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Featured
Excursions |
 Cures for "Cabin Fever" and the "Are We
There Yet?" Syndrome
Many articles of mine refer to the numerous trips and
vacations taken by my family while my sister and I were growing up.
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...(06/08) |
 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. (10/07) |
 Rice
Lake, Wisconsin Ice Fishing
I have been posting fishing reports for
the area's lakes for the past year or so; they have finally piqued
my interest. Not caring what time of year it was - 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. (01/07) |
 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. (09/06) |
 Badger
Reprise
Ever since I took my first trip across Lake Michigan on the
S.S.
Badger, I was hooked on the experience and have wanted to repeat the
excursion. It is not often that I get the opportunity to repeat many
excursions – part of this is my own fault, but part of it is due to
the fact that that are just not enough hours in the day or days in
the week to get everything taken care of that is on my “list”. So
when opportunity came knocking for a chance to sail once again on
the Badger, I answered the door in a hurry. (08/06) |
 Cars,
Trains and Ducks!
We decided to simply go scout out a lake not far from a familiar
destination and return again at a later date to fish...
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? Wisconsin Dells! (07/06) |
 A
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...)
One of the most interesting things is that there are no resorts in
Fond du Lac proper -
most of the property is privately owned - making for seemingly
limited opportunities for boaters and vacationers. don't let that
stop you though; there is plenty of excellent lodging available in the
city, and there are resorts and campgrounds close by. (06/06) |
 Madison,
Wisconsin Getaway
I am amazed and a bit embarrassed to admit that I have passed
Madison on about two hundred occasions… but have never even gone
through it; and not once have I stopped there. Don’t ask me why. But
recently I had an opportunity to go there, 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 Presents: "Those Fabulous Fifties"
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, Monroe, WI
Here in the mid-west, there are few things better than great music, great
beer, and great weather… other than great fishing of course. But at least
three of those things came together at the same time last weekend at the
2005 Berghoff and Blues Festival in Monroe, Wisconsin. Under a
giant tent at the Green County Fairgrounds were assembled some of
the finest musicians that music in general and blues in specific had
to offer. (10/05) |
 Manitowoc
& Sheboygan: Big Ship...Fun Ports - Part II
You might be wondering what to do having disembarked from the S.S.
Badger... We had
visited Manitowoc on one other occasion just less than two years ago,
so at least we had a pretty good feel for the layout of the town. The
Executive Director of the Manitowoc Convention and Visitors Bureau,
Kathleen Galas – our contact for the Manitowoc portion of the trip –
suggested that for lunch we try a small restaurant downtown called
Garnishes. (08/05) |
 Big
Ship...Fun Ports - Part I
I have been
eagerly awaiting the opportunity to sail on the S.S. Badger since I
first laid eyes on her back in 2003 during her 50th year anniversary
celebration. When I recently got a heads-up on a special promotion being done
through the Convention and Visitors Bureau in Manitowoc, I cleared
my calendar and could think of little else. (07/05) |
 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: a small restaurant on the shores of Lake
Como (just north of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin) called the Mars Bar.
Although the history of the Mars Resort dates all the way back to
the early 1920’s... (Feb '05) |
 Wisconsin
Rapids 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”. (first posted Dec '03) |
 On
the Hunt for Muskellunge
I had heard about an event that was
going to be sponsored by Berghoff Beer (The
Huber Brewing Company in Monroe, Wisconsin). It was the 15th
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...Read
more (Nov '03) |
 Manitowoc, WI
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 meant “spirited land.” (Aug '03) |
 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) |
 The
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) |
 Green
County, Wisconsin
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) |
