TOURING LAMBEAU FIELD, HOME OF THE CHEESEHEADS

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Wisconsin is the Dairy State; however, I wondered just how the Cheeseheads got their name. As quoted by Lee Remmel, the Packers team historian, “The birth of the world famous ‘Cheesehead’ hat was not initially about fashion, but a gouda, self-deprecating response to those we kindly call the ‘flatlanders’. Still riding high from their only Super Bowl victory in 1986, Chicago Bears fans began ridiculing citizens of the Dairy State by calling them ‘Cheeseheads’.”

It didn’t take long for the marketing and merchandising department to take advantage of that moniker. Cheeseheads (surely, you have seen those silly hats on Packer fans) are sold in the Packer’s gift shop for just $21.95!

Bruce grew up a Cheesehead having lived eight of his childhood years in Appleton and having a Cheesehead mom and maternal grandparents. I, then, became an adopted Cheesehead as Bruce’s wife. It’s infectious! Once you get to know the history of the team and the loyalty of their fans, it’s hard not for it to grow on you—that is, unless you’re an arch-enemy Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, or Detroit Lions fan.

First of all, the Green Bay Packers are the only community-owned franchise in American Professional Sports. Right there, you got me, as I have a hard time getting behind teams owned by multi-gazillionaires. Since the spoiled-brat owners of the San Diego Chargers took their team away from San Diego when they couldn’t get the city to build a new stadium for them (Whaaaa!), I’ve given up on them. If the Packers can keep remodeling and improving Lambeau Field (but keep a bunch of the same metal bleachers they have always had; bleachers seat more fans than chairs do), then good on ‘em! (Don’t even get me started on the idiocy of the Atlanta Braves abandoning Turner Field for a new stadium. Built in 1996 for the Olympics and given to the Braves for a whopping fee of $1, the stadium was perfectly fine!)

As of 2014, the Packers were owned by 360,584 stockholders. That’s a lot of owners! (Keep in mind, too, that no one person can hold more than approximately 4% of the outstanding shares.). That kind of community support (and non-profit structure) has kept the Packers in Green Bay, since they were founded in 1919.

Green Bay’s population is only around 100,000; however, Packer fans hail from all over Wisconsin and the entire United States. As a matter of fact, Packer fans are so loyal that every home game has been sold out since 1960, and their season-ticket waiting list is more than 86,000 names long! According to Wikipedia, “The average wait is over 30 years, but with only 90 or so tickets turned over annually, it would be 955 years before the newest name on the list got theirs. As a result, season tickets are willed to next of kin and newborns placed optimistically on the waiting list.”

Not being born into a season ticket-holding family, Bruce never had the opportunity to see a game at Lambeau Field, so we decided to see the Packers stadium the only way we could—on a tour.

We arrived for our tour the morning after sold-out Family Night, so the stadium was still in the process of getting cleaned up. That was of no concern to us; we were getting to see Lambeau Field!

As we pulled into the parking lot, I couldn’t help but to notice the modest homes located in the residential neighborhood just across the street. There was nothing glamorous or big city “Wow!” here!

Lambeau Field itself, on the other hand, got an attractive makeover in 2013, and it looked great. Its capacity is now 81,441, which is the third-largest stadium in the NFL. (By the way, the Packers paid only $250 for its charter membership to the NFL. In comparison, the Houston Texans paid a whopping 750 MILLION dollars to join.)

Bruce doing the “Lambeau Leap.”

Our tour guide was a hoot! Between the funny stories he told as we toured the stadium from top to bottom (including the Champions Club, players tunnel and field), and the ribbing he gave a couple of Vikings fans in our group, we were thoroughly entertained. (When you’re a tour guide for the team that boasts 13 National Championships—more than any team in the NFL—you have license to tease non-Packer fans!)

The view from inside the Champions Club

This giant neon football hangs from the ceiling of the massive Packers gift shop.

The Packers Hall of Fame was two stories. This uniform display could be seen while riding the escalator to the second story.

Those Packer fans are LOYAL! I couldn’t imagine even being outdoors in 13 degrees below 0 temps.!

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$900 in 2011!

$900 in 2011!

