🌽 A Hooiser Tale 6/15/25

Hi Everyone!

I’ve been fortunate enough to hang out with some family this week, and I have come to realize that our entire family was a bunch of little rascals growing up. They were telling me wild stories about me growing up that I have no recollection of, and then I would be telling them stories of their shenanigans that they did, and they would also have no memory of. Maybe my family also just has a bunch of bad memories, too then…

I didn’t forget to write this newsletter though (it’s just a little bit late), so without further ado, lets find out What’s Up With Will…

We are still moving full steam ahead with the move. We ended up making multiple trips to our new apartment to drop off some of our stuff, and our old place is finally starting to clear out. We also did a preliminary apartment walk-through to find and identify things we need to fix to get back our deposit. It’s nothing a little elbow grease won’t be able to fix.

The current plan is to move everything out except the furniture and heavy items, and then have movers help move the rest (I am on top of it and even got around to scheduling the movers, too). 

Another fun update is that I joined Costco. The new place is a lot closer to the local Costco, so I figured it was time to finally see what this place is all about (Don’t be surprised if pretty soon you see a write-up that’s entirely about my Costco experience, haha).

As I am moving to a new place, I have been asking around for the spots to be, whether that be museums, restaurants, shops, etc. My friend Brandt, who grew up in the area, recently gave me the recommendation of a place called Morucci’s Deli and Cafe, a deli/sandwich shop that all the locals know about. Side Note: Do any of y’all know what they call people who live in Walnut Creek? Because I propose the name of Walnuts. It certainly fits me as I am very nutty.

One day this week, when I was moving boxing and forgot to bring lunch with me, I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to try it out. I pulled up right before the lunch rush, and I was still impressed with how crowded it was. I decided to get the California Club with their special ranch dressing. It took about 25 minutes for me to get my sandwich after ordering, but it was honestly one of the better sandwiches I have had recently. I mean, look at that thing! Shout out to Brandt for the recommendation.

If you remember, a couple of weeks ago, it was Rylee’s cousin who was graduating, but this week, one of mine was. 

In case you haven’t been counting, this will be my third graduation that I have attended this year (and as a little sneak peek into some of my future plans, I have one more later this summer).  Because of this, we had to get all of our moving stuff done early this week for our flight to Indianapolis on Thursday Night. 

*Record Scratch* I should stop and explain a few things first before I go any further. First is by saying that I have a lot of cousins (and family too, for that matter), spread across the country. Some of them are older, some of them are younger, and even a couple are around my age. However, one thing that I appreciate is that we make an effort to see each other, especially for important moments like this.

This being said, there is one group of four cousins that I am closer to than the rest. They were the closest in age to me and my brother, and I fondly remember spending Christmases together and going on Disney World trips together.

Second, the cousin who is graduating is named Maren and is the second youngest of the four cousins with whom I am closest. The four cousins are Saydi (the oldest, a year older than me), Reagan (who is currently in a master’s program), Maren (already mentioned), and Tara (still in High School). Their father is Uncle Dave, and they all live in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Lastly, Rylee and I would be joined by my dad, mom, my brother Daniel, and his girlfriend Hannah.  I think that is all the important information. Now, let’s get back to the story.

We left San Francisco at 9:30 AM, and after only getting a solid 2 hours of sleep on the plane, we arrived in Indianapolis at 5 AM. While I had some more time to catch up on some rest, the sleep gods were not kind to me, and that would be the only two hours of sleep I got before we started the 2 hour drive to Fort Wayne, Indianapolis.

For those who aren’t familiar with Indiana, or any Midwest state, it’s a lot of farm land, and not much else. Thankfully, we didn’t run into any tractor traffic getting there. In fact, we arrived in Fort Wayne an hour and a half before we had to leave for the graduation. That left us with plenty of time to stop in Downtown Fort Wayne’s Headwaters Park for the annual Rib Fest, where they invite a ton of traveling BBQ joints to compete. 

Just from the first bite, I felt it unlock something deep within my soul. The meat was so tender and so well seasoned. It has been so long since I have had good BBQ. The Bay Area, while having a wonderful culinary scene, the BBQ is the one thing that it cannot get right for the life of it. 

After pigging out, we ran over to the ceremony to see Maren graduate. The funniest part of the graduation was that, in true midwestern fashion, the school decided that instead of choosing a valedictorian and a salutatorian (which might make someone feel left out), they would just have three valedictorians.

I am so proud of Maren! While we aren’t the closest in age, we were still old enough to become friends, and I remember back in the day on those Disney trips that I would hold her hand, and we would chat about the rides as we walked around.

There was a brief reception back at Uncle Dave’s home that I went to, but I was barely cognizant at that point from the lack of sleep.

Saturday was the day of the party.

I woke up still a little sleepy and ran to Good Bread For All, a gluten-free bakery located in downtown Fort Wayne. Rylee and I agreed that s’mores scones there was to die for. I have to give credit where credit is due about Fort Wayne, I guess, since it is Indiana’s second largest city behind Indianapolis. 

We then drove to the actual graduation ceremony, even further in the middle of nowhere Indiana, in Columbia City. The party was hosted at the Mizpah Shrine Horse Park, a show horse grounds that you can also rent for parties. And before you ask, unfortunately, there were no horses included in the rental. One of Uncle Dave’s friends who visited was from Germany and brought some of the good beer along with him. I love this guy’s priorities and knew immediately that we were going to get along.

It was at the party that I found time to ask Maren the most dreaded question all high school graduates get asked: What are you doing next? Well, she is going to Ball State University to study Sign Language. (Fun story: Maren has been super into sign language for quite some time. Years ago, when Rylee and I were just talking, she taught me how to say her name in ASL).

After the party was over, we drove back to Fort Wayne for a Belated Cinco de Mayo (or in this case, Catorce de Junio?) combination Bunco tournament. 

Bunco is a game where you roll three dice over six rounds, and hope for a three of a kind that matches the round number, also known as a “Bunco.” There’s also a twist: if you roll a 1-2-3, you can steal someone else’s points. I tried to look up strategies to win at Bunco, but the game is almost entirely luck-based, with one website writing that it requires as much skill as finger painting.

While it might be based purely on luck, the atmosphere of the Bunco games is where the fun is. People were screaming “Bunco!” and blowing on dice before rolling, and Uncle Dave was giving out prizes to anyone who could get a bingo or a 1-2-3. I lost the tournament but won these silly glasses, which is a win in my heart.

As the night wrapped up, Rylee and I rallied Daniel, Hannah, Saydi, and Reagan to go out to the local Bar, Henry’s. This was the first time we were all of age to go out and have a drink together. The original plan was to go out and have a quick drink, but it quickly turned into being out until 4 AM, catching up with each other. 

We woke up on Sunday, still a little sleepy from the night before, and went to Davey’s Delicious Bagels, where I had one of the best bagel sandwiches in my entire life, almost on the level of an NYC bagel. Again and again, Fort Wayne kept surprising me as a sleeper foodie city.

The last event of the trip was a combination Father’s Day and Uncle Dave’s 61st birthday party, and I managed to grab one more slice of cake before we drove back to Indianapolis (Side Note: I ate an absurd amount of cake this weekend). 

Even though I was sleep deprived practically the whole trip, I had a fantastic time. Can’t wait for Tara’s graduation, Belated Cinco De Mayo / Bunco Tournament, and Father’s Day / Uncle Dave’s birthday in a few years. Something to look forward to…

I loved a good arcade growing up (and I still do if I’m being honest). The Wonder Wheel is one of those games that I completely forgot about though. I got a good bit of tickets off this one…