USA Day, 2026

That title is (perhaps more than) a little disrespectful, I know.  I choose to live in the US, but I also choose to live a little apart from it, and given how the flag and national symbols have been so horribly co-opted by the right in this country, I find it even harder now to note the Fourth of July and offer Americans any sort of congratulations or cheer.  Sorry.

It was no less difficult this year to summon up July 4 cheer.  Aside from the messy political situation, it oddly felt like there wasn't much being done to celebrate.  Oh, sure, we saw flags and bunting and some really awful (and, frankly, disrespectful) fashion decisions - why oh why do USians insist on draping their flag across their tits or butts (if they can dress crudely, I can use crude language).  But there really was no sense anywhere that this was a celebration worthy of attention.  It felt like a summer Saturday, nothing more.

Conrad and I checked out of that awful room and left through the patio door to the parking immediately outside because I was in no mood to be nice to the desk clerks.  We tried meeting up with his family members and mostly failed.  So it was that, come noon CDT, we were at a Culver's in Marinette, WI.  A burger each, onion rings to share. 

Not the healthiest lunch, but certainly an enjoyable one.

From there it was on to Green Bay, with a stop at Klema's (which was Seguin's for so many years),

and that was a welcome return to something a little more luxurious, a little better.  I know, I know, I am a terrible snob.  Sorry.  It was just such a weird and not entirely great visit to Escanaba, and having a good hotel for a night,

and one with a spa (we each got a treatment) and a nice bar and restaurant, was such a balm.  We checked in, sorted ourselves out, then headed to the spa for a while.

After that, we had an easy evening ahead.  We took care of repacking for our travel the next day before we went to dinner, then headed up to Taverne in the Sky for a nice meal, commencing with a cocktail each (Last Word, thank you to them for having green chartreuse)

in the bar with its view of Lambeau Field

before heading into the dining room.  They've spruced things up in there.  They've also got a new chef (who came out to chat with us), and he has focused the menu nicely.  The service was attentive and knowledgeable, too.  Summer is clearly not their busy season, and I'm sure the holiday further affected things.  It was fairly quiet in the dining room, which feels like a luxury in this day and age of loud music and chatter in restaurants.  We were grateful for it all.

The food!  Oysters to start, and I liked the apple brunoise. 

I especially liked the glass of Sardinian wine paired with it just as the host suggested when we were talking with him at the bar.  The tuna crudo was also tasty

- Conrad liked that one a lot.  We also had some bread, which was a nice quality. 

I kind of wish restaurants would stop with the balsamic vinegar thing with bread, but ah well.

I was glad that they had a smaller steak on offer, a 6 oz filet.  Much more than that can be too much meat.  The steak was nicely cooked, the cauliflower was a colourful side, and the parsnip puree was ridiculously silky. 

I could quibble and suggest that it all might have been warmer when it came out, but it was a meal to savour slowly anyway, so it was rather cool by the time I ate my last mouthful.  Dessert was good although it felt a little like something halfway to a great idea. 

The lemon parts were terrific, but the pile of pistachios with the vanilla ice cream did not go with it as well as it could.  We had a lot of desserts on this trip that involved a scoop of ice cream, and I get that it's summer, but I don't think that's always the solution.  The nuts could have been made into something, a praline perhaps.  Still, the dessert was a satisfying way to finish the meal.

As the meal ended, we could see fireworks in the distance from three locations.  These continued on as the skies darkened.  We got back to our room where we could still see fireworks

beyond the Titletown complex. 

We wound down, in no great rush in the morning thanks to proximity to the airport, time of flight, and generally being ready to go.

I don't think Conrad and I really remarked much on it being a national holiday all day, which is so odd for a 250th anniversary.  A milestone that got sidelined.  It was a nice day, though, so I am appreciative of that.

an awesome concert

In recent years I have been to more EDM-type concerts than I ever guessed I would.  Oh, like many, I've enjoyed plenty of music with a beat.  But Van has exposed me to ever more, and it's been quite a ride.  Sets at Coachella, a weekend at The Gorge, a day at Red Rocks, and more.  Fun times.

But sometimes I yearn a little for a guitar or some other live instrument.  Sorry, but true.

A DJ duo called Odesza did a two-night gig in Los Angeles this past weekend, and it was no small venue for them.  They were playing at BMO Stadium, and by the time the headliners came on, the stands and the floor were pretty full.  Thousands of impossibly trim, stylish, younger folks bopping like mad. 

I'm such an old, fat troll.

Ha!  Kidding.  Sort of.  Who cares?  I had on a Jimbo baloney ghost tshirt

that got a compliment as I passed through security at the entrance, and Van and I settled into place to enjoy the next handful of hours. 

The stadium was not yet full, but it would be.

We missed the first act, Golden Features.  My apologies to them, but we did not know who they were, so we're not sure how much we missed out on.  Instead, we caught DRAMA's full set.  No, I don't know them either, but the singer was pretty great.

Bob Moses came before the headliners,

and I knew them for a few songs at least.  A Canadian act, so bonus points for that.  They had live instrumentalists with them (who was that drummer - what a magnificent mane of hair!), and their sound was harder, more rock than I would have guessed.  And that really made me wonder about how they fit with the DJ set that was to come.  How foolish I was to think that.

I don't know Odesza well at all.  I know I had heard a song or two, but I couldn't name one or sing along to the chorus at all.  So my assumptions were simply DJ EDM and nothing more.  That was blown out of the water during the opening number, which, as it proceeded, had a string ensemble and a drum corps out on stage. 

All of whom came back at multiple points along with four different live singers, a trombonist, a trumpeter, a bass player, and more.  Oh, the guys DJed, for sure.  But there was a lot of live performance mixed into what we saw and heard, and it was exhilarating in so many spots.  It also threatened to lapse into a Blue Man Group set, perhaps, but nah, it was fun.

I've been listening to some Odesza and Bob Moses this morning, and I'm smiling.  Van and I made it home by midnight, glad that we had had the chance to enjoy that show.