DePere, WI Union, Ill
Applecreek Campground Northwest Chicago KOA
hot and humid :) humid, thunderstorms and lightening
We had a relatively short drive to DePere, just outside of Green Bay, WI. We headed south and thanks to road construction we accidentally followed the wrong lane. We realized about 9 miles in that we were on the wrong road. A turn into a large nursery turned us around but we had to go all the way back to our first exit to get back where we needed to be. Our first little challenge of the day was easily out of the way.
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| Sights along the way |
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| So many big farms |
Going down the road I saw a billboard for Leinenkugel's brewery in Chippewa Falls. It seemed we would be there about lunch time so it sounded like a great break stop. I called ahead and got us on the noon tour. Any earlier would just not be right for beer. We arrived at 11:20 to the wrong spot for the civilians. We ended up in the distribution lot with trucks coming and going. We unhooked, I called for better directions, then led Eric to the correct parking lot. We are good at following the Navigation except in towns and where it is difficult to get back on track. That was our second oops of the day.
The tour is free and for a $1 you can get 5 samples and a souvenir tasting glass. The tour lasted about an hour. No pictures were allowed in the brewery itself (can't figure that one out, there was really nothing going on) so the photos are limited to the exterior. The brewery was started in 1867 and even weathered prohibition as they converted the process to sodas during that dark time. The beer was very good ranging from lite shandy's to heavy dark creamy beers. I preferred the Summer Shandy mixed with a Berry Weiss, Eric like the dark cream Ale. All were worth the tour.
Back on the road again after grabbing a quick bite, re hooking the toad and we were on the way to Packer Heaven, Green Bay, WI. Along the way, the toad brake indicator light never came on and was malfunctioning. We pulled in for fuel, checked it all and it worked again. Back on the highway, it didn't work. Thank goodness we are in the Midwest with no mountains. (The next day it worked just fine on the way to Union, IL. The Gremlins were chasing us that day!)
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| The river at Chippewa Falls |
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| Gidget is tired of riding! |
We pulled into our little campground after navigating a lot of construction on 41. It is going to be a long drawn out project and made the journey a little longer and harder. AppleCreek Campground is a cute little place with a creek running through. The kids enjoyed fishing and you could tell they were all just trying to have a great time before school starts on Tuesday. Our satellite wouldn't there. The first time that has happened. Must have been those Gremlins.
We were looking for things to do in Wisconsin and the Packers came up. We got tickets to the last preseason game against Kansas City. The game was a lot of fun and the Packer fans love their team. Our tickets were right on the 50 year line row 24. Awesome seats! The stadium is the oldest in the NFL and in our opinion smelled the best. They must have pumped out BBQ and pizza scents! We enjoyed PacnCheese and Eric had a brat of course. The sky kept getting darker as heavy rain was predicted. The rain held out until the 4th quarter and surprisingly no one left. We really enjoyed the game and the crowd. We are still Denver Bronco fans though, that won't change!
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| The rain started to fall |
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| No problem! we had ponchos |
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| The final score was 34 to 14 |
Currently we are holed up in Union, IL for the holiday weekend. Monday we have a cubs game at Wrigley field and a field tour. We drove around the area a little today and stopped at a farm stand and got more tomatoes (thanks to Aunt Helen I am now hooked on tomato sandwiches! PS, Your Green Beans are awesome steamed!), cucumbers, zucchini and a cantaloupe. Loving the fresh veggies! While in Wisconsin we ventured out to Scray cheese factory. The cheese was all fresh and very yummy. We bought Raspberry Chipotle and Cherry Cheddar along with fresh cheese curds. We are eating great along the way!
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| Scray Cheese |
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| Roadside veggies stand in Union, IL |
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| The weather looks frightful, but keeps going back to blue skies |
Next stop will be in Ohio somewhere along I-90. We haven't planned out that far yet!
Too bad our path did not cross the first time around :(
ReplyDeleteOur new fave beer is Leinenkugel and i liked the Lemon Shandy. But the tour is out of our way. We are slowly inching south. Where are you headed?