Next up: DOOR COUNTY: HOLIDAY MUSIC MOTEL, FISH CREEK, AND FISH BOIL

HITTIN’ THE ROAD TO WISCONSIN

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Why Wisconsin? Besides the proximity to Minneapolis, Bruce and I both have family ties to the Diary State. Bruce’s maternal grandparents lived on a farm in Hortonville (near Appleton), and he lived in town with his mom and sister for eight years as a child, after his father died. My grandparents all lived in Milwaukee, where my parents grew up and met in the school orchestra where they both were violinists. After graduating from medical school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (my mom from occupational therapy school), they headed west to California, after my dad did a residency in Salt Lake City. My parents and grandparents all settled in Long Beach, and Bruce’s mom took the kids back to California to settle in San Diego, my college town. Go Aztecs! (We’re both Aztecs, so Bruce would agree!)

Since we both wanted to concentrate our time in seeing beautiful Door County (with stops in Appleton and Green Bay) and the Apostle Islands, we decided to save Milwaukee and Madison for another trip when we go to Chicago.

We rented a car at Enterprise (I’ve always been very pleased with their customer service!), and our friendly agent picked us up at our downtown hotel for the short trip back to their office. Before long, we were on our way to seeing a new state—at least for me!

First stop: BEER! Well, we did make sure to get some nutrition in us first, stopping at the Bass Lake Cheese Factory in Somerset for lunch of not-so-nutritious grilled cheese sandwiches made from their own cheese. We then made our way to Chippewa Falls where we toured the brewery at Jacob Leinenkugal Brewing Co., the seventh-oldest brewery in the United States. The Leinenkugal family has had many years to get it right, and right they have. The tour was excellent, the beer was tasty, and the creek side setting was beautiful. Their large tasting room and gift shop looked like a mountain ski chalet with a huge stone fireplace, and they offered an enormous variety of branded merchandise to wear head-to-toe or decorate your man (or woman) cave. Kicking back next to the fire and sampling Leinenkugal beer while rain showers passed was an enjoyable way to spend the end of our day.

The rain clouds had cleared when we returned to town for dinner at Mahli Thai (excellent!), so I took advantage of our only evening in Chippewa Falls to capture some of the quaintness of their picturesque little town:

In the morning, before we set out for Appleton, we stopped at Irvine Park & Zoo, open free to the public. Established in 1906, it is supported by donations and enjoyed by local families and many of the tourists that pass through the small town to visit the brewery just up the road.

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One of the things I noticed in Minnesota and Wisconsin was the large percentage of towhead children! There were so many cute kids with light blonde hair!

Appleton was just a three-hour drive east, so we spent the afternoon in Bruce’s childhood stompin’ grounds near Lawrence University. After moving from the farm, his Mom rented a house across the street from the University where the YMCA is now located. Former Fox News Anchor Greta Van Susteren grew up around the corner in this house. (Evidently, it looked as bad then as it does now.):

This is where Bruce used to lace up his skates to skate on the frozen pond that formed on the lawn nearby:

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Amazingly, Bruce was still alive to show me where he and his friends used to ride their toboggans. Of course, nothing was built on the bottom back then, but still, that hill is STEEP!

Standing at the top of the hill and looking downward.

The last house they rented before relocating to San Diego was here on this lovely, tree-lined street:

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I so enjoyed seeing the places Bruce reminisced about from time-to-time over our 31 years together. For Bruce, it was a trip down Memory Lane.

Next up: TOURING LAMBEAU FIELD, HOME OF THE CHEESEHEADS

THE “M’S” HAVE IT! MINNEHAHA (HA-HA!) FALLS, MINNEAPOLIS, AND MALL OF AMERICA

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

According to the results of my Google search, Minnehaha is a fictional Native American woman documented in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1855 epic poem, “The Song of Hiawatha”. She is the lover of the titular protagonist Hiawatha and comes to a tragic end. The name, often said to mean “laughing water”, literally translates to “waterfall” or “rapid water” in Dakota.

The name does make you chuckle, don’t ya think?

Minnehaha Regional Park, where the 53-foot falls are the star attraction, is one of the most popular sites in Minneapolis and was highest on our list to visit. Walking/hiking and travel photography are our “thing”, and there were plenty of opportunities for both. Besides, the park is also home of Sea Salt Eatery, a popular casual seafood restaurant reputed (on Trip Advisor) to have tasty fish tacos. The great outdoors and delicious food; what a perfect combo!

The Metro Transit train stop was just across the street from the park, and the falls were located a short walk through lovely gardens, once we entered the park.

We arrived before the restaurant opened, so enjoying the gardens and watching the falls was a great way to pass the time before the restaurant line started forming. (The lines get long, so we wanted to get ahead of the rush.)

