# 3909 Ride the Zippin Pippin at Bay Beach

I love roller coasters, especially ones that go upside down. When I heard that Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay bought the Zippin’ Pippin’ and was reconstructing it at Bay Beach, I knew I had to ride it. The Zippin Pippin is one of the oldest wooden roller coasters built in the 1910s. It was said to be Elvis’ favorite roller coaster. It does not go upside down but it is still a roller coaster.

When we got to Bay Beach, the park itself was very crowded. We almost decided to skip it but I REALLY wanted to ride the Zippin’ Pippin. The nice thing about Bay Beach is there is no admission fee. All rides take tickets and tickets are a quarter each. Most rides take 1 or 2 tickets. The Zippin Pippin takes 4. WOW! A whole dollar to ride a roller coaster.  Despite the crowds, lines were short and my niece and I went on the Zippin Pippen while my sister-in-law and nephew hit up a few other rides. My brother was going to take pictures. That didn't happen.

The line for the Zippin Pippin wasn’t too bad. It moved fairly fast. We probably only stood in line for 10-15 minutes. The Zippin Pippin is 2,865 feet long but the ride only takes 90 seconds. I normally don’t like the initial climb but the one on the Zippin Pippin is nothing.  For an almost 100 year old wooden roller coaster, it is very smooth and painless. The ride was fast and fun. I kept my arms up the entire ride. There was one point near the end that was a bit jarring but other than that it was a smooth ride. The Zippin Pippin now ranks up there in probably my top 3 favorite roller coasters of all time with the Whizzer at Six Flags Great America still being number one.

Next time I will ride front car.

After we rode the Zippin Pippin, we hit a few other rides including the giant slide (2 in one day) before calling it a day and going for dinner.

I will be back to ride front car. 

# 5369 Feed a giraffe

When I was at the Jacksonville Zoo a few years ago, I could have feed a giraffe and decided against it. I am not sure why I didn’t but I know I wanted to do it ever since. While looking at the NEW Zoo website, I discovered I could feed a giraffe every day between 2-5. Of course when I planned my trip to the zoo, I had to make sure I was going to be there for feeding time so I could get my chance to feed a giraffe.

For only $1, anyone could feed one of the giraffes 2 leaves. You could buy as many leaves as you wanted, I suppose. It is a great way to let kids (or anyone for that matter) get up close and personal with the zoo animals. You are on a raised platform that you walk right up to. No climbing involved. That platform puts you at head height with the giraffes.  The zookeeper even educates you about the difference between a male and female giraffe and other information.

Feeding a giraffe only takes a few seconds but you have to wait to let others go in front of you. All the kids really can’t wait to feed the giraffe that leave.  You could even pet the giraffe’s nose if there weren’t other people trying to feed the giraffe. I tried to pet the giraffe but it was preoccupied with more leaves.

It was probably the most fun thing I did at the zoo. I will have to remember next time I go to make sure I have a dollar to feed the giraffe. 

# 3883 Go to the NEW Zoo in Green Bay

I’ve been living in the Valley for 10 years and never once have been to the NEW Zoo in Green Bay which is no more than a 45 minute drive.  The hubby isn’t big on zoos and I’d rather hang out at a ball diamond and read then wander around a zoo. I know…what an exciting life I lead. I tried to go last year but it was closing early due to Boo at the Zoo and the website had that information hidden on same side page. So when I started planning this bucket list adventure day, I knew the NEW Zoo was one of the things I wanted to do…mainly to say I’ve been there.

I have been to the Milwaukee County Zoo numerous times and it is a great zoo. The NEW Zoo is a lot smaller. Honestly, it was not that exciting. I don’t know if it was because it was so hot that a lot of the animals were not very active or if it was because I am used to the Milwaukee Zoo. 

My brother said we were going to over to the Australia area and I asked if we were going to see kangaroos. No. Koalas? No. Wallabies? No.  So what was there? Emus. That was it for the Australia area. An emu or two in an enclosure with other birds. I think there was a kookaburra too.

