Wisconsin Dells Part 2

This is Part 2 of my blog about my getaway with my guy to Wisconsin Dells. 

Day two started with breakfast on the patio that overlooks the pool at the White Rose Inns. This is something I definitely love about B&Bs --the breakfasts are always so good.

We were provided a few options - quiche, french toast, scrambled eggs or a yogurt parfait. I went with the quiche and my guy chose the french toast.

The patio is covered from the sun and built around a gigantic tree. We were the first ones up for breakfast as we wanted to get an early start on the day so we enjoyed our breakfast in peace with just the birds chirping from the tree overhead.

The quiche was spinach, mushroom and cheese and really delicious, but the potatoes stole the show. Just the right amount of rosemary and butter when they were pan fried, making them the best part of the breakfast. So delicious.

 My guy loved his french toast too and we both cleaned our plates. We spent a short time relaxing a little bit enjoying the morning air.

Then it was off to Devil's Lake. I bought a State Park pass this year and asked my guy if he would mind hiking with me. I promised him the views from the trails would be totally worth it. So we headed off on the East Bluff Woods Trail.

The path was very scenic at the bottom with a crick running next to our trail. We ventured out on a few rocks to take some pictures.

Because I had never been to Devil's Lake before, I knew the trails would be on a incline, but I didn't realize that it was literally up hill the entire way.

 We took some breaks to recover as it was quite the workout.

But like I said, once we got to the top, it was all worth it. The views are just breathtaking. I was so proud of my guy ( a non-hiker) for doing this with me. I'm sure there was a point on the way up that he was contemplating if it was all worth it, but he agreed that the view was spectacular.

And then the walk back down, though long. was definitely much easier (all downhill). We could actually talk to each other. When we got back down to the bottom, we took another break by the crick, took some pictures and just enjoyed each others company and nature.

Then it was back to Wisconsin Dells and time for lunch. I was emailed by a manager of The Cheez Factory in the Dells a few months back and offered a meal in exchange for sharing about their restaurant on my blog. In a post next week, I will give you all the details on lunch. But here is a brief overview. The Cheez Factory is a completely vegan restaurant - something that I have never eaten before. To say that my guy was a little hesitant to eat vegan food would be an understatement, but he said he would try it for me.

The food was incredible and I am so glad that we had this experience. Our minds were completely blown away with the quality and flavors of the food. My guy said that he would even eat here again if we came back to the Dells. Watch for a complete report next week.

 After lunch, we went back to our room and relaxed a bit by the pool. We even went in but the water was just a tad too "refreshing" for us to stay in longer. Maybe if the weather was five degrees warmer outside and less windy, we would have lasted longer.

 We went back to the room, showered and headed down the strip to take in a little mini golf.

The place wasn't very busy so we could take our time at each hole. I haven't mini-golfed in probably 10 years so it took me a little bit to get my swing back. We were pretty much even at the end of the course.

 And again the views from the course were spectacular of the upper dells.

 At the end there was a petting zoo and this little goat was really friendly wanting snacks.

We weren't super hungry but decided to get some dinner. The night before I saw this place called The Cheesey Tomato and on our way to mini golf, we checked out the menu. It sounded really unique and delicious. I was sold at donut grilled cheese!

We ordered and then were told they would come find us and sit wherever. They are renovating the property a bit, but still had tables outside over looking the river. We sat down at one that overlooked the boat tours and took in the views.

My grilled cheese donut was really good and just the right size. It had a dab of jelly in the middle and was  sprinkled with powder sugar. This was a sweet-savory combo that I really enjoy. I would definitely get this again and might try making it at home.

My guy's BLT was on nice buttery, toasted bread and had a really fresh taste. We both enjoyed our meals and then decided to grab a drink across the street at the Showboat Saloon and see if American Pharoah could complete the Triple Crown.

Showboat Saloon had a very diverse beer selection with a few unique firkins and many micro-brews on tap. I got an Oberon and a Ballast Point Sculpin for us and let my guy choose which one he wanted.

Showboat has been in the Dells for many years and I'm sure the building has some great history. I did a little research and found the building is from 1907 and was originally a tavern, then a candy shop during Prohibition, and then back to a tavern after. The same floor is still inside the place today!

American Pharoah did win the Triple Crown and the crowd in the bar was really into it. We finished our beers, walked the strip a bit more, and then headed back to our hotel for some relaxation. Our tired legs needed it after our long day.

The next morning was a little too rainy and chilly to eat breakfast on the patio, so we ate it in the cafe in the basement of the main building at the Inns. We both chose the egg scramble and it was just as good as our breakfast the first morning.

Then it was time to get on the road and head back home. We stopped at a restaurant in Johnson Creek for lunch and finished off the trip with another great meal. Unfortunately I didn't get the name of it and it's not showing up on any maps. It looked rather new and was a great sports bar atmosphere.

