Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Lake Geneva Photos

As promised and only five days late, here are some pictures from our trip to Lake Geneva WI. Sorry for the delay. Turns out this isn't the best format to display photos. There's no rhyme or reason as to why these are in the order they appear here. I'm also not sure why some seem to float out in space compared to the others, but this is the best I could do with the tools provided. Back to text next time.  

Lake Geneva shoreline
  


  










Black Point

Me on the boat...""Merica!"








Valerie and Ginny the Girafffe (Delavan)
Brick Street Market-Delavan


Pier

Best. Salmon. Ever.



Beach at Lake Geneva


Thursday, July 14, 2011

Lake Geneva Blog #3

Sorry this is late, but I had problems with the Internet connection last night. Here's the rest of the trip.

Wednesday had a slow start as I was still feeling a little on the rough side from too much sun and not enough liquids. Classic, silly mistake I know, but there you are.

Mid morning we decided to branch out a little further and go to the town of Delavan, having exhausted most of our options in Lake Geneva. Delavan is about 25-30 mins. from town and is an interesting slice of small town America.

Delavan prides itself as being the 1800s Circus capital of the world. Somewhere in the 1850s and 60s, the town became the winter headquarters for both the Marble Brothers and the P.T. Barnum Circus, two of the most popular names in all circusdom. Though there are now just a few locals who carry on the tradition of circus performing the city still celebrates this history and has statues of circus animals along the town's main street.

The other interesting thing about Delavan to me is its apparently large Mexican/Spanish American populace. For an area of the country known to be settled by Swedes and Germans it seemed as though the majority of the shops were Mexican food, ranchero type western clothing, and many were based in Spanish culture. Nothing wrong with this, mind you, (I even liked some of the shirts in the clothing shop), it just struck me as a little odd.

But the reason we went to the city in the first place was to go to the Brick Street Market to buy some honest to goodness Wisconsin cheese. Not only do they sell cheese, sausage, beer and wine (how perfect can you get?), they serve lunch as well. We met a very nice lady named Laurie, who let us sample various cheeses and made suggestions according to our tastes. Our sandwich lunch (nice, light Summer type sandwiches by the way) even came with a cheese and sausage sampler she picked out herself. That kind of customer service wins the day every time. Naturally, we brought home some cheeses, a Parmesan soaked in Raspberry ale, and Antonella infused with sun dried tomato and rolled in basil. Normally we're not "Infused with" or "soaked in" people but this is seriously good stuff. As Laurie herself said, "This is Wisconsin, we don't make bad cheese." She also let me do a pick a six of New Glarus beer, which I will be happy to share with family and friends provided I see you before I drink it all.

After that it was back to the condo for a quick nap, 'cuz it's vacation, and then out shopping. We got some ice cream and brought home some fudge and caramel from a local shop, 'cuz it's vacation, and bought some t-shirts and trinkets for the kids. soon enough it was dinner time. And this is where we spent most of our budget.

The condos we stayed in are run by Holiday Inn (actually they bought out another company and have yet to renovate which they really need to do), but they are on the property of the Grand Geneva resort, one of those exclusive all inclusive type resorts. There are actually multiple resorts on the grounds, including one with a water park inside, a full service spa and gym with indoor and outdoor pool, and a man made lake plus two golf courses. Fancy shmancy, with the Holiday Inn condos barely registering on the map and stuck at the back of the property. Well, just because we could we ate at one of their restaurants, The Geneva Chophouse. Incidentally this used to be one of the first Playboy Clubs. No sense of that remains.

It's about what you expect. We were under dressed a little but it proved no problem (though they did check to make sure we were resort guests...). All of the items on the menu were served a la carte. The bread was served with three different spread choices, butter, sun dried tomato, and bleu cheese butter which tastes way better than expected. We had our choice of spring or sparkling water, but disappointed the busboy by choosing regular water. Our waiter was nice enough though he seemed to look down his nose at us a little, but he's probably like that with everyone.

As for the food, Valerie ordered a clam chowder which was full of creamy goodness, and lamb chops that she thought were absolutely wonderful. I skipped the salad and just ordered an 18 oz. strip steak with garlic butter shrimp. The shrimp was excellent and the steak was one of those huge cuts that are just sooo thick. I made a slight error in ordering medium rare, because it's my experience that often when I order medium, the steak comes back a little dry for my tastes. Well, I should have known by the type of place we were in that they'd get it right but I erred on the side of caution anyway. So the steak was a little too red for me, and sure, I could have sent it back to cook some more but they delivered exactly what I ordered so fair play to them. And it was delicious nonetheless. We also shared a cheesecake with chocolate ganache for dessert, which made Valerie declare that she will never eat cheesecake anywhere else ever again. So all in all a successful meal. Very pricey though. Let's just say that $20 would have been a conservative tip.

