We moved the boat this morning for the last time this season. It was a bittersweet feeling as we traveled the two miles to the boat yard where ODDYSEA will spend the winter tucked away in the back of a large heated shed. Next spring we will make our final journey home to Minnesota.
The day was spent preparing to leave her for the winter. We return home tomorrow to friends and family. We are ready.
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH
We are starting the process of leaving the boat so spent a good deal of the day with chores.
We knocked off in the afternoon and headed to the Lakefront Brewery. Which strangely is not located on the lake. Anyway they supposedly have the best brewery tour around.
Upon arriving we were greeted by Larry, Moe and Curly. Now this is art!!!The Lakefront brewery was started and is owned by two brothers, Jim and Russ Klisch. What started as a hobby back in 1987 has grown to an over 17,000 barrel a year industry.
They have a unique philosophy about their tours. Most breweries make you wait till the end of the tour to sample their product. Russ and Jim believe there are 3 main reasons people take a brewery tour: drink beer, be entertained and to see the place.
So Lakefront provides samples of their various beers at the start of the tour, they share jokes along the way and still manage to explain the brewing process and the history of Lakefront Brewery.
Ross refilling his glass from one of the tanks.Kidding.
Not being a Milwaukee Brewers fan I was not familiar with this but it is Bernie Brewer’s chalet. I guess Bernie was the team mascot and whenever the Brewers hit a home run Bernie slid down a slide into the mug of beer. When the Brewer’s built a new stadium, Russ Klisch bought this and put it in the brewery.
And what brewery tour in Milwaukee would be complete without the theme to Lavern and Shirley playing while the bottles go by?
Milwaukee has been an unexpected treat of a stop for us.
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2011
We spent a good portion of the day at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
The structure of the museum is art in itself. On top of the building is something called the Burke Brise Soleil. It is a movable sunscreen that has a 217 foot wingspan. 72 steel fins open and close it 3 times a day. We could not wait to see this in operation. Wouldn’t you know it? It was down for maintenance today.
This is the view from inside the museum. The window overlooks Lake Michigan and the the ceiling if very high with the vertical windows all the way to the peak.
This glass sculpture looks very much like one on the ceiling of the Mayo Clinic back in Minnesota.
The main exhibit contained objects from a compound within the Beijing palace of the Emperor. During 1736 to 1796 he had 27 lavish buildings constructed on 2 ½ acres in a secluded area of the palace. The compound has only recently been reopened. They did not allow any photography (rats) so you will just have to take my word that it’s good to be emperor. The objects on display were exquisite.
So we went from viewing objects that must having taken incredible training and talent to create, to this!
Andy Warhol. 1964. Screen print on wood. I wonder what the value of this is? Is it art? Or copyright infringement?
Oh c’mon. Rocks?
In a rack?
This is art?
Ok, I have a niece and nephew in grade school that can do better than this!
I realize I don’t have a “trained” eye but...
There was some pretty cool stuff in this collection though. This is all made of buttons.
After the museum we headed down to the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk runs along three different sections of the Milwaukee River. There are restaurants and brewpubs along those sections and water taxis that service the area.
For my zombie aficionado readers, this walkway was featured in the remake of the movie Dawn of the Dead. This time the story takes place in Milwaukee.
Oh the stuff I can find on the Internet!
The structure of the museum is art in itself. On top of the building is something called the Burke Brise Soleil. It is a movable sunscreen that has a 217 foot wingspan. 72 steel fins open and close it 3 times a day. We could not wait to see this in operation. Wouldn’t you know it? It was down for maintenance today. 
This is the view from inside the museum. The window overlooks Lake Michigan and the the ceiling if very high with the vertical windows all the way to the peak.
This glass sculpture looks very much like one on the ceiling of the Mayo Clinic back in Minnesota.The main exhibit contained objects from a compound within the Beijing palace of the Emperor. During 1736 to 1796 he had 27 lavish buildings constructed on 2 ½ acres in a secluded area of the palace. The compound has only recently been reopened. They did not allow any photography (rats) so you will just have to take my word that it’s good to be emperor. The objects on display were exquisite.
So we went from viewing objects that must having taken incredible training and talent to create, to this!Andy Warhol. 1964. Screen print on wood. I wonder what the value of this is? Is it art? Or copyright infringement?
Oh c’mon. Rocks?
In a rack?
This is art?
Ok, I have a niece and nephew in grade school that can do better than this!
I realize I don’t have a “trained” eye but...