The weekend was a great mix of new experiences and relaxing. But most importantly it was time that we got to spend together and really enjoy each others' company. Until our next trip!

BlogPal: Weekend Activities

Fall is upon us in Wisconsin - fields are changing color, leaves aren't looking as vibrant of a green and getting ready to turn orange/red and drop from the branches, and pumpkins have arrived at some of the stores. This is my favorite time of year as I feel mother nature is at her prime. Days are warm for a tee (long or short-sleeved) and jeans and evenings are cool for fleece jackets and bonfires.

My BlogPal and I decided to focus on Weekend Activities for this next posting because there are just so many things that we can do on the weekends. 

I also think that there is a ton to do in Fall on weekends. Maybe this is something more exclusive to Wisconsin because we know our evil winter of snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, bitter winds and below zero temps is coming too soon, so we try to get out and use up every ounce of daylight we can.

Some of my favorite things to do in Fall on the weekend are:

Local Farmer's Markets (Here is a county-wide guide) - These usually go thru October and squash are plentiful and cheap. I love making soup with Butternut Squash and I can't wait to make it by the gallons and freeze it this year for all winter-long enjoyment. (Speaking of Butternut Squash - I did buy a few store brands of soup to compare to mine and see what different flavors those provide, but I'm really digging my Butternut Squash Apple soup.) 

Pumpkin Picking - Soon enough the hay wagons will be out and it will be time to pick your pumpkins and begin carving them for Halloween. These trips are best done on weekends, when there is no rushing around and you can enjoy yourself in the field and really pick out your favorite pumpkin.

Hiking - Beautiful leaves on scenic trails make the Fall one of the best times in Wisconsin to go on hikes. And trails are a plenty in this area. This Friday, my boyfriend and I are going to walk on the Fox River boardwalk. The boardwalk isn't extremely long, but it does walk you over the Fox River in Waukesha and you get to see nature in it's natural environment.

Homecooked Meals - I have time on the weekends to usually go into a bit more of an elaborate production of a meal than on weeknights. Sometimes I'll even let the crockpot do the work so I can still run errands and such on the weekends, but making a large pot of chili, lasagna, beef stew or something nice and filling is what I do on the weekends.

Tomorrow I hope to share with you my recipe for Crockpot Cashew Chicken. It's pretty simple and really flavorful. I modified a recipe that I found from a fellow blogger.

Watching Football - Yep I'm a CHEESEHEAD from Wisconsin and a large part of my Sunday is dedicated to watching my boys, The Green Bay Packers, cream their opponent. I'm sure some of you root for other teams and I'm sorry (jk jk) but isn't a lazy Sunday and football on the tube a perfect way to end the weekend? And last year, I was lucky enough to see my boys play live at Lambeau and I hope to have the chance to do that again this year.

Weekend in Milwaukee: Grant Park, Irish Fest & The Aloft Hotel

I know I have taken a hiatus from writing about Waukesha, but don't worry, I have some great posts lined up all about my town. Enjoy this little venture to Milwaukee in the meantime :)

If you know me, you know that I love to meet new people where ever I go and attending networking events is a great way to introduce myself to all sorts of people and make new friends and acquaintances. Last September, I attended an event held by Newaukee at the Aloft Hotel. Although it was a chilly night and we couldn't enjoy the outdoor patio without standing directly under a heater, the event was still fun and I met some great folks.

Two days after the event, I received a call from the hotel and figured they were doing a follow up survey off of the business cards they collected and now I was going to be on their mailing list forever. Instead, I was pleasantly informed that I won the grand prize giveaway of a free night's stay in the hotel whenever I would like to use it in the next year!

I finally found the right opportunity to use it this past weekend. My friends and I were trying to plan a fun few days and were looking for things to do -  go camping, hiking, festivaling, bar hopping? As my lucky streak continued (almost a year later), I won 2 tickets to Irish Fest from Key Milwaukee, so we decided to hike around Grant Park Saturday morning, grab some lunch and then head to Irish Fest. And why not stay in the hotel room so everyone is safe?

Seven Bridges lookout

I started the day by meeting Tory in Waukesha and then headed down 94 to the East Side to grab Shauna. We then took the "bridge to nowhere"and headed south to Grant Park. We grabbed our waters and headed into the Seven Bridges area. The first bridge was out, as in completely non-existent and resembled a junk pile of branches and stones making a path over the trickling stream. We negotiated it without fault and continued on. We got to the first lookout and decided with the day being so beautiful and in the mid 70s, we should take advantage and head out to the beach.

