Go Pack Go!

The Green Bay Packers NFL football team has a number of characteristics worth noting (pronounced in Wisco vernacular as greenbay as opposed to the easterner tendency of GREEN bay).  Back in the day, I too was sucked in to Green Bay fandom without realizing it.  Some say it may have been the green and gold (which later became my high school colors), others say that G in the logo reminded me of my native Glassboro, NJ.  Guess we'll never know....but I really wish I still had that Starter jacket right about now.

Me and my brother Steve, Christmas 1997

Anyway, here are 5 things you should know (and I just recently learned) about the Green Bay Packers (GBP):

1.  GBP are one of the oldest teams in the NFL (est. 1919).

2.  Green Bay is the smallest city in the US with an NFL team (pop. ~104,000).  

3.  GBP are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States.  Yes, that's right.  The fans who buy season tickets are partial shareholders in the team (hence, the GBP are The People's Team).  Training camp is open to the public, and the team has contributed to the building of a number of parks and community structures around town (including a playground at the Sanctuary I wrote about earlier).

4.  Historic Lambeau Field (aptly located at 1265 Lombardi Avenue, named after legendary Coach Vince Lombardi) opened in 1957 at it's present location under the name "City Stadium" after a move from the downtown location near the current site of East High School.  Lambeau currently holds 80,735 fans- which is the largest venue in the State of Wisconsin and second largest NFL stadium in the US (#1 is MetLife Stadium in the great State of New Jersey with 82,566 seats, home of the NY Jets and Giants).

5. GBP have won 13 league championships (more than any other team in the NFL).  Hence, the nickname for Green Bay...Titletown.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited when I scored some free tickets to a pre-season game after only a few days in town.  I was in our new State Farm agent's office to get policies moved over and we were talking football.  I told her I was no stranger to college football, but I had never been to an NFL game.  She said, "Would you like to go to a Packers game?"  Um, yeah, of course!  She promptly went to her car and brought in a pair of season tickets for the August 28th game against the Kansas City Chiefs!  She said she would be out-of-town during the game and would like us to use her tickets.  The only rule?  Don't get kicked out of the stadium, because a season ticket holder will be banned for life for misbehavior!  Apparently they don't mess around.

As the day approached, I was disappointed to learn that we were expecting rain for the Thursday evening game, and pretty heavy storms at that.  The game started at 6 PM CST, so that at least gave us the chance to get part of the game in before the heavy rain was expected.

We decided to drive toward the Lambeau Field and park in a residential neighborhood to walk the rest of the way.  Our idea ended up working perfectly- easy in, easy out.  As we walked, homeowners were standing out in their driveways with flags and signs for parking in their driveways and on their front lawns.  It was funny to see the neighborly competition, and of course the parking fees increased as we reached the field ($8, 10, 15).  We found our seats easily in the corner end zone about halfway up.  From inside, Lambeau looks a lot like the Beaver Stadium bowl in State College (complete with bleacher benches rather than seats), except only one upper level of seats at Lambeau.  They make up for this with the huge number of multi-level boxes around the other upper level of the stadium.

Most of the attendees were families and older folks, so it was a really friendly atmosphere (not what I imagined for an NFL game).  A number of local people participated in the game- from carrying the water jug out to the bench (it was empty), to waving the flag on the field to welcome the team, to delivering the game ball, to running out to grab the tee after the first kickoff.  The Star-Spangled Banner was complete with fireworks.  We even did the polka to celebrate Wisconsin heritage after the third quarter (made me think of the Hokie Pokie at VT).  They actually had signs posted all over saying that you could report misconduct issues via text message, so they must do a good job of keeping everyone on their best behavior.  Granted, it was "only" a pre-season game.  I have heard the strongest rivalries are with our neighbors the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears (da Bears).

The weather even held out for us!  It rained for about 10-15 minutes at the end of the third quarter, and then promptly stopped again until much later in the night.  It turned out to be a really nice night- we definitely lucked out.  To top it off, Green Bay won the game (34-14) and I got to see former Penn Staters Andrew Quarless (Packers) and Tamba Hali (Chiefs) on the field.  Looks like we found another college town with a football problem.  Go Pack GO!

P.S.- Happy Birthday, Mom!

The Sportfishing Capital of the Great Lakes

On Saturday we visited Algoma,  a small fishing town in Kewaunee County about 30 miles due east of Green Bay and on the shore of Lake Michigan.  The weather was mostly cloudy when we left Green Bay and we had a few short spells of drizzle on the way, but the day turned out to be pretty nice and the rain held off until evening.