There was some pretty cool stuff in this collection though. This is all made of buttons.
After the museum we headed down to the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk runs along three different sections of the Milwaukee River. There are restaurants and brewpubs along those sections and water taxis that service the area. For my zombie aficionado readers, this walkway was featured in the remake of the movie Dawn of the Dead. This time the story takes place in Milwaukee.
Oh the stuff I can find on the Internet!
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2011
After serious consideration of whether to travel to Milwaukee today or not, we decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. The forecast is for 1 to 3 foot seas increasing to 2 to 4 later today. After today the forecast is not good until at least Saturday. We fly home on Sunday so feel a bit under pressure to get to Milwaukee.
The wind and the waves were coming from behind. Once in a while the boat would suddenly speed up as we found ourselves “surfing” down a large swell. That was actually kind of fun. But the waves were getting larger and at one point we felt we were losing control of the boat as we surfed along the edge of a swell. Not fun. We slowed our speed and all was fine.
We made the right decision to travel because the wind continued to increase and blow to beat the band. We are staying in the municipal marina and it is next to a large park and walkway. The walkway took us up and over the road. Once at the top of the hill we were in what was once the Italian district of Milwaukee.
Now it is occupied by fun little coffee shops,
restaurants and retail shops. Don’t you love the sign this hardware store has? We needed a few things so went in. Our clerk was wearing a Hawaiian shirt under his store vest. Fun neighborhood.
We stopped for a cup of joe at a funky little coffee shop. We sat outdoors and watched the locals walked by. I would describe the neighborhood as full of young, hipster type people.
One of the shops we went in had juggling equipment and lots of gag gifts, among other things. Many other things!
Rubber chicken anyone?
The area was originally the section of Milwaukee that was predominately Italian. There are still many Italian restaurants and a fabulous Italian family operated grocery store called Glorioso’s.
There's not much Ross enjoys less than grocery shopping…usually. I actually had to go looking for him in this place. He kept saying “this place is so great!” Can you believe it? Ross?
We had planned to eat dinner out but picked up some fresh sauce, sausage/broccoli raviolis, bread and a bottle of Chianti. It was fabuloso.
This building is so beautiful I decided to take a photo and figure out its history. Well, its history is that it is and always has been a bar. During the 1880’s to 1907 Milwaukee’s leading breweries went all out in competing for outlet sites for their beers. This building was built by the Pabst company and it would have served only Pabst product. Not many of the original outlet buildings of the breweries remain.
The wind and the waves were coming from behind. Once in a while the boat would suddenly speed up as we found ourselves “surfing” down a large swell. That was actually kind of fun. But the waves were getting larger and at one point we felt we were losing control of the boat as we surfed along the edge of a swell. Not fun. We slowed our speed and all was fine.
We made the right decision to travel because the wind continued to increase and blow to beat the band. We are staying in the municipal marina and it is next to a large park and walkway. The walkway took us up and over the road. Once at the top of the hill we were in what was once the Italian district of Milwaukee.Now it is occupied by fun little coffee shops,
restaurants and retail shops. Don’t you love the sign this hardware store has? We needed a few things so went in. Our clerk was wearing a Hawaiian shirt under his store vest. Fun neighborhood.
We stopped for a cup of joe at a funky little coffee shop. We sat outdoors and watched the locals walked by. I would describe the neighborhood as full of young, hipster type people.
One of the shops we went in had juggling equipment and lots of gag gifts, among other things. Many other things!
Rubber chicken anyone?
The area was originally the section of Milwaukee that was predominately Italian. There are still many Italian restaurants and a fabulous Italian family operated grocery store called Glorioso’s.
We had planned to eat dinner out but picked up some fresh sauce, sausage/broccoli raviolis, bread and a bottle of Chianti. It was fabuloso.
This building is so beautiful I decided to take a photo and figure out its history. Well, its history is that it is and always has been a bar. During the 1880’s to 1907 Milwaukee’s leading breweries went all out in competing for outlet sites for their beers. This building was built by the Pabst company and it would have served only Pabst product. Not many of the original outlet buildings of the breweries remain.
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH 2011
Planned on sitting out the wind for another day here in Sheboygan. About 11 a.m. the forecast changed and we made a sudden decision to leave for Port Washington. We figured if it were too nasty on the lake, we’d come back to the marina. We are starting to feel time constraints with having to be in Milwaukee by the weekend. Milwaukee is where we will leave the boat till next season. It is also where we fly home.
