Menasha Girls Getaway Day Fun

Tara was looking for someone to do something with and after a few text messages, we decided to meet downtown Menasha for some window shopping as part of the Menasha Girls Getaway.

Menasha Girls Getaway Day is Menasha's version of Appleton's Ladies Day without the fashion show. Area business were showcasing their products. If you picked up a punch card at any of the business and visited all the businesses, you were entered into a drawing for a basket of goodies. Of course Tara and I HAD to visit all the business just for this reason -- we fully didn't expect to win.

Not that I was planning on buying anything, this was a great opportunity to check out the various business in Downtown Menasha without really feeling pressured to buy anything. It is always fun to browse and see what is available at these local businesses.

To be entered in the drawing we had to visit. I think I remembered them all...

Aunt Ester's Attic -- something for all styles. They have accessories and cute outfits at reasonable prices.

Lemon Loves Lime Boutique -- cute little children's shop. Has adorable kids clothes and ice cream. Tara and I shared some ice cream. Her daughter even let me try her blue moon.

Modify: Hair Studio -- There were messages, mimosas, and cupcakes.

Renewed and Reclaimed -- Very cool stuff inside. Clothes and stuff for the house. They also let you make mini tote bags with stencils

The Wreath Factory -- Flowers, wreaths, and other similar stuff. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to buy.

Studio R -- hair salon.. a bit out of my price range.

Your Daily Grind -- coffee shop with good smelling brews and sandwiches.

Club Liquor -- Classic Menasha Liquor store.. I stopped in and got our stamps.

Wild Apple -- hand made earrings and other hand made crafty items. A lot of cute stuff including a flip flop paper weight.

Overall it was fun afternoon and it gave me an excuse to explore the shops in downtown Menasha. Next year, I save my pennies and buy some cute outfits.

Walking for Corn on the Cob

When Danielle mentioned she wanted to do a 5K a month and she found the Corny Walk in Menasha for August, I was game. The date worked perfect since the hubby was gone and it was early enough that I should be able to get to Book Club.

The Corny Walk was sponsored by the Menasha Park and Rec department. The walk was free and about 2 miles in length. I pre-registered. Danielle decided it was too hot but was nice enough to play chauffeur for me. Heather and the boys joined me. Initially I planned on starting at 5 so I would be done in time for book club but one thing led to another and Heather and I got to Curtis Reed Square about the same time.

It definitely was a family event. I was glad Heather and the boys joined me. There were about a dozen stops along the route where you had to complete an activity to collect tickets, snacks, or prizes. The first station was stretching. I don’t like to stretch. Then we walked a little farther and the boys had an activity to do at the farmer’s market.

The third activity was jump rope and we got a ticket for water after the walk. Down the road was a javelin throwing activity where we “won” popcorn. Then we had some hula hoops.

Once we got to the Trestle Bridge, we had to do burpees. If you completed 1 you got a can coozie, if you completed 3 you got a $5 certificate to the farmers market, if you completed 5 you got both. We all managed to 5. I got complimented on my kick outs. I couldn’t do the push up part very well but I sure could kick my legs out on the way down.

About halfway across the bridge was some jumping jacks for fruit snacks. On the other end of the bridge was a small obstacle course including hurdles, limbo, and gun shooting. We got police badges and coloring books.

After walking back across the bridge, there was a ring toss game that I wasn’t very good at. Pool noodles don’t toss very well. We got bananas. Up the road was a dice game where you had to do what was on the dice. The last stop was hopscotch for a token for an ear of corn. We barely finished in time.

After we completed the walk, we got a hot dog, corn, and water. It might have been an odd dinner but it was good.

I will definitely do the Corny Walk again. I just have to plan better next time -- either get there right at 5 or try not to do too many things in one evening. I liked all the stops and obstacles. It made the walk enjoyable.

Checking out Snow Sculptures

Last night on the news, I caught something about snow sculptures in Menasha today. I googled it and discovered it was part of the Smith Park Winter Gala. The Gala was only from 12-3 today and featured snow sculptures, a petting zoo, winter golf, Story telling, and the park was groomed for skiing. Everything was free. It sounded fun and I mentioned it to Danielle in case she was interested in taking Gavin.

