Wisconsin Trekking

Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, WI

Today’s destination, Door County, WI.  Getting there was half the fun. Our plan WAS to head for some Milwaukee breweries, but then cheese and chocolate happened.  We stumbled upon Milwaukee’s only urban cheese maker, Clock Shadow Cheese, so of course had to pop in. As luck would have it, we got a personal tour within a few minutes of arriving.  (Apologies to all the Chicago folks for donning the cheeseheads. Please don’t disown us. Disclaimer: This is in no way an endorsement of the Green Bay Packers.). 

As far as tours go, our guide was one of the least engaged we’ve ever had.  We’re not sure if she was reading from a script off her iphone, or just checking messages, however the view from the roof top garden was phenomenal.  Most of the tour was spent touting the “green building attributes” of the cheese making building. We didn’t see any actual cheese being made, but did get the 8x10 glossy photos of each step of the process.  Gary & Dru were very good students.  Yes, we managed to sample lots of their cheese to make up for the $3 tour.  

I spotted some bean to bar chocolate in their shop. What?! A chocolate maker we’ve never heard of 5 miles away? Hey, Gary and Dru want to ditch the brewery tour and go see a fellow chocolate maker?  They were onboard.  

Tabal Chocolate!  These guys are awesome.  We met Dan Bieser, the chocolate maker and instantly bonded with him. We spent a good hour with him. Truth is, I had to tear Ned away.  He was deep in chocolate world. Dan not only gave us a tour of his operation, but let us taste what he had in the melangers and some of his new cocoa beans that just arrived from Columbia.  Dan is doing some really interesting things with a local tea maker, Rishi.  His blueberry Rooibos Tea chocolate bar is incredible.  Tabal Chocolate check them out.  

This was our first trip to Milwaukee.  What a cool town. On our way to the chocolate maker we drove right thru the Miller brewing complex. My impression is that Milwaukee is transitioning from a rust belt industrial city to a more touristy, green conscious urban center.  I also loved the neighborhood corner bars. So retro. (Remember Laverne & Shirley? Kudos to Dru for remembering and singing us the theme song.   Laverne & Shirley Theme Song) 

Next stop, Pine River Dairy outside Manitowoc. Home of the 25 cent ice cream cone.  We’re on it.  Ned proudly wore the mint chocolate chip ice cream hat.  Gary, however, refused to place the strawberry cone on his head.  He hung it elsewhere.  

(Gary can be such a dick.)

Know what else Manitowoc is famous for?  On Sept. 6, 1962 Sputnik IV, a Russian satellite, crashed in the middle of town. We decided to go in search of the crash site.  Found it! The spot was in the middle of a very busy street downtown.  Ned and Dru had me in stitches running out in the midddle of the street, dodging cars to point to it.  Way to take one for the team! Unfortunately, the museum where you can see 20 lbs. of the actual debris had closed 18 minutes before we arrived.  Next trip.  

Goofing around...

We drove thru the town of Two Rivers on the banks of Lake Michigan.  It’s famous for being the birthplace of the ice cream sundae circa 1881.  Who knew?  No, we did not stop and get a sundae.  

The drive up the Peninsula and into Door County is one of the most iconic and beautiful drives in the USA.  We skirted along Lake Michigan. When we passed thru towns it felt like New England and the rural areas looked like a classic Grant Wood farm painting.  

We had dinner at Chef’s Hat in Ephraim this evening. The food, ambience and waiter, Make, were amazing!  Yes, that was his real name.  His nickname is Maker... as in Maker’s Mark?  I still have bourbon on the brain. 

After dinner we all watched the most incredible sunset.  Gary and Dru are staying at a super swanky hotel so of course we crashed their place and took advantage of their hot tub.  

We’re camped at Peninsula State Park.  Now this is the type of camping we’re used to!  In the woods, lots of tents, kids on bikes and not everyone lined up on mowed grass.  Here’s a map of where we are. 

Chicago - coming home

Chez Big Brother, McHenry, IL

Waking up in cool weather felt great.  Knowing I was going to see my big brother, Gary, today felt even greater. I couldn’t wait to hit the road and see him.  

One small problem tho leaving the campground early...

