Going on an Eagle Viewing Hunt

I've been following Eagle Days on the Fox River on Facebook and keep seeing the posts of eagle sightings. If I got up early enough yesterday morning, I could have helped with the eagle monitoring but I didn't see the post early enough. So I decided to get up early and try to spot one this morning. By early I mean like 7 AM!!! Eek. I contemplated staying in bed and said screw it but this might have been my only chance for awhile.

According to the Eagle Days page, there are 16 different viewing stations along the Fox River throughout the Fox Valley. I decided to go down by the Banta Bowl because it was close to home and I could see an eagle and go back to bed. I get down there and saw a lot of seagulls. I hung around for a little bit but decided there were too many seagulls and it was cold.

On to Plan B... I headed to Sunset Park in Kimberly. There are 2 viewing spots in Sunset. I decided to go down by the boat launch since I could sit in the car. There was another person there too. Again I saw a lot of ducks and other birds. I may have saw an eagle in flight since eagles soar while most other birds flap their wings and fly. I waited awhile to see if it would come back but it never did so I could confirm if it was an eagle or not.

I almost decided to say screw it and go home but decided to go to 1 last spot at 1000 Islands Nature Center in Kaukauna. I was surprised no one was there.. ok so it was 8 AM. I trudged out to the viewing platform and saw nothing. I was quite disappointed that this eagle hunting trip was a bust. I could have stayed in bed.

I thought the frost and the steam looked pretty cool and snapped a few pictures. I figured at least I had a few cool pictures to show from my journey this morning.

As I headed back to the car, I looked up and there was an eagle in a tree. It was definitely worth getting up at the crack of dawn.

I learned that I am not patient enough to wait for an eagle to come along. I want to show up and be able to see one. This probably why I don't fish or hunt... I can't sit still long enough to get the goods.

I hopefully one year will be able to partake in some of the other activities that Eagle Days on the Fox River have planned but the work schedule doesn't allow it this year.

#995 Build a Fort

Every year my friend Jamie and her family builds a blanket fort on New Year's Eve. I must have had a depressing childhood as I never built a blanket fort or any other kind of fort or clubhouse. After seeing pictures for the last 2 years, I decided I wanted to make a fort and watch a movie in it. I thought doing this by myself but decided that it would be more fun if I had someone to do it with. So I invited Danielle and Gavin over for forts and movies this afternoon since the hubby was gone all day.

It turns out that Danielle at least some fort building experience because I really had no clue how to build a fort. I knew I needed some blankets and chairs but when it came to putting it together I had no clue. Next time we will invite Jamie over for assistance as she is a "professional".

Building a fort isn't as easy as it looks. You have to make sure the roof is high enough to see the TV and wide enough for 3 bodies. You have to make sure the blankets are secure to the chairs and each other. This is where knot tying skills come in handy as well as hair clips and chip clips. Jamie says duct tape works well too.

Once had our fort built, we wiggled into it.. another thing I didn't realize I had to worry about. Trying to lay in the fort to watch TV. In order to do this in the small space we had, we had to enter the fort feet first. It was a lot of contorting for us adults.

Danielle and I lasted about 20 minutes laying on our stomachs when she wiggled out and sat up and I flipped positions and leaned against the couch. That was much more comfortable. I figured since I wanted to build a fort I better watch the entire movie in it.

Fort building is a great way to spend a winter afternoon. Maybe this will become a yearly tradition. Hopefully I will get to improve my fort building skills sometime soon.

Top 5 in 2017

As I look ahead to 2017, I have some adventures that I hope to accomplish this year and knock them off the original bucket list.

1. Go to the Octagon House -- this has been on my short list for the last couple of years. I had 2 opportunities to check it out this year and changes in plans forced it be left behind. Hopefully I can make it to Watertown to see it.

2. Go to Zoo Ala Carte -- another one that has been on the short list for the last couple of years. Because of when it is, it usually lands during my vacation. Hopefully vacation will be earlier this year and I can head down to zoo ala carte.

3. Go to Alpha Xi Delta National Convention -- I will have several upset sisters if I don't make it to this year's convention. It is in Chicago and I have every intention on going.

