Kenosha, Racine, and the Lake Michigan shoreline

The Kenosha Civil War Museum has been on our to-do list for awhile, so when a predicted rainy weekend came through in August, we had to take advantage to plan some indoor activities.  Kenosha (KEN oh shah) is on Lake Michigan about 2.5 hours south of Green Bay, literally one of the last communities before you get to Illinois.  Fun fact: Kenosha is the 4th largest city in Wisconsin (1: Milwaukee, 2: Madison, 3: Green Bay).  The Potawatomi called it "the place of the pike" from which the name Kenosha is derived.  If you are familiar with That 70s Show, it was set in a fictional location called Point Place near Kenosha (there is a real town named Mount Pleasant, which is the closest option I saw).

We drove down Saturday morning and went straight to the museum, which was, of course, very well done (and it rained for several hours while we were inside). The museum included several interactive exhibits (e.g., there were mannequins in period dress that would "talk" to you when you approached) and a 360 degree film presentation.  The claim to fame for this museum in particular is that it focuses on the role of the Midwestern states and citizens in the Civil War.  Although no major battles were fought in the Midwest, many Midwestern men went off to war (for the Union) and the war effort influenced many aspects of life back home, such as providing food and supplies for the war effort.  The Iron Brigade consisted of regiments from "western" (now Midwestern) states, including 3 volunteer infantry regiments from Wisconsin.

The rain started to slow after we left the museum, so we stopped by to see the Southport/Kenosha Light Station and Museum just around the corner.  The museum was free and was also very nice- we learned a lot about the geography and history of the area (used to be a bustling shipping center, now, as the museum docent described, Kenosha is a "bunch of museums").  Fun fact: Kenosha was originally called Southport since it was the last port on Lake Michigan in Wisconsin.  We viewed exhibits about local shipwrecks, the influence of the US Life-Saving Service (i.e., precursor to the Coast Guard), and the intense restoration that took place inside the residence part of the lighthouse, which was quite deteriorated at one time.  We also had a chance to walk out on the breakwater to view the Kenosha Pierhead Light.

Southport Light Station (above)  and Kenosha Pierhead Light (below)

After all that history, it was time for beers at Public Craft Brewing Co. in Kenosha and the newly-opened Benjamin Beer in Racine (ra SEEN; the neighboring city to the north), followed by dinner at Reefpoint Brew House in Reefpoint Marina.  We had a great dinner on the deck with a view of the harbor, and enjoyed Racine Breakwater Lighthouse as the sunset before heading to the hotel.

Reefpoint Marina and Racine Breakwater Light

   

On Sunday, we hit the road on a lighthouse and brewery tour heading northbound along the scenic Lake Michigan shoreline route toward Green Bay, bypassing the interstate.  Our first stop was Wind Point Lighthouse, which is one of the oldest and tallest lighthouses on Lake Michigan.  The building is used for village offices now so we could not go inside, but the park was very nice.  Next was St. Francis Brewing Company, which we found by chance as we passed by just before entering Milwaukee ("Hey...was that a microbrewery?").  They were serving a fantastic Sunday buffet brunch, but we had already eaten breakfast at the hotel, so we opted for beers and an appetizer instead.  We headed into Milwaukee next and I was surprised at how beautiful the waterfront area was- many parks, a gorgeous art museum, and another lighthouse-  North Point Lighthouse located in Lake Park. The lighthouse is closed for renovations now but it seems like it will be really nice once it opens. Gorgeous waterfront mansions dotted North Lake Drive along the lakeshore for miles.  Impressive.

After passing through Milwaukee, we stopped at Silver Creek Brewing Company in Cedarburg, which is inside an old mill right on Silver Creek. Milwaukee Ale House in Grafton was a great place for lunch on the deck overlooking the Milwaukee River.  A quick stop at the famous Port Washington Breakwater Light and the 1860 Light Station rounded out the trip before an hour ride home.  A jam packed weekend of fun despite the questionable weather.

Silver Creek Brewing Company, Cedarburg

Summer games and gardens

The last few weeks have been pretty busy with evening activities.  We went to several Green Bay Bullfrogs collegiate league baseball games, and even got to play a game on the field (the hole-in-one challenge!) during an inning change.  Scott actually got one of his shots in so we didn't look too bad! The games often have good food and drink specials, so its always nice to enjoy a beer at the ballpark.  Unfortunately the players are back to school so the season is over until next year.

Let's go Frogs!

We also were able to score some tickets to a pre-season Packers game against the Oakland Raiders (thanks, Steve!).  Tickets for regular games are pretty hard to come by, so we jump at the chance to go for a warmer (and cheaper) pre-season game.  The third string of both teams played all night, but it was still a fun game and a nice night at the stadium.  Plus, the Packers won 20-12!  We also got to see Matt McGloin (a former PSU quarterback) in as quarterback for the Raiders, which was pretty cool.

Go Pack GO!

We also stopped in to the Green Bay Botanical Garden for free community night on Wednesdays. The season for many blooms is coming to a close, but the garden does not disappoint and offers great photo opportunities in the evening!

Speaking of gardens, our garden is doing pretty well.  We harvested the potatoes and onions, so watering takes a little less time.  We have been eating lots of tomatoes and squash, and a few peppers and cucumbers.  Scott also pickled some cucumbers including a few of our own (we had to supplement the stock at the store). Some of the plants didn't do as well as we had hoped (see first eggplant below), but we have ideas for next time!  And I have two of my own pumpkins coming for fall!