Ned rode his bike to the local store when we checked into the campground to pick up a few things. Unfortunately, he inadvertently left his wallet on the counter.  By the time we came back from our bike ride and took showers it was close to 10 pm. We tore Winnie apart looking for it, finally riding back to the store. This was the sign in the door.  Whew.  Glad “Mr. Hamilton’s” wallet was found. (Ned aka Ned Hamilton Russell).  Now, we just had to hang out until 10 waiting to pick it up! We spent the time at the Indiana Dunes National Park Visitor’s Center watching a couple of films. 

Even tho I’m a native Californian, born in Oakland, my coming of age years were in Chicago.  I consider it my second home. Ned and I’ve been back many times but never biked the Lakeshore Trail.  It was a foggy and a cool mid 70’s, but such a fun ride! 

Unfortunately for Ned, it was also a trip down memory lane for me.  So instead of him just getting to stretch his legs on a 10 mile ride, he got to hear me tell stories of all the places we passed.  “Look Ned, that’s McCormick Place where I went to my first concert”.  Three Dog Night circa 1973 for those curious.   Shed Aquarium and Planetarum - first kiss on a dare.  (The Rush Street I remember of funky, head shops and lava lamps no longer exists).   

Know how you can tell Chicagoans from a tourist?  They are the ones wearing t-shirts, (or no t-shirts at all) or bathing suits on the beach in 70 degree weather. All the tourists were wearing hoodies or jackets.  We had fun hanging out at the beach watching the lifeguards battle the wind and waves in row boats, and a couple of brave souls swimming.  

Of course the highlight of the day was seeing Gary and Dru.  We arrived mid afternoon and spent the time just catching up.  And yes, we were THOSE relatives that showed up with bags of dirty laundry. Can’t believe my big bro actually did my laundry!  Ha, growing up that would have never happened. Tonight was hanging out at the Rusty Nail, a great local joint. Great ribs, chicken and beers.  Tomorrow, we all hit the road for Wisconsin.  Lord only knows what kind of shenanigans we’re going to get into. Dru’s been coming up with some pretty fun suggestions.  Stay tuned...

Embracing the Midwest

Indiana Dunes State Park, IN

First stop was the historic Whitewater Canal in Metamora. We knew it was closed on Tuesdays, but decided to go check it out anyway.  So glad we did! Cool little town, much of it dating to the early 1800’s.  The National Historic Site featured some pretty interesting buildings, such as the only covered aqueduct in the U.S.  The aqueduct is a canal bridge over a creek. I’ve never seen that before.  We also poked around the Grist mill and the town.  Fun way to start the day. 

We hadn’t planned on going to Indianapolis, but my nephew, Marc, suggested we visit Sun King a local brewery.  My first impression of Indianapolis was that it was a tired old state capital, like Sacramento used to be before it became hip. We decided to explore it on bikes and what a pleasant surprise! The White River State Park trail goes along the White River and is really awesome!  There’s a promenade section with rough hewn limestone.  A nod to Indiana’s limestone quarries.  Along the way there are cool etchings in the rocks of famous buildings made from Indiana limestone.  It was another day close to a 100 degrees, so it was nice to ride along the river and catch a breeze every now and then.  

We also poked around the main park, zoo area and checked out the butterfly gardens.  

It was hot, humid and time for a beer. We had no idea that Indianapolis has such cool bike trails!  The White River Trail hooks up with the downtown Cultural Trail and we were able to ride our bikes safely thru the heart of Indianapolis to Sun King Brewery.  Such a great way to see the city!  Shout out to Indianapolis for having designated bike paths downtown. 

Voila! Sun King Brewery. Dang, that was one tasty beer.  Ironically, we tasted a few and decided on “Cloaked” a bourbon barrel aged (do you see a pattern?) and “Dusty v Evan American Porter”.  How do we know we are in the Midwest?  No longer bbq, but now cheese and sausage platters.  Yes, please.   

Also, shout out to Josh for helping me pick out my bike and strongly suggesting I get the rack on the back. This rack has carried ice, beach towels, and left overs.  This has freed up your mom to use both hands manning the brakes.  After a couple of beers it was much appreciated.  

We headed due north and pulled into Indiana Dunes National Park at 4ish. (It helped to pick up an hour. We are now on Central Time).  The biggest relief is that it is 75 degrees!  The coolest it has been since we left Doheny State Park first day of our trip.  When we first got here it rained for about 10 minutes and then decided to just quit.  We hopped on our bikes and headed for Lake Michigan. 

