A Nice Morning For a Canoe Trip

 I saw that Neenah Historical Society was offering free voyager canoe rides during the farmer's marker. Danielle was free and we decided to check it out since it was not raining.

We signed up for a group as soon as we got to the farmer's market but it was still an hour wait. They only had one canoe which did hold 15 people. While we waited we perused the famer's market and picked up some fresh produce for the next week. I even tried my first honey stick.

When it was finally our group's turn, we met our guides Jean Paul and Claude to get our introduction into being part of the voyager canoe company. Our guides worked for the Northwest Fur Company and we enlisted to be part of their crew. They taught us the history of the Northwest Fur Company and made sure we understood the British Fur Company was no good (pe-tuey).

After getting our paddles and life vests, it was time to board the canoe. Even tied to the dock it was pretty tippy. They said the best way was sit down on the dock and lower yourself into the canoe that way. It worked but I felt like it was going to tip over any time.

Then we started our journey down the Fox River. I will be honest, I did not paddle much at all just a little bit when we pushed off the dock. The front of the canoe did most of the work. I sat back and enjoyed the ride while looking at the back side of all the houses along the river.

Once we got to the sailboats, we turned around and headed back to the library dock. Again we just mainly floated back instead of doing any paddling. More time to enjoy the sites and take pictures.

We were never in any danger since the police boat was always nearby and there was a fire fighter on the dock. The hubby was a bit concerned that I was going canoeing but felt much better when I told him the police boat was nearby the entire time. 

This was a great family activity. Normally it is done the day of the Pow-Wow in September but the re-enactors were booked so they did it in August instead. It is definitely worth checking out next year.

4950. Go to Future Neenah Out to Lunch Concert

Every Thursday during the summer Neenah does a lunch time concert in Shattuck Park.  It is really difficult to go to lunch time concerts since well I am at work. When I saw that Elvis John was going to do a lunch time concert, I mentioned it to the hubby since Grandma loves Elvis John. I re-arranged my schedule to attend.

Shattuck Park is a perfect venue for a lunch time concert. There is plenty of parking nearby, plenty of space to sit, and room for food trucks. There is not a lot of shade so when it's hot, that is a problem. Of course weather could also be a factor.

We had a gorgeous day for a concert in the park. It was in the 70s. We got down to Shattuck Park early enough that I was able to snag space under a tree so we had some shade and had a direct line of site to the stage.

Elvis John was not in his usual jumpsuit but went with the Hawaiian look of a Hawaiian shirt and white pants. I thought it was perfect for an outdoor lunch concert. Grandma wanted the jumpsuit and scarves. 

Like every other Elvis John Concert, I've been to, he does not stay on stage but circles the crowd throughout the entire performance. We did not get to shake his had or sung to this time but it was still nice being able to see him up close. 

It was a great concert, despite the few issues with blown fuses. The hubby even liked the show but did say he moved around too much. I love all his gyrations and movements. That is what makes him Elvis.

I would love to get to more lunch time concerts but with work it is difficult. Who knows maybe next year I'll take some half days to go listen to music. If you are free, you should always check out lunch time concerts in Neenah, Appleton, or whatever city you live in. Most larger communities have some sort of concerts in a park at lunch during the week. 

A Quick Wine Tasting at Munson Bridge Winery

 Last year we bought a bottle of Mango Wine when we stopped to see the Chatty Cow in Neillsville on our way to Eau Claire for Babe Ruth Regional Tournament. We really liked it and wanted more of it. The wine was from Munson Bridge Winery in Withee near Thorpe. It is on our way to Eau Claire if we take Hwy 29 across so no completely out of the way.

Munson Bridge Winery is open seasonally from Mid-April to just before Christmas. They feature fruit wines. Like many local wineries, they are more of a gathering place to enjoy a glass or a bottle of wine with friends will sitting outside enjoying the weather. I really like many of the local wineries are more than sample the wine and leave. I like the sense of community and hanging out. I just wish I had more time to enjoy the grounds and relax. However, with the hubby that is never case but especially when we were already running late.

We knew we wanted Mango but I also wanted to try some of their other wines. Due to the time constraints, I probably did my fastest wine tasting ever. I felt really bad for sampling as quickly as I did but I was getting that LOOK from the hubby as in do what you want but we're already late.

