Up North

Well, not always ;) I was able to getaway for a few days to go up to the Lake. Liz joined me for a short, but enjoyable time away. We really did much of nothing, which usually is a perfect time. Combined with our eating and shopping motto, we did manage to read and relax, as well as work around the garden.

We made a trip to Mercer and that's where I shot the above sign, as well as the following. I am highly considering getting one to hang at work.

While watching Public Enemy, I thought we'd go to dinner at Little Bohemia. Unfortunately, it was closed for a private party. No worries! We ended up at my favorite restaurant: Ding-A-Ling Supper Club. We arrived early and the dining room wasn't open yet. So we sat at the bar with a cocktail and met some lovely people from Mercer. Hats off to Sherman for buying us a drink!

Dinner was fabulous...as always. I had to twist Liz's arm to get one of the famous after-dinner ice cream drinks: this evening, The Grasshopper, with vanilla ice cream and Crème de Menthe. Lush!

We did also cook at home including a fantastic pizza and BBQ pork sandwiches and of course sangria, sangria and yes, more sangria.

Can't wait to get back up! Even Bayou awaits the next trip.

Dining with Public Enemies

Little Bohemia was always a favorite restaurant lodge to dine at when we were younger. Something about its dark atmosphere, Ms. PacMan tabletop video game and the peppermint ice cream appealed to a seven-year old. As an adult, its home cooking, nostalgia and remoteness brings me back to another time. Before Johnny Depp stepped into his shoes, I knew more about John Dillinger and his famous hideout in the northwoods of Manitowish Water, Wisconsin. Little Bohemia Lodge, steeped in history, has gained much popularity since the movie Public Enemies opened earlier this year. Over the Labor Day holiday, we traveled up Highway 51 for dinner. I was not completely surprised by the crowded parking lot nor the movie banner displaying the movie's debut. We took a seat at the bar awaiting a table. Without even asking, we were seated in the room where the majority of the shoot-out between the FBI and Dillinger took place. The lodge's website writes of the event in detail. Our dinner was very good and filling, although I was disappointed that there was not much of a selection, if any, of the old Czech/Bohemian menu. I did have the Old Wold Pork Shank, which was delicious. The pictures below show the original window panes that were shattered. The owners have been preserved with triple pane windows. As well, bullet holes still exist in the wood siding and ceiling. The restaurant also features tours of the lodge and Dillinger rooms. If you're Up North, a definite stop to make.

The difference between Wisconsin & Illinois drivers

It's funny how animals sense what you are feeling or where you are going. By the time I packed the car and was ready to hit the road, the dogs just seemed to disappear. One was down by the lake, crying as he longed to go in just one more time; the other, digging yet another hole a chipmunk dived into. After playing catch-me-if-you-can to get their leashes on, we were on our way home. I am always very sad to leave. It was another perfect, sunny day too.

Wisconsin drivers are the most polite drivers I have ever encountered on the road. No one travels in the left lane (as it is designated as a passing lane only); no one rides your tail; and people driving just seem to look happy. You know when you are coming close to the Illinois border when all of that changes. In Illinois, drivers feel the need to drive right up your bumper and that they own the left lane. If they don't like that you are going under the speed limit, well, too bad. One driver, a family man with children in the back, was so anxious to get past me and the six other cars that were in front me, that he flew across two lanes and on the shoulder to the right to get a mere one car ahead. Patience is not a virtue many Illinois drivers possess.

Nonetheless, I am home...safe and sound. Wishing I was somewhere else...of course...

Sushi...in Minocqua? Fantastic!

The rain stopped to reveal an eerie, yet warming sun. The streets were crowded with shoppers and window browsers, including myself. I made my way to my favorite shops including Ann Marie's where she has exquisite pottery from England, Ireland, Italy, France and even Poland. Also, beautiful French tableware and decor and coffee and other yummy treats. Mom always asks, "did you go by Ann Marie's and see her beautiful garden?" It is quite lovely. And, I read in the Lakeland Times, that she is celebrating 20 years in business on August 18...congratulations Ann Marie's!

I walked through Gaslight Square and stopped in Ala Carte Gifts. In the past, have bought some really nice gifts here, including a unique wall wine rack. Then a stroll upstairs to the antiques store...no treasures here today.

The walk down Oneida Street would not be complete without stopping into Book World or Dan's Minocqua Fudge, where you can watch outside the workers making the fudge which draws you in. Inside not only will you find many varieties of fudge (mine is just the basic plain fudge), but buckets of hard candy, licorice and salt water taffy. If you fancy ice cream, just walk to the back. Although tempting, I resisted. Next time though. Also a new photo studio...Decades Photo, where they take old time Minocqua photos with gangster, bicycle built for two and many other back drops. Costumes on site. The place was packed!