In the National Park, along the lake and dunes, are 5 homes left over from the 1933 World’s Fair.  They were built as “houses of tomorrow.” Some have been restored and some have definitely not lived up to the tomorrow theme.  They were brought here on barges in 1935. They are private residences today, but all on the National Register of Historic homes.   

I think we’ll be deflating our floaties now...the days of scorching hot sun, salty waters and warm lakes are behind us. The upper Midwest is calling. What lies ahead is cooler nights, erratic weather patterns, more bike rides and lots of beer. 

Kentucky Bourbon Trail Day 2

Mounds SRA Brookville, IN

At 9 this morning we headed to Tyrone Hill, also known as Wild Turkey Distillers.  The boubon trail is not for the feint of heart.  Our tour guide, Casey, was a real pistol of a Kentucky girl. Ned was wearing an orange shirt, apparently Tennessee football colors, so she picked on Ned for most of the tour. Of course, it didn’t help that we were from California.  It was a great tour, really interesting.  The temp is still hovering around 100 degrees so it was nice to be on a bus going from the distillery to the rickhouses. 

Unlike Willett Distillery yesterday, the tastings were much more manageable...(at 11 in the morning).  My nephew Marc had given us a bottle of Russell’s 10 yr from Wild Turkey.  After tasting the 4 samples the Russell 10 yr was still the best. Thanks Marc!  The tasting room here is called “The Angel’s View.” (Bourbon drinkers will get the pun).  It overlooks the Kentucky River.  Some yahoos  from California have a bungee jumping business off the train trestle.  It’s the highest bridge in Kentucky.  It costs $150 per jump.  All the locals think this is nuts.  I agree.  

We took a lunch break between distilleries.  Knowing that it’s probably our last chance for real Southern bbq, we chose a local bbq joint.  Best beans I’ve ever eaten.  I am now obsessed with trying to recreate this recipe.  Everyone be forewarned. I’ll need tasters.  

Next stop on the bourbon tour was Buffalo Trace.  Hands down most charming campus.  It’s designated as a National Historic Site.  I loved the brick buildings.  Even the rickhouses were made of brick. So fun to see the barrels in the windows of these brick buildings.  Buffalo Trace tours and tastings are free, so there were a lot more people on this tour.  You don’t get to go into the distillery on this tour, but they make up for it by allowing us to go into the bottling plant.  In fact they even let us walk the line and talk to the employees as they were bottling.  Every distillery talks about the amount of bourbon that is lost the longer it ages.  These guys had a great visual aid of it. (The one with only 1/3 left has been aged for 18 years.)

Buffalo Trace is experiencing a shortage of bourbon.  So, for two of their tastings they offered us a vodka that they make and the “white dog”, which is the booze that hasn’t been aged yet into barrels. Thanks, but no thanks.  I came for the bourbon.  We tasted two bourbons and a dessert bourbon.  Think a Bailey’s  bourbon.  My son-in-law, Kevin, makes a great Manhattan so naturally Megan and Kevin get a bottle of their good bourbon.  Enlightened self-interest.  

With the temps still hovering around 100 degrees, we decided not to stay at Big Bone Lick State Park. (Yes, that’s really the name).  They didn’t have a place to swim. We perused the map, did some research and decided to cross over the Ohio River into Indiana. I really enjoyed the back roads on this trip. Things I learned:  Frankfort, KY is so charming and quaint! Dates back to the 1790’s and parts of it look like Boston; and the Ohio River has some impressive barges and many of the towns along this river look like the towns in Iowa along the Mississippi River.

We’re staying at Mounds SRA in Brookville, Indiana.  Know what it has going for it?  A lake!! A beach! Water that is not above body temperature!!  We arrived a bit before 6, quickly paid for and picked out a campsite and then just drove to the beach.  We were that ready to swim. It was friggin’ awesome. We hung out in the water until at least 8.  (Great thing about Winnie is that when there are no showers to wash the sand off our feet she comes thru.)  Ironically, we had chosen one of the shadiest campsites at 6 pm. We are the ONLY people in this loop of the campground so we had quite the selection. When we came back at 8ish, our campsite was the only one in the blazing sun. Go figure.  Only thing to do was break out the Russell bourbon, buy some ice and make the best of it. 

