Road Tripping Through Wisconsin

Minneapolis, MN

Donna and her black liquorish ice cream at a Wisconsin Cheese Shop (it was GOOOOOOD!)

Chicago to Minneapolis via Wisconsin

Yesterday we headed out of Chicago on our way to camping in Wisconsin on the way Minneapolis.  We set up two 3-4 hour drives so we were able to stop and see things.  It was a great drive and we saw just how pretty Wisconsin is.  

Our first stop was at the Wisconsin border to pick up an official State Highway Map and a Wisconsin State Parks Guide.

This is Bucky Badger, the official mascot of the University of Wisconsin.  

Me and Bucky!

The State had 85 Bucky Badgers made and then had different artists decorate them and placed them around the state.  You can watch a documentary about it here.

Rock County!

Greetings From...Spoiler!  Wisconsin!
(My glasses were preventing me from really seeing my phone for this selfie)

We arrived at Mill Bluff State Park early in the afternoon and had our happy hour after we set up.  It's not an out of the way state park, but it was pretty empty for a Thursday during the summer during a holiday week.

Our Set Up

We made Francis stand on this stump for a photo.

After relaxing for a bit we decided to check out some of the bluffs.

There was a really nice lookout that you could hike to,

with a nice view of the bluffs,

After a great night's sleep, we got up and made coffee and then packed and hit the road.

The Coffee Shot!

After packing up and birding for a bit we headed out.  We had a 3ish hour drive to our Airbnb and we can't check in until 4pm so we are taking our time.  Our first stop was unexpected.  We saw a sign on the side of the road that said something like, "Cranberry Shop and Museum and Cranberry Ice Cream".  We decided to swing by after confirming it was open.  

They were out of Ice Cream so we looked at the Cranberry Wines.

They touted their cranberry bogs as being habitat.

After buying some cranberry wine we hit the road again.  Our next stop was a Wisconsin Brewery.  Donna found Northwoods Brewpub which had BBQ sandwiches.

I saw the pinball machine and had to play it.  It was set on very easy and the right slingshot was broken so it played incredibly easy.  I played 3 balls and then left games on the machine because I could have played all day.

I had to get the fried cheese curds.  They were delicious!

I also got a brisket sandwich with tots.  I finished my sandwich for dinner when we got to Minneapolis.

Our last stop was a cheese shop in Wisconsin, Cady Cheese Store.  We saw another roadside sign that advertised it so we stopped.  It was a great stop!

I stuck my through a thing today too!

All different aged cheddars.  We bought a 15 year.  It's fantastic!

I feel like they were trying to make cheeses in the shapes of the states but failed.  I might be wrong.

We arrived at our Airbnb at 4:15 after diverting to drive by Donna's Childhood home.  She lived here for about a year in the late 70s.  Our Airbnb is great!  It is in a cool area with a coffee shop with pinball about a block away.  We are all settled now and ready to enjoy Minnesota!

This cheese is older than Francis!

We tried one of the wines and it's good in our opinion (we aren't wine drinkers so our opinion doesn't matter much).

We put 327 miles on our Wisconsin Highways Map

We ended up with 1348 Miles in Illinois. 

And now we are sitting at 887 Counties.

That's it for today.  If you didn't read Wisconsin Brought the Brat check it out.  We had beer and Pinball in Wisconsin as well as a brat.

Downtown McKinney Farmers Market

 McKinney, TX

One of the Eight Monarchs of McKinney

Fresh Produce in Downtown McKinney

This morning we went to the farmers market just outside downtown McKinney.  We wanted to pick up some fresh ingredients and check out the market.  It's about a mile to walk there so we started out about 20 minutes before they opened at 8am so we could avoid as much of the heat as possible.  It is going to be 100+ degrees today again.  

The farmers market had the usual venders selling their cheese, veg, flowers, meats, breads, honey, and other things.  We bought some tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese to make a salad for lunch.  We also got some blueberries and peaches to snack on.  

When we got home I watched last night's WSOP final table.  They played down to 3 players.  It's great coverage and well worth the month subscription we paid for on PokerGo.  I remember paying 30+ bucks for a live streaming pay per view back in the day and I had to watch it live.  PokerGo is only $14.99 for the whole month and I can binge all of their content or watch live streaming.  

For lunch we made the salad from our purchases and still have basil left over for basil and cheddar omelets when dinner rolls around.

Tiny egg plants!

Our chopped salad full of goodness!

Planning for the future

In the afternoon between me watching last night's final table and me watching tonight's final table Donna and I started thinking about what's next after our Disney World trip in early January.  We are still in the early planning stages.  Looking at places to stay is fun.  We only have about 6 months planned out so it is time to start thinking about it again.  Donna and I both commented on how hard it is to decide where to go when you can go anywhere.  We want to try to plan the weather situation better so we don't end up in a super hot place at the hottest time in the summer.  

Later in the evening I watched the WSOP final table.  It didn't go as late as it did last night so I was able to stay up for it all.  I think the person who won will be a great ambassador for the game.  No spoilers here for you.

If you didn't read yesterday's post you missed a few cute photos of Francis.  You can see it here.