Grant Park spring

Toes in the water of Lake Michigan

7 tries later I got my toes and the wave in the picture

We took off our shoes and headed onto the beach. We had to put our toes in the lake and it was nice and refreshing. After a few minutes we headed south and stopped at a few different barges (or boat docks) from eras gone-by and climbed out onto them to take in the water and waves. They were a little tricky to navigate at times but no one fell into the water.

Looks like Shauna is gonna jump - don't worry, she didn't

Can't go any further without risking life and limb

Way out on the water

We headed back into the park and walked around a few more of the bridges on our way back to the car. This bridge in particular is really old, yet very solid and we stopped for a few shots.

Artsy!

We were very hungry at this point and I happened to have my CityTin on me so we headed over to Cafe Lulu. It was too beautiful to not sit outside and take in the life of Bay View. It had been almost two years since I had last been in the area and all three of us agreed to get there again sometime this year and enjoy a few of the beer bars.

We ordered some yummy sandwiches; mine in particular was the pressed special made with cappicola ham, creamy brie, basil leaves and olive tapenade. I decided to go all out and get chips and slaw on the side. The sandwich was amazing and I now want to make my own olive tapenade spread for crostinis! (Packer party treat) The chips with the bleu cheese dip were great (Tory even ordered some to go). The Asian-inspired slaw seemed to be missing something, maybe the ginger bite, as it was a little bland.

pressed special at Cafe LuLu

Shauna and Tory both loved their sandwiches as we were all members of the clean plate club. After lunch, we headed back into downtown, dropped Shauna off at her boyfriend's place and headed to check into the hotel.

Unfortunately they do not have a parking lot at Aloft, so it was $15 to self-park at Molly Cool's or $23 to valet. I chose self park and ended up at The Loaded Slate, which was maybe a half block away. We got up to our room and checked it out. I have never stayed in a place so new and upscale before - swanky was the word I kept using. The flat screen and King size bed were calling my name but we had to get ready for Irish Fest.

Aloft King Size room layout

love bowl sinks

Our view of Sidney Hih being torn down

About two hours later, we headed out in search of cheap parking for Irish Fest. I was misguided by a sign once that lead to no parking, and then the car in front of me got the last spot in another lot. So I conceded and paid $15 to park by Riverfront Grill. We headed into the south gate of Summerfest grounds and met up with my friend Ellie. Her family was there to listen to and support Dublin O'Shea. Her brother-in-law is in the band. We stayed for a short bit and then headed off in search of beverage or food.

Beer and wine had to be bought with tickets but food and soda was cash. It was a little bit of a hassle to have to buy tickets but I think it helped cut back on people getting too carried away at the bars.

After we got ourselves some beers (Miller Lite's - sorry we are all on budgets), Shauna got herself a Reuben Pizza from Johnny V's. I'm not a huge Reuben fan but it looked great and she loved it. It was more like a flat bread with the cheese, kraut, corned beef and sauce on it.

We didn't stay too late at Irish Fest as the rest of us were in need of food and Shauna was running the Vihba 10k the next morning. We dropped my car off at the hotel, dropped Shauna off and Ellie, Tory and I headed to Wolski's. Tory and I have never been to Wolski's and going at 9:30 pm does not constitute "closing Wolski's" so we will have to go back, but the bar is cute. The wall artwork in an interesting combination of flags, old pictures of the bar and people holding "I Closed Wolski's" stickers and random maps. The bar wasn't very busy and we were getting hungry, so we finished our rounds and headed off to find food. (Sorry for no pictures.)

We decided to check out Stubby's as none of us had been there. We walked in and immediately I sensed the sports bar vibe, but it was also nice to see natural wood and nice pictures on the wall. The bar is in the round and we chose to sit at one end. We were given large drink and food menus and a few minutes to decided.

A few minutes turned into about ten, and by then we were ready to order and eat. Unfortunately, the bartender could only manage to take our drink orders for some reason. She got the drinks and then walked away. This happened for the rest of the meal (the walking away part). Another bartender came over and took our food order and got our tab going. The female bartender seemed to be preoccupied or overly busy working on, well, we aren't quite sure because it wasn't very busy, while the other bartender seemed very relaxed and chill and able to help us. We stuffed ourselves with chicken sandwiches, burgers and pulled pork, and Tory's deviled egg appetizer, that was really good. All of our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we all took food home with us.

Ellie dropped us off at the hotel and I was very happy to get into that bed after our long day. The hallways of the hotel are a little echo-y and with the number of wedding parties we saw there that night, the hotel was a little loud until after 2 am.

Shower with natural light through a frosted glass wall - Aloft Hotel

I slept soundly until 7:30 and I think my body was just telling me I should get up. So I did. I took a nice shower and got myself ready for the day. I checked out at 9 am with an extremely courteous staff member. She made me feel appreciated which is a excellent touch. If the hotel wasn't so pricey, I would definitely consider staying there more often. It's definitely a hotel for someone my age to stay at.