The trip went fine. We walked up town and came upon the Visitor Center. It is known as the pebble house. Someone spent a great deal of time finding many stones of approximately the same size, shape, and colors. The gal here gave us all sorts of recommendations and also several coupons.
After wandering around we decided to stop at place called Beanies and use the 2 for 1 margarita coupon we had been given. Aren’t the swings at the bar cool? It was a really good margarita by the way. So good that Ross watched the bartender make it so we can try to duplicate it when we get home. She made it from scratch instead of a premix. I don’t know, maybe it was sipping it while on a swing that made it taste so good.
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5th, 2011
Roscoe’s Birthday!!!
We arrived in Sheboygan yesterday and will spend at least today and possibly tomorrow here. Yesterday when we arrived at the breakwall, we could see many people fishing along it. These guys had evidently decided to camp there. Personally I don't think I'd sleep very well just worrying about the wind or a big wave coming along and washing me and my little tent into the drink.
The wind has picked up again. Locals have told us that you can pretty much count on a three-day blow once it starts. So far, that’s been pretty accurate.
Yesterday we biked around a bit. With it being the holiday weekend not much is open. Our plan was to go to dinner tonight to celebrate Ross’ birthday but the Italian place he wanted to go to was closed for Labor Day. So we got on the bikes and peddled the 6-mile trip to Piggly Wiggly and back to get something for dinner. It was a nice ride through Sheboygan. The homes are very well maintained and landscaped. It was a cool ride though with temps only in the 60’s and a steady cold breeze. Made us wish we had stocking caps on!
The wind was howling from the Northeast making for a spectacular wave show along the jetty. If those guys still had been camping out by the lighthouse, they would have been washed away.
Fixed the ribs we picked up at the Pig for dinner and watched the movie The A-Team on the TV. Hard to beat Mr. T. (although in the movie he doesn’t wear all the gold chains, hope I didn't ruin it for you)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2011
For dinner last night we ordered pizza delivery to the boat. Thinking ahead, we ordered an extra large. That way, once underway this morning, we could enjoy our hands down all-time favorite breakfast of cold pizza!!! Mmmmm. (although cold take out Chinese runs a close second) About 15 miles into the trip the fog rolled in.
For quite a while we could see maybe 100 yards at most. The boat has a feature on the radar called MARPA. If Ross sees a blip on the screen as the radar sweeps around it he puts the cursor on the blip and clicks on it. This acquires the target and the radar will track it and tell us the target’s speed and direction in relation to our boat. That way we know how close it will pass to us and how soon. We came very close to one boat and still couldn’t see it, but we could hear its foghorn.
For quite a while we could see maybe 100 yards at most. The boat has a feature on the radar called MARPA. If Ross sees a blip on the screen as the radar sweeps around it he puts the cursor on the blip and clicks on it. This acquires the target and the radar will track it and tell us the target’s speed and direction in relation to our boat. That way we know how close it will pass to us and how soon. We came very close to one boat and still couldn’t see it, but we could hear its foghorn.
We sounded ours back, but sound is deceptive in the fog. The MARPA “dangerous target” alarm was sounding so we knew were very close to the other boat. Suddenly it appeared out of the mist. We were less than 100 yards apart. Gotta love electronics!We arrived safely in Manitowoc. As usual our guardian angels were working overtime because shortly after we were snug as bugs at the dock the fog really socked us in.
Rather than just sit on the boat in the misty gloom, we decided to ride the bikes around in it. I could bore you with the history of the town of Manitowoc and how they built submarines here during WWII, but I won’t. We’ve toured so many museums at this point in the Loop that I’ve become a bit jaded.
So I will share with you the coolest story about Manitowoc. This article from a website called Roadsideamerica says it best.
SPUTNIK CRASHED HERE
It was with much fanfare that the Soviet Union launched Korabl-Sputnik 1, dubbed "Sputnik IV" in the West, on May 14, 1960. It carried a super-secret 7-ton payload including, it was rumored, a life-size "dummy cosmonaut." The Reds were so proud that they put their newest satellite on a postage stamp. But five days later, when its re-entry rockets were fired, something apparently exploded. Instead of a triumphant return to earth, Sputnik IV (and the dummy) drifted into space. This time there was no fanfare. The Russians said that they'd never planned to bring it back anyway.
