6624. See Wicked

Wicked the musical was coming to town. It was going to be the first show at the PAC since the pandemic began. Even though it is on the bucket list, Wicked was not high on my list of musicals I wanted to see but if someone asked me to go, I would go. Well that person was my friend Brenda who has season tickets to the PAC. She text me two days before the show asking if I wanted to go. I nearly died at the ticket price but to be in row six of the orchestra section almost center stage, I didn't need my luggage that bad. I sent her the money and made plans to meet downtown.

Wicked is loosely based on the Wizard of Oz. The premise of the story is the friendship between Elphaba (the wicked witch) and Galinda (Glinda the good witch) while away at the same boarding school. I knew it had to do with The Wizard of Oz but like most musicals I really didn't know the story of what I was going to be seeing.

It was a wonderful production. The characters, costumes, and special effects were amazing. I just don't think I could be in the green suit for that long like Elphaba. To get her skin green, it looked like she wore the same type of body suit as the Blue Man Group does. We were close enough that I could try to figure out the details of how she was green. 

Definitely see Wicked when it comes to town. It is an amazing show. And don't worry the dragon head's really doesn't do much besides move from side to side. If you are sitting in the orchestra, it will not fall on you intentionally like the chandelier in Phantom of the Opera does.

5051. Go to Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay

One of the last museum in Door County that was still on my short list of Must Do in Door County was the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay. Since we were headed to Door County for volleyball, I figured we could hit the Door County Historical Museum and the Door County Maritime Museum at the same time. 

After doing the Door County Historical Museum (highly recommend), we headed over to the Maritime Museum since it was across the street where we planned on having dinner. It is $12/adult and $5/children which does include the light house tower. The museum is open year round except for major holidays in winter and school snow days so it is a perfect stop in winter as well.

The first floor has exhibits of ships, shipbuilding, and many models of ships that were built in Sturgeon Bay since shipbuilding was and still is a key industry in the area. I am not one to look at models so I did not find it as interesting as Death's Door Maritime Museum. If you are into models of ships that were built in the area then this is the perfect museum for you.

The second floor had an picture exhibit about the ships in World War II which was interesting.

It also feature an interactive ship navigation feature where you had to navigate a ship through the shipping canal, through the bridges of Sturgeon Bay, and into the harbor for dry docking. The hubby excelled at the this. I didn't even try as I knew I would never get it through the shipping canal.

We also climbed the light tower. This is still under construction so it was not fully open yet. We opted to skip the video to maximize our time since we only had about an hour in the museum before it closed. After taking the elevator to floor 10 we looked at the different pictures and was able to take in Sturgeon Bay from 10 stories up. The hubby opted not to go on the roof. The views were spectacular especially on a nice fall day. Each floor of the tower is supposed to have pictures and exhibits. Hopefully it will be done soon.

After we left the museum, we took a few minutes to check out some of the tug boats docked. Those were very impressive to see especially the various sizes.

Overall, it wasn't a bad museum. I just preferred Death's Door Maritime Museum better. It is worth checking out. Personally I'm not sure it was worth the price of admission but between the tower and the ship navigation experience it just might be.

5052. Go to the Door County Historical Museum in Sturgeon Bay

 One of the things that I wanted to do this summer was going to the museums in Sturgeon Bay. I've never been to them and wanted to check them out. Both when I was up there for girls weekend and our trip to Washington Island, there was no time to hit the museums. When the hubby said he had a volleyball match in Door County, I was like let's go up early and hit the museums.

Our first stop was the Door County Historical Museum. It is open seasonally 10-4 and admission is by donation. It is right downtown Sturgeon Bay. Street parking is available as well as a small parking lot. 

When we got inside, the volunteer asked if we wanted to learn a bit about the museum, I said I did. The hubby was busy looking around already. She told me about the taxidermy display and the history of the museum. The taxidermy display was built by a self-taught taxidermist and he comes in every summer to add a new bird or two to the display. The display is impressive. It covers the four seasons in Wisconsin and features a wide variety of animals.

In the basement of museum is a replica village of Sturgeon Bay featuring different business and artifacts of things they sold or services they provided. It is a step back in time and reminds me of the Streets of Old Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Public Museum. The artifacts are unbelievable. 

Upstairs is various exhibits on Door County like the cherry business and the fish boil. The place is jammed packed with artifacts. It would take my cousin all day to go to this museum because she would be fascinated by all the artifacts and would have to read each one.

Connected to the museum is Pioneer Fire Company which houses several old fire trucks, a jail cell, an old hearse, along with various pieces of fire fighting equipment. There is one truck you can climb on. 

The Door County Historical Museum is a wonderful museum. It is definitely worth checking out. You could spend a lot of time there just looking at all the wonderful artifacts. 

5445. Go to the Shrine of Our Good Lady in New Franken

 I drive by the sign for the Shrine of Our Good Lady every time we go to Door County. I have wanted to stop many times but time never allow. When the hubby got a regional volleyball match in Door County, I figured stopping on our way to Sturgeon Bay would make sense. 

The Shrine of Our Good Lady is where the Virgin Mary appeared to Adele Brise saying if you help with the conversion of sinners, I will help you. This is what Adele. The families she helped gathered at the chapel to pray the rosary during the Great Peshtigo fire and pray to Mary to save them. The rains came and saved the chapel and grounds. 

The Shrine of Our Good Lady is a stop for many Catholics and church trips. Even at the end of October, there were many people milling about. 

My first stop was the chapel. Because there was a service going on, I did not go inside. I did not have much time to explore and did not want to interrupt what was going on to see the chapel. 

Then I wandered the grounds for a bit. I saw Adele's grave and the stations of the cross.

Finally I stepped into the Oratory where I could pray and be close to Mary. It was way too churchy (and quiet) for me. I did not spend too much down in the oratory. There were many people prayer and asking Mary for help.

I am glad I went and checked it out but it is definitely too church-y for me. This is for serious Catholics. It has a different feel than Holy Hill. Shrine of Our Good Lady is sacred and is meant for self-reflection and devotionals. It is not my cup of tea but don't let that stop you from checking it out.

The Great Pumpkin Walk

 Last year Kimberly put on a pumpkin walk in Memorial Park where you could walk through the park and see pumpkins that people carved or decorated. It sounded like fun but the weather was not very nice so I decided to stay home. This year, they had it again and I decided I was going no matter the weather and I dragged Danielle along.

The Great Pumpkin Walk again was in Memorial Park from 5-7. We got there right at the beginning to avoid most of the people. There were over 80 pumpkins along the path as well magicians, a story walk, a few treats, and a craft based on the book.

I thought about putting my pumpkins in but I didn't want to drop them off by 4 and pick them up when it was over. There were a lot of neat pumpkins. Some done by families, some by schools, scouts, and community organizations. I was really impressed by many of them. 

It is a great family activity. Get some exercise, see some cool pumpkins, get some tasty treats, and read story as you walk. I would definitely go again. It is a family friendly, not scary, Halloween activity that is free.