Checking out the New Trout Museum of Art

 The Trout Museum of Art moved to a new location on College Ave. It was closed for a few months while they moved. Danielle and I went to the closing exhibit at the old location so it was fitting we would go to the opening of the new location. 

The official opening was at 10 am and we both said that was way too earlier. We decided to head there after lunch. Thanks to Boldt Construction, admission to the museum is free for the first year. We parked at the library and walked. I hate parking downtown and really loathe parking ramps.

The museum itself is nice and bright. It is very spacious with high ceilings and multiple galleries on the first floor. I love the brightness of it.

The art was art. I'm beginning to realize how not an art gallery person I really am. I just found all the art to be completely random. Don't get me wrong it was very museum worthy art but each exhibit was just very random.

The fiber arts were definitely more my style even though I didn't quite get the point of some of it.

The Home Rules exhibit by Michelle Grabner was definitely my favorite. It was all very random but it was fun to look at. I like art that is fun to look at. 

The glass pieces were also my style and I enjoyed those. 

So maybe I am not just a painting kind of person. 

I did like it was a bit more interactive and made you think of the art by giving you questions to answer.

If you are in Appleton, definitely take some time this winter to go check out the new Trout Museum of Art. It has more space than the old museum and can have larger exhibits. It is worth the parking hassle and admission is free.

5337. Go to Vande Walle’s Candy in Appleton

 Driving home from the T-Rats game, we drove by Vande Walle's Candy by the mall. I casually mentioned, I've never been in Vande Walle's. . I've had their candy before and even did a chocolate book pairing with the Menasha library but in the 20 years I've been here in the Valley, I never stopped at Vande Walle's. Not sure why. I drove by it enough. The hubby was like "really?" and turned around so we could go check it out

Vande Walle's Candies is located by the Fox River Mall in Appleton.. technically Grand Chute but minor details... It is open 8-8 M-F, 8-6 on Saturdays, and 10-6 on Sundays. 

The hubby warned me it is not a big store. Looks are deceiving since the building looks like a giant 2 story house. It is definitely not that big inside. It is bigger than Oak's in Oshkosh and does have displays of chocolate goodies scattered on tables around the floor. I thought the Nutterflies looked adorable.

Like any good chocolate store, there is homemade truffles and other yummy treats in the case.

Besides selling chocolate, they also have a bakery. There were cookies and cakes and all sorts of yummy goodness to ogle over.

We ended up picking up the mini cheesecakes for dessert, along with a dozen cookies, and some truffles for me. I also splurged on some mini macaroons. 

I know the truffles were good since I them before at the chocolate tasting.

The hubby and I both said my cheesecake is better. Theirs was good but apparently I make a mean cheesecake. 

The cookies were delicious and we would definitely get the cookies again.

The macaroons were not bad. The watermelon one did taste like watermelon bubble gum but the tiramisu was lacking in flavor. The root beer one sounded intriguing. I got the watermelon one because it was cute looking.

I definitely needed to get to Vande Walle's sooner but it was probably a good thing I didn't... my wallet might not like me. Now I just need to get to Wilmar's in Appleton and check out their new location in Neenah for the melted chocolate bar.

If you are by the mall in Appleton, definitely check out Vande Walle's. I'm sure you will find a treat you can't wait to indulge in. 

5233. Have stuffed chicken wings from Mai’s Deli

 For over a year, we have been waiting to try stuffed chicken wings from Mai's Deli in Appleton. It makes it hard with the hubby's schedule but finally we had a Saturday night free and I said we were going to do it.

Mai Deli's is a Southeast Asian cafe near downtown. They serve stuffed chicken wings, pho, and Pad Thai among other favorites. They are open Monday-Saturday 10-8. They do have dine in and carryout. 

We weren't sure what we wanted so we opted to go there and order. Most people do carry out but do have a few tables for dine in. 

We knew wanted stuffed chicken wings but not sure what else. There were plenty of things on the menu the hubby won't even think about trying. I think if I was with Stacy I might have been a bit more adventurous. We stuck with stuffed chicken wings, chicken egg rolls, and crab rangoons. 

The wait for our food was about 10-15 minutes which wasn't bad for a Saturday night. We just sat and people watched. Now that we know what we like, we probably will just call and order next time.

The stuffed chicken wings were fabulous. It is egg roll filling in a jumbo chicken wing. We definitely will be getting them again.

I'm not a huge egg roll fan. These were good but I think the pork would be even better. The crab rangoons were delicious.

If you have not tried Mai's Deli yet, you definitely need to. We can't wait to go back. I told Stacy I found where we taking her for cookie baking next year. 

5242. Have ice cream at Frio Mexican Treats in Appleton

 Everyone kept posting about this ice cream place in Appleton called Frio. It looked really good. I didn't mention it the hubby since it was Mexican ice cream and wasn't sure he'd like it. Then he saw something in the paper about it being one of the best ice cream places in the area and wanted to try it. This is usually how things work, I find something I want to try or go to, then I wait for him to discover it, and then we ended checking it out.

Frio Mexican Treats is located on Wisconsin Ave in Appleton. They are open Wednesday-Sunday. They is also have a location in Neenah which is open Thursday-Monday.

We opted to go before we had dinner. When you are an adult you can eat dessert first. I was having a hard deciding what I wanted. There was ice cream and churro sundaes to pick from along with Mexican corn and a few other items. They had a variety of sundaes to choose from or you could build your own.  As tempting (and delicious) was the Ube Brownie, I opted for Yo Quiero Cookie Sundae. which was Oreo ice cream with Chips Ahoy cookies. I just wasn't ready to build my own.