The fish tacos? As tasty as the reviews stated, and dining alfresco was a lovely way to enjoy our brunch along with the hypnotic sound of the rushing water over the falls.

Fueled up, we were ready to rumble, and hike along Minnehaha Creek (which flows over the Minnehaha Falls) to see where it met the Mississippi River. The scenery along the creek was beautiful, and it was interesting to see the confluence—the perfect fishing spot for this fly fisherman:

Taking a different path back and going the (unintended) long way back to the station gave us the opportunity to see more of this 167-acre park.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent walking the city and checking out two sports stadiums—homes of the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins—both located in downtown Minneapolis. The glass building of the football stadium made for some fun photography!

“The times they are a changing.” This is Bob Dylan, then and now.

The following day was a cold and rainy one, so we planned everything just right for our Minneapolis visit! The first day was spent all outdoors, and our second one indoors. We took the train out to the University of Minnesota to see my friends compete at U.S. Masters Swimming Nationals. The weather at Minnehaha Falls couldn’t have been better, so we didn’t mind having a rainy day where we had planned on spending it indoors, anyway.

Georgia Masters Teammates: Malena, Marianne, and Ed

It was great seeing a few of my teammates, but I was most excited to see our friends from Oregon, Allen and Carol. “King Frog” (as I have called him since he broke the 200 Meter Breaststroke World Record in his age group) has been my breaststroke mentor on the U.S. Masters Swimming Discussion Forums, since I joined USMS in 2010. We (and our spouses) became friends and look forward to seeing each other at national competitions. (We even met up at the FINA World Masters Swimming Championships in Montreal, in 2014! King Frog broke a World Record then, too.)

“King Frog (Allen) & Carol

After lunch with King Frog and Carol, we took the train out to Mall of America. Shopping wasn’t the draw (we don’t particularly enjoy it); however, the spectacle of it all was what we were curious to see.

The mall completely surrounds an amusement park, and I managed to find plenty of photo ops. at the rides and throughout the mall. The massive Lego sculptures were especially must-photograph features, as was the irresistible Crayola Crayon store where the colors on display were so cheerful.

Coming up next: HITTIN’ THE ROAD TO WISCONSIN

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNEHAHA, MINNESOTA—THAT’S A LOT OF WATER!

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

“Minn” in the Dakota language means “water”, and there’s plenty of it in Minnesota—more than 10,000 lakes!

How did we end up in Minnesota, anyway? It all started from two separate paths that met up perfectly in Minneapolis. U.S. Masters Swimming Summer Nationals was scheduled for early August, 2017, and it’s a state we had never been to during our travels. I had also missed the National Senior Games when it was held previously at the very same pool, so I thought it would be a great opportunity.

Meanwhile, I had been telling Bruce over the past four years how great the American Steamboat Company’s “American Queen” was when I took my mom on a paddle wheel cruise down the Mississippi, from Memphis to New Orleans. It was an experience I thought he would like very much.

One day last year, Bruce greeted me at the door holding the new American Queen Steamboat Company brochure, exclaiming, “I found a cruise for us!” I figured he had finally decided he wanted to try one of their one-week cruises from Memphis. Instead, he picked out their 23-day re-positioning river cruise that paddles down the Mississippi from Red Wing, Minnesota to New Orleans!

It just so happened that cruise was scheduled for one week after Nationals, and he had a plan. (I sometimes wonder what’s rolling around in his head when he takes breaks from his glass work, kicks back on the bed, and stares at the ceiling…) “How about if you swim at Nationals, and then we’ll rent a car and do a road trip around northern Wisconsin? We can return the car back in Minneapolis, and then we’ll take the cruise?” he asked.

Adding up the days, this plan amounted to five weeks of travel—piece of cake for me, but not so much for Bruce. “Are you sure you want to be away for THAT long?” I asked. “We did a seven-week road trip two years ago, didn’t we?” Yeah, good point. “What about your Etsy business?” I asked. “We’ll take it with us!” he replied.

Fifteen minutes later, I was on the phone and the cruise was booked. (By booking immediately before the early-booking deadline, we saved $3,000 and were able to get one of the lowest-priced cabins that book up quickly.)

Fast forward to May of this year, the swimming part of the plan started to unravel (as you may have read in my July 8 post). Due to injuries, I didn’t know whether I would be able to compete at Nationals after all. The entry deadline was prior to my open water swim, and I wouldn’t have time to prepare for my usual competitive events. (There’s a big difference between swimming the 200 Meter Butterfly or Breaststroke in a Nationals competition and a 1K freestyle fun race in a lake. Others may argue with me on this point, but I’ll take the 1K as the easier-on-the-body-and-mind event.)