I saw lots of birds. I fed a giraffe. The red panda was pretty cool. The bald eagle was pretty impressive. The otters were at least swimming. The penguins, despite the heat, were out. Everything else was sleeping or hiding. 

For $7, it wasn’t that bad of a zoo. If it was any more to get in, I might think it wasn’t worth it. Now if you have a season pass and can wander the zoo whenever you want, that’s a pretty good investment. If you have kids, it is a nice zoo to learn about animals. It is small enough that the little ones won’t get cranky before you finish. There is a little play area and a small restaurant. For me it was too small and there weren’t enough animals. If I want to go to a zoo, I want to be able to spend a couple hours there and see many different animals.  Despite it being a small zoo with not a lot of variety, I would visit again especially if it wasn’t so hot and the animals were more active.

# 3901 Go to Packer Training Camp

When I posted my agenda for the day on Facebook, one of my friends said she was going to Packer Training camp and I should go. Based on what else I was I doing, training camp fit in the schedule nicely and I was flexible enough that I could push back the time I was meeting my brother and sister-in-law for the zoo.

Since I never have been to Packer Training camp and was meeting Rosie and her parents there, I quickly googled Packer Training camp to find out where to park and other important details. I have never actually driven to Lambeau. When we go to a game, we always park at the Shopko in DePere and take the bus to the game. Even when Danielle and I did the Cellcom 5k, she drove.  I figured when I stopped lunch at McDonald’s in Little Chute and plug 125 Lombardi Avenue in the GPS. Well there was no parking available at McDonald’s so I had to rely on my memory from getting to the Cellcom. Good thing there was an exit for Lombardi Avenue, which is not the exit we took for the Cellcom. I made it Lambeau field unscathed and just had to find Rosie.

Rosie and I were going to watch the players ride the bikes to Ray Nitchske Field while her parents saved us seats at practice. Kids line up their bikes just outside of the locker room and Packer Players will ride their bikes over to the practice field. The kids will carry the players’ helmets and run/walk along side of a Packer. I was I had a bike that didn’t have a flat tire so maybe I could have had a Packer ride my bike.

Watching these big, burly football players ride itty, bitty little bikes is all part of the experience. It turns out not all the players ride bikes over to practice as 2 of the Packers we wanted pictures, Rodgers and Matthews, did not come out on bikes. I like to think there is a super- secret tunnel from the locker rooms to the practice field. In reality, they are just driven over in black sedans. Even though we didn’t see Matthews or Rodgers, we were able to see Jordy, Cobb, Lacey, and a lot of the rookies.  We even got high fives from 2 guys. Even if you don’t want to watch practice, come out and watch the players ride the bikes to practice. You’ll never know who you will see.

After the players came through on the bikes, Rosie and I headed over to practice. Luckily Rosie’s parents saved us seats otherwise we probably would have had to wait to get a seat.  People sit outside the fence and watch from the sidewalk..3 to 4 deep. There’s a probably 6 rows of bleachers on one side of the practice field. We were towards the one end zone so we saw some passing, a lot of kick off/punt returns but very little Aaron Rodgers. We did get to see Clay Matthews though. We stayed at practice for about an hour. It was interesting to watch a practice. It is similar to warm ups before a game but there is a guy on the PA telling who to go where…and everything is in code. There were even referees (local guys) that watch for penalties.

I am grateful to Rosie for inviting me. I am only 30 minutes from Green Bay and never have seen training camp until today. It was definitely the highlight of my day. I may just have to make this a yearly event. It is nice that the Packers have a few open Saturday practices that allows people to see training camp that might not otherwise see it.  

Walk Across the Trestle Bridge

When the hubby got his bid to the Babe Ruth World Series, we decided I would fly out at the end of the World Series and we would spend an extra day or two getting home. That meant I would be home alone for an entire weekend. Most people would love an entire weekend to themselves. Not me.. I started planning a bucket list adventure for Northeastern Wisconsin. 

