Halloween Adventures -- Haunted Cart Ride

 When Stacy was up in August, she found a flyer for a haunted cart ride in Chilton that said it was kid friendly. I normally don't like haunted houses because I don't like things jumping out at me. Because of this, it's one of the reasons I don't usually do much for Halloween. I figured this wouldn't be too bad.

The Haunted Cart Ride was at Hickory Hills Country Club. It was open Friday and Saturday nights in October 6:30-9:30. Reservations are required. It was $11/kids and $19/adult. Parking is free.

We had a 7 reservation and there about 6:50. We didn't actually leave for the cart until about 7:30. We were given a playing card with a number on it and then walked down the hill to the get on our golf cart.  This part was very unorganized. They were delays and just very hard to hear them calling your number. We finally just fought our to the front and got a cart pretty quickly.

Yeah.. We missed the part of Kid Friendly By Request. It was actually a very nice cart ride through the golf course if you like things jumping out at you and scaring you. The kids did not. For me, I found it hilarious knowing they can't really hurt me.

The ride was longer than I expected. They had many different scenes spread out of the golf course. There was a carnival scene and a dentist scene. 

The creepiest part besides the chain saw was when we went into this shed at the end and had fog. It wasn't horrible but definitely wanted to get out there.

I would highly recommend doing the Haunted Cart Ride next Halloween. The family friendly version would be great if your kids don't like scary things. It was an enjoyable evening even with all the tears. Don't think her kids will let you live this one down for a while.

5161. Go to the Barlow Planetarium in Menasha

 I have lived in the Fox Valley for almost 20 years and I never been to the planetarium. It just wasn't something that overly interested me. However, when UW-Fox Valley announced its closure at the end of the academic year, me like many people in the area wasn't sure what's going to happen to the planetarium so I decided I needed to visit at least once. Stacy was bringing the kids up for a haunted hayride so I thought it was perfect to do this beforehand. 

Barlow Planetarium is located at UW-Fox Valley in Menasha. They have shows Wednesdays and Thursdays at 4 pm, Fridays at 4 pm as well evening laser shows, and Saturdays at 1, 2:30, and 4 plus evening laser shows. I think tickets were $10/adult.

We went with the 4 pm Friday show which was Chasing the Ghost Particle which was a Feature Astronomy show. It was all about this neutrino that bounces off ice deep inside the earth's ice in Antarctica from space using these special telescopes. It was interesting but definitely not what I was expecting. I seriously was not in the mood for a science lesson. I wanted something fun, not educational. 

However, once we sat through the educational part, they gave us a bonus laser show. It was all set to a Halloween song. It was great. It was fun and just what I wanted to see at the planetarium. That was worth the price of admission. 

I highly recommend checking out the planetarium for one of their star or laser shows while you get the chance. No one knows what's going to happen to it but it is definitely worth keeping since schools and scout groups is it as field trips. 

7460. Have a Moscow mule

 I've always been interested in trying a Moscow Mule even before having a Kentucky Mule. I just didn't have any ginger beer. I had a bottle of apple pie vodka that I was dying to use. So I said we were having Moscow Mules for our October Gathering.

A Moscow Mule is vodka, ginger beer, and a twist of lime. I figured for fall the apple pie vodka would be perfect.

So when we were at Twiggs in May, I picked up a couple bottles of Ginger Beer with the intent of doing Moscow Mules. 

The Twigs, Apple Pie Vodka, and lime was really good... even when I put too much vodka in it. 

I also had a can of sparkling ginger beer from one of my book boxes. That one didn't work as well. I don't know if the extra carbonation threw the flavor off or if it Twigs was just that much better. Other comments from the book group had similar feelings about the sparking ginger beer so maybe it was just the type of ginger beer.

I have a bottle of ginger beer so we can have Moscow Mules at another gathering. I will have to find other uses for the Apple Pie Vodka as well. Stay tuned for other creative cocktails with the apple pie vodka.  

5714. Go to the Cherry Hut in Fish Creek

Door County is full of little farm markets and gift shops up and down the peninsula. They all have a similar theme.. cherries and other fruits, baked goods, jams and other spreads, and wine. I've been to several over the years including Lautenbach. I always wanted to check out the Cherry Hut. I liked the name and it looked cute. I convinced the hubby to check out on our way home after dinner at Wild Tomato. 

Cherry Hut is located between Fish Creek and Egg Harbor on Hwy 42. It is open daily 10-6. Unlike most farm markets it also has a tap room that is 11-8 during the week and 11-10 on Fridays and Saturdays. It does look to be open seasonally and closes for the winter. 

The Cherry Hut is your typical Door County Market Store. There is canned cherries and dips

BBQ Sauce and Salad Dressing

and the ever classic TOE Jam

All made in house.

