A few months ago I accepted a house sit on Trusted Housesitters for October. It was just outside Mount Horeb, Wisconsin; a picturesque small town with an affinity for trolls (officially the troll capital of the world) and plenty of Scandinavian influence. The sit involved looking after a dog (Koda) and 2 cats (Tigger and Cuddles) and staying in a gorgeous home surrounded by several acres of nature trails and corn crops, in true midwest fashion. I decided to invite my mom to join me during this sit. She lives in Puerto Rico. She has done one house sit with me in the past, and she loved it. We enjoyed 5 lovely days of rainy nature, exploring the town and nearby attractions, and my favorite thing of all: the long walks in nature with Koda. ❤️
It was about a 3 hour drive from Chicago to the house and once we arrived we were greeted by the family and shown around before they headed out to the airport. The home was lovely and very spacious. It had so many sitting areas and fireplaces, plus a nice, huge kitchen. Right away we were able to bond with Cuddles and Tigger, since they are true lap kitties, but Koda needed some time to sulk over his humans leaving. My mom and I drove into town and got to see some of the beloved Mt Horeb trollway.
There are 33 trolls in town and we only saw a few of them. We also got to visit the Open House Imports store which is full of Scandinavian charm and goods. I was so tempted to get a pair of wooden clogs, but then I remembered my plantar fasciitis 😅. We did get some goodies including: postcards, food items, christmas decorations, and more. After we had lunch at the fames Grumpy Troll Brewpub. I had the Trollfest beer and my mom had the Sunflower, they were both so good. We visited some thrift stores and did groceries before heading back “home”.
Since we were visiting Wisconsin in the fall, we decided to visit an apple orchard to pick some apples and drink some hot cider. Sutter’s Ridge Farm was the perfect choice! It was my mom’s first time in an apple orchard and she was super excited. Unfortunately the weather was cold and rainy but that didn’t hold us back. We got a good selection of apples to bring back with us, along with apple cider donuts, apple butter, and other goodies.
Another great place we got to visit was House on the Rock, a place that displays “collections of the exotic, the unusual and the amazing” according to their website. I will admit that House on the Rock can be a bit hard to explain, It was created in 1945 by Alex Jordan as he looked to create a retreat from the world with amazing views. As time progressed, the house because a small museum of collectables and ingenious inventions. Now it is a HUGE property that can take hours to navigate and try to take it all in. My favorite areas of the museum are the music rooms. They are basically giant music boxes, which are automized and motorized to play songs. You can turn them on with some tokens that you can purchase along the place. It is honestly a great experience which provided amusement and wonder to my mom and I. We got some great pictures too!
Besides exploring the area, we got to spend some rainy days at house snuggled up with all the pets. The cats were truly lap kitties and spent the nights in bed with my mom. Everyday I took 2 long walks with Koda through different trails in the property. He knew his way around and had hidden sticks all over the place. It was funny watching him go into the corn crops and come out with a hidden treat. Housesitting has been such a great way to travel and explore new towns. It has become a special experience I get to share with my mom as well. We get to live like a local, cook breakfast at “home” together, and sit with our coffee enjoying the view and great conversation together (plus pet cuddles).
If you have an interest in housesitting while you travel (or just to get away for a weekend on a budget), I recommend checking out Trusted Housesitters. It is such a great platform and community that has also been instrumental for me in finding sitters for my own cats since 2019. Along the way, I have been able to see new places, create new friendships, and make amazing memories. You can make a free account and brows and, if it is for you, then sign up for an annual plan. You can choose to join as a sitter, pet owner, or a combined account and do both! When you’re ready to join use my promo code NERICITA25 for 25% off!
I have some upcoming housesits lined up in Europe that I am looking forward to. I will be doing these ones alone but hoping to meet new friends along the way. I can’t wait to share my experiences here with you!
Click here to check out Trusted Housesitters! Promo Code: NERICITA25
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