6155. Go to Inventor’s Brewpub in Port Washington

 The hubby and I were going to be down by my parents on Valentine's Day and we wanted to try some place new for dinner. However we didn't want a Valentine's Day menu or feel to it. That is not our thing. Little Bro suggested the Log Cabin Inn in Howards Grove but time got away from us and it was going to be later than we wanted to get there so we decided to stay in Port. My friend suggested Inventor's Brewpub in Port. We decided to check it out. 

Inventor's Brewpub is located downtown Port Washington across the street from the Marina. There is some parking in the lot to the south of the Marina or street parking. Do not park in the marina lot or you will get ticketed especially in summer. We couldn't figure out if we needed to feed the meters or not so we played it safe and parked on the street. Inventor's Brewpub is open 11-9 Sunday-Thursday and 11-10 on Fridays and Saturdays.

We got a table right away. They are several tables including a few longer beer hall tables to accommodate large groups. You could also sit at the bar. In summer there is also a patio to sit at and look out over the lake. 

The menu features burgers, wraps, Friday Fish, and a handful of main dishes. They also have poutine.  The brats are made locally and the rolls are Sheboygan hard rolls .The hubby went with a burger and I opted for Wisconsin Bratwurst Poutine. Since I wasn't in the mood for a beer, we opted for water. 

My poutine was very good. I forgot it said beer brat and was not expecting spiciness. Once I got used to that it was really good. It was a lot of food. The hubby said he might have got it if it wasn't beer cheese or came with chicken. He also said the fries were not sturdy enough for the cheese. I would totally get it it again.

The hubby said his burger was good. It looked good. I would probably get homemade chips with my burger though. 

We will definitely be back to Inventor's Brewpub. I told my friend it got 2 thumbs up. Next time I want to try their beer. 

If you are ever in Port Washington and want a quick bite to eat or a good beer, check out Inventor's Brewpub. 

Tall Ships Come to Port

 When I saw that Port Washington was having a Tall Ships Festival, I wanted to go. I usually don't get to see them but seeing there were going to see in Port and I figured mom and dad could use my help with some stuff, I decided to go check them out. Ideally I wanted to go to EAA and Tall Ships on back to back days so I didn't mess up my week at work but it didn't work out that way but either way, I made it work.

Tall Ships are large traditional-rigged sailing vessels such as topsail schooners. They are really just modern pirate ships. 

Tall Ships were in Port for 3 days before they headed up Lake Michigan towards Door County. They actually reached out to Port for safe harbor and Port figured they could do something to draw people down to see them. Working together, the Port Visitor Center and the sailing ships put together daily sails and tours of the ships. The sails were $70-$95 depending time of day. Sails were 1.5-2 hours depending on the time of day. I kind of regret not spending the money to do a sail. I think I will save my pennies and do a sail next time I get to see Tall Ships.

I had the opportunity to volunteer at Tall Ships. I spent a couple of hours answering questions and booking sails on the ships. It let me watch the ships come into the harbor, dock, set sail, and just watch ships. It was actually a good time even though I wasn't sure what I was going to get into. I picked a time slot where there wasn't a lot going on. 

Tours of the ships were once a day around 4 pm due to the Lake level. They could only board at Rotary Park even though they docked at Coal Dock Park. Each day one of the ships would dock at Rotary Park and open up for free tours. 

Due to some miscommunications (and a late departing ship), the tour on Friday was on the Appledore. The Appledore home port is Bay City, MI. The ship is not the big. It's only 85' in length. We were free to explore the top deck of the schooner. 

You could see the itty bitty galley.

And peek down the stairs to see the living quarters. 

I was disappointed that while docked, the sails are down so they weren't as magnificent looking as they are when the sails are bellowing in the wind while out on the open water.

I was able to watch the Liberty Clipper come back after their sail with their sails bellowing in the wind as I walked back to my car. 

Even though you could only tour the shops once a day, you could view them any time while they were docked at Coal Dock Park. You could look down into them and if crew was around talk to them. 

I am glad I was took a day off to go check out the Tall Ships. I think I would have been kicking myself if I didn't. I hope you can some time be able to see Tall Ships and maybe even take a sail on one of them. 

5340. Explore Coal Dock Park in Port Washington

 After I checked out the flamingos, I decided to see where the path off the South Beach Parking Lot led. I had a feeling it would get me back to Coal Dock Park. It sure did.

The path connects Coal Dock Park to South Beach along the back side of the power plant. The path is a paved path probably no more than a 1/4 to 1/2 mile in length. 

There is a side loop that takes you through the Port Washington Avian Sanctuary. I never knew there was a bird sanctuary in Port. I guess once they converted the power plant from coal to gas, a pond was put in and wild flowers grew into a safe haven for birds and bugs alike. No pets or bikes are allowed. It is only a short loop with benches to sit on. The path is crushed gravel. Of course I walked it in flip flops. It is a nice little nature walk.

To actually get to Coal Dock Park, the path crosses a bridge. I love bridges. This one leads over the channel that leads to Lake Michigan. It would be a fun picture spot.

Once I got back to Coal Dock Park, I figured I might as well get my walk in for the day. I walked the path around the park. 

I stopped at the War Memorial trying to find my uncle's stone. I knew it was near the flag pole but I did not find it. I guess I will have to go back and look again.