4. See the ice sculptures at the PAC -- this is one of those things that was added to the original list because of living in the Milwaukee area. Now I think it is time to make a day trip down to see them... I just have to find out when they are.

5. Go tubing -- something I've always wanted to do and Danielle said she'd take me this year when she went...

I'm sure there will be other items that get crossed off the original bucket list this year like always. The goal is to knock off 5 and the last couple of years I have succeeded.

I know the hubby and I will work on knocking off more Major League Baseball Stadiums this year to help me reach my goal of seeing all the stadiums. White Sox, Detroit, and Kansas City make the short list this year.

Stay tuned for my many adventures in the coming weeks and months.

Year in Review 2016

2016 was a busy year. I can't believe all the adventures I had, the experiences taken, and the memories made.

2016 By the Numbers

• 11 official bucket list adventures -- 3 of which were ones I wanted to do in 2016. The other 2... well there's always next year

•  14 states -- 1 new one

•  122 counties -- give or take a few
• 3 National Parks... I even have a National Park Passport now

•  5 Major League Baseball Stadiums -- 4 new ones. I really didn't think I would get to any. 3 of my top 5 stadiums were visited

•  1 state capital
•  12 5Ks.... I really wanted to do 13 but decided against it. Next year I'm only planning on doing 6 to have more money to visit Baseball stadiums... 1 race fee = 1 baseball ticket. 

•  3 rounds of mini golf .... and none in Wisconsin

•  4 state parks -- 3 new ones and a total of 5 visits

• 100+ books read. I even joined a real book club that exposed me to a few books and authors.
• 2 movies seen in the theater.. I don't remember the last time I did that

It was a great year. I can't wait to see what 2017 brings. 

3827. Go to the Grignon Mansion in Kaukauna

When I was looking for something for Stacy and I to do when she came up for cookie baking, I started going through the events on Facebook. I found the Grignon Mansion was doing Christmas at the Mansion from 1-7 on Saturday and Menasha was had a Christmas event downtown from 5-8. Based on the forecast, I decided to go Christmas at the Mansion, especially since I've never been in the mansion. The hubby took me by it once.

The Grignon Mansion was built in 1837 by Charles Grignon as a wedding gift to his wife. It became known as the Mansion in the Woods. The Mansion is normally open in Summer on weekends for tours. This is the first time in years that they did Christmas at the Mansion.

The Mansion was simply decorated for Christmas as it would have been in 1948. There were no trees, boughs of holly, or other decorations except for stockings hung by the bed. It wasn't until after the German settlers started to arrived did the Christmas tree make an appearance. Christmas in 1948 was a time for visiting and sharing a holiday meal.

The Grignon Mansion did not have electricity, except for the basement, and our tour was conducted by candlelight. We were met in the parlor and a re-enactor lead us through live in the parlor room and shown 2 guest rooms. From there we continued our tour upstairs where we saw the 3 bedrooms before heading down to the dining room and kitchen. By the end of the tour, it was quite difficult to see the script the guides were reading from by candlelight.

After the tour, Stacy and I made our way down to the basement where we enjoyed cookies and eggnog while making paper stars. For the 2nd time this year, I made a paper craft that actually turned out. We thought about making a wooden snowflake but even though basket weaving skills were required, it wasn't a real basket and it didn't meet the criteria of weave a basket.

Once we finished our crafts and snacks, we headed out to the blacksmith shop. We watched as the blacksmiths made a pair of tongs. Usually blacksmiths make shepherd hooks or horseshoes, so it was nice to see them trying to make something different.

Then we headed over to the trolley for a trolley ride through Kaukauna to see the Christmas Lights. It seemed as a very unorganized and random trolley ride but it was still cool to see the North Pole and other lights in Kaukauna.

The Grignon Mansion is a National Historic Site.  Stacy made a comment that maybe there is a list of all the National Historic Sites. I guess I will have to look for one and add all of them to the bucket list.

I enjoyed our visit to the Mansion. After looking the website, I see they have other events throughout the year including a Model A Car show and a Civil War Reenactment. I may have to keep my eye out for other events. It's a nice hidden gem and I'm glad I was able to visit it.