We’ve officially left the South.  Telltale sign, no more Mountain Dew Soda Machines at the campground restrooms and no more washers and dryers in the campground.  

Kentucky Bourbon Trail Day 1

Taylorsville Lake State Park, KY

We left the Tennessee mountains early this morning and once again crossed over the Cumberland River.  So beautiful to see the mist rising over it. 

Given that it was Father’s Day, we thought it would be fun to start the day off with a fancy breakfast. We had about a 3 hour drive to Bardstown, KY. By the time we got there we were good and hungry. Our plan was to do most of the driving early in the morning so that we could spend the afternoon hitting up the Bourbon Trail and then have a very short drive to the campground.  Seems like the whole world was taking dads out to breakfast.  At the restaurant where we hoped to eat we could be seated in 10 minutes, but were warned our food wouldn’t arrive for an hour.  We moved on and settled for a very modest mom and pop restaurant. It was great, but the waitress misunderstood what we wanted so we ended up splitting a breakfast. Happy Father’s Day Ned and thanks for giving me most of the pancakes. 

This is our third time hitting up the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.  We’ve visited Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Four Roses and Heaven’s Hill previously.  Today we started with Willett’s.  The grounds are much more modest than the other bourbon makers, but the tour and guide were both awesome. 

What made this tour so much fun was that this distillery has a lot less rules and isn’t so stuffy. For example, they left us stick our fingers in the big batches of mash and taste them.  There were several batches going, all with different fermentation stages, and each tasted quite different.  Much like fermenting cocoa beans! Unfortunately, it was also close to 100 degrees today and none of the buildings are air conditioned.  The distillery and other buildings were even hotter than the outside. 

As you drive around this part of Kentucky rickhouses are everywhere.  These are the buildings where the bourbon barrels are aged and stored for years. 

It’s always fun taking tours with my favorite food scientist. Ned points out things I never think about.  Willett has only 7 rickhouses that holds x amount of barrels. They make y amount of barrels per day.  Ned was convinced that the math didn’t add up.  His logic; they have to distill the exact same quantity of bourbon they bottle every day or they would need more warehouses. Sounded like a word math problem to me.  I’m a Poli Sci & English Major, I just wanted to taste it.  I did get a kick out of seeing some hams being cured in one of the rickhouses. 

Finally, the tasting! Willets is VERY generous in their samples and pouring.  It was fun tasting the different proofs and aged bourbon..  By the time we left my head was swimming and it was now a solid 100 degrees.  I didn’t have it in me to do another bourbon tour and tasting. All we wanted was to get cooled off somewhere.  Time to head for the state park.

Uh-oh, only one slight problem. No lake access at this state park. (Why the heck call this Taylorsville LAKE state park then?)  We took a 10 minute drive down the road, walked down a steep hill and headed for the only lake access point, next to the dam. The water was the hottest water we have ever swam in.  Seriously, in the 90’s.  We kept trying to find cold water, but even diving down 5 or 6 ft it was just a titsch cooler.  We didn’t care.  The alternative was baking at the campsite.  We soaked for hours.  Tomorrow, we give it the ol’ college try and hit up 2 more bourbon makers.  Cheers and Happy Father’s Day to all you great dads! 

History Day

Standing Stone State Park, TN

First stop of the day was visiting Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.  Much to our surprise, it was fantastic! It was the place of two bloody and significant battles during the Civil War. In fact,  28% of all casualties of the entire war occurred here. The Confederates won the first battle at Chickamauga forcing the Union Soldiers to retreat to Chattanooga. The Union Forces, under Grant, rallied and managed to defeat the Confederates pushing them further South.  Disheartened Confederates wondered: “Is the fall of Chattanooga truly the death knell of the Confederacy”? 

This park was established in 1890 and became the first military park in the U.S.  It was created by veterans of both sides of the war.  24 years after the battle, they realized that the country still needed to heal. This park honors veterans and casualties from both sides. There are monuments placed all over the battlefields honoring the fallen soldiers. The museum was very informative and the film we watched was so moving, it actually made me tear up.  Ironically, I got this news alert on my phone today.  “160 years ago today in Springfield, Senatorial candidate Abraham Lincoln said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free.’”  