Because of the quick wine tasting, I even forgot to take pictures of my wines. For $5, I was able to sample 6 wines. I had a really hard time choosing. I went with the following wines.

After Hours -- Apple/Pear Wine -- Even though this was not as good as the Apple wine Heather got me a few years ago that I still can't remember the name, it was nice and crisp. It had a nice mix of Apple and pear flavors. This one came home with me. I can't wait to try it again.

Liquid Sunshine -- Apricot Blend -- It was good but didn't have a wow factor. I sampled based on the name. I'm not a huge apricot fan but this did have a nice flavor.

Mango Symphony -- This is what we got last year. I probably should have picked I different one but when in a rush, I wasn't thinking. It was as good as we remembered. 

Summer -- Strawberry Blend -- This is the second time this year that the strawberry wine surprised me. It was a refreshing strawberry wine. It was good but I could not see me drinking a whole bottle especially since strawberry is not a flavor I overly care for.

Julia's Raspberry -- It is hard to beat Down Time Wine's raspberry wine. This one did not. It was good but I'm partial to Basil's Raspberry Wine. This one was a tad too sweet but I wouldn't pass up a glass if someone offered me one.

Pajama Red -- Black Raspberry -- This one was way too sweet for me. It was another one I tried based on the name. Live and learn.

After my five minute wine tasting, we bought our wine and head back on the road to the Thorpedo for lunch. I definitely want to go back and enjoy a true wine tasting and maybe even enjoy the winery itself. If you are ever in the area, definitely check it out.

5083. Go to Seguin's House of Cheese in Marinette

On our way to the Yooper Winery we passed a cheese place. I made a mental note to stop some day because random cheese places are always fun. We had some time before dinner and the cheese place was open until 6 so we actually stopped.

Seguin's House of Cheese is the first cheese shop after you leave Marinette. It is open daily from 8-6. It is more than a cheese shop. 

There have moccasins. One day I will splurge and buy a good pair of moccasins. Stay tuned and find out if I get some in South Dakota or Michigan later this year.

Of course they have cheese -- cheese curds, string cheese, cheese whips, and blocks of cheese. We opted to get some cheese whips which we prefer over string cheese. 

What goes best with cheese? Sausage of course. Seguin's had their fair share of sausage as well. Beef sticks, summer sausage, salami to name a few. We picked up some beef sticks -- another favorite.

Like any good cheese store in Wisconsin, Seguin's has alcohol as well. They had local craft beer and wine.

Of course there was jams, jellies, picked vegetables, pie filling, and salsa. We did pick up a jar of cherry pie filling. I can't to make a cherry pie with Door County cherry pie filing. There was also ice cream and chocolate. Seguin's really had a little bit of everything.

What was going to be a quick stop turned into a pricy stop with all the goodies we bought but it was worth it. If you are up in the Marinette/Menomonie area, Seguin's is definitely worth the stop.

2941. Go to Yooper Winery in Menominee

 Heather mentioned there is a winery in Michigan called the Yooper Winery. I decided this was my kind of place and I needed to go. Since we had time to kill before dinner and Menominee is not that far from the Peshtigo Fire Museum, I convinced the hubby to stop there. 

The Yooper Winery is located in Menominee, MI just across the border from WI. It is only open seasonally Wednesday-Sunday 11-4 as the owners head to Florida in the winter. 

For $6, you can taste six wines. Due to COVID, there were pre-determine flight lists of wines to try. I personally wanted to mix and match my wines from several lists. However, since I had to pick a flight, I went with Package 1.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of my flight...

Yooper Stooper was way too sweet. 

Strawberry Rhubarb was surprisingly my favorite. I do not like strawberries or rhubarb but the combination in this was amazing. I did not get a bottle since the hubby would not like it.

Raspberry Rush was very disappointing. I high hopes for this and it bombed. I almost tasted like bad cough medicine.

Plum was not bad. Again, I am not a fan of plums but this wine was decent. 

Pear was good but not good enough for me to get a bottle. Definitely hard to find a good pear wine.

Honey Peach was another favorite of this flight. It wasn't as good as Basil's peach but it was good. I definitely thought of bringing this one home.

Since it was later in Sunday afternoon and no one else was in the winery, the owner gave me a few extra samples

Cherry Bomb -- Another one I thought I was going to like and ended up disappointed. It might have been the high alcohol content.