I ordered a baby and it was more than enough. I have not had a churro sundae since Costa Rica and missed them. This really hit the spot. The churros were filled with custard. It was sweet and gooey and delicious. 

The hubby had Shiocton Blast and he loved it too. I am glad he's stepping out of his comfort zone.

It was bit pricy but no pricier than going to Dairy Queen for Blizzards. The choices of ice cream makes it well worth it. We definitely will be back.. this time after dinner.

You definitely need to check out Frio if you have not yet. Delicious and they even have coffee. 

Note: It looks like they may temporary close from January to Mid-February. We went in early November. 

5194. Go to Soda Bar in Appleton

 I saw an article online about Soda Bar in Appleton. It sounded like something I really check out. Basically it is a "bar" that makes various soda creations using syrups and flavored creamers mixed with Coke and Pepsi products. Apparently it is a big thing in Arizona where the couple who opened The Soda Bar is from. Then Heather mentioned the place to me, and I was like I really want to try it. She sweetened the deal and gave me a BOGO coupon. 

Soda Bar has two Appleton locations. One on Northland Ave that is more of drive thru location. The newest location is by the mall and has seating so you can hang out with your friends. The Northland location is open 8-8 Mon-Thu and 8-9 on Fridays and Saturdays. The mall location is open 10-8 Mon-Thu and 10-9 on Friday and Saturdays. 

We went to the mall location after running some errands. Since I peeked at the menu online, I had an idea of what I wanted. The hubby quickly found something we wanted as well.

I went with the Up Nort -- Dr Pepper with Raspberry Puree and Coconut Cream. The hubby opted for the Daily Vice -- Coke with Pineapple and Coconut Cream.

We both were a bit annoyed that the workers were more interested in serving and chatting with their friends. It seemed like we were a bother but our drinks did come up rather quickly.

We took them to go so we didn't have to deal with a bunch of high schoolers. 

Both of our drinks were quite tasty. You definitely could taste the coconut which was fine by us. 

We would definitely go back. It would be even better if they would open a location on this side of town. I'm sick driving to the mall area for something other than fast food or coffee. 

5063. Go to the Vulcan Replica House in Appleton

 While on my urban hike, I noticed that the Vulcan House was open for tours on Sundays. I made a mental note of this and informed the hubby of it. He said he would like to check out too. Due to rain, we couldn't that weekend but found some time a few weeks later.

The Vulcan House is actually a replica of the original Vulcan House built in 1882. It is only open for tours Sundays May-October 12-3 weather permitting. You can also call for tours during those months as well. It is free to visit and is run by the Appleton Historical Society.

Thanks to Heather pointing out where I could park to walk the new walking bridge, I knew where to park. We ended up parking in the old Neenah Paper Mill lot off of Lawe Street. It was a very short walk to the Vulcan House. The lot Heather showed me would have been a much farther walk. 

The Replica Vulcan House is really just a lean to shed. It was built to produce hydroelectric power to the Hearthstone House, the Appleton Paper Mill, and 4 other homes in the area. The replica was built in 1932 for the 50th anniversary of the first house to be powered by hydroelectricity. 

Inside the house is not much. It contains 2 leather belts, a replica water wheel, and an original Edison K dynamo. These pieces of equipment worked together to produce water power from the Fox River. It is very noisy. The person in charge would watch 2 light bulbs to determine if more or less power would need to be generated. I am sure it was a very boring, lonely, and probably cold/hot job. 

The Edison K dynamo was a generator that helped produce the power needed. The one in the Vulcan Replica was donated by Henry Ford himself. When they were building the replica, a group of individuals traveled to Dearborn, MI in hopes of securing one. When Mr. Ford heard of what they were looking for and why, he graciously donated it to the individuals.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend taking an hour on a Sunday afternoon to go check out the Vulcan Replica House. Then go to tour the Hearthstone House and learn all about the family that brought hydroelectricity to the Fox Valley. 

5098. Go to the Dirty Bookstore in Appleton

 One of the ladies in my book club calls the used bookstore in Appleton "The Dirty Bookstore" because the books are used. The name kind of stuck with me and I started calling it the Dirty Bookstore and I wanted to check it out for years. I am just really into buy many books. I prefer the library, audio books, or e-books. 

The Dirty Bookstore is actually called The Book Store and was originally located up by Northland Mall but moved just west of downtown on College Ave. Parking is street parking or a tiny lot. I was going to visit last year but had to cross the railroad tracks. However, this year one of our Death by Chocolate stops made Heather and I walk right by it. I advised Heather we were going to check it out. Her response "Oh. No. Not a Bookstore."

The Book Store is a very nice bookstore with lots of books. Like any good bookstore it was arranged by genre and alphabetically. There were a few chairs scattered about to read your books. 

My favorite was the mystery section with the body outline on the floor.

I did find over an entire shelf of Brenda Novak books which was a good thing since I still need 9 more books to complete my 50 book challenge. I was running out of audio books to get from the library. I picked up 2 of the Whiskey Creek series books I was missing. 

There were also new books. You could ask them to order you a book as well. I was disappointed they didn't have the new Hank Philippi Ryan book so I could take a picture with the cover. Oh well. 

The prices are reasonable -- 50% off the cover price of used books and 15% off new books. My 2 books cost my $8. Not a bad deal. I would definitely check them again and next time I wouldn't be afraid of crossing the tracks.