There is little else to tell. Today was a driving day, we picked up the kids and dog and are all back home. Tessa loved her gifts, the twins were indifferent to theirs, being one year old and all, but all were very happy to see us and come home.

This vacation was a nice getaway. Not quite as many options for entertainment as I would have liked but it was relaxing, and apart from a few showers Monday morning the weather was near perfect. Sunny and under 90 degrees all week, actually a little chilly at times, with little to no humidity. While I don't think we'll go back soon, I wouldn't cross it off the list of possibilities either. Overall, we had a good time. And I got a Piggly Wiggly t-shirt, so I'm happy.

Pictures tomorrow, I promise.

PS-Not a lot of people with the standard Wisconsin type accent, most who did have were older. I think it's dying out in that area as the kids didn't seem to noticeably have it. That's kind of a shame.

PPS-I'm like 90% sure Gene Simmons of KISS fame was staying at the resort between gigs in the area. Didn't meet him, probably for the best.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Lake Geneva Blog #2

Sorry for the delay, but I got a bit too much sun yesterday and went to bed exhausted and a touch sick. Here's why.

Tuesday started off with breakfast at a nearby diner called Claw's (which instantly made me think of the Motorhead song, RIP Wurzel!). I don't normally do joints like this for breakfast, just lunch and dinner. And later in the day I remembered why. Anyway, it was unremarkable except that they didn't serve on plates, everyone got styrofoam to go containers, even if you were seated. Ans they had really good french toast sticks.

Next up was Big Foot State Park. The charge to come in was 10.00, but it allowed for all day access, and supports nature so that's good. The park itself though wasn't quite worth the fee. They had hiking trails, but most of them were under a mile. the longest one being 1.9. The trail we were on was bug infested to the point where spray had little effect and looked like it had been made by guys driving their jeeps through the woods. It led to a lagoon which was nice enough, and very clear. There were also camping sites and bathrooms that are better left unmentioned. We did one loop and left. I suppose if one lives nearby the all season pass might be worthwhile, but overall I was unimpressed.

Next we decided to try and drive around the perimeter of the lake and see what all was there. Well, lots of houses and eateries mostly. A few schools. Golf course. That's about it, nothing much to make us curious. The shops out here are kinda weird. they are either trinkety t-shirt shops or high end retailers catering to bored rich people. Underwhelming. Nice views of the lake though.

So then it was back to the condo to change and head back out to our side of the lake. First was lunch at a sandwich shop called Potbelly's. Best name ever. Apparently a chain, but not one by us St. Louisans. Sandwiches were very good, not too big or too small. They have live music, a la coffee shops, but none playing while we ate. Yummy food, good choice.

Next up was the beach. Yep, a beach on the lake. Sand and everything, basically a minute version if the ocean. Swimming in the lake proved a little bit difficult as the current was quite strong. My arms and legs actually hurt We did some swimming and some sunning. I don't think I could make a day of it like some people do, but it was fun.

Showered, changed and back out to dinner at the Red Geranium restaurant. We weren't quite sure what we were in for upon seeing the decor. Think of an elderly female relative and her floral wallpapered house. That's it, you've got it, except geraniums. So we ordered and hoped for the best. And what we got was the best. After a salad and delicious spinach and artichoke dip, I was served the best salmon I have ever had. A slight sear on the outside and extremely tender inside. Served with butter and lemon that enhanced the natural flavor but neither the fish or lemon was overpowering. Absolute perfection. The mixed squash and asparagus were also excellent. This was followed by a desert of Boston Creme Cake that was wonderfully decadent. The Red Geranium serves first class food at a middle class price. Worth more than we paid. An interior decorator's nightmare, but a favorite of local foodies.

As far as night life here, there is none to speak of. One must travel for that, we couldn't even find a convenient local movie theater. So we decided to try and find a mini golf course open. We landed at Paradise mini golf. The interesting thing about this course is that the owners run it from their home. The guy's back yard is huge, so instead of whining that he couldn't get lake front property he opens this course. Genius. The course itself is 18 holes. Some holes are quite challenging, some are fun ones where you hit your ball into a tube and it comes out on the other end either very near or very far from the hole. No windmills or gimmicky crap, but a nice big waterfall feature running through the center of the course. Quite enjoyable. Valerie beat me by two strokes. Rematch?...

So that was yesterday. We brought spray on sunblock which works well, but is difficult to put on your face. My head is kinda pink and I don't feel all that well today. It will probably be a slow day today, doing laundry and packing. maybe one excursion, but just taking it easy for the last full vacation day. Once again, pics coming soon, though we didn't seem to have the camera with us at the appropriate points yesterday. We'll fix that this afternoon.