The first stop on my fun-filled day was to walk the Trestle Bridge in Menasha. Since I am not one to regularly drive to some place to go for a walk, I never made the time to do this even though Danielle and I talked about doing it. I figured it would be a good way to start my day. 

As the weekend approached, the weather was looking to be hot and steamy. Danielle and I decided to do this earlier in the day to avoid the heat and humidity. We got to the start of the Bridge at about 8:50 or so. It was warm and humid but not quite yet unbearable. The trail is very nice. There are benches along the bridge so if you get tired on the 1,600 foot walk, you can take a break and watch the birds and other aquatic animals. These even a few spots to fish off the bridge. 

Once we got to the other side at Fritse Park, we stopped to play a bit before walking back. The walk back was a lot warmer than the walk to Fritse Park. At one point Danielle saw something jump out of the water and we tried to see it again but it never did jump out of the water. In the mean time, we missed a flock of geese landing on the water. 

I may just have to make it more of a priority to walk across the bridge more often. It is a very nice walk. If I don't want to walk, I can roller blade or bike. The Trestle Bridge is part of very popular Friendship Trail. More new ways to get my steps in.

#3805 Go down the slide at Fritse Park in Neenah

One of the reasons, I wanted to walk across the Trestle Bridge was to go down the slide at Fritse Park. The metal slide is built into the side of a hill and there probably isn’t a kid in the area that hasn’t burned their behinds going down it according to the hubby.  Since I was a transplant, I never had the chance as a kid to enjoy flying down the slide on a hot summer day. I sent out to rectify this on our walk.

When I pictured this slide, I didn’t realize it was built into a hill and was a free standing metal slide. Then I was told it was built into the side of the hill and I was thinking they built a hill around it to make it safer.  The hubby says he thinks it was always built into the side of the hill.

Being so hot, it was a good thing we went early in the day. I really had no desire to burn my behind on a slide. My first run down the slide, I did not gain any speed and had drag produced by my shoes. After that I took my shoes off.  Since I had on nylon shorts and socks, they did not provide any drag and I was able to fly down the slide. Danielle in her denim shorts had some drag and did not go as fast. The key to flying down the slide is have some sort of material that is slick enough to help propel you down the slide.  After a few runs, other people started showing up and we decided it was time to head back to the car on the other side of the bridge, especially if I wanted to continue with the day I planned. It was probably a good thing we left when we did as it was starting to get hot.

It is always fun to take a few minutes to be a kid again.

#3915 Go to the Door Peninsula Winery

Every year my cousins head up to Door County for a long week. I joined them two years ago, which was my first ever trip to Door County even though it's only about 90 minutes from here. This year, the date of their trip was changed several times and ended up being in August instead of July. Initially I was going to join them on Sunday but then I had the opportunity to go to Renaissance Faire. Those plans fell through and I ended up being able to go to Door County just for the day.

When I texted my cousin this, she asked if there was anything I wanted to see or do. I told I'd like to go to Door Peninsula Winery. They wanted to go to the Distillery. After some quick research, I discovered they are both at the same location so we made plans to meet there this morning at 10 when the distillery opens.

=

We first took the $3 tour of the winery. Let me tell you, it was not that exciting for $3. Our tour guide took us to the basement where we saw a short movie about Door Peninsula winery then we saw some fermenting tanks and some stainless steel aging tanks and a quick glance at the distillery tanks. That was about it. After we were done, I found a coupon for a free tour. If it was free, it's a good deal but to pay $3 for the tour is not worth it.

After the tour, we asked the lady at the wine tasting bar if we should sample the distillery first or the wines first. It really didn't matter but the to help our palates, we probably should with the distillery.  Over to the distillery tasting we went. For $5, we got a tasting of 3 distillery products and a free shot glass. You could choose from:
-- Brandy
-- Apple Brandy
-- Cherry Brandy
-- Gin
-- Vodka
-- Luminous Vodka
-- Cherry Vodka
-- Single Malt Whiskey
-- Cherry Bluff Infusion -- Bitters
-- Cherry Moonshine

I went with the cherry Trio, being in Door County and all. I did Cherry Brandy, Cherry Vodka, and Cherry Moonshine. I never had liquor straight up and assumed I was supposed to drink these samples as shots. I slammed my Cherry Vodka back and made a horrible face. Then my cousins told me to I should sip it. NOW you tell me. I sipped the Cherry Brandy and barely finished it. The moonshine was harsh. It was tough to finish. I probably should have slammed that one too. However I can now say I have had moonshine. I think I will stick with mixed drinks.