Algoma has a rich history as a fishing village and still boasts one of the best places for chartering fishing trips on Lake Michigan.  We heard the fishing is really picking up from some of the locals and quite a few "big ones" came in during a recent fishing tournament.  We started off by checking out out the Crescent Beach and Boardwalk along Lake Michigan.  Not too many folks on the beach that morning and the lake was looking a little too green for swimming, but we had a nice walk anyway and did some birding along the boardwalk.

 Algoma Harbor and Lighthouse (receiving a paint job this summer)

The highlight of the day (and really the purpose for the trip, who am I kidding?)  was the von Stiehl Winery and Ahnapee Brewery located right next door to each other and about a block from the beach.


The von Stiehl Winery is the oldest licensed winery in Wisconsin (est. 1967) housed in a historical building that was originally a brewery and then a manufacturing plant for a number of different goods since.  The winery was started by Dr. Stiehl (a medical doctor) who came up with the idea of wrapping wine bottles in plaster of paris (i.e., casts) to preserve the color and taste.  They don't follow this tradition anymore (they do sell some wines in white bottles as a throwback), but have really expanded the operation from the early days.  They now make more than 70 wines for themselves and 2 sister wineries in the area.  Not too shabby!  The wines I sampled were delicious, but I really liked the cherry wines made from neighboring Door County cherries.  We took an excellent tour and got to check out the underground barrel storage tunnels (where Henry supposedly haunts) as well as their stainless steel vat storage and bottling warehouse located across the street and accurately named "Over There."

Ahnapee Brewery (pronounced in Wisco vernacular as ANN a pee) is also owned by the winery but established much earlier (1868) in the original historical building that now houses the winery.  They distributed their beer by boat and by horse-drawn carriage- pretty awesome.  The brewery is not permitted to sell out of the same building as a winery due to Wisconsin law, so those wiley rascals bought the house next door and serve beer out of the garage.  We did a tasting there as well, including a mushroom brown ale (really interesting).  Scott was excited to find out that the original owner of the brewery was a local Civil War veteran named Henry Schmiling (recall Henry the ghost) and his discharge papers were displayed on the wall.  The current owners (2 brothers) are descendants of Schmiling- one is the business manager and the other is the winemaker.

Explore the Door

Door County is the peninsula of NE Wisconsin that juts out into Lake Michigan and separates the Green Bay (the City of GB is at the bottom of the Bay) from Lake Michigan.  Door County is widely known throughout Wisconsin and beyond for ample recreational opportunities (including 5 state parks, one of which requires a ferry ride), >300 miles of beautiful lakeshore, and charming beach towns and marinas, not to mention the famous produce (especially cherries and apples).  In addition to weekender Wisconsinites, this area receives a lot of visitation from out-of-state, and the Chicago area of Illinois most especially.  It feels very beachy (or at least similar to the shore towns where I grew up in South Jersey), minus two very notable components: the smell of salt water and the waves.

We decided to take a scoping trip up to the Door to see what we could see.  We had a little bit of information, but just planned to play it by ear for the day.  There is a nice scenic byway loop that takes you up one side and down the other (depending on your direction, you could do either way- we did bayside up, lakeside down).  Along the way are a number of small towns with quaint shops, farm stands, wineries, and swanky resorts, lodges, and homes.  Since it's cherry season right now, all of the farm stands had nearly every product imaginable that could be produced from cherries- jams, jellies, pie fillings, salsas, mustards, wines, barbeque sauces, baked goods, chocolate, fudge...and the list goes on.  We ended up finding the Door County Festival of Fine Arts, so we walked around the small fair and enjoyed the sights in Waterfront Park, Sister Bay.  Cherry pie for lunch (of course) from Seaquist's Orchards (the link has a neat video on harvesting cherries), and then an early dinner at Shipwrecked Brew Pub & Inn in Egg Harbor.  We finished off the day by hanging out in Jacksonport at Lakeside Park's public beach.  A refreshing first swim in Lake Michigan!

We already decided we will need a couple more targeted trips out that way- a winery tour, camping, hiking and biking at the state parks, and a seasonal trip during apple season.  Lots of year-round festivals to check out, all less than an hour away!

Anderson's Dock.  Mariners are invited to paint their name(s) when they dock here.

 

Village of Ephraim shoreline

 

Sister Bay marina

 

Lakeside Park, Jacksonport

Lake Michigan swim

Green Bay Botanical Garden

 Hibiscus at the entryway

No, that's not a typo.  Sounds like an oxymoron, but the place exists and it's open year-round.  I had seen the Green Bay Botanical Garden on the map before we arrived and also had it on my radar for something to check out.  I found out that they offer free admission on Wednesday evenings in the summer as a way for the BG to give back to the community.  Our 3rd wedding anniversary fell on a Wednesday- the perfect chance for an outing!

