24 in 2024 -- Try a New Restaurant -- Random Lake Pizzeria

My brother kept telling us we needed to try Random Lake Pizzeria. The hubby had no game so we took a drive. We stopped at Johnsonville Village to check out the brat products, picked up some string cheese at Cedar Valley Cheese, and even stopped to visit the my parents. We planned on doing Random Lake Pizzeria for dinner on our way back to Appleton. 

Random Lake Pizzeria is located in Random Lake in Southern Sheboygan County. It is opened Wednesday-Sunday with hours varying on the day of the week. It is not open later than 9 PM. Luckily we were there by 5 PM. If you weren't looking for it, you might not find it. It's in a small building set back from the road. Luckily, I was advised of that.

We stepped inside and was told we could sit anywhere. This restaurant reminds of me of something you'd find on the beach. Very laid back and casual. The decor is more Southeast Asian than beach but it works. It is not something I would expect in a small town  in Wisconsin. I found it kitschy.. the hubby not so much. 

We ordered pizza and cheese bread. They also have pasta dishes. The cheese bread was almost on Vienna Bread. It was a thinner sliced bread than I am used to for garlic bread but it works.

The pizza was okay. The sauce was very mild. It kind of reminded me of Sammy's in Neenah but not really. The crust was slightly thicker but still crunchy. It is definitely unique.

Everyone said we needed to get the ice cream. It is made fresh daily. They have chocolate, vanilla, and the flavor of the day which was Peanut Butter Cup. I went with chocolate and the hubby went with vanilla. I was expecting plastic bowls that I could take with if I didn't finish it. Instead it came in metal bowls with metal spoons. We got a single scoop and it was more like 3 scoops. It was fantastic. 

Our only compliant, as the pizza snobs we, the place did not smell like pizza. Usually a pizza place smells like Italian seasoning and pizza. This did not. It was rather disappointing but it does explain the boring sauce as it was not heavy on the spice either. In our opinion, a really good pizza place should smell like pizza and Italian Seasoning.

The ice cream alone is worth a return trip. We can take or leave the pizza. I think Cranky's just has spoiled us and it's tough to find really good pizza. Just because we are not a huge fan of the pizza, doesn't mean it's not good. It is but we prefer a little more flavor. Definitely get the ice cream.  

7803. Do scrape painting

 When I saw that April's Make and Mingle at Kaukauna Library was Squeegee Painting, I had to sign up. I always thought squeegee painting looked fun and was willing to try it especially when there was no cost to me. 

Squeegee painting or scrape painting is a relatively easy concept but it is harder than it looks. You basically need a paint and something to scrap it with -- a squeegee, a knife, a library card, an old credit card. Basically anything with a flat edge. We used library cards.

We taped down our practice paper. Then we put a drop of paint on the tape. This was to be our palate. Then you scraped the paint towards the bottom of the paper. You are supposed to hold your scraper at a 45 degree angle. You can also make wavy lines. It is supposed to make really cool designs... except I forgot to hold my scrape at a 45 degree angle so it was not as cool.

You could also apply paint directly to the scraper edge to make the rainbow effect. 

You could also apply drops of painting directly to the paper in random patterns and then scrape down. This was supposed to make a really cool looking design. Mine looked like a really bad finger painting. Again I forgot about the 45 degree angle. 

Needless to say this was not my best work of art. I learned that I need to remember to pull down at a 45 degree angle. Danielle agreed this would be a good painting activity for a girls' get together. Maybe next time will be a success. 

Book Talks 2024 -- J. Ryan Stradal

 The 2024 Fox Cities Book Festival was only a handful of days including the events centered around the Fox Cities Read book. Two authors were going to be at Gibson Hall for the main event. I decided that no matter what I was going to go see J. Ryan Stradel as I've read a couple of his books.

Gibson Hall is downtown Appleton. I've never been there as we are not really the live music type of people or bar people. They usually hold live music events. I was excited to cross Gibson Hall off my Fox Cities Experiences list. It was actually a nice intimate location for an author talk. There were tables for groups of people plus a few chairs for single people like me.

J. Ryan Stradal is from Minnesota and has written several books set in the Midwest including his latest Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. He's also worked on several hit TV shows including The Bachelor/Bachelorette and Ice Road Truckers.

He talked about growing up in Minnesota but working at a supper club across the river in Wisconsin. He talked about how he got from the Midwest to California along with his break into reality TV. 

It was a very fun hour. He was very enjoyable to listen to. I could have listen to talk about his books and life for hours. He has such charisma. 

