Sheila and my mom prepare another summertime feast during our stay.
The cooler than normal seasonal temperatures allowed for us to make some loaded potato soup. Wish I had some now......
First time for me at Miller Park in Milwaukee. It is quite a nice ballpark, I just wish baseball were more to my liking. I used to love the sport, but old Bud Selig has no clue. Such as when to delay or not to delay the start of a playoff series. Go Twinkies!!!!
This was the first time in I don't know how many years, I went to a baseball game with my brother.
Also,the first time for a MLB game with my wife, and my nephew Nathan the real Brewers fan of the bunch.
A view from the rafters. I had to roam around at a sporting event with my camera, it just wouldn't be the same if I didn't.
Nathan stops for a photo op and to sign a few autographs.....
Pretty in Pink on the beautiful grounds of the High Point Inn where we stayed while on the Door County Peninsula. Great place to stay with the old-fashioned Red Putter Mini Golf course next door to us, which we frequented so much that we each won a free game. Actually it wasn't that frequent, we are just that good.
Eagle Point Lighthouse established in 1868.
Some of the locals like to go sailing in mini regatta's to occupy the afternoons.
The Cana Island Lighthouse built a year after, in 1869.
We did a bit of hiking on the bluffs of Cave Point Park on Lake Michigan.
Boil-master Earl Jones gets things going at the Old Post Office Restaurant. We decided to do the traditional "fish boil" the first night we were on the island. Jones fires a quart of kerosene at the base of the pot during the last 8 to 11 minutes while the fish are in the mix. Potatoes and onions spend the full 30 minutes cooking while the old salty dog tells tales of the way things were in old Door County.
The fish was decent, the night was wonderful. We strolled the shoreline following dinner, and watched "Sunniva" which is Scandinavian for "a gift of the Sun" ,as she faded below the horizon.
Some of the traditional elements of Door County weren't all that impressive, like Al Johnson's, a supposed must go which was less than mediocre. If you go take a photo of the goats on the roof like every other tourist, myself included. Then head to Summer Kitchen, which was one of the best place around, and I could have ate there daily while we were there.
A few other really good eateries were Joe Jo's Pizza and Gelato, Wilson's Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor, and probably the best BBQ pork sandwich on the planet at the Village Cafe on Egg Harbor.
Sheila and her mother Karen try to stay warm with the temps below the seasonal average while at Cave Point Park.
We couldn't pass up "Cheesehead, the Musical!" at the American Folklore Theater which is outdoors at Peninsula State Park, we highly recommend the shows there it was a really good play. If you have seen "New in Town" with Harry Connick Jr. and Renee Zellweger, it is a bit similar just placed in Sheboygan Cheese factory.
One of the concepts of "Cheeseheads" was that the locals kept the cheese factory going by winning the lottery. So we felt compelled to try our hand again. We got the Powerball and another number, which brought our vast winnings to $4.00, which would buy a brick of cheese, not a cheese factory......
Another inspiration of the musical was to take a different path back to Elkhorn, to visit the city of the fictitious play, Sheboygan. Which reminds me of one of our mini golf outings at the Red Putter. Sheila, Ole and I were playing a decent round, when an errant swing from a seemingly inebriated retiree launched a ball from 30 feet away, flying thru the air in our direction, and striking Sheila in the leg. Fortunately no bruise, but the tee-totaler excused herself by saying "You'll have to excuse me, I am from Sheboygan."
Our trip to Sheboygan was not to track her down with a mini golf vendetta, instead we needed a place to eat since we left out so late. We wanted to find some cafe right on the Sheboygan River, so we choose the Mucky Duck Shanty. We had a nice relaxing lunch, then stumbled upon a diversion that reminded me of years ago when my dad would take us to the Canfield Bottling Company, and we would pick out our favorite flavored soda. At the factory you would get quite a discount, and as a youngster it was a very different environment than that of a grocery store. I specifically remember the long aisles of rollers, or maybe that was the intro from Laverne and Shirley. Hmmmmm
Anyway, we happened to find the Old Wisconsin Factory in Sheboygan, and like any good factory it has a store where neighbors and their own employees can buy the products dirt cheap. So we stocked up on some summer sausage, beef snacks, and beef jerky for my nephews, then headed to Elkhorn to share in our good fortune.
We actually like Sheboygan we hope to plan a weekend there during one of our future trips.
After our vacation, we decided to continue with the concept of the path less traveled. On our way back to the humid south, we diverted from our usual lunch stops of Subway, or Arby's. We stopped at the Fair Oaks Farm.
As a lifelong Cheesehead it is with great humility that I tell you I visited a cheese farm in Fair Oaks, Indiana. the farm is a popular destination for adventurous travelers, which has a large barn transformed into a sandwich and ice cream shop. There are outdoor play areas for the kids, along with tours and lots of cheese to sample. Flavors I hadn't even heard of, like butterkase and sweet swiss. If you happen to be on Interstate 65, it is worth your while to stop.
The remainder of our trip back wasn't as pleasant. We normally take about 12 hours on the way home, but the bad weather we ran into around Bowling Green continued the rest of the way home. Extending the trip three hours longer than normal.