We stopped just outside of Chattanooga to eat at “The Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe.”  It was a groovy kind of bbq place. Imagine if Haight Ashbury and Tennessee bbq came together. It was pretty good ‘cue, and the vibe made me feel at home.  

Next stop, Cannonsburgh Village, a replica of life in Tennessee over a span of 100 years from the 1830’s to the 1930’s.  I just love visiting living villages and taking a step back in time.  I think we’ve seen  at least a dozen of them on our road trips over the years. (Our all time favorite is still Upper Canada Village).  Mmm, we were actually expecting a bit more. This living village was more a collection of old buildings and a nice place to stretch your legs.  Highlights were the Porsche Tractor circa 1959 - who knew?, the Russell Steam Tractor circa 1903 and the replica grist mill.  What made it kinda weird was that a Christian Revival Rap event was going on in the shared park space.  So, as we were walking around looking at old timey stuff, VERY loud speakers were blasting out rhyming lyrics about Jesus.  It made for an odd juxtaposition. Oh, and there was also the world’s largest cedar bucket.  So there was that.  

Interesting time travel day.  We went into Tennessee, then dipped back into Georgia, back into Tennessee heading west and then heading back east into the Appalachian Mountains for our campsite.  The time zone kept changing back and forth from Eastern to Central time.  Tomorrow we head back into Eastern time so we are just living in the twilight zone for now.  The Tennessee Appalachia Mountains are so gorgeous! We crossed over the Cumberland River several times. Our campground is very small, but nestled in the woods. It looks like a lot of it was built by the CCC. There’s a swinging bridge and a sweet little lake.  As we climbed higher and deeper into the mountains we lost cell coverage (no surprise).  I’m shocked that we might have cell at the site.  I have one bar hanging on for dear life. Hopefully, this posts tonight.  

In Search of Cacao

Sweetwater Campground, Lake Allatoona, GA

We drove thru the agricultural farmland of Georgia.  It’s much different than the California salad bowl.  We were surrounded by pecan and peach orchards, cotton fields and peanut farms.  Our favorite was the majestic pecan trees.  The bottom right picture is a trailer hauling cabbages.  

On our first road trip across the country, 10 years ago, we were in search of the best fried chicken in the U.S.   We decided the winner was at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, GA.  And we ate a LOT of fried chicken on that trip!  This place was famous from the movie, “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.”  (If you’ve never seen the movie, I highly recommend it.  One of my faves.).  We’ve talked about that fried chicken for the last ten years and decided to revisit the restaurant today.  Big mistake!  When we last ate there it was not yet discovered.  The waitress sat down with us and answered all our questions about the history of the place and the movie.  It was well off the beaten path and we had the place almost to ourselves. Today, it’s a mega tourist destination.  The place was packed, the fried chicken was awful, in fact I didn’t even eat mine.  However, the collard greens, purple hulled peas and fried green tomatoes were pretty darn good. Sigh, I guess some things are best left to nostalgia.  

After taking it slow and easy on the back roads all morning, we decided to brave the big city and visit some bean to bar chocolate makers in Atlanta. 

Fighting our way thru insane city traffic, and 100 degree heat we finally located the first chocolate maker.  Bust.  Turns out the location was a commercial kitchen shared by ten different businesses. No one there knew anything about the chocolate maker.  Onto the next one.  We located the factory, but once we got there it was locked up.  Peering thru the window we could see the remnants of the business.  On our third try we found “Cacao” a VERY upscale, posh boutique bean to bar chocolate maker. So unlike the standard model.  It was more like buying jewelry than buying chocolate. We bought 2 bars and 1 tasting sample and it was put in a chic luxury bag. It didn’t have the flavor notes that we appreciate. Time to move on.

Our final destination tonight is one of the best campsites of the trip!  We booked this one about six months ago and it felt so great to pull in after 6 pm on a Friday night and get a site right on the water.  We immediately jumped in and floated the night away.  (Dad, this so reminds me of the camping spots we used to get right on the lake with our boat when I was a kid. Gary and I would sleep in the boat being lulled to sleep with the water lapping against the hull.  Such great memories).  Ned fixed me up with a rum drink while I floated. Perfect Friday evening.  Can you find me in this picture?