After he was done talking, he did sign books. Luckily, I was able to snag the last copy of Great Kitchens of the Midwest, his debut novel. I still haven't figured out how to talk to authors yet so I just had him sign my book.

Because I had other plans later, I was not able to stay for  Brendan Slocumb. I have not read him but I do have one of his book on my audio book hold list on Libby. 

Even though it was a much smaller book festival, I was glad to have such big names. Usually I have to live voraciously through friends and book Facebook groups with all their author visits. Hopefully I will have a chance to see a few more authors this year. 

5038. Paint something at Catch Fire Creations in Menasha

Thanks to a post on Facebook, I discovered a new artsy place I had to visit. During the month of March you could painting 3D printed Easter Eggs for a dollar each. Unfortuntately I didn't there in March but Danielle shared an adopting a bee project for April. I was game and we met up at Catch Fire Creations to paint some bees.

Catch Fire Creations is in downtown Menasha between a liquor store and brewery. It is a paint your own object place except all the objects are 3D Printed. I'm saying object because they have animals, planters, and things like wine bottle holders. They are open Tuesday-Saturday 11-7 and 10-3 on Sundays. Prices vary based on the project. Our bees were $5 and that included a vial of wildflower seeds.

The process is pretty simple. You pick out what you want to paint from the store and pay for it. Then you gather your paint and brushes. They have a wide variety of colors.. like a whole wall. Some were even glitter glue to make your creation sparkle. They also had ribbons, fabric, pom poms, etc. to decorate with your creation with. 

Once we had our paints, we got to work. It was not as easy I thought it would be to paint a small plastic object. My lines were not perfect so the colors are not perfect. It is a total Amy project.

The bee was harder than the hive. I didn't realize the "feet" looking things were actually his wings. I initially painted them yellow. Oops. Eventually I figured it out and painted them black along with some stripes. My bee definitely looks like he got into a fight.

After we were done painting, either a color or the entire thing, they had these hand held fans to dry the paint quicker which was nice. They were also heavy duty dryers in the back in if you needed them.

We probably spent about 30-45 minutes painting our bees. The bigger the object or the more detailed you want to be, probably will take you longer. 

Catch Fire Creations is a perfect rainy day activity for kids or adults. They are definitely worth checking out. I may have to paint the axolotl next time. I can't wait to see what May's project will be. It sounds like they have a monthly project every month. 

6877. Have corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day

 When our friends invited us to their St. Patrick's Day dinner, we had to accept. The food and company would be good. 

The menu consisted of corned beef and cabbage along with Irish Stew just in case no one liked Corned beef and cabbage. Neither the hubby nor I ever had corned beef and cabbage. We aren't big on St. Patrick's Day. However, I was more than willing to try it. 

The corned beef was slow roasted on the stove for 4-5 hours. Then the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage was added. That cooked for about another hour so. Then the meat was shredded. It was nothing fancy but smelled amazing. 

The Irish Stew went in the oven around 8 and we couldn't look at for 6 hours. It made the entire house smell amazing. Unfortunately I couldn't snag a recipe because she didn't follow one.

Both the corned beef and the Irish Stew were amazing. The corned beef was really tender and not tough at all. The carrots and potatoes were cooked to perfection. The cabbage was alright. I won't go crazy eating it but it wasn't bad.

The Irish Stew had such a deep flavor that I could eat it all day. The hubby really liked the Irish Stew.

No St. Patrick's Day Celebration would be complete without some Irish Whiskey. Since I was still on antibiotics, I mixed mine with the ice cream punch and it was perfect. I am not one to sip alcohol anyways. I'd rather have it in a cocktail.

For my first taste of corned beef and cabbage, I couldn't had a better meal or company. Our friends really put on a great dinner. I am sure we will go back again next year if invited. 

2459. Visit the Amana Colonies in Amana

 Planning a road trip with the hubby is always fun. I must check every bridge to make sure it isn't too high. I have to check freeway interchanges to make sure they flyover ramps aren't too high. I have to make sure there aren't any crazy switchback through the mountains. Sometimes I miss something or Googlemaps hasn't caught up to the construction yet. The latter is how we discovered the hubby doesn't like the flyover ramp going from I-80 East to 380 North and we now needed to avoid that interchange. I realized by going to the Amana Colonies, we can afford the interchange and it adds 5-10 minutes to drive. That's how I convinced the hubby to go to the Amana Colonies on our way home this year.

The Amana Colonies were German communal villages that started in the mid 1850s. Everything was shared among villagers. Life continued this way until the Great Depression. Today they welcome visitors into their community and their stores to learn about the past and enjoy their stores and restaurants.