Since I wasn't too sore from snowshoeing this morning, I decided to go check it out. Danielle was busy so it was just me. After confirming with the hubby how to get to Smith Park, I headed out.

Honestly I was slightly disappointed...mainly by the set up. Everything was cramped together in front of the Memorial Building instead of utilizing the park across the street. I understand that they probably wanted to avoid having to cross the street to get to the building and utilize the sidewalk for people to walk on but it would have been nice to be a little more spread out.

If you didn't want the hassle finding a place to park and walking around, you could just drive by slowing and see most of the snow sculptures. Most of the snow sculptures were very well done. I had a hard time figuring out what some of them were supposed to be but that could be that they weren't done or I am just not up on pop culture like most people are. A friend from high school was there supporting her girlfriend so I chatted with her for a few minutes. And not to be biased or anything but I really loved the stork, which came in 3rd.

The petting zoo was tiny but adorable. There were llamas or alpacas and pygmy goats plus rabbits in cages. I was expecting a few goats but these were way cooler. I didn't pet anything (the hubby is a germaphob)  but I did look. I wanted to take one home.

If I had someone to play with, I would have totally done the winter golf. It is kind of like miniature golf but with tennis balls and hoops. You had to get the closest to the pin in the hoop. There was a competition that started at noon.

I am thinking as long as the weather cooperates this may become a yearly thing, just to see the snow sculptures. If the weather doesn't cooperate, it would still be fun to drive by after everyone is done to see the snow sculptures. Now if the weather would cooperate for walking around during the ice sculpting in Appleton....

#3814. Go to Weis Earth Science Museum in Menasha

A few weeks ago, I saw some a post on Facebook about FreeMuseum Day. I like Museums. I REALLY like free. I checked it out. The Smithsonian was offering a Free Museum Day to select museums across the country. The only “catch” was you had to request tickets and only 1 pass good for 2 people per email address. There were several in the area that were part of the Free Museum Day. As much as I wanted to go to the Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, I didn’t want to drive to Manitowoc. I settled on the Weis EarthScience Museum in Menasha.

I really should have driven to Manitowoc instead. I’m glad that it was free to visit. I am not sure it’s worth the $3 admission. The Weis Earth Science is part of UW-Fox Valley and is not that big. The size of a museum doesn’t bother me. If the museum is interesting and hands-on, the size doesn’t matter. This museum is geared more towards school groups learning about Earth Science who need to find specific answers. As an adult checking out the museum for fun, I was bored.

Meteors

Sandstone

I met Danielle and Gavin there. For a 4 year old, there weren’t a lot of hands-on activities. There were probably about 5 hands-on displays and some of them weren’t very hands on.  Most of the museum consisted of rocks with descriptions and pictures on the wall to read. When I go to a museum, especially a science museum, I want to look at things and touch things. I don’t want to read about everything on display.

There were a couple of things I did find interesting. I liked to jump up and down and cause an earthquake. Gavin wasn’t all into causing an earthquake probably because he was too short to see the screen.

The fossil rubbings were cool even if I did get chalk all over myself. Perhaps I will hang my woolly mammoth in the bathroom.

The dinosaur skeleton was pretty neat. I almost got close enough to get my head bit off.

The mine was lame. It was like walking through the wall. I didn’t get the feeling I was in a lead mine at all. I know this isn’t the Science and Industry Museum but it could have been a bit more realistic. Even the mine wasn’t very realistic but the old mine cart was cool.

The Mine

Gavin liked learning about the water cycle… and blowing things up in the mine. The microscope was a hit for him as well.

I give UW-Fox Valley kudos for having a place to share their Collections and educate others about Earth Science. If I was teaching up here and had an Earth Science unit, I’d look into a field trip to the museum. I am glad I checked it out but I probably won’t go back unless they have a really cool exhibit.

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.