After we sampled our liquors, we headed over to the wine bar which had gotten a lot more crowded then it was when we got there. We got a spot at the end of the bar and paid our $3 dollar to sample 6 of  the 45+ wines. I like fruity, sweet wines my cousins had more developed wine palates and were more into dry whites and reds. This allowed me to sample my fair share of non-fruity wines as well. Besides having a sip of my cousins' wines, I sampled
--Penacea Peach -- not bad but since it's just peach juice added to the wine, wasn't impressed
-- Razzle Dazzle Raspberry -- quite tasting
-- Sweet Door County Cheery -- I really liked.
-- Peninsula Pink -- Another one of my favorites
-- Sunset Splash -- It was ok.
-- Witches Brew -- I liked this one as well.

By this time all of us were feeling the effects of all the booze and decided to have lunch before buying wine and continuing on our way. We had lunch at Bistro 42 at the winery. Food was very good but a little pricey for lunch for me.

After lunch, we picked up some wine and headed to Egg Harbor for some shopping. Our time at the winery was a good one and a nice way for me to catch up with my cousins.

#946 Go to the Hamburger Museum

When I moved to the Fox Valley, I was excited that I was going to be able to visit the Hamburger Museum in Seymour...until I learned it closed. I was disappointed but kept in the back of my mind. After some research last year, I discovered the entire hamburger collection from the museum moved to the Seymour Community Museum and was on display. I originally wanted to visit the museum while the hubby had basketball in Seymour one weekend in February...why make an extra trip. When I emailed the museum, Bill informed me the museum was closed January and February and since I was interested in the hamburger collection, I might want to come in August when the entire collection was on display. OK...my trip the hamburger museum was on the back burner. AGAIN. August kinda snuck up on me this year and suddenly it was the end of July and my weekends in August were almost booked with other bucket list adventures. After a quick text to Danielle, she agreed to tag along with me to check out the museum.  Yeah!!!!

I've been to several small town/community museums and/or other specialty museums in the last few years. The Seymour Community Museum hands down is one of my new favorites. Not only does it commemorate the history of Seymour, it includes area businesses, interactive displays, and even an Animatronic that reminded me of the Carousel of Progress at Walt Disney World.

Granny talking about her kitchen from the 1930s and 

how she wanted one of those new ice boxes

When I emailed Bill again to find out about the Hamburger Collection since I was planning on attending on August 1st, he said that it should be about 80% done. If what we saw was only 80% of the collection, I'd love to see the other 20% some day. The entire 1,500 piece collection was donated to the museum by the friend of the original owner, Jeffery Tenneyson, of the collection. That is a lot of hamburger memorabilia. Some of the items caused a trip down memory lane. There was a lot of stuff of the 80s and early 90s. Pick a restaurant chain and I'm sure there was something from there.

It was well worth the $2 donation. Where else can you see a soda fountain, a funeral home, a wedding chapel, and Burger Time, one of the first arcade games, under 1 roof? There is even a kids area where kids can pound away at an actual typewriter and play with some hamburger toys. With all the hamburger memorabilia, there really should have been a scavenger hunt to make it more entertaining. I did suggest it.

A funeral home display

The Soda Fountain

The two ladies working the museum were very helpful and friendly. One even tried to show us how the Juke Box worked. There was only one song that had a chance of playing and we must have picked the wrong Elvis song.

After leaving the museum, we walked down the block to see Hamburger Charlie and the giant hamburger. Seymour is really the home of the hamburger. Too bad we couldn't be in town for Burger Fest. Maybe next year.