See you soon.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Lake Geneva blog #1

So as you're all aware, Valerie and I are in Lake Geneva Wisconsin this week for a getaway. The kids are at their Grandparent's house and doing well from what we hear. Following is a collection of thoughts about the events so far.

*Yesterday was "Travel Day". The trip from St. Louis should only take about 6 hours or so. However I decided to take a slightly different route and avoid the toll roads, which are the most annoying idea ever for out of state travelers. Those who live nearby can purchase a pass and zip right through, which is fine, but the rest of us have to dig for change and I just don't want the hassle. So as a result it added about 30 minutes to our overall time, but we went through some neat  little towns that haven't changed much since 1956 (which, according to the signs was the one and only time the town were the state basketball champs, thankyouverymuch). Pretty cool. Except I don't think they are used to cars as a lady with her children stepped right out into the street and I almost hit her. A police car then turned on its lights...and gave her a warning. Nice.

What we didn't plan on was the traffic we encountered on the way. Highways narrowed down to one lane are not your friend. they added at least another 45 minutes, so with the stop for lunch it became an eight hour drive. We'll be smarter on the way home.

*Valerie has a cold. Not a severe one but enough to feel a little out of sorts. She's powering through, though, and we're making it an early night so we can have lots of fun tomorrow.

*Took a lake/mansion tour today. Lake Geneva is huge. It is a spring fed lake, so all the water comes up through the bottom, and as the bottom is all sand the lake is pretty clean. Much nicer than Lake Of The Ozarks. All houses along the shoreline are owned by business people. There are some lots available, in the three million dollar price range. For a Summer home. So, you know, something to consider.

The lake itself is beautiful though. And quite active as well. The water was much more choppy and turbulent than expected. Our boat (used to be a tender boat from the Navy, which transported soldiers from the aircraft carrier to the shore) rocked up and down a lot. Nice breeze though and quite enjoyable.

*We toured a mansion from the 1800s called Black Point, named after the Black Oak trees that lined the property, and have subsequently all died. Anyhoo, Conrad Seipp was a German immigrant who made a fortune as a beer baron and built a huge Summer home on Geneva Lake. Four generations of stout German women kept the house up and all furniture and belongings are original to the house. The mansion was gifted to the State of Wisconsin and is kept up exclusively by donations and tours. So we helped preserve history today. Yay us.

The house was quite beautiful, and the family stories interesting enough. One of the daughters was named Clara, but went by Tessa. Okay, that's only interesting to us but it's my blog so deal. The only complaint I had was that the guide seemed to go on a bit too long about minute trivia, but had little or no answers to questions fielded by the group. Admittedly, the rest of the group were all bored, slow moving and slightly deaf retirees with idiotic questions, but she should have been prepared for that. There are several of these tours available, but I think one Victorian mansion per vacation may be my limit. I think taking the tour boat across the lake to Black Point and back was the way to do it. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the house was on the South side of the lake, which is the hotter side, and also the elevated side. There were 120 steps up to the house from the shore. So we got our exercise as well.

*Food time!
Breakfast today was at the Egg Harbour Cafe. The restaurant is a regional chain with multiple locations in Illinois, one in Wisconsin, and one in Georgia for reasons I can't possibly fathom. Quite a large selection, most involving fruit which I am against on principle. I had a combo with bacon, eggs sunny side up, and pancakes. The bacon was fried to perfection, and my eggs nearly perfect. The pancakes though, well, they were... wheat. Not bad necessarily, but not what I wanted.Still, a good meal overall.

Lunch was skipped, so we had dinner at Popeye's on Lake Geneva (not the chicken chain). It's a decent theme restaurant with a nautical theme and a little too much pride in their Rotisserie Grill. Our appetizer chicken wings were fantastic. Breaded with slight spice, and surprisingly tender. Valerie had a wonderful clam chowder and the 1/4 rotisserie chicken, which was probably the way to go. My choice was ribs. Not bad by any stretch but the sauce was a sweet sauce with a slight mustardy feel, and really thin. Not a fan of that style sauce, but it worked.

*I am currently enjoying a bottle of Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale by the New Glaus brewing company, based in Milwaukee. It is quite smooth and not heavy at all with a surprisingly sweet hazelnut flavor. Highly recommended if you get the chance to sample one. Also I bought it from the Sinebrink's liquor inside the Piggly Wiggly which is just too awesome.

Okay, wow, that was a little long. I'll try to economize tomorrow, maybe type before I start drinking. I'll post pictures soon. See you tomorrow night.