5147. Go to the Sundrop Museum in Shawano

 The Sundrop Museum has been on my bucket list for awhile probably since I have heard of it. I don't think I ever heard of Sundrop before moving to the valley. Being in Shawano, it's close but requires some planning. Even mom and dad beat me to it. I made it a priority when planning the Shawano County Library Road Trip.

The Sundrop Museum is really known as Twig's Museum and Gift Shop. It is open Monday-Saturday til everyday to 5 except Saturday when it is 3. It is free to visit. 

Heather and I got there at 4:52 so we didn't have much time to explore the museum. I browsed the first room while Heather had to go back and get some change for me to make a pressed penny. We just bought a case of soda each. 

The hubby and I made a second trip up there a few days later because I didn't buy enough of the right flavors of soda. We actually took time to go through the museum fully this time. 

The museum is several rooms of Sundrop Soda Memorabilia. I can't even begin to describe everything that is in the museum. Sundrop has been around for almost a century and bottling in Shawano since the 1950s.  You just have to go and check it out yourself. There is a lot of neat stuff.

During operating hours, you can actual watch them bottle Sundrop and the Twig sodas. When the hubby and I were there, it was a not a bottling Saturday. Some Saturdays in summer, they do bottle. 

The tasting station was not open for tasting when we were there. I still want to try the blue raspberry and cream. 

In the store you can purchase Twig and Sundrop soda by the bottle, 4 pack, and case. I bought a case both visits. The hubby and I decided we need to make more runs to Twigs since it is only about an hour away. The soda is very good and most of it is caffeine-free. The black cherry is my favorite. They do make a good lime as well. Lime is hard to find.

If you are in the Green Bay or Shawano area, take time to stop at Twigs to check out the museum, taste some soda, and pick up a case or two. It is well worth the trip. 

5085. Go to the Evanswood Village Shops in Weyauwega

 The amount of billboards advertising the Evanswood Village Shops is no where near the amount of billboards for Wall Drug but when they say things like Free Wine Tasting and Free Jerky, one does take notice. I've been wanting to stop at Evanswood Village Shops for years. I knew the hubby had no desire and I really never found a reason to stop by myself. When planning the Waupaca County Library trip, I put them on the list. We had to do some back tracking but we squeezed them in.

Evanswood Village Shops are located on Highway 10 just outside of Weyauwega. It is pretty easy in and out from the highway to get to them. They are open 10-6 Wednesday-Sunday. We thought they were only open to 5 so we only thought we had about 15 minutes to explore.

There are about a half of dozen or so stores to peruse. With our limited time, we only hit two of them: Sweet Pickle Gramma's Fudge & Gourmet Foods and The Wild Wine Company. We did not go to Lucky's, Puddy's Dreams (both antique shops), Shirts and Giggles, a Furniture Store, plus one or two others I can't remember.

Sweet Pickle Gramma's Fudge is your place for fudge samples and other tasty treats.  We browsed but did not buy as we felt it was a bit pricy. The truffles weren't too bad but none of them really screamed my name. 

They did have a wide array of sweet treats. One day I'll buy myself a chocolate frog. Maybe when I get to Harry Potter World.

Because of the name, there is going to be a lot of pickle flavor items including cotton candy and fudge. Neither of which came home with us.

Our other stop was the wine store. It was more of a liquor store that had everything under the sun but in no real order. They do like their moonshine. 

I did sample a couple wines (not bad) and Peanut Butter Sipping Cream Moonshine. Heather that got. It was very tasty. 

I did pass on trying the Pickle Vodka though.. only because I was driving. It intrigues me enough that I will try it one day.

I would have liked to checked out the other stores but due to time, this was all we managed. I'm sure I'll find another random road trip that gets me there. They are worth checking out when you have some time if you are in Waupaca or even Appleton. It's only about 20-30 minutes from Appleton. 

5077. See the Red Mill Covered Bridge in Waupaca

 Last year I told the hubby I wanted to visit the covered bridge in Waupaca. I googled it and found it was right off the highway so we checked it out. It was a covered bridge but not THE covered bridge. It turns out that covered bridge is the Red Mill Covered Bridge was recently re-opened to the public. I still wanted to go.

When planning our Waupaca County Library Road Trip, I was made sure the Red Mill Covered Bridge was a stop. I'm sure the hubby would have taken me... eventually. This way I was certain to get there.

The Red Mill Covered Bridge is just outside of Waupaca about 5 miles off of Hwy 10 on County Road K. It is open Wednesday-Monday 7-5. 

To get to the Covered Bridge, you have to go down some stone steps to get to the other side of the barn and follow the path for a short distance. 

In front of you will be a gorgeous red covered bridge spanning the banks of the Crystal River. Follow the path you walk through the covered bridge. 

On the other side of the bridge is a small wedding chapel. It is a gorgeous setting for a country wedding.

After exploring the covered bridge, we went inside the old mill and browsed. There is a small ift shop spanning several rooms of the mill.

There is also a coffee shop and ice cream parlor. I really wanted ice cream but due to time constraints, it was easier to drink a beverage than eat ice cream while driving. Heather and I both ordered beverages and sat down to wait... and wait.. and wait. It seemed to take an awfully long time for our drinks when we were the only people ordering  drinks. Everyone else wanted ice cream. 

Finally we got our drinks. The small seemed really small. Heather had her iced coffee gone in about 3 sips. I took a little longer to finish my raspberry iced chai latte but it is so good. I really need to remember to add raspberry to my chai lattes.

Stopping at the Red Mill took longer than expected but it was worth the detour. The covered bridge is gorgeous and I am sure in fall it is absolutely stunning. If you ever find yourself in the Waupaca area, it is definitely worth the trip.

5058. Go to the New London Public Museum

 While researching our library road trip, I discovered that New London Public Museum is in the basement of the New London Public Library. Of course we had to check it out.

The New London Public Museum is open 10-5 M-F and is free to visit. It is not a large museum by any means but it is worth checking out. If you are a quick museum visitor like me, it will take you about 15-20 minutes. If you read everything like my cousin, maybe an hour or 90 minutes.

Like most local history museums, it feature tools and implements for years ago.

I enjoyed looking at all the different products that were once were or are still made in the New London area. I love seeing what was made where as I tour local museums. 

The museum founder was bigger into taxidermy especially birds. His collection is in the museum. I am not a huge fan of stuffed creatures. There were too many birds for a small space.

I did find it amusing they did have a Freedom Irish Baseball schedule on the wall next to the display on the New London BABA team. 

Like I said it is a small museum but it does have enough in there to make it worth a visit especially if you are in New London for lunch or something. It is worth going to just to check out the stuffed birds.