently, in Wisconsin, they do things differently.

After the party I was pooped. I needed some "Pierce time" so the whirlpool bath was just what the doctor ordered.

Saturday we drove to Grandma's old farmstead and toured the lush hills of Wisconsin. It was beautiful and we had quite the caravan. The locals must have thought they were being invaded.

We stopped for lunch in New Glarus and there were lots of these cows around. Mom found out the hard way that not all restrooms are set up with diaper changing stations. (Sorry, Mom ... I'll try to work things so Dad has to do lots of diapers on our next trip.)

As this was my first time really getting to know Grandma's family I learned lots. One of the Palzkill traditions is taking over the common areas in a hotel and playing cards, laughing and talking. I really liked participating in the fun!

I really showed folks how I could crawl and move around. Here I am showing Mom and Dad how I can pull myself up and stand on my own! (Soon I hope to surprise the crap out of them and walk into their room one morning to ask whether or not anyone made coffee.)

We ended our trip with a stop at Hickory Park in Ames. Both Uncle Eric and Dad graduated from Iowa State and seemed to like spending a few minutes in their old stomping ground.

Have a great week, everyone!