LATEST TRICKS: Wisconsin Rocks!

Southern Wisconsin
Saturday, September 18, 2010

As promised the night before, We started our day with a visit to Schubert's Downtown Diner and Bakery. 

Steve greeted us at the door with open arms, soon followed by a warm welcome from Julie.  We were delighted to be back in the presence of these wonderful folks and hope that we were able to share that generosity of spirit in return. 

We ordered a Lefse Omelette and a plate of Norwegian Meatballs, both appropriate to the local area.  Both were delicious. 

Steve got out his laptop computer and showed us a video on how the Lefse, a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread, was made from mashed potatoes, milk and flour.  Wow!  Like we said, these guys are something special. 

The icing on the cake was when Julie told us that she had a heartfelt gift for us--A very special cookbook that her family and friends had put together as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life (Julie is the area's Relay chairperson).  The book was dedicated to her father, who lost his life to lung cancer.  The cookbook was filled with special family recipes, as well as those contributed by friends, and Julie wanted us to have a copy.  What a wonderful, heartfelt, and unexpected gift!  Laura and I were truly touched, not only by Julie's generosity but also by the loving nature of her family--which we had experienced first hand when we stopped into Schubert's the previous night. We had everyone at the restaurant sign the book, which we will treasure and enjoy using for years to come. 

THANK YOU to everyone at Schubert's for making our visit to Mount Horeb a truly memorable one.  Your joyous and generous spirit will be with us and paid forward wherever we go.

Now it was time for something completely different...the legendary House on the Rock.  How does one begin to describe this place?  It is a massive monument to creator Alex Jordan's unbridled creative spirit comingled with his unrelenting urge to build collections of intriguing objects.  The brochure describes it as best as anything can: "A one-of-a-kind adventure and treasure-trove of some of the world's most unique architecture and eclectic collections filled with the exotic, the whimsical and the unexpected."  The size and scope of this place is staggering.  This isn't just a house on some rock filled with a lot of cool stuff.  This is a series of warehouse-sized galleries that have consumed the side of a mountain.  Take a Valium (or two) and check it out!   

As we were touring the menagerie of rooms, buildings, and collections at the House on the Rock, we were also thinking of Alecia who we met at the Blue Gate restaurant in Indiana.  She was getting married this afternoon at 3:00pm.  Best wishes Alecia; we wish you a long, healthy marriage that is bursting with friendship, good humor, and the joys and comforts of true love. 

Our heads were spinning after touring the House on the Rock.  A stop at Peck's Farm Market East in Spring Green helped calm the senses.  We enjoyed hot mulled cider and molasses cookies while strolling around the property.  Their fall displays were beautiful, as was the spectacular sunset over the cornfields.  Peck's had a menagerie of their own that we enjoyed-- bison, elk, several species of deer, a wallaby, a donkey, rheas, a pot-bellied pig, ducks, homing pigeons, roosters, peafowl, sheep, goats, and the most colorful varieties of pheasant we had ever seen.  What a delightful, tasty and relaxing stop!

We continued toward our hotel in Verona with a quick stop at a place we just couldn't pass up--The Firm Worm Bait-n-Liquor Shop.  Where else can you get a pizza, a fifth of gin, and some nightcrawlers all in one place?! 

After stocking up on a few supplies (none of which could be used as bait), we went to a laundromat in Verona where we did some necessary wash as well as a re-vamp of the organization in Rover (our van).  When you're on the road, you make the most of handy settings like a drive-up laundromat with good lighting!
--Ted and Laura

LATEST TRICKS: Mountain Prelude

Last week we did what we live to do--travel.  We went up to the Adirondack Mountains for a few days and followed our typical travel tenets--explore, learn, listen, share, challenge thyself, and eat good food.  This was the first trip we've taken since committing to "Old Dogs New Tricks" and while this trip wasn't an "official" part of that expedition itself, it certainly was a part of the journey.  We went into the mountains with our blog business cards in hand, eager to invite others to come along with the old dogs as we traverse the ins and outs of America, middle-age and the new American dream.  What we discovered was heartfelt enthusiasm, eager advice, and moving tales in some of the most unexpected places.

• We could have sat and chatted all day with Debbie at the Whiteface Mountain gondola.  I can't even remember now what it was that drew us to her just after we disembarked from the ski lift.  Did she say something to us?  Did her kind face draw us to her?  I'm just not sure but she warmed our hearts and inspired us with her words and wisdom.
• Then, there was Fred, bartender and renaissance man at the Great Adirondack Brewing Company in Lake Placid. We had so much in common—from a love of Civil War history to a mutual awareness of a defunct brewpub called "Gettysbrew" in Gettysburg where the beer maker didn't taste or drink the beer he made (the results were, let’s just say, “legendary”).  Then, there was Fred's invaluable advice on places to visit and nosh along the South Carolina coast.  Fred also shared with us that he is the father of two US ARMY infantry officers who served combat tours in Iraq and he is the co-chair of Tee Off Fore A Cause which actively supports the Wounded Warrior Project.  While Ted and I are exercising our freedom to explore the new American dream, there are thousands of devoted men and women serving in proud service to our country. This was an important reminder to us that, when these servicemen and women return home, their ability to resume or pursue their own American dream may be severely compromised.  Needless to say, our stop at Great Adirondack Brewing was much more than a visit to a brewpub.  We would go well out of our way to share conversation again with Fred.
• And, how about Bert, our co-host at the Willkommen Hof Bed & Breakfast in Wilmington, New York?  We enjoyed his company and he made us chuckle again and again when we thought about his Monday night advice for attending breakfast the next morning: "Just be down here before nine if you want something hot".  We do love a straightforward approach!
• We were reminded what a small world it is when we did indeed come down to breakfast before 9am the following morning.  There sat another traveling couple...my parents' next door neighbors from Syracuse.  What are the odds?  But, that is so true of life: Truth is invariably always stranger (and more delightful) than fiction.
• There was a curious and delightful convergence of perspectives at the Hungry Trout in Wilmington, New York.  What could have been just a delicious dinner of succulent trout turned into a round robin of conversation about life and its lessons among yours truly and her handsome husband, a 26-year old father with wisdom beyond his years, a senior couple who met on Second Life, a bartender with spunk, and our waitress who was radiant about a recent opportunity that is opening doors to her American Dream.
• We learned that our hosts at the Schroon Lake Bed & Breakfast are living their own American Dream--when least expected.  Mark and Sharon opened this marvelous B&B last year and we look forward to sharing more about their odyssey on a future "American Dream" post. 

So, why tell these stories now, when our departure date is still several weeks away?  As we keep learning, nothing happens independent of everything else and nothing lives in isolation.  Everything affects everything and so it is with "Old Dogs, New Tricks".  It seems that the train has already left the station even though the bags aren't even packed! -- Laura