What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo EmersonThanks to our dear friends Kim and Bill for sharing this Road Wisdom with us.
Old Dogs, New Tricks: Mid-Life and the New American Dream
Friday, October 15, 2010
ROAD WISDOM: The Journey
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
LATEST TRICKS: Westward Ho!
Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota
Monday, September 20, 2010
Packed up Rover and paid one last visit to Schubert's as we headed out of Wisconsin. It was great to see Steve again and to meet some of his other staff, including the lovely Darlene.
Of course, we had to get one more bag of their delicious rosettes and a loaf of their wonderful Swedish rye bread to go. While there, we met the very charming Le Roy Briggs of Missouri. This gregarious retired doctor put great big grins on our faces.
Heading west, we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way and ended up in Potosi, Wisonsin. It was a happy accident, as we discoved the wonderful Potosi Brewing Company. Dee at the Interpretive Center and Transporation Museum was warm-hearted and welcoming. Props to the guys pouring beer behind the beautiful semicircular bar in the Restaurant and Pub, too.
Stocked with Good Old Potosi Beer and Cave Ale, we headed northwest to meet the Mississippi River and to travel a stretch of The Great River Road. We crossed over into Marquette, Iowa for peek so that we could set foot in The Hawkeye State before continuing our journey westward.
We traveled across southern Minnesota to make some time after dark. It was one of the few interstate stretches we had taken since the beginning of the trip. Even this had its delights, such as spotting an ocean of red blinking lights as far as the eye could see in every direction, indicating a massive wind farm hidden in the darkness. Or witnessing a brilliant electrical storm in full panoramic splendor over the broad plains near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Mother Nature sure puts on a magnificent show!
Last but not least was THE FROGS. Hundreds of them, leaping merrily all over the highway in celebration of the rain. It was like the Olympic Grand Slalom event just trying to avoid them--and not all such attempts were successful. A curious end to a day filled with surprises!
We turned in for the night at an especially lovely Holiday Inn Express in Mitchell, South Dakota. After a long day on the road, we appraciated the warm welcome we received from Bob at the front desk. A retired Intelligence Officer in the Naval Reserves, Bob has visited Hawaii many times over the years and shares our love of the "Big Island" of Hawaii. We exchanged stories before retiring for the night, pleased to have made the acquaintance of a fellow traveler.
--Ted and Laura
Monday, September 20, 2010
Packed up Rover and paid one last visit to Schubert's as we headed out of Wisconsin. It was great to see Steve again and to meet some of his other staff, including the lovely Darlene.
Heading west, we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way and ended up in Potosi, Wisonsin. It was a happy accident, as we discoved the wonderful Potosi Brewing Company. Dee at the Interpretive Center and Transporation Museum was warm-hearted and welcoming. Props to the guys pouring beer behind the beautiful semicircular bar in the Restaurant and Pub, too.
Last but not least was THE FROGS. Hundreds of them, leaping merrily all over the highway in celebration of the rain. It was like the Olympic Grand Slalom event just trying to avoid them--and not all such attempts were successful. A curious end to a day filled with surprises!
We turned in for the night at an especially lovely Holiday Inn Express in Mitchell, South Dakota. After a long day on the road, we appraciated the warm welcome we received from Bob at the front desk. A retired Intelligence Officer in the Naval Reserves, Bob has visited Hawaii many times over the years and shares our love of the "Big Island" of Hawaii. We exchanged stories before retiring for the night, pleased to have made the acquaintance of a fellow traveler.
--Ted and Laura
Thursday, October 7, 2010
LATEST TRICKS: Behold the Power of Cheese
Monroe, Wisconsin
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Today was the ultimate Wisconsin day...we went to the Green County Cheese Days.
This celebration of cheese has been going on since 1914. Now held every other year, we thanked our lucky stars that we were in the right place at the right time. We met locals who haven't missed a Cheese Days since their childhood as well as folks from surrounding states that were eager to partake of the revelry and the cheese.
We watched the parade from the bleachers, bought cheesewear, sampled the best of Green County cheese, and tried local specialities such as creme puffs; grilled peanut butter, jelly and cheese; deep fried cheese curds, and Limburger cheese sandwiches (darned good!).
Ted sampled the local brews from New Glarus and Minhas breweries and we topped off our culinary adventure with the ubiquitous Wisconsin brots and landjaegers.
We peeked inside the Goetz Theatre, a classic Midwestern atmospheric theatre built in 1931.
Then we toured the Minhas Craft Brewery, the oldest brewery in the Midwest.
At the end of the tour, we met one of the owners of the brewery as well as Herb and Helen Haydock, founders of the Haydock World of Beer Memorabilia Museum.
We wrapped up the day at town favorite, Baumgartner's, for one last taste of Green County specialties before heading back to our motel in Verona.
What a delightful, delicious and memorable day!
--Ted and Laura
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Today was the ultimate Wisconsin day...we went to the Green County Cheese Days.
It was such a pleasure to chat with the Haydocks and learn more about their extensive collection. As Herb said, "Everybody's got to collect something. It's not about the collecting; it's about the people you meet, the places you travel to, and the stories you hear." We couldn't agree more! Indeed, our favorite part of Cheese Days was the warm embrace of the people we met.
--Ted and Laura
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