Ready to head home, I noticed that there is a new sushi restaurant. Just opened in June, Kobe Sushi is two doors from Minocqua Fudge. Very friendly and they make a great Godzilla Roll, that I took home. Good luck Kobe Sushi, I'll be back!

Gourmet Dollar Store & Antique Hunting

Not such a perfect day......but again, I'm up North. The wind continued throughout the night and a bit of needed rain fell. As I let the dogs out and start to brew my coffee, I hear in the distance a loud crack and my coffee no longer drips. Power is out. A quick call to Wisconsin Public Service to report the outage and I decide it's a day to go into town. The sun did makes its appearance, however quickly disappeared to reveal darker clouds and heavier winds. The pleasant electric representative was eager to get the problem fixed and no more than one hour later, power back on. I wonder if ComEd could take some lessons from them.

So, after a bit of steam-cleaning the door frames, I make my way into town. First stop: the Ace Hardware/Dollar Store...well, gourmet Dollar Store that is. It baffles me sometimes how much you can really get for $1 where in other retail locations that can charge an arm and leg: Packaged party invites, olive oil dispenser, pig's ears dog treats...all $1...amazing.

Made my way to the Mill Antiques in Wodruff; an overcrowded, needle in a haystack, antique store, but to my dismay, closed. Next trip. So, off to another in next-door Minocqua. Do I need anything? No. But it is always fun to browse. Did I buy anything? Yes. A 1936 cookbook featuring around the world recipes. A $3 find.

So, I now make my way to some of the cute stores of downtown Minocqua, including the Gaslight Square, where, yes, another antique store.....a hidden treasure awaits.

A Perfect Day

There is something about early mornings at the Lake….peaceful, serene…perfect. The beginning of the day is always quite deceiving: thick fog hovers over the lake and shore, no sun in sight. However, after a strong pot of coffee is brewed is seems as though the fog burns off and dissipates wherever it came from, only to reveal bright blue skies and a warmth on your skin from the sun. The strong lake breeze conceals how hot it would be without it. Spent the day at the lake...what was I doing? Nothing.

I prepare a roast for dinner…nice salad, bread and a glass….or two…..of red wine….with the Lawrence Welk show on in the background, seem to bring back fond memories. Fresh peaches with cream…make the evening complete…of course with a good book and the sounds of the wind coming across the lake will make for a great sleep. Hoping for the same tomorrow, if not, that’s all right…I’m up North.

A weekend off...

...finally…and all I want to do is head up North. All is planned, but, an early morning phone call may alter plans. A service may be scheduled for Monday…that means..come home on Sunday. Quick decision must be made: So, without knowing, I load up the car, pack the dogs in and make my way. If it turns out to be for Monday, then I’ll just come back late Sunday evening. Better that then nothing at all. So, heading across the Illinois border, Mom calls…good news…not until Tuesday…hooray! Now the weekend will be complete.

Very easy drive up. A quick stop at the market in town and home I am. The dogs bolt out of the car as they feel as relieved as me to be here. I walk down and say hello to the Lake (yes, people really do that) and breathe in the fresh, clean air. I throw together a quick salad, a couple glasses of wine and finally…..relax.

Fresh from the Market

We were up early, but before our drive back, we made our way to the Northside Farmer’s Market on the other side of town. What goodies we found…fresh eggs, strawberries & rhubarb, the last tender asparagus of the season, arugula, garlic scapes and the biggest soup bones one has ever seen….the dogs will be thrilled. Got home and baked a strawberry-rhubarb pie with my finds. Milk anyone?

On the road to the Antiques Roadshow

In all my years of traveling up North, never once have I been in the town of Madison. Have driven past it, hence my Mom always saying with excitement, “Look girls to the left…there’s the Capitol!”, as we look from in the distance to the west from Interstate 94 to make out the dome of the Capitol.

So, now driving with my Mom on the same Interstate, we actually proclaim, “look here comes the Capitol,” and we exit on 30 West to downtown Madison.

Reason for our visit: The Antiques Roadshow
Our Quest: Verify our treasures as true finds
Highlight: Met the Keno Brothers
Not such the highlight: Not millionaires today.

After our disappointing revelation, we decided to take a ride into the downtown area for a bite to eat and walk the town. Madison is quite the town, a college town that is, but bustling during this summer evening with skateboarders, tourists alike. What a beautiful evening! We walked the entire “strip” up to the Capitol; then made our way back down to a Turkish restaurant Hüsnü’s where I had the most delicious shiskabobs (next to when I was in Turkey); Mom had a curry chicken. We sat outside and watched the people. We decided to make our way back to the gelateria we saw for a sweet ending to the evening. We drove back to the hotel through quaint neighborhoods with lovely gardens and thought, what a nice place to live.

