There is More to Wisconsin than just Air Shows!

Sure, we took a roadtrip to Wisconsin for the EAA AirVenture, but there are plenty of other things to see and do in the 25th largest State. Not all of them involve cheese (or airplanes)!

After taking in the Air Show on Friday, we made our way up to Green Bay to stay the night. It was raining for the majority of our drive, but by the morning, the weather was lovely. While none of us are Green Bay Packers’ fans, we still made the obligatory visit to Lambeau Field. As we pulled into the stadium, there were a significant number of locals lining the walkway from that stadium to the practice field. Apparently the Packers will make that trek, and in doing so, grab a young kid from the crowd and ride that child’s bike (with the kid in tow) to practice.

While we had no idea who any of the players actually were, Roy did high-five Jordan Love, the starting quarterback. (A local had to point that out to us.) I was thrilled to see a team ‘give back’ to their community like this, but then learned (by the aforementioned local) that many of the people in the crowd, he in particular, had been waiting thirty-six years for season tickets, and he was still #14,955 on the waiting list. Oh well for ‘giving back’.

Door County, Wisconsin

Leaving Green Bay, we headed to Door County. Door County is located on a peninsula between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. It is known for its many parks, farm stands, wineries, and artisan cheese shops.

Our first stop, (okay, second, if you want to count the stop for Roy when he thought he was going to be “pukey-sick”) located just north of Sturgeon Bay, was The Farm. The Farm has been around since 1965, and has a goal of providing insight into old-fashioned farm life for all of those who come to visit. For $6/child and $9.50/adult, we were provided the opportunity to bottle-feed baby goats, and then get up close and personal with pigs, chickens, pigeons, horses, cows, sheep, donkeys, and a few kittens. Unfortunately, Chuck had to wait in the parking lot, as dogs were not allowed. Poor guy. He really just wanted to get his paws on a chicken, or a pigeon, or heck, even a kitten. The Farm was Doug’s favorite stop in Door County.

Next, we continued to Cave Point, a location well-known for its wave-worn limestone ledges, cliff jumping, underwater caves, and views of Lake Michigan. No one in our group (aside from Chuck) was up for a swim so we continued on.

I was really hoping to see the goats on the roof of Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant and Butik in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, but they must have been grazing elsewhere when we arrived. We didn’t have time to visit the restaurant, but did check out the Butik, whereby we purchased some maple syrup and lingonberry jam. Sister Bay has a marina and loads of shops and restaurants, so was very crowded on a Saturday afternoon in the summertime. Parking was at a premium!

Doug, per the usual, was all about farm stands, so we stopped at Seaquist Orchards, and Door Artisan Cheese Company. It was “cherry season” while we were there, so Seaquist was full of all things cherry. We indulged, and purchased a large tub of “cherry salsa”. In my opinion, it tasted better in the store than when we brought it back home. The Artisan Cheese shop was the location where Doug, Roy, and Greg tasted their first cheese curd. I abstained, I don’t like cheese. (There, I said it!)

As it was getting late in the day, we continued to our VRBO, the Hotel Stebbins, in Algoma, Wisconsin. Here we would spend the next two nights. It is dog friendly!

Algoma, Wisconsin

Algoma, Wisconsin is a quaint community nestled on the western shore of Lake Michigan, and at the southern end of the Door Peninsula. For dinner the (first) night we ate at Homestead Kitchen and Tap, but we would have eaten there every night if we could have. The Homestead Kitchen and Tap was a concept that began at the Ebert Family Farm — a seventh generation dairy, beef, and cropping farm. The goal this family had was to finish the “farm to fork” loop, allowing the consumer to reap the benefits of eating food that was ethically and humanely created on their families farm. The food was amazing, and the price tag was even better. We paid $4 for a grass-fed hamburger with french fries.

While we did drive from Algoma back to the Air Show for a second day on Sunday, on Monday we spent time in Algoma, walking from our VRBO, through town, to the marina to take in the sights and get some fresh air. We then rented kayaks from Peninsula Kayak Company, and kayaked down the Ahnapee River. The kids both wanted their own kayak, so Doug, Chuck and I crammed into the third kayak. Chuck was highly uncooperative, lunging from side to side chasing after ducks. I vow to never again share a kayak with a golden retriever.

La Crosse, Wisconsin

Our next VRBO was the Honey Barn/Honey House in Westby, Wisconsin which happens to be Amish Country. This rental had a huge front yard for the kids to play, but no fence so Chuck had to be tied to a post, which he did not like. Chuck did embarrass us by barking obnoxiously every time a horse and buggy would pass by, but I guess it isn’t like he sees that everyday.

There was also the “street” dog that we attempted to rescue. That is until we realized he was carrying the ribcage of a dead deer, had a collar on, and seemed to know exactly where he was going.

The next day we drove to La Crosse, Wisconsin, a city on the Mississippi River. Here we took the La Crosse Queen, departing from Riverside Park, down the river. The Riverboat mostly appealed to the 75+ crowd, but we did find one family with girls around our kids age. I tried to get Roy to speak with one of them, but that wasn’t happening, as they were, after all, girls. We mostly enjoyed spotting bald eagles, watching the paddle wheel, and talking about airplanes.

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

What trip wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Wisconsin Dells? For our final full day in Wisconsin, we left the dog at the VRBO and drove to the Dells. For those that don’t know, the Wisconsin Dells are full of theme parks, entertainment centers, trails, camping sites, and nature centers. We decided to target the Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park.

Tackling the “Theme” Park first, we headed straight to the Cyclops rollercoaster. While this particular wooden rollercoaster may have seen better days (we witnessed bolts falling out of the wood pilings as we were standing in line) we threw caution to the wind and went for it. I truly enjoyed the nearly vertical 75-foot drop. In the past I have had one of the boys sitting next to me, but they now choose to sit together, so I am stuck with Doug. When riding with the kids they are mostly silent, but Doug will say things like “holy s*** this is REALLY high!”, and “I hope this thing doesn’t fall apart on us!”. Super helpful.

After the Cyclops, we ventured to the Hades which was much more terrifying. The Hades drops 140-feet, does a complete 360 loop, and travels under the parking lot (in the dark) to the other side of the park (immediately after said drop). Somehow we did that one twice.

After regaining our sea legs, we stood in a long line for go-karts. Here we watched in horror as grown adults slammed their “karts” at full speed into other karts which had come to a stop. I guess that is how they roll at Mt. Olympus? Luckily, none of those people were on the track when we were.

Leaving the theme park behind, we walked to the water park. The water park was exceptionally busy on a hot August day. We decided to wait the 75-minutes to ride Medusa’s Slidewheel because its “pendulum movement, rotations, and back-and-forth motions”, were unlike any other waterslide we had been on before. Doug, in particular, did not enjoy it as he thought he was going to toss his cookies. Greg loved it.

Walking back to the car we stopped at the wave pool, where we were able to carve out one square foot for our family to squeeze in and enjoy the pool with (about) 15,000 other swimmers. Did I mention that the place was really crowded?

After a day in the Dells, we spent another night in Westby, and then continued on to our next stop, the Land of Lincoln – Illinois!