 Eggplant, with some tomatoes

 Pumpkin will be ready soon!

Fall planting of sugar snap peas is coming along

Another lesson learned:  Do not plant yellow squash and cucumbers next to each other.  They hybridize with each other (but still taste pretty good)!

Cucumber on the bottom, squcumber on top

Up North to Iron Bay

August is here with more hot muggy days, a continuation of this warmer-than-average weather.  The motivation to get out and enjoy 75 degree summer days does not translate to 90 degree muggy days! In a need to escape the relative "heat," or maybe more like escape the messy house repairs (almost done in case you were wondering), we decided to take a weekend trip to Marquette on the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan for our 5th wedding anniversary. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, historically important for shipping iron ore mined from the surrounding area, and is also the most populous community on the UP at a whopping 21,000 people.  The UP contains about 30% of Michigan's land mass but only 3% of its population.  Marquette is also home to Northern Michigan University.  A college town at its best, with plenty of beer to go around and 70 degree high summer temperatures!  I'm sure January is another story...lake effect snow, anyone?

On Friday afternoon, we set off for the 3 hour drive all the way up the west shore of the Bay of Green Bay and across the woodsy peninsula (with eyes peeled for moose...none observed).  Upon arrival we headed to Jasper Ridge Brewery in Ishpeming for late lunch/early dinner and first beers.  Nearly all the microbreweries in the area serve a blueberry wheat that comes with real blueberries floating in it- yum! We stayed at the Econo Lodge Lakeside located a few miles outside of Marquette and across the street from Lake Superior and the Iron Ore Heritage Trail (also containing a few segments of the North County Trail).  We took an evening bike ride to scope out downtown Marquette and had another beer at Ore Dock Brewing Company before heading back to the hotel for the night.

View of Lake Superior from our hotel balcony

Ore Dock Brewing Company

On Saturday, we got back on our bikes and headed back through downtown Marquette and on to Presque Isle Park, a city park on a little peninsula.  The ride included beautiful views and the chance to observe a "retired" ore dock and one in action.  This invention allowed train cars filled with ore to be brought out onto the dock and dumped down a series of slides into ships for transport.  Nowadays, they are loading 1000 ft superlakers daily, so it is still a pastime in the area to head down to the ore docks and watch all the action.  They also had a conveyor belt to bring coal into the plant.

The active ore dock waiting for a ship to arrive

 Beautiful shoreline and views at Presque Isle Park

After exploring Presque Isle, we turned back down the bike path and headed to the Marquette Maritime Museum to check out the exhibits and visit Marquette Harbor Lighthouse. The Marquette light is a schoolhouse style lighthouse built in 1866.  Unfortunately the lighthouse was closed for renovations so we could not go inside, but still did the tour the grounds.  The lighthouse is on Coast Guard property so a museum volunteer escort is required, although we heard that some of the land may be returned to the city for them to manage.  Next was lunch at The Vierling Restaurant and Marquette Harbor Brewery and beers for dessert at Blackrocks Brewery.  As we learned on the lighthouse tour, the ancient lava rocks in the area (i.e., black rocks) are quite rare geologic formations- the only other occurrence of these rocks is in New Zealand.  The rocks actually predate the presence of Lake Superior, as eruptions formed the valley that would eventually be visited by glaciers and filled with water to form that largest freshwater lake in the world!  Fascinating!

 Marquette Harbor Lighthouse

Pizza and (you guessed it) beer at Chocolay River Brewery rounded out the evening and the breweries for the trip (that was 5 in case you lost count!).  We were brave enough to try a dip in Lake Superior that evening, which was quite cold but bearable for a little while.  Then again, it might have been the power plant next to the public beach that warmed the water up enough to stand it....refreshing anyway!  I think we did at least 15 miles on the bikes since we could use the trail to get to most of the attractions.

South Beach Park...and the power plant

On Sunday, we packed up and headed up to Sugarloaf Mountain for a hike, which is also a city-owned nature area and part of the North Country Trail.  I had come across limited information about the hike during my online research and it received such good reviews that it was worth checking out. It was not that well marked and could have only been maybe half a mile, but was pretty strenuous for a land of relative flatlanders.  At the top of the "mountain" we saw jaw-dropping 360 degree views of Marquette and Lake Superior.

 Summit of Sugarloaf Mountain along the North Country Trail

We also made an impromptu stop at the free Iron Industry Heritage Museum in Negaunee on the historic site of a forge from the 1800s; the forge contained a waterwheel which harnessed the Carp River to operate machinery that burned charcoal to purify the iron ore.  The museum, operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, was very informative, providing a lot of the background information about the mining and ore processing, as well as the cultural history of the region. Another fun fact: early explorers discovered the iron ore deposits in Michigan because they realized their compasses didn't work right as a result of the magnetic properties of the rock!

Our last stop of the adventure had to be for a pasty (pronounced PAST ee, rhymes with "nasty") at Dobbers Pasties in Iron Mountain, MI on the ride home.  A pasty is a pastry or turnover containing a meat and vegetable stew filling (check out this great NPR story for more on the pasty). Even this local cuisine has its roots in mining- the miners often took pasties for lunch and heated them over their candles.  Side note: Dobbers ships to all 50 states if you would like to try one.  I ate mine too quickly to take a photo, but never fear, we brought some home for later.

Pure Michigan, indeed.  Lake Superior does not disappoint.

Presque Isle Park again, with lava rock