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perfect weekend
THe North shore weekend
04/20 – 04/21/13
For Larry & Amy life is good on the Wisconsin farm
Larry and Amy Thalmann enjoy a moment together at Chalet in Wilmette, which has been in the Thalmann family for decades.
photography by joel lerner
“We have the famous Turkey Bowl up there … if the weather’s inclement, we do it in the riding arena. We’ve lost some lights due to errant punts.”
What we really enjoy doing is going to our farm in Salem, Wis. with our three kids and getting away from the hectic day-to-day life. We’ve got 200 acres up there. We bought it in 2004. It was an old horse farm with an indoor riding arena; we do have three horses up there we ride. Part of the land is for our business (nursery stock). In some of the pastures we grow perennials. We have a couple of lakes and a swimming pool. Two of our kids are in college and another is a senior at Loyola Academy. We’re not quite empty-nesters — we’re not running off to Napa Valley each weekend. The farm is a central gathering place — the kids bring their friends up. We eat mostly at home. We love to barbeque. We’ll order marinated skirt steak and pork chops with mushroom sauce from Wildfire (through Peapod). We go to the Bristol
45 Diner for breakfast. It has a ‘50s motif. They have a car show there in the summers. Thanksgiving is always the most memorable — the time of year is stunning. We have 50-60 for Thanksgiving. The early-morning cooks put the turkeys in the ovens. We have the famous Turkey Bowl up there before the dinner. If the weather’s inclement, we do it in the riding arena. We’ve lost some lights due to errant punts. I have 25 acres of wooded trails; the walk after the Thanksgiving meal is delightful. The farm is only 45 minutes away, just over the Wisconsin border. Distance-wise it’s not bad, but it’s a world away. Amy and Larry Thalmann, as told to David Sweet