The BG is actually located just a short drive from our apartment at NWTC (locally known as "Tech"- confusing for me!), i.e., Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.  The land used to be a family-owned apple orchard in production through WWII (apparently they produced applesauce for soldiers) and was later acquired by the College.  The BG came together as a nonprofit in the late 1980s and opened to the public in the early 1990s.

The grounds were beautiful with many flowers in bloom along with lot of well-kept garden features (e.g., sheds, water features, stone pathways).  Some gardens consisted of a number of different varieties of one particular flower (e.g., lilies, roses, and a hosta garden that was really impressive even though they were not blooming).  They also had a new conifer garden of trees interspersed with other flowing plants; a children's garden complete with sensory garden, two story slide (we did not try it), and pond with koi fish; a gardening library; and a planting demo garden with ideas for home gardens.  One particularly interesting planter was a cucumber plant growing right out of a bag of soil!

We had a great time and can't wait to go back and check out the changing seasons.  Of course, I just couldn't help but wonder how they keep the perennials alive over winter since everything is outside.  We have heard their Christmas lights display is worth the trip- just bring your snowshoes.

 

Lots of color at the "Caretaker's Cottage"

 

 

The Lily Garden

    The Hosta Garden- note the Night Before Christmas, Lonesome Dove, and Risky Business hosta varieties!

Rainbow Garden in the Children's Garden

Parks and Recreation

We had some time to get out and explore some of the local parks last weekend.  We have a variety of parks available within just a few minutes drive, all with nice hiking/walking trails that are groomed for crosscountry skiing in the winter.  So perhaps we are in for a new recreational sport by wintertime....

1. L.H. Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve, Brown County Parks

I found this "green spot" on the map before we arrived, and knew I wanted to check it out.  Barkhausen includes 920 acres of forest, meadows, and wetlands right along the west shore of the Green Bay.  They had a very nice nature center, free and open to the public, as well as programming, a hiking (and skiing) trail system, and several nice waterfowl impoundments.  We saw a number of egrets and herons using the marsh, as well as a nice prairie restoration area still blooming with wildflowers.  The only negative here was the absolutely oppressive mosquitoes- we'll be back later in the season (and will remember to take some photos next time)!



2. Mountain-Bay State Recreational Trail, Brown County Parks section

The Mountain-Bay State Recreational Trail is a "rail-to-trail" system that runs for 83 miles from Howard (where we live, supposedly the "Bay" part of the name) for 83 miles to the center of the state in Wausau (still not sure where this "Mountain" is...).  We walked about 2.5 miles out from Howard and back- the trail is free for walkers, but bikers, skaters, and skiers pay a daily or annual user fee since the trail is part of the state park system.  The trail was not too busy on a Saturday afternoon, and we saw a number of songbirds as well as a doe that crossed the path in front of us.  We definitely plan to go back to walk again, and probably for a bike ride sometime soon.

3. Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, City of Green Bay Parks

Surprisingly, the wildlife sanctuary is a Green Bay City park free and open to the public.  Not only do they have several ponds on site with lots of waterfowl and shorebirds, but they also have an active wildlife rehabilitation center for injured and orphaned wildlife, birds of prey center with educational birds that cannot be released, 3-story nature center, and a "Habi-trek" which houses a number of captive animals for viewing both indoors and out.  We were surprised to find the park open on a Sunday afternoon/evening and spent a couple hours walking through the exhibits.  We saw a number of animals, with the highlights including a pack of wolves, cougar, bobcats, sandhill cranes, and the birds of prey (including eagles, hawks, and owls).  Many of the animals were very active while we were there, so photographer Scott got some great photos.  We also spent a few minutes birding at the ponds after viewing all of the exhibits and had some great views of plenty of birds, including great blue herons, ruddy ducks, and Baltimore orioles.  Highlights for me included a Caspian tern and a white pelican among the typical mallards and Canada geese!

I even went back the next day (Monday) to see the wolf feeding at 1:30.  The event was advertised as a "carcass drop" to the dismay of many of the visitors (ewww!), but of course, I couldn't miss this.  No carcass available on Monday (the wolves normally are fed roadkill deer, when available), so they got meat chunks spread around their enclosure.  It was still neat to watch them get all excited and run around searching for the meat.  After the feeding, an Oneida man sat for a few minutes and played the flute followed by another instrument I didn't recognize.  From an exhibit at the park, I know that the wolf, along with the bear and the turtle, represent the clans of the Oneida Nation and are particularly important animals.  It was pretty neat to watch the wolves while listening to the tribal music.

The Oneida Reservation is adjacent to Green Bay; however, they did not historically inhabit this region.  The Oneida inhabited upstate New York as one of the nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.  More on the Oneida in a future blog.