Craxi at the Movies: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

This is BIG year for me... I went to not 1 but 2 movies in the theaters. I probably haven't done that in over 10 years. Since I was turning 37, I wanted to go see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them -- the latest Harry Potter movie. Danielle and Erin agreed to go with me.

Before I tell you about the movie I, better tell you that we went to the theater by my house which I've not been there since they remodeled it. I will be going to Marcus Valley Grand Cinema for all my future movie outings. They have the Dream Loungers which makes watching a movie so much more comfortable. After further research so does Hollywood Theater and it really depends on which theater your movie is shown in. I think all the theaters need to be upgraded to the Dream Loungers.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was original written as Harry Potter textbook/companion book to the Harry Potter books. J.K. Rowlings turned it into a screenplay set 70 years before Harry was at Hogwarts. Instead of being set in London, it's set in NYC. Newt Scammander comes to America to release on of his beasts in the wilds of Arizona. Before that can even happen, his beasts escape and another terrifying beast is on the loose in the city. He is accused of setting the terrifying beast on the city and is sentenced to death. Without giving too much away, I let you know that the world is righted again and no executions take place.

Besides Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this has to be my favorite Harry Potter movie and Harry isn't even in it. It was funny yet serious. I laughed out loud at several parts. Besides knowing it was based on the Harry Potter textbook with the same name, I really didn't know much about the movie going into it. I thought it might have followed the Harry Potter books in a way but it really didn't. Even if you didn't read any of the books or see any of the previous movies, you would have been able to follow the plot. It had very few references to the series and made a great stand-alone film. It was much better than expected. I really liked that a Muggle or No-Maj (Non-magic people) had an important part in the movie and that he ended up helping the wizarding world.

My only gripe was that I felt jipped at the end. I felt that it just ended with 2 characters recognizing each other and really should have expanded on that a bit more. A kiss would have been nice. However, I think I'm the only that felt this way. Either way it was a great movie with great characters. This one will be bought for sure.

Now I'm off to find myself of Niffler...

Asylum Revisited Walking Tour

Back in May, I saw that the History Museum was offering a historical walk on the grounds of the old Outagamie County Asylum. It sounded really interesting. Stacy decided to come up and join me on the walk.

The last walk I signed up for was cancelled because of the weather. I was really hoping this wasn't going to be the case since it was calling to be windy with a chance of flurries. It turned a little wind and snow wasn't going to stop the curator but it did keep some people away.

The walk was interesting but I felt it could have been better. I'm not sure if that was due to the weather or not since it was cold and windy -- making it miserable to stand outside in an open field. Because the actual asylum is no longer standing, we mainly walked around the the fields of where the building stood. Nick, our tour guide, would explain about a portion of the asylum that used to be where we stood and occasionally showed us pictures.

The asylum housed the long term mentally ill who had no chance of being "cured" and released back into society. The asylum had an open door policy where the inmates could come and go as they pleased which would not fly in today's society. Although the actual quarters were not very pleasant, most of the inmates had to help around the asylum either working on the county farm or in the kitchen. Some even took care of other inmates especially since at time they had very few paid employees since working conditions weren't very favorable.

After we walked the grounds of the old asylum, we walked down to the Outagamie County Cemetery where several of the inmates of the asylum was buried. Many of the inmates would be buried back in their home towns but if they had no family left, they would be buried in the plot behind the asylum. Since the graves weren't marked, it made it difficult to find where the actual bodies were buried. However, a group of people from the Outagmie County Cemetery Commission (or something like that) with the help of a Lawrence University Professor and his class, they were able to locate the graves and turn a piece of overgrown land into a proper cemetery.

Despite not actually being able to see the asylum, it was still very interesting to hear how an asylum operated. We were told the History Museum at the Castle just started an exhibit on the Outagmie County Asylum and we should go check it out. If I knew about the exhibit beforehand, Stacy and I might have made plans to check out it. Since the exhibit is open for a while, I may go check it out sometime.

There are several other History Walks around Appleton I'd like to do and hopefully they continue them next year. Since they only cost about $7, it is fun way to learn about the area and get my exercise as well.