The Wisconsin Grand Tour
Breakfast at Lane's Bakery with Sandy's parents
I'm not a big fan of going back to Wisconsin. I spent enough time there while I was growing up. But Sandy likes to go back to visit family. Plus my siblings were lobbying for a chance to get together there again this year. And my son Mickey just moved there this past winter. It all added up so I agreed to a trip there this April. We planned a week-long tour around the state, spending time in Madison, Milwaukee and Oshkosh.
We started out by spending a couple of days visiting Sandy's family in Madison. Of course we made a visit to Lane's Bakery for breakfast one day. Since it's one of Shannon's favorite places I sent a picture of my cinamon roll to her to make her jealous. One night we went out for dinner with the whole Lawry clan. And we spent a lot of time at Sandy's parents' place visiting and watching the Brewers on TV. I even got away one afternoon to visit Noble Knight Games. They are one of the largest game retailers in the US. Their specialty is hard to find games - ones that are out of print or from very small publishers or imports from overseas. They used to be in Janesville but had just moved to Fitchburg, very close to where Sandy's parents live. I had to check out their new store, which is quite impressive. I limited myself to buying only one game (OSG's Napoleon's Resurgence) since it had to fit in my luggage for the flight home.
I sent a picture to Shannon to make her jealous
On the weekend we went to Milwaukee. Mickey and Allie came down from Oshkosh and we all met up at my sister's house. After visiting for a while we went to Three Cellars on 27th street where we could sample wines and craft beers. It was a nice place, with lots of space and many wines to enjoy. We had a good time there. Sadly I found out later that it closed down that fall.
After wine tasting we cruised further down 27th street to eat dinner at Ned's Pizza. For many years, whenever I visited my parents in Milwaukee, my dad and I would drive to Ned's and get pizza to take home. On this trip the pizza still tasted like it always did. It brought back lots of memories.
That night we stayed at a hotel in Franklin while Mickey and Allie had to drive back to Oshkosh. They have a dog and a bunch of cats - I think it's four but I don't even know if Mickey is sure how many it is. A lot. They didn't have a pet sitter so they had to be responsible and go home to take care of their animals.
We don't need no stinkin' Cubs fans
And come back the next day. Sunday we organized a big family reunion event - going to the Brewers game. They were playing the Cubs which usually means a full house. To avoid having Miller Park taken over by Cubs fans there was a special presale online which was only available to Wisconsin residents. Since some of us were coming from out of town, Mickey and Allie had to buy all the tickets for our group. We ended up with quite a gang. Lynn, Dan and Devin came from Madison. Lorri and Keith were the hometown contingent from Milwaukee. My brother, his wife Kathy and son Jake came from Illinois. I made sure he knew that wearing Cubs gear would not be tolerated. Mickey and Allie came down from Oshkosh (again) while Sandy and I were from Boise. Quite a (Brew) Crew.
We were well organized. Coming from multiple locations, we met at a grocery store parking lot on 86th and Bluemound. We parked most of our cars there and carpooled down to the game.
It was a good game. Yelich hit a home run of course and Zach Davies pitched well. The Brewers won 4-2 to take the first series from the Cubs. Although it was early in the season every game is important, especially against the Cubs, as the Central Division is likely to go down to the wire again this year.
After the game Mike and his family had to head home. Maybe he's gone over to the Dark Side and was sore that the Cubs lost. For the rest of us it was time for another Milwaukee institution, dinner at Barbiere's Italian Inn. It's a small, family restaurant. Not just small - tiny really, but we got there early and were able to get our group in. Barbiere's has been there as long as I can remember. When I was in college my friends and I would go there several nights a week after city league softball games. I still order the same thing - mostaccioli with meat sauce. It comes with garlic bread, a large breadstick dripping with melted garlic butter - very decadent. As always, dinner there was as good as I remembered.
We made the Chicago contingent sit in their own row
After dinner we followed Mickey and Allie as they drove up to Oshkosh. After checking in at our hotel we drove to their place to check it out. We didn't stay long but we got to see where they lived. We also said hello to Daisy, their dog and to My Buddy Frank. They have multiple cats and I am not a cat person. But for some reason they have one cat, Frank, who whenever I am around just wants to sit on my lap and purr. I may not like cats but I'm not going to be a jerk, so Frank is my buddy.
The next day Mickey took a day off from work to give us a tour of the area. First we went to a game store - nothing extraordinary but I like to check out the FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) everywhere I go. Sometimes I find something unusual and I like to support them if I can. Then we drove through downtown Oshkosh (it's not very big) and went to the lake shore. Oshkosh is on Lake Winnebago, which is the largest lake in Wisconsin that's not one of the Great Lakes.
Allie and Sandy enjoy a sunny spring day at Fox River Brewery
In the afternoon we took a drive in the countryside and visited Vines and Rushes Winery in nearby Ripon. Although Mickey is more a beer drinker than a wine drinker, he knew that Sandy and I always like to visit local wineries wherever we go. The winery had their own vinyard and grew their own grapes, so they had mainly hardy, cold weather grapes. They had some nice wines though and we bought a couple of bottles. We figured we could have one before we left and could carry one or two home to Boise in our luggage.
Back in Oshkosh Mickey showed us around the UW-Oshkosh campus and took us to his office. It was only a five minute bike ride from their house. Very convenient. For Happy Hour we went to Fox River Brewery. A brewpub that's only two blocks from their house, it's Mickey and Allie's favorite place in Oshkosh. We enjoyed a sunny afternoon, siting out on the patio next to the Fox River. For dinner we went to the Roxy Supper Club on Main Street in Oshkosh. It's a traditional Wisconsin supper club, a kind of restaurant that's not common outside of the midwest so it's always nostalgic for Sandy and I to visit one when we go back to Wisconsin.
Pizza night with Sandy's family
Last but not least, we went to Leon's Drive In for custard. When I was a kid I used to go to Leon's in Milwaukee for frozen custard. It's on 27th street only half a block from Ned's Pizza. The Leon's in Oshkosh isn't affiliated, exactly. Apparently the brother of the guy who owned Leon's in Milwaukee moved to Oshkosh and started his own place. But the frozen custard (a Wisconsin specialty) was just as good. And it was brought to you by a car hop dressed in a fifties outfit who hung a tray on your car window, just like in the old days.
Next day we drove back to Madison where we had one more dinner with the Lawry clan at Sugar River Pizza in Verona. Then the next day it was time to fly home to where Abby was waiting for us. She wanted to know why I smelled like cat.
