Excursions & Side Trips in the Midwest

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Excursions

Bourbon Trail
Klondike Days
Taliesin
Nokomis & Point Beer
Loon Capitol
Cars, Trains, Ducks
Far End of the Lake
Madison, Wisconsin
Fireside Theater
U505 Submarine
Berghoff & Blues
S.S. Badger
Mars Resort
Cranberry Harvest
Musky Hunt
Manitowoc
Fishing Museum
Green Lake, WI
Chicago River
Leinenkugel's
Little Norway
Green Co, WI
Zephyr Dinner Train
Are We There Yet?

My frequent travels to the North Woods take me through some interesting places in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. When I was growing up, I couldn't wait to get to where we were going. Now, I enjoy taking my time ( a sign of getting older?) and, more often than not, make the trip in two days or more. I try to get off the main highway and do some exploring. It is said that time is precious. It is not nearly so precious as the hundreds of places that are just waiting for you to visit. As my favorite Uncle Tommy used to constantly tell us: "Take some time to look around you. It's amazing what you will see!"

	A Brewery, a Fish Fry and FLW We headed north on an excursion to Spring Green and Middleton WI in order to take a tour of Taliesin, the home and studio of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, tour Capital Brewery and have a fish fry at....
	On the Kentucky Bourbon Trail We may only scratch the surface, but the story of bourbon is one which should serve as a call to head out to see, smell and taste for yourself, the ambrosia called: Bourbon!
	Cures for "Cabin Fever" and the "Are We There Yet?" Syndrome My father was a veritable nut about going places… and neither my sister not myself were all that gung-ho about traveling – especially by car, but air travel hadn’t really been “invented” yet...
	Stevens Point & Nokomis The day had dawned with a clear blue sky and crisp temperatures -- 27 degrees and a heavy frost -- and the trip to Stevens Point was only about an hour and a half... with almost no traffic.
	Rice Lake, Wisconsin Ice Fishing It seemed to me to a great excuse to try some more ice fishing - I made several phone calls, booked two nights at the Best Western and Heidi and I planned a weekend getaway...
	Loon Capital of the World After a visit to one of the bait shops, we were told that there was a small lake in town (Echo Lake) where we could easily launch our boat. We headed over, got the boat in and took a sort of tourist cruise around the 273-acre lake for awhile. We also made a few casts and picked up a couple of small northern and largemouth bass.
	The S.S. Badger "The S.S. Badger offers the largest cross-lake passenger service on the Great Lakes and an authentic steamship experience. The relaxing four-hour, 60-mile cruise takes passengers, autos, RVs, tour buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and commercial trucks across Lake Michigan between Ludington and Manitowoc."
	Cars, Trains and Ducks! Suddenly Heidi said: "Why don't we go just for fun and spend the night - we can go have dinner at that little place where you once had a blue gill fish fry?" Well, she had said the magic words and suddenly we were packing to leave in the morning. Our destination...
	Journey to the Far End of the Lake The lake itself - Lake Winnebago - at 137,700 acres is the largest freshwater inland lake in the United States, yet only averages about 15 feet in depth. (Make a note of the fact that it is considered as one of the nation's top walleye lakes and has lake sturgeon as well...)
	Madison Getaway Recently I had an opportunity to go to Madison, and I was notably impressed with what I saw and experienced in a very short period of time. In fact, my plan is to return and sample additional bits of an incredibly refreshing and fun city. (02/06)
	The Fireside Dinner/Theater The Fifties were my years and every song performed that evening, from television commercials to theme songs to chart-toppers, were ones to which I knew the lyrics. Ok, so there were a few to which I couldn't sing along... but at least I knew the tune! (01/05)
	U-505 Submarine at the Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago A chill went through me as I gazed upon the four bow torpedo tubes and one of the infamous and secret T5 acoustic torpedoes displayed hanging in front of the sub; I tried to imagine the horror felt by American seamen observing – too late – the telltale trail of bubbles just before the torpedo made its fateful impact. (12/05)
	Berghoff & Blues Festival Here in the mid-west, there are few things better than great music, great beer, and great weather… other than great fishing of course.
	Mars Resort in Lake Geneva Sometimes, a short excursion is better than no excursion at all. And so, at the end of a very long week, Heidi and I decided to head a short distance north to one of our favorite dinner venues...
	Wisconsin Cranberry Harvest There is much to learn about the berry that, until 1930, when Ocean Spray introduced us to its Cranberry Juice Cocktail, became little more than an extra sauce that was served at Thanksgiving. My intention was to learn as much as possible about “the little red fruit that could”.
	On the Hunt for Muskellunge I had heard about an event that was going to be sponsored by Berghoff Beer. It was the 15^th Annual St. Germain, Greater Wisconsin Musky Tournament, and Berghoff was the Tournament Sponsor for the second straight year. A contest was held to become the official Berghoff Musky Hunter Team...
	Wisconsin's Maritime Capitol This weekend I am going to take some time and squeeze in another journey into Wisconsin. There is a city on the edge of one of the greatest of the Great Lakes – Michigan – by the name of Manitowoc, to which I have wanted to journey. The name itself has the ring of Native American Heritage. The Indians called it mune-owk, and it means...
	National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame (Hayward, WI) The place was brimming with record fish of all varieties. But there was so much more to see. One of my favorite displays included an outboard motor that was identical to the first one that I ever owned as a kid. I haven’t seen another since my mom sold mine at a garage sale before we moved. (July '03)
	Heidel House Resort at Green Lake, WI I just returned from a jaunt into south-central Wisconsin… and boy, do I have a place to recommend to you. It is only about 165 miles north of the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois and it has just become one of my favorite destinations. And so, this is the story of my trip to Green Lake, Wisconsin...(Jan '03)
	Lake Michigan & the Chicago River It’s not very often that I go to downtown Chicago anymore. Just seems like a hassle to deal with all the traffic and noise and distractions. I think that I have probably gotten spoiled by all of the quiet time that I have spent in Northern Minnesota. But we had obtained a very reasonable rate from the Drake Hotel – too good, in fact, to pass up... (Oct '02)
	Leinenkugel's Brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI Every year – actually twice per summer – I pass the sign for Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin but never have had a reason or the time to stop. After all, I am on my way to go fishing. This year however, was different. I found out that there was another brewery that I could tour. (Aug '02)
	Little Norway near Mt. Horeb, WI Not more than a mile or so from Cave of the Mounds is a little place secluded back in the hills called Little Norway. My Norse blood started to pump a little harder when we pulled into the parking lot, at which time I was certain that May is a great time for this sort of exploring...Read more (July 2002)
	Huber Brewery & Green Co, WI The Joseph Huber Brewing Co. has been making beer since 1895. In fact, I learned that this particular brewing company is the second oldest in the country. Located in Monroe, Wisconsin, the Huber Brewing Company is only about 2½ hours – at the most – from the suburbs of Chicago...Read more (June 2002)
	Stillwater, Minnesota I had heard about the town of Stillwater, MN but had never visited it. I did a little research, and when I literally stumbled upon something called the dinner train (The Minnesota Zephyr), my mind was made up...Read more (Feb, 2002)