The deadline came, and I knew I wouldn’t be ready to compete at Nationals, so I let it pass. We decided to go anyway, see (and cheer on) our friends, and stick with our travel plans.

We arrived in Minnesota on August 1 and took their excellent Metro Transit train downtown to our hotel. The afternoon was spent taking a long walk down to the river and across the bridge for lunch, and then back downtown.

Here are some scenes from our first day in Minneapolis:

Downtown Minneapolis

Across the bridge from downtown Minneapolis

Minneapolis has a thriving foodie food truck scene!

Next up: The M’s have it! Minnehaha (Ha-ha!) Falls, Minneapolis, and Mall of America

BY THE NUMBERS: 3,700 MILES, 10 STATES, 5 WEEKS, 4 RIVERS, and 1 HECK OF A GOOD TIME!

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Two years ago, I blogged along the way throughout our seven-week road trip and enjoyed every bit of it. Rather than being a chore, I took delight in spending many evenings in our hotel rooms editing pictures and writing about our adventures. While I kept busy on my little netbook computer, Bruce intently studied maps and read up on each place we visited. It was a wonderful way to reflect on the day and look forward to days ahead.

This time, after giving it a lot of thought, I decided to wait until the end of our trip to start writing. Sure, I took many notes along the way during quiet moments, but I resisted the urge to post to my blog, knowing I wouldn’t be able to keep up as our travels progressed.

Besides, as time goes by, and I hear crazy stories, I am less inclined to announce to the World Wide Web that we are going away for five weeks. My last name appears in a couple of newspaper and magazine articles on this blog, so it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to find my house. Blogging in real time would be like posting a note on the front door that reads, “Welcome! We’re not home; step right in and help yourself!”, even if we do live in a gated active 55+ community with vigilant neighbors!

Having returned on September 4, the mail has been read, bills have been paid, laundry has been washed, our Etsy shop (www.CookedGlassCreations.Etsy.com) has been restocked, and more! We even prepared for (and experienced) tropical storm winds and rain as ugly Irma ripped through town on 9/11.

Posts will be spotty as Bruce and I get our fall/holiday craft show circuit underway and life gets busier again, but I’m ready to roll. Write on!

Rather than saving my “By the Numbers…” post for the end of the series as a wrap-up, I’ll give a hint as to what’s to come as these blog posts progress:

3,700 Miles: 1,400+ by rental car, and 2,300+ by steamboat paddle wheeler

10 States: Many of them repeats; however, four of them (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Missouri) were new. My grand total so far = 39 states traveled.

5 Weeks: August 1^st – September 4^th, 2017

4 Rivers: Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee

1 Heck of a Good Time: Read future posts to hear about the best of it!

Coming up next: Minneapolis, Minnehaha, Minnesota– That’s a Lot of Water!

WELCOME TO MY WORLD! FOUR WAYS TO INVOLVE YOUR NON-SWIMMING SPOUSE OR PARTNER

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

This is dedicated to Bruce, my soulmate for over thirty years and husband for nearly 25 of them. You have always been there for me, even when you thought I was nuts! (Only you would have the patience to video my painstakingly slow 2000 yard butterfly for Butternuts. Yes, I am a nutty Butternut!) I love you more than ever, I’m your #1 fan, and will always remain your Aqua Dog. Happy Valentine’s Day!

WELCOME TO MY WORLD! FOUR WAYS TO INVOLVE YOUR NON-SWIMMING SPOUSE OR PARTNER

PRE-CRUISE: VISITING VERO BEACH

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

The idea of going on an Impact Travel cruise came from our friends, David and Melody. They had heard of Fathom’s unique concept and shared it with us. We were intrigued and looked forward to experiencing it together.

Unfortunately, several days before the cruise, Melody had a back injury too serious to be able to travel; so, they had to cancel out. David and Melody still wanted us to visit them in Vero Beach prior to the cruise, so we made our way south on December 28^th.

While Melody rested, David gave us a fabulous tour of Vero Beach during the first full day of our visit; so, it made it easier for Bruce and I to find our way around while exploring over the next two days.

Over the next couple of days, between poking around the galleries, visiting the McKee Botanical Garden, taking long walks along the boardwalk at the beach, and watching the manatees; we got a great feel for the area. Bruce and I enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and friendliness of the locals.

