26 in 2026 -- Try at least one new beer, cider, or cocktail -- Fang Venom

Heather and I decided we needed one last baseball cocktail this year at the T-rats game. We were hoping for some fun themed Bratoberfest drinks but no such luck. 

We headed to Leinie's Lodge to figure out what we were having. I really enjoyed the First Base Fizz we had last time but I wanted to try something new. I debated between two options and went with the lesser of the two evils which was Fang Venom. I will save the other one for next year hopefully.

Fang Venom is not my usual cocktail but it sounded intriguing enough that it was a try. It had Captain Morgan, Watermelon Schanpps, Blue Curaco, Pineapple Juice and Cherries. The cherries is what sold me.

First off it was the interesting shade of green. 

Then there was the taste... the pineapple and watermelon definitely over powered each other and was wrong. I really didn't notice the Captain Morgan. It was definitely a battle of pineapple or watermelon depending on the sip. 

Maybe this will be a lesson in not picking drinks based on the names. It was definitely venom. Not as bad as my first ever martini but definitely something I wouldn't get again. 

I wonder what next baseball season bring Heather and I for cocktails. 

6413. Ride the pizza train in Spooner

 I have wanted to do the pizza train in Spooner for several years. It is always advertised in Our Wisconsin magazine. Since it is about 4 hours away, it really couldn't be a day trip. It made perfect sense to add it to the end of our Lake Superior trip. 

The Pizza Train is a train ride aboard the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad. It is actually located in Trego which is about 15 minutes from Spooner. They offer several different time of dining train rides, seasonal train rides, and even a train Bed and Breakfast. The pizza train is $42/adult and $34/child. 

After a quick stop at St. Croix Scenic Riverway Visitor Center, we arrived at the depot. There is a small gift shop and a few displays. We received our boarding order.

When it was time to board the train, they took you based on where you were sitting in the train. Since we were a party of 2, we had a table in a dining car. You could have a private compartment in a dining car if you had a party of 6 or more. 

Once we got under way, our pizza was deliver based on what we selected when we bought tickets. I had pepperoni and the hubby had cheese. We also received our water or soda. The pizza was actually pretty good. It was better than I expected. 

After we ate, we sat back and watched the scenery. It was much more scenic than the North Shore Scenic Railroad. We crossed the Namekagon River and through the forests of Northern Wisconsin. 

We were able to get up and walk around. We enjoyed standing between the cars and watching the scenery go by though the open window. 

There was a cash bar, so I had an old fashioned to end the trip.

We also got cookies on the way back.

It was definitely a great 2 hour train trip. Even with the amount of uncontrolled children running amok, it was still enjoyable. I would definitely recommend if you are train buff. Then visit Railroad Memories Museum in Spooner while you are there. 

NPS Adventures 2026: St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

Wisconsin only has two National Park Sites -- Apostle Islands and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway both in Northern Wisconsin. I was determined to cross both of them off this summer. We are not much for scenic riverways but a stamp is a stamp. 

St. Croix National Scenic Riverway is formed by the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers. It has two separate visitor centers. One for each river. Since the Namekagon Visitor Center was in Trego and minutes away from the pizza train, it made for a quick and easy stop.

The Namekagon Visitor Center is open seasonally 10-5. Inside the visitor center there is a few displays on river wildlife and a short film. We got our stamp and checked out the display.

Unlike Obed Wild & Scenic River that we visited earlier this year, we did not actually check out the Namekagon River or the St. Croix for that matter. I thought there might have been a nature trail by the visitor center but just led to more parking.

We did end up crossing over the Namekagon River on our train ride. So we did end up seeing the river after all. It is a great river for kayaking and canoeing. 

If you are not real outdoor enthuaists, you can still explore the St. Croix National Scenic River Visitor Centers or take a train ride and cross either river from the tracks. I've learned over the years, don't skip the rivers and battlefields. Stop, get your stamp, talk to a ranger, and maybe learn something new. 

5978. Go to Pattison State Park in Superior

When I realized we could hit Pattison State Park just outside of Superior on our way to the pizza train, I added it to the list. Pattison State Park is home of the largest waterfall in Wisconsin. It would be another state park that we can check off as well.

Pattison Sate Park is about 20 minutes south of Superior on WI-35. It is open 6 AM - 11 PM daily and requires a park pass to enter. 

The biggest highlights of Pattison State Park are the waterfalls -- Big Manitou Falls and Little Manitou Falls. 

We visited Little Manitou Falls first. There is a parking lot near the falls. The trail leading down to Little Manitou Falls is part of the North Country Trail. We walked bits and pieces of it all trip. 

Little Manitou Falls can be seen from an overlook on the trail.

However to get a really good look at it, follow the side path down a set of stairs and view it from the bottom. It is much more spectacular. However, do not do that in flip flops. I was seriously worried about tripping and falling.

We then drove back to Upper Manitou Falls. Due to time and physical ability we did not take 4 mile loop between the two falls. Maybe one day I will tackle that.

We parked in the parking lot on Hwy B across from the picnic shelter and walked to the overlook. You can also park by the visitor center and take the tunnel (slippery when wet) to view it from the ground. 