Schnitzel, Strudel and the Symphony

After a fun afternoon with Frederick Miller and touring his plant, we made our way to our hotel The Ambassador, one of the Historic Hotels of America. The 1928 art deco hotel boasts a large rooftop sign bearing its name reminiscent of its time. had a convenient shuttle that would take you anywhere in the downtown area.

We took advantage of the hotel's shuttle to make our Valentine dinner reservations at Mader's, a staple German restaurant in Milwaukee since 1902. Filled with beautiful artwork and antiques worth $3 million dollars, the restaurant is warm and inviting. A case filled with German beer steins, as well as a collection of Hummels both for display and for purchase is in the foyer of the restaurant; as well as this oversized mahogany chair that I just had to jump into (I felt like Lily Tomlin;). It was crowded, but it didn't take us long to be seated. Outside of our soup selection, Darren and I chose the same meal Weiner Schnitzel with sauerkraut and spätzle as well as a complementary Gewürztraminer. It was delicious, however I still am not convinced that what I was eating was veal; I'm thinking it was chicken. Either way, it was very good. The portions were very generous and I couldn't finish everything, but I did have enough room to share some of Mader's homemade apple strudel ala mode.

After dinner, we enjoyed a nice, but quick walk to Uihlein Hall for a performance of Treasure and Discovery by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. It was a wonderful rendition of Dvorak & Martinu of , led by conductor Jakub Hrusa, as well as a special performance by principal cellist Joseph Johnson. It was a great evening.

It's Miller Time!

After the game and traditional pub grub, we made our way to Miller Town, the Miller Brewing Company, a definite, must-see when visiting Milwaukee. We were very impressed with the tour, as well as the amount of people who come to see Miller Town. Here are some interesting facts we learned:

~Almost 2,000 cans of beer filled per minute.

~Miller's distribution center is the equivalent of five football fields.

~Within a day's time, the center will be completely restocked with a new supply of beer. A huge portion of the beer is shipped to Chicago. (Apparently, Chicago drinks five states worth of beer, can you imagine that!)

Here are some great reasons to visit and take a tour:

~Guided, walking tour of the entire plant, after a short video explaining Miller's history.

~Access to the packaging center, distribution center and the brew house.

~A unique visit to the historic caves where beer was stored before mechanical refrigeration.

~Final stop, the Miller Inn for free samples: We sampled Miller High Life, Miller Lite and Leinenkugel Honey Weiss, all in half pint glasses.

~Best part....everything is FREE! Yes, free: the tour, the samples, as well, the company provides postcards and will mail them for you worldwide, and Miller will pick up the postage.

What do the Fonz & Rugby have in common?

Nothing really but that was the start of our Valentine's Day. Darren and I set off for an overnight trip to Milwaukee. Milwaukee, you say? You betcha. When Darren first visited he wanted to see many sights, including Milwaukee. So, I decided to surprise him with an action-packed weekend to the 'Cream City', Home of Miller...Milwaukee.

Our first stop was none other than the "Bronze Fonz". Home of the sitcom Happy Days, the town of Milwaukee erected a bronze statue on the riverwalk in honor of Henry Winkler, aka the Fonz. The pictures are priceless. Darren had a little too much fun, but that's my opinion. The river was frozen over, as you can see from the pictures. After this momentous occasion, we made a pit stop at The Irish Pub in the Historic Third Ward District to watch the Wales v England rugby game, part of the Six Nations Rugby tournament. Thank goodness Wales won, as I was in the company of a Welshman.

Lac du Flambeau & Bayfield~July 3-8, 2008

Up North for the 4th this year for some R&R. The weather was great, although it wasn't a week prior where torrential down pours left a messy and moldy basement with major clean-up and the carpet needing to be replaced. After that fiasco, Liz & I spent a relaxing 4th of July day by the lake catching up on our latest novels, as well as planning our next trip...stay tuned. The weather was beautiful. We grilled and chilled for the evening. Saturday was spent shopping and antique hunting and both of us finding some treasures. On Sunday, we took the two-hour drive north to Bayfield on Lake Superior. Bayfield, the gateway to the Apostle Islands, is known for its quaintness, a community of arts and crafts, fishing and for its seasonal festivals and fruit and berry picking. At the time we were there, cherries were ready to be picked. Unfortunetely, because of the late winter, a frost damaged crops, so no cherries.

