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.