Big Manitou Falls is the highest waterfall in Wisconsin. At 165 feet, it is also the 4th highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. It was pretty and sure to be more impressive in spring with the spring run off.

I thought Little Manitou Falls was the prettier of the two waterfalls. 

If you like chasing waterfalls, definitely check out Pattison State Park to view Big Manitou Falls and Little Manitou Falls. It is worth the drive. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy nature while you are at it. 

2026: Baseball Stadium Tour -- Wade Stadium

This summer's vacation did not bring us to a destination where we could get to a new Major or Minor League Stadium. When I saw that the Duluth Huskies were home when we were going to be in Duluth, I convinced the hubby to go to his first Northwoods League game. 

The Duluth Huskies are part of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball program in the Upper Midwest. They play their games at Wade Stadium in Duluth. Tickets were $13/box seats. We got first row behind home plate. Parking is free in the lot or on the side streets. 

Wade Stadium is an old stadium that has been updated. The hubby says it reminded him of old Goodland Field in Appleton or Carson Park in Eau Claire. It has a big covered grandstand behind home plate with additional seating down the lines. There was a walkway in front of so we weren't tight against the screen. Even though they were box seats, there were just bleacher seats with backs. The bleacher seats were just metal bleacher seats.

We opted for dinner at the ballpark. The food was good. They had Coke products but luckily they had Cherry Coke for me. We got food right when we got there which was a good thing because by game time the food line was quite long. 

The game itself was okay. Most of these kids are probably not going to pro but you never know. Some of the pitches were 42 mph. We did find it interesting that they used 3 umpires where High-A in Appleton still only uses 2. It was still baseball and it was a nice night for it.

Wade Stadium is definitely worth visiting. If you are in Duluth in the summer, check out the Huskies if they are home. It is good family fun. They work hard to make it a fun experience. 

3363. Ride the North Shore Scenic Railroad in Duluth

The hubby wanted to go to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and I wanted to take a train ride up the north shore. Since you boarded the train from the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, it was a great way to knock off both of our train desires for this trip. 

North Shore Scenic Railroad offers several different train rides of various length through the week and year. I really wanted the one that went all the way up to Two Harbors but that only ran on Thursdays. We opted for The Northwoods Explorer which was a 2.5 hour trip. it was $40/person. 

The description stated "The trip travels through downtown, along the shoreline of Lake Superior, through the historic Congdon Neighborhood wooded area, and then through the majestic Northwoods, crossing several stunning streams along the way, and crossing bridges that are over 50 feet high!". It sounded like a great train ride. 

The hubby and I both said it was probably the worst train ride we've been on so far. I was bored and at first I thought it was because we've several of these train rides and maybe I was just over them. The hubby felt the same way.

Why was it boring? Once you got outside of downtown Duluth there was not much to see except trees and just birch trees at that. The stunning streams were dry. The bridges were not that impressive. 

We enjoy hearing about the surrounding area using by a conductor either in the car as they pass through or maybe over a speaker. This was a pre-recorded message that was very monotone and kind of cheesy. 

We did see a freighter on Lake Superior. That was probably the highlight.

The train itself was fine, a little old. They had concessions for sale. It was also cold on the train. So if you go wear a jacket. 

I wonder if the trip up to Two Harbors would have been better? Who knows but you probably still don't get to see much of Lake Superior. There's just too many trees. 

Overall I was disappointed. It did fill some open time in the afternoon that I would have had to fill with something. 

Maybe we are just become train snobs along with pizza snobs. If you want to ride the North Shore Scenic Railroad, I would stick with the shorter version. The beginning has the most to see anyways. 

3366. Go to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth

The hubby offhandedly mentioned wanting to go to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth. There was some train or something there he wanted to see. Since we were going to the U.P. and the Apostle Islands, heading over to Duluth for a train museum didn't seem like a bad idea. Besides there was a train ride I wanted to take.

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is located in the restored St. Louis County Depot downtown Duluth. It is open 10-5 daily. Admission is $14/adult. If you book a train excursion on the North Shore Railroad tickets are half price. There is very small parking lot at the back of the museum which is free or you can park in the ramp nearby. We got lucky and got the last spot in the lot. 

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum has over a dozen different different trains. 

They have a whole car devoted to the different China serving sets that each train service had. I love looking at the China sets. It's a bygone era we will never get back. 

We've been in mail cars before. A lot of museums have them since it was how mail was transported across the country quickly. What made this mail car special is you could try pulling the level that would grab the mail bag on the mail pole at the station as the train zipped by. It was a not as easy as it looked.

They had a Soo Line Caboose. The hubby always likes those.

Like many museums we've been to, they had a snowplow. Except this one you could go in. That was fun. The windows are tiny and the plow is massive that it's hard to see.

Of course there's always an engine you can go in and "work the controls".

There were even trains outside.

We checked out the rest of the museum. The Immigration Story was under construction so not much to see there. 

We did see the grand hall which was enormous. 

The museum is great. I would highly recommend checking out when you are in Duluth. It is a great rainy day activity.