We did make a visit though to Hauser's Superior View Farm & Bayfield Winery to pick up some cider wine, as well as some prepared products made right on the farm. The historic barn that you see here is the farm's focal point: Not only because from the top there is a magnificant view of Lake Superior, but also it was a mail order barn from Sears Roebuck. It was built in the early 1920's of western fir. It was shipped by train from out west, hauled up the hill from Bayfield by horse drawn wagons and assembled by local carpenters.We also took the ferry over to Madeline Island: the only inhabited of the 22 Apostle Islands. Its total population is only about 220, however it increases to 2,500-3,000 when summer residents arrive. Made of bike and walking trails and

beautiful shores on Lake Superior, it is the perfect place to escape. The Madeline Ferry safely transports back and forth to the mainland throughout the day and into evening. It was a gorgeous day with the sun shining and blue skies for miles: perfect for sailing.

Up North Again~ August 2-6

What a beautiful weekend it was up North! My good friend Lynn, her son Donny and I ventured up to the lake for a relaxing weekend. Donny was extremely excited for his first really long road trip. What a trooper he was for the long six hours in the car! So off we were...Lynn, myself, Donny and of course Bayou. After a quick stop at the grocery store, we arrived Thursday early evening to beautiful weather. We relaxed that evening, grilled hamburgers and enjoy the peacefulness.

Early Friday morning we were up, as Donny couldn't wait to attack the sandy beach and try out fishing for the very first time with his Mom. Neither one caught the big one, but had some great fish tales! We spent the majority of the day sunning and enjoying the lake. For the first time, Bayou ventured into the lake and loved it. (I loved it too as he was exhausted each night.) We went into downtown Minocqua Friday evening for some shopping and dinner, followed by the Minocqua Bats Water Ski Show which Donny really enjoyed.

Saturday we did a half Donny and half Mommy/Auntie Claudette day. Christmas shopping in August, then mini-golfing where Donny beat us silly and some more shopping. We spent the rest of the afternoon back at the Lake where we built more sand castles and enjoyed dinner and movie at home.

As Auntie Claudette promised, I made a great fire which was very enjoyable as it got very cool and we roasted marshmallows and made yummy S'mores. Donny preferred the marshmallows right out of the bag, but did enjoy blowing out the lit marshmallows as they came out of the fire.

Sunday turned into a cool, brisk day, so we decided to go to Jim Peck's Wildwood Park, where most of the animals are roaming free and children and adults alike can interact with them. Donny got to pet lots of animals and even feed the baby goats.

We hit a few more shops before heading home to relax a bit before we headed to dinner at my favorite northwoods restaurant: Ding-A-Ling Supper Club in Manitowish where they have the best BBQ ribs and salad bar around. Oh and I can't forget their fabulous ice cream drinks and Lynn loved their horseradish cheese spread.

Check out their website at http://www.dingalingsupperclub.com/ where Betsy and her staff will take good care of you. After our bellies were plenty full, we headed back to the cabin for a relaxing last evening. We lit a fire enjoyed marshmallows yet again (somehow found some room), before Donny headed off to bed.

Monday morning, Donny and Lynn slept much later than previous mornings...which goes to prove my theory, the longer you stay up north, the later you get up because of all the beautiful, fresh air! So, we got the house all in order and packed the car and then enjoyed the rest of the morning down by the lake. We even took out the paddle boat for a ride down the shoreline of Big Crawling Stone. It was a perfect day which made us all the more sad to leave knowing what we were coming home to.

Needless to say, the trip was wonderful. I'm so glad that Lynn and Donny we were able to join me and I look forward to the next time they both come up (and even maybe just Mommy for a true, girl's weekend;) Donny truly enjoyed himself as you can see! Thanks Lynn and Donny, I had a fabulous time.

Next blog posting.....Venice, Italy. Ciao amici!

July 4th up at the Lake

The girls making sand castles.

The girls enjoyed eating the strawberries just as much as picking them.

A storm rolling in on the 4th of July evening.

It was a great get-a-way over the 4th up to northern Wisconsin in Lac du Flambeau. The weather was hot and beautiful. The Strozak Family was also up in nearby Boulder Junction and we shared the holiday together, as went strawberry picking. However, the vacation would not have been complete without a visit to the local ER after trying to break up a fight with Bayou and Chloe. After a tetanus shot, finger splint and 3.5 hours of interesting conversation with the patients behind the dividing curtain, I was discharged. Thanks to Kaye and Paul for driving me to the ER and spending the better part of the afternoon there as well. Your kindness does not go unnoticed. We have agreed to disagree that our dogs will wave from beyond the fence:)

Autumn at the Lake~2006

Bayou and I took a weekend trip up to the Lake. It was extremely peaceful, as we were the only ones up, so it made for a productive weekend of relaxation and reading. Here are some beautiful shots displaying the autumn colors. Enjoy!