Knowing we only had a little time to explore, I wanted to go to the Chocolate Haus and maybe the general store both were in Amana. The hubby initially wasn't too thrilled about going but once we got there, he definitely showed some more interest. We ended stopping at several places in Amana. All the buildings are German style buildings. There are parking lots by some of the buildings otherwise public parking down various streets. 

Chocolate Haus -- The chocolate store. We had samples of homemade caramels which were very good. They had many good treats that it was hard to decide what to get. I played it safe and got a truffle. The hubby got a truffle and a bag of caramels. There was fudge, truffles, chocolate covered cherries, peanut butter cups just to name a few.

Bakery and Coffee Cafe -- I am a sucker for a good bakery. Their baked goods looked amazing but the hubby was being cheap and refused to pay $5 for a single treat. Little does he know that most cafes that is about the going rate. A whole pie was like $15. The cookies were reasonable but nothing special. I felt bad for leaving without buying anything. 

Amana General Store -- This is your typical general store. It has a wide variety of items including local made food products and a whole wall of cookie cutters. There was even an entire Christmas store on the one side of the building. There was plenty I wanted to buy but wasn't sure what I would actually like. The hubby was far less impressed than I was with the general store. Apparently he needed to go on vacation with mom and dad as a kid and experience the general stores of the south to truly appreciate a good general store.

Amazing Grace Antiques and Gifts -- Antique stores are big in the Amana Colonies. Neither the hubby  nor I are big antique shoppers but we wandered in this one just to see what they had. They also were a soap store and you could buy many scented bars of soap. The smell was not overwhelming which was surprising.  

Village Winery -- I really wanted to hit a winery in the Amana Colonies as there are several fruit wineries. I figured the hubby really wasn't into wine tasting but he was like we are here so we might as well stop. Nothing like a little wine tasting at 11 AM. I sampled about 6 different flavors of their fruit wine. The cranberry was a surprising favorite. I even tried dandelion wine which was also good. The apple was sweet but that might have been because it wasn't chilled. A good apple wine is hard to find. Basil has ruined any other blackberry wine but his. The rhubarb wasn't bad. I did come home with 3 small bottles of wine. 

Amana Meat Shop and Smokehouse -- The hubby wanted to stop here. I am glad we did. We picked up some summer sausage and ring bologna. They even had knockwurst but $16 it was staying in the colonies. Everything looked good though.

We had a good, short visit to the Amana Colonies. The hubby says he wants to visit all seven villages. Since it's only about 4.5 hours from us (still closer than going to the Apostle Islands), it is easy to get to. I'm sure we will be back and explore more of the shops. Personally I think March was a perfect time to visit. It wasn't too crowded, parking was easy, and there was plenty of things to do. If you have never been, check them out when passing through Central Iowa. 

2569. Go to Fort Larned National Historic Site in Larned

Our original plan on the way home from Arizona was to head up through Monument Valley, Utah, and Colorado. However, a potential winter storm in the Rockies had us taking the southern route basically retracing our old route on the way down. When I realized we would be going through Dodge City, KS around lunch time, I said I wanted to go to to Fort Larned. We always get to the area too late to visit on the way. down. 

Fort Larned National Historic Site is located in Larned, KS about an hour northeast of Dodge City. It is open year round 8-4:30. There is no admission fee.

Fort Larned was built in 1859 to protect traffic along the Santa Fe trail from unfriendly Native Americans. Because of being located on the plains, there was little need for fortification because the only real threat were the Native Americans. It was a working fort with the barracks, officer quarters, stores and storehouses being built around the parade ground. Other buildings including blacksmith, quartermaster stables, and mailroom were on the outskirts of the parade grounds.

The parking lot is a short walk from the actual fort. You have to walk across a bridge and down the gravel path to get to the fort. It is handicap accessible. It was very cold and windy when we got there. I gave the hubby the option of staying in the car or coming with me. He came with.

The first buildings were saw were the officer quarters

The visitor center is in one of the barracks. Inside the visitor center is also a small museum.

Because still having a good 4-5 hours of driving ahead of us, that is all we checked out. If it wasn't so cold and windy, we might have checked out some of the other buildings. Hopefully one day we will be able to get back to check out the rest of the fort.

For Larned is really well maintained since it is sandstone. The officers' quarters still have the name etched in the bricks.

If you are ever in the area, I would suggest stopping and check out Fort Larned. It gives you a glimpse at life at a plains Fort in the mid to late 1800s. It is definitely worth stop.