Cheesehead Red -- This was another favorite of mine. It tasted like drinking grape juice which I don't like. I wasn't entirely sure if the hubby would like it, so it didn't come home.

Strawberry -- I tried this just to make sure I got the right bottle for a gift. It was a good and either choice would have made a good gift.

Overall, the hubby felt that they were trying to turn the wines in cocktails instead of a wine. I was not overly impressed. The good news is that I don't need to drive to Michigan to pick up a bottle if I decide I want one. Their wine is also sold in DePere. 

5082. Go the Peshtigo Fire Museum in Peshtigo

 Back in 1871, there was a great fire in Chicago. Everyone knows the story about how Mrs. O'Leary's cow started the fire. Few people know about the Peshtigo Fire that occurred on the same day October 8, 1971 because it was over shadowed by the Chicago Fire. However, it was a bigger, caused more destruction, and killed more people. 

To honor their history and remember the past, Peshtigo has a museum dedicated to the fire and history of the area. It is located in an old church and opened every day Memorial Day to October 8th from 10-4. Based on the small window of being open every year, it doesn't give us many opportunities to get there unless it rains and you have a tank of gas to waste. Since the hubby's game got rained out and we had a full tank of gas, we took a road trip up to Peshtigo to check out the museum. It's just over an hour from the valley to get there.

Upon entering we were met by a very shy docent who gave us the history of the Peshtigo Fire and showed us a few artifacts there were recovered.

We then had an opportunity to explore the rest of the museum which included the basement of the church. There were a plethora of articles that would have been used around the same time of the fire that were donated by fire survivors or their families or other area families. 

After exploring the museum, we went outside the graveyard. At the back of the cemetery is a mass grave of unidentified fire victims.

Although I was to the museum back in 1990, it was nice to go back and see it all again. It is definitely worth the trip. The hubby enjoyed it as well. 

4953. Go to the Twist in Greenville

 Like Charlie's Drive-In, The Twist in Greenville has been on our list of places to try for awhile but why would we drive 20 minutes to get ice cream when we could get it down the street. 

After looking at used cars for the hubby at All World Ford, the hubby asked where I wanted ice cream from. I said since we are here we might as well try The Twist. 

The Twist is not just ice cream. They have burgers, coffee, and other baked goods. I thought it was just ice cream. Maybe they first started out as an ice cream shop but quickly expanded. They feature local businesses in their other products.. the Meat Block, ACOCA Coffee Beans, and Bakery on the Terrace.

With many good options, it was tough to decide what I wanted. I was going with a brownie sundae until we got the second menu screen -- the one that actually worked and then I saw it. A Raspberry Dole Whip Sundae. It was Raspberry Dole Whip with hot fudge, white chocolate, and brownie pieces. The perfect sweet/sour combination. 

It was as amazing as it sounded. The hubby had a butterscotch sundae which he said was good. 

We will be back for more when we are in the area. It looks like they serve coffee and sandwiches year round and ice cream from March to October. If you are in the area, it is checking out.

5223. See the Cedarburg Historical Museum in Cedarburg

 B text me a few weeks ago to tell me that we need to check out the baseball exhibit at the Cedarburg Historical Museum. They have old Brewers and Braves memorabilia. I'll be honest I didn't even Cedarburg had a history museum.  I checked to see when the exhibit ran through and realized it was until October and advised the hubby we needed to go Cedarburg Historical Museum before October.

The Cedarburg Historical Museum is open Wednesday-Saturday 10-4 and Sundays 12-4. Admission is free but donations are greatly appreciated. 

The Hometown Team exhibit was amazing. There were many items from the Brewers who played at Borchert Field... even the only footage of a game from at Borchert Field. Most of memorabilia came from local collectors who loaned their collections (or part of it) to the museum for the exhibit.

The rest of the museum had a lot of interesting items. There was a collection of old toys and candy boxes. I loved everything in the museum.

The museum is small but full of stuff. It probably took about 30-45 minutes to check out the entire museum but we could have spent a lot of more time if we looked at everything and read every sign. That is not our mojo. 

If you are a baseball fan, I highly suggest checking out the Cedarburg Historical Museum. Even if you are not, check it out. The entire museum is like stepping back in time. 

Hometown Teams

Hometown Teams