The views of the lighthouse, downtown Port, and St. Mary's Church never get old. 

I was glad it was such a nice day that I could enjoy my stroll around Coal Dock Park. I did not go up in the pavilion -- wasn't sure if it was open and I was short on time. Overall I walked about 1.33 miles which is my usual walk for the day. 

If you are ever in Port, check out South Beach and Coal Dock Park. Better yet walk the path between the two and check out the avian sanctuary as well. 

A Little Wine Tasting for My Birthday

The hubby and I spent my Black Friday which happened to be my birthday with my parents and cousins. After some shopping in the morning, we headed back to my parents house to relax. Since it was early in the afternoon, I figured we had time to hit a winery in Port since my cousins love their wine.

Now I knew there was a winery in Port Washington, Vines to Cellar, but I did not realize it has been there for 10 years. It is a small winery in downtown Port. Since it was like 10 minutes from my parents, I figured we'd check it out.

O.M.G. I found my favorite new winery.. okay at least that is a bit closer than Downtime Wines. Their fruit wines are amazing. Not only do they sell full bottles but they also have half bottles which my cousins loved since they were easier to travel back to Kansas City with.

For a small fee, we each had a wine flight of 5 different wines. They have a huge selection of wines and I had a really hard time to decide which five I wanted to taste especially since there were many fruit wines that sounded amazing.

After some contemplation I went with:

Sunset Sunrise -- a white moscato. I am not one for white moscatos usually but this one was very good. It was sweet yet dry and there were no bubbles. Even my cousins liked this one. It is definitely one I would pick up for a party.

Jammin Blackberry Cab -- a blackberry Cabernet. This is very smooth blackberry. The hubby and I love blackberry wines so this was coming home with us.

Cherry Bounce -- a cherry pinot noir. This is my absolute favorite that I tasted. It literally tasted like cherry juice. A bottle came home with us. We are probably coming back to get it for Christmas.

Just Peachy -- a peach apricot chardonnay. Another tasty one. I will pick this one up the next time I'm in town. It is definitely a good summery wine.

Frosty Jo -- Riesling Ice wine. I am not much for ice wine. This one wasn't bad. However, if I was going to bring home an ice wine from here it would definitely be the Alyssa Ice which is a Cabernet Franc Ice Wine. This one was so much smoother, especially with chocolate.

Pomegranate Zing -- a pomegranate Zinfandel. This is surprisingly one of their best sellers. It wasn't bad. I'm not big on pomegranate but I can see why it is a big seller.

Other fruit wine flavors include pear/kiwi, pineapple, blueberry, green apple, and strawberry. Either have to go back and do another wine tasting (I do have another BOGO that's good til the end of the year) or blindly take home some of the more "exotic" fruit wines. I blindly took home the black raspberry wine. I figured I couldn't go wrong with that one.

I will warn you that it does smell like winery and very earthy. It just makes me thing of wine fermenting and that's a good thing. Oh and there is a very friendly dog that is there to greet you.

My cousin wasn't overly impressed with the reds and brought home fruit wines instead. Considering this winery is so close to mom and dad's, I'm surprised we didn't find it sooner. We will be back and it is easy for us to pick up some bottles for my cousins. I can't wait to go back and get more wine.

#3999 Go to the Port Exploreum

A few months back on Facebook I noticed a new museum, the Port Exploreum, coming to my hometown. Without knowing anything about it, I added it to the bucket list because it was in Port Washington and it's a museum. I like random museums. Turns out this one isn't so random. My parents checked it out when it first opened and informed me that Vern Biever's photos were on display through the end of October. Mom stuck the pamphlet in my stuff when I saw her and I nonchalantly showed the hubby who said we had to go. That was how I got the hubby to check out the Port Exploreum with me.

The museum itself is downtown Port and covers 3 floors. It's not huge but it's a decent size. It is very hands-on and up to date on technology. There are not a lot of physical displays but there are a lot of interactive displays.

In the basement is the Maritime display where it talks about fish in Lake Michigan, shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, and various ship captains. There is an virtual reality fishing game that teaches you about the fish and invasive species in Lake Michigan. The hubby did pretty well at the game. Me on the other hand, not so much. It was fun trying though. There is a periscope that allows you to see what's happening on the marina and it actually turns. There are some diving helmets that allow you to explore shipwrecks.

On the 1st and 2nd floors, was mostly Vern Biever's photos and dark room. Not only was he a Packer's photographer for many years, he also was a World War II photographer. Many of his never seen before photos of the war are on display. There is a video playing more photos by him and his son.

 Vern Biever's Dark Room

WWII Picture

On the second floor was also a interactive Ozaukee Press that allowed you to learn the history of Port and actual events. I read about the chair factory fire. There was also something on the different breweries. You could spend hours just reading old newspaper clips.

As we left, we talked to one of the staff who said the Maritime exhibit is permanent while the Vern Biever is temporary. They are thinking about doing exhibits on Commercial Fishing in Port and Commercial Fishing Families next. She said they plan on changing exhibits every 4 months or so.

Admission was $8 which wasn't bad for what there was. The hubby said he would go back. It's a nice museum with a great view of the lake from the deck on the 2nd floor.

The Marina from the Port Exploreum