Door County 2011

Back in October I went to Door County for the second time in my life and for the first time with Brett. We rented a cabin and stayed for 2 days. It was awesome and we came away with new favorites and things for next time. I've compiled a list below.

We biked, hiked, browsed, took a tour, sampled wine, brought home coffee, ate and wandered. We probably had the most fun getting out the bikes and parking on the side of the road and just going! (with helmets of course)

To Do:
Apples (early October), Cherries (early August), Golfing, Washington Island Ferry, Biking, Local Tours, Wineries, Shopping, Animal Farms, Fun Parks, Hands on Art Studios, Fireboat Cruise, Relaxing at the Cabin, Fishing, Swimming, State Parks, County Parks, Scenic Drives, Rustic Fish Gallery, Orchards/Farmers Markets, Cana Island Light House (bring cash), cook in!

Restaurants:
Breakfast - Rustys Tractor Cafe, Julies Park Cafe
Lunch - Wilsons (known for their burger, also have huge root beer floats), Blue Ox, Coopers Corners, Fred & Fuzzys
Dinner - Coyote Roadhouse (steaks), Alexanders, The Shoreline, Mink River Basin Supper Club

I also have a suggested list of items to pack (food and other) for if you plan to rent a cabin. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in this.

Below is a sampling of pictures from our trip, there was a storm 4 days before we went up. The power finally came on the night before we were to arrive.

Alaska - Part 2

It's tourist in Alaska time for me! Time for my trip to downtown Anchorage. There is allot to do in d-town for the locals and tourist. Also, it's summer so the weather is warmer. Also amazing is how many Packer and Badger shirts we see. If you are in Anchorage check out the Salmon Bridge. We didn't get to see any Salmon, but we did see a few fishermen and lots of grey water. While we were in the area we stopped at The Ulu Factory. Very cool, make sure you pack them in your luggage and not your carry on if you do buy one. For lunch today I had a spicy reindeer dog with ketchup and cheese. It's sliced in half and put on a bun wrapped in foil. They are served by several vendors on pretty much each street corner.

Happy hour/dinner was had at Simon and Sieferts. All appetizers! Teriyaki tenderloin with ginger and white rice! I highly suggest it. Afterwards we experienced "First Friday". I loved it! The galleries in Anchorage downtown stay open later and put out snacks and everyone wanders around looking at art! It was the first time I got to see a bit more of the younger alterna crowd come out.

Alaska - Part 1

(Excerpts taken from my travel notes)

June 2, 2011

My house is going to be empty for the next 10 days, it's never been alone that long. My trip begins with a cab ride (Green Cab-Madison) to the Union to catch a bus to O'hare Airport. Get on the bus in Madison, switch buses in Janesville and then get to O'Hare about 5:30 am. Yes am! After a smooth check in and body scan at security I settle in and wait for my plane. It's always interesting to watch people come, go, and occasionally sit and chat with you. I tend to sit in one spot and occasionally wander, but mostly I prefer to sit and make sure everything will go smoothly. As always good to go! Six hours and one plane ride later (with a little turbulence, though I've had far worse!) I arrived in Anchorage, Alaska! Greeted by the fabulous Becky T I was swooped up and and taken back to the condo. So glad I got my own room/the future baby room (Hank arrived about 1 month after I flew home) for the entire stay.

Becky and I got me slightly settled and then met Chris for dinner downtown at Humpy's Bar and Restaurant. I ordered the Halibut Fish n Chips and was reminded that things in Alaska tend to cost more than they would in Wisconsin. A beer at McGinley's (lovely Irish Bar) followed! It was about 80 degrees that day in the sun. Unseasonably warm for June in Alaska.

Below are the mountains as I'm flying into Alaska... there is nothing like it.

2012 Blogging

So coming soon you'll be seeing some of what I call back blogging!!! Travels I should have blogged on last year and didn't so I'll be working on that this year. First stop?!

ALASKA

And no I cannot post all 432 pictures.

Little Norway/Cave of the Mounds

OK - So it's been a while since I've posted and yes, I've been doing some traveling!

Little Norway was pretty cool, being that I grew up in a slightly more north area of the state we didn't visit it in grade school so I had never heard of this BUT I greatly enjoyed it. You go and take a tour (guided) and they tell you all about the original owners of the property (how they came to the US etc) all the way to the present owners and how they used each of the buildings as well as the Norwegian culture. Again I grew up with allot of German lifestyle, so the Norwegian is a cool change of pace. After the tour you are welcome to mill around the grounds and revisit the outside of the buildings and peer in on your own. There is also a nifty gift shop there as well! (Bathrooms on site too)

Cave of the Mounds was different than I remembered it, it seems they have added more buildings! Granted the last time I was there I was a teenager (I think). The tour was still the same but the grounds have been expanded. You can have lunch on a grassy knoll or next to the tiered flower gardens behind the main building. For around $1 you can buy a map/flyer of the grounds that you can reuse again and again in the future. That's kinda cool to just go and walk around on a nice day. The tour you would have to pay for time and time again, but on the hot days of summer this would be a great place to take visiting friends and/or family. Mind you it takes a while for the caves to change their look so even 10 years isn't enough for it to change (it'll still look the same).

I don't have any pictures of Cave of the Mounds of Little Norway because Mom has them all on her camera.

In the Area - For those adults over 21 take a picnic to Botham Vineyard and buy a bottle of wine to enjoy on their outdoor terrace in Barneveld or The Grumpy Troll Brewery in downtown Mount Horeb for a beer and burger!

Split Spring Weekend?!

Here's the view from the inside today!

Saturday traveled down to Dubuque to visit a friend and often forget how close DBQ really is. Only 1.5 hours from where I live with alot of potential stops along the way. Historic sites, breweries, wineries, etc etc. Saturday was of course cloudy and chilly due to wind but it didn't rain! We went up in the Fenelon Place Elevator located in downtown DBQ. $2 round trip for adults it takes you up 189 feet to give you a panoramic view of the tri state area (IA,WI, IL) it's quite beautiful I bet when the weather is nice! After we ate at Crust (a newer restaraunt) comparible to, but different from, Benvenutos in the Madison area. Build you own pastas was a nice touch and the options were cool too! Sunday's drive home bought even more wind but at least sunshine and wispy clouds! A last minute decision to stop at Botham Vineyards in Barneveld involved the purchase of 2 bottles of wine. Complimentary samples are a plus. Only 30 minutes from Madison they also have a terrace you can sit outside and enjoy the country and your wine on.

http://www.dbq.com/fenplco/
http://crustdubuque.com/
http://www.bothamvineyards.com/

Colorado - Easter Sunday

Well I thought that Spring was etching closer (and it is) but this weekend temps were again in the low 30s upper 20 during the day and down below 15 at night. But the picture to the left was taken Sunday... We're getting there.

A friend of mine recently traveled to Colorado and I asked her to bring me back a post card. One of the places that she went to was Red Rocks Park. Red Rocks is located in Denver CO and in Red Rocks they have an Amphitheatre. My cousin will soon be going to a concert there but the primary stance of this blog is that they do an Easter Sunday Sunrise ceremony. Being that I have been to Easter Sunday's sunrise service (though not in a while) I bet this would be quite the experience. To be outside surrounded by nature just like they were the morning that Christ rose again. To feel the chill in the air and watch the sun come over the rocks must be absolutely breath taking. At least that is how I imagine it. Someday maybe I will make it there and see this place. I hope you get to experience it as well.

That's all for this week - until next time!