It just wasn’t the same not being able to share it with our friends, though; and, we were heartbroken Melody and David wouldn’t be able to experience the cruise.

On New Year’s Day, we left Vero Beach for Miami to board Fathom’s Adonia. It was a day of mixed feelings—concern for Melody, and sadness our friends would be missing the upcoming adventure; but, excitement that our volunteer work in the Dominican Republic would have an impact in more ways than one.

The following are scenes from our visit in Vero Beach.:

Bruce and David

Melody, at a farm near their house, before her back took a serious turn for the worse.

“Woody” was made out of LEGOS! What a surprise to find an amazing Lego sculpture exhibit waiting for us at McKee Botanical Garden! Throughout the gardens were beautiful Lego creatures constructed by Sean Kenney, the world’s first LEGO Certified Professional. Made of regular off-the-shelf Lego pieces, the exhibition featured thirteen individual displays built with over 300,000 LEGO pieces. This guy was the most complex and made from 4,424 pieces. He measured 10″x 8″ x 20″.

This life-size gardener was constructed from 34,340 LEGO pieces.

42,164 pieces were used to build this praying mantis.

This Monarch Butterfly has an 8-foot wing-span and was created with 60,549 LEGO pieces. It’s the second largest sculpture Sean Kenney has every created.

Uh-oh! This Milk snake is about to chow down in this cute field mouse. Both sculptures were made from a total of 12,069 pieces.

Our national bird, the Bald Eagle is made from 42,198 pieces and measures five feet tall.

In addition to this squirrel, there were other squirrels and birds on the fence eyeing the bird feeder above (filled with LEGO pieces!).

31,565 pieces were used to create this huge hummingbird.

This Giant White Triumphator Lily made from 32,514 pieces was giant, measuring 72″ in length!

How about a life-size rototiller? It took 20,903 pieces to create it.

Next up: Aboard Fathom’s Adonia

COLORS OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

The path to Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair in Tennessee from our home in Georgia is through gorgeous Great Smoky Mountains National Park. One of the reasons we enjoy participating as vendors at the fair is so we can enjoy the park during our free time before and after the show.

You never know what you’re going to see. In July, 2015, we came across “Lawrence Elk,” but we didn’t have such luck this past July.

Now that we are doing the fall show as well, we expected to see black bears, wild turkeys, and fall colors. Bruce was in luck seeing a bear, we both saw several turkeys; and, best of all, we had the pleasure of enjoying the array of autumn colors of the leaves during the drive home.

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See some of Bruce’s art glass at http://www.CookedGlassCreations.Etsy.com

BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

If you find yourself in Atlanta and would like a peaceful place to get away from the noise of the city, Atlanta Botanical Garden is a lovely place to unwind, and get in a good walk. Although we were there to enjoy the Dale Chihualy blown glass sculptures, I couldn’t resist photographing the gorgeous orchids and other beautiful botanicals. Here are my favorites from our afternoon of wandering through Atlanta Botanical Garden:

CHIHUALY IN THE GARDEN

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Elaine-iaK's Travels

Yesterday, Bruce and I visited Atlanta Botanical Garden to enjoy “Chihualy in the Garden,” a spectacular exhibit by internationally acclaimed glass artist, Dale Chihualy.

The show featured 19 installations throughout the beautiful 30 acre-garden, including these:

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Next up: Atlanta Botanical Garden Florals

Elaine-iaK's Travels: A Traveler's Tales of People, Places, Photos, Pools… and CHOCOLATE!

Category Archives: Domestic Travel

TOURING LAMBEAU FIELD, HOME OF THE CHEESEHEADS

HITTIN’ THE ROAD TO WISCONSIN

THE “M’S” HAVE IT! MINNEHAHA (HA-HA!) FALLS, MINNEAPOLIS, AND MALL OF AMERICA

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNEHAHA, MINNESOTA—THAT’S A LOT OF WATER!

BY THE NUMBERS: 3,700 MILES, 10 STATES, 5 WEEKS, 4 RIVERS, and 1 HECK OF A GOOD TIME!

WELCOME TO MY WORLD! FOUR WAYS TO INVOLVE YOUR NON-SWIMMING SPOUSE OR PARTNER

PRE-CRUISE: VISITING VERO BEACH

COLORS OF GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

BEAUTIFUL BOTANICALS

CHIHUALY IN THE GARDEN