However, it also has a Tap room where they have live music. In the tap room, you can sample wine. Free wine? Of Course. They make their own fruit wines and carry other brands such as La Duca. I only sampled two.. lemon and peach. The lemon was nice and tangy. It might make a fun summer wine spitzer. The peach was okay. 

They also have a fire pit and seating outside with TVs where you can watch the game on Sundays. 

The Cherry Hut despite being small has tapped into what people want.. a place to hang with good drinks. I always passed this place by because it doesn't look like much. There is definitely more than meets the eye.

I would suggest checking it out even if it is for some wine or catch some live music. I don't think you will be disappointed. 

Pizza Snob Adventures 2024 -- Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille

 One night the hubby said we had to try Wild Tomato Pizza in Door County. I was surprised by this since it was wood fire and I thought he wasn't a fan. Since his buddy recommend Wild Tomato, he was all about trying it. 

Wild Tomato has two locations in Door County, one in Fish Creek and the other in Sister Bay. Fish Creek is the original location. They are both open year round with limited hours in winter. Neither location takes reservations so in peak season be prepared to wait. They also do carryout.

We went to the Fish Creek location. The parking lot is small in front but there is more parking in the back. The Inside dining room is not large. We got there by 4 PM and still had to eat outside. It was a blustery day so it was a bit chilly. I'm glad I had my sweatshirt with me.

The menu consists of some appetizers, a few salads, and pizza. We found the appetizers to be pricy for our frugal budget but reasonable for Door County. Cheese curds, which looked amazing, were $12. We just ordered a sausage pizza.

The pizza was perfect. As the hubby would say "it had the right amount of wood fire on the crust". The sausage was good. It wasn't too saucy for me. I am not sure why we waited so long to check it out.

Wild Tomato is a definitely dinner possibility for good pizza. It is wildly popular even with the chain in owners. I would recommend if you do go, go early or be prepared to wait. It is that good and the wait staff is friendly.

I wonder where our 2025 pizza adventures will take us. Maybe I will finally cross Calumet County off or maybe the pizza gods will be in our favor and we will explore pizza in a new state or at least a new pizza joint in Arizona.

5389. Hit all the wineries on the Door County Wine Trail -- Lautenbach's Orchard Country Winery & Market

I have been to Lautenbach's many times. I may have even did wine tasting on my first trip there back in 2012. That was a whirl wind trip of fun and snacking I don't remember if we did the wine tasting or just sampled snacks. To properly ensure I have tasted their wines, I was bound and determined on our yearly cherries and apple run to do their wine tasting. 

Lautenbach's Orchard Country Winery and Market is located on Hwy 42 just south of Fish Creek. It is open daily during fall and summer and Thursday-Monday during the off season. It is wildly popular for cherries and apples. They even have a cherry pit spitting zone too. That is fun.

The wine tasting is in the back of the main barn. For $5 you can choose 5 samples for your flight or $10 for you can get 5 regular wines/ciders. The problem is there is at least 40-50 different wines and ciders to sample so to pick 5 is tough. I didn't realize there was a back side of the sheet, despite it saying more on the back, so I ended up doing two tastings.

The first tasting I went with

Cherry Riesling -- This was a semi dry wine. It definitely was on the drier side. Not a huge fan

Cherry Blossom -- This was a semi-sweet cherry wine. It wasn't bad but I have a favorite cherry so it is hard to find other cherry ones I like

Lingonberry -- This was my first adventure into Swedish lingonberries. I would have a glass but definitely not worth buying an entire bottle

Autumn Harvest -- This was an apple cranberry blend. It wasn't bad but I am on a mission to find a really good apple wine. This was not it.

Cranberry -- It is cranberry wine. It didn't wow me. I would have a glass but again nothing I would buy a bottle of.

The second tasting I went with

Bing Cherry -- This was good but Cherry Bounce was still better. I contemplating getting a bottle but I still had a bottle of Cherry Bounce.

Pear -- This was quite tasty. I might have bought a bottle if it was for the pear cider.

Honeycrisp Apple -- It's a decent apple. Still not the really good apple that I'm looking for. I would drink this again. 

Hard Core Apple -- This was a hard apple cider. It was okay. Not anything spectacular.

Pebble Beach Pear -- The hubby tried this one first and was like you will like it. This was my favorite of the day. We bought a bottle of this. I can't wait to bust it open. 

Overall it was a fun tasting. It would be more fun with a few friends and not the hubby. I would definitely recommend this tasting to a beginner wine drinker as well as a seasoned wine snob. They have something for everyone. 

I now have visited 6 of the 10 Door County Wine Trail Wineries. 4 to go.. The goal is to get them completed by my 46th birthday in November. I have Door 44, Lake Fire, Red Oak, and Stone Throw's Winery left. Might be a challenge. I may have to push it back to my 50th birthday.