Sputnik IV stayed in its useless orbit until September 5, 1962, (Ross’ 9th birthday!!) when it fell screaming from the sky over Wisconsin. All 7 tons, including the dummy cosmonaut, burned up in the atmosphere -- except one 20-pound hunk of metal. That piece crashed into 8th street.(a brass ring was embedded here to mark the exact spot where Sputnik had fallen)
The hunk had been embedded three inches deep into the asphalt of 8th Street, just off the centerline, for an hour before patrolmen Marvin Bauch and Ronald Rusboldt noticed it from their squad car.
They thought that it was a piece of cardboard and ignored it. An hour later they noticed it again, stopped to move it, and found that it was too hot to touch. They then thought that it was a piece of slag from a local foundry that had fallen out of a dump truck. They kicked it to the curb.
It wasn't until noon that Bauch and Rusboldt associated what they had seen with the reported breakup of Sputnik. They returned to the spot and found it, still in the gutter, more than seven hours after it had fallen. A check at the fire department with a Geiger counter showed no radioactivity, so the lump was shipped to the Smithsonian.
Nine days after the crash, satisfied that what they had was essentially just a hunk of metal, the Americans offered most of it back to the Soviets. The Russians huffed and puffed and finally accepted, carrying away the hunk in a box.
Not to let a good piece of space junk go to waste, the locals here celebrate Sputnik Days every year in September. There is the crowning of Miss Space Debris, a cosmic cake decorating contest, a cosmic costume contest, food, music and all sorts of things. The event is billed as wacky, tack, hokey, fun and ridiculous. Wish we’d still be here. Sounds like our kind of event!
We did tour the Maritime Museum and I must say it was excellent. Included in the admission was a guided tour of the WWII submarine COBIA. I never paid much attention to submarines so I was amazed to learn that when submerged they were powered off of 252 of these huge black battery cells! Trick was they had to surface every so often to run their diesel engines to recharge them. Another fact that wowed me about the subs is that it was a very select group of sailors on them. 93% of applicants failed the cut. Each crewmember was tested on his knowledge and operation of every single piece of equipment on board! When “battle stations” was called, the closest crewmember took over the operation of the nearest station.
I also learned about torpedoes and that the fuel for their engines was 180 proof grain alcohol. Yikes. If the torpedo wasn’t needed, the “fuel” would be drained from it. Not to be wasteful, the sailors would save it. There was usually a rudimentary still of some sort on board that they would run it through and then mix it with pineapple juice. This concoction was known as “Torpedo Juice”. FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2011
We pulled out of Egg Harbor with hopes of making it to Sturgeon Bay. Although the wind and wave forecast made us think we would probably be turning around and heading back into Egg Harbor.
All in all it wasn’t a bad trip and we made it to Sturgeon Bay just as the winds were starting to shift and a severe storm was heading our way. We were tied up and snug as a bug when it arrived.
We’ve had folks ask us if hurricane Irene has caused us any problems. The answer is no, but if we were still trying to make our way through the Erie Canal…lets just say that’s where you’d be sending our mail for a long time.
The flooding there has washed away lock houses and bent up critical components making the locks unusable. Many Canadians take their boats down to the southern states for the winter. If they haven’t started that trip already I’m thinking they are stuck in Canada for the winter. Some of the Loopers we know have not completed the canals of the Erie and are caught in between. This may be a trip ender for them.
All in all it wasn’t a bad trip and we made it to Sturgeon Bay just as the winds were starting to shift and a severe storm was heading our way. We were tied up and snug as a bug when it arrived.
We’ve had folks ask us if hurricane Irene has caused us any problems. The answer is no, but if we were still trying to make our way through the Erie Canal…lets just say that’s where you’d be sending our mail for a long time.
The flooding there has washed away lock houses and bent up critical components making the locks unusable. Many Canadians take their boats down to the southern states for the winter. If they haven’t started that trip already I’m thinking they are stuck in Canada for the winter. Some of the Loopers we know have not completed the canals of the Erie and are caught in between. This may be a trip ender for them.
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2011
Another short day of travel brought us to the charming town of Egg Harbor.
Mostly just did boat chores and relaxed. We walked up town to get some lunch and settled on trying the Shipwrecked Brew Pub/Inn. Promoted as Door County’s only microbrewery we figured we better have a brewski.
The pub’s history and ghosts are evidently well known in these parts. Not that I would ever question the reliability of information printed on the back of a menu, but… The pub was built back in the late 1800’s and evidently there are tunnels and caves beneath it. Al Capone and his gang used to come up here when they needed to disappear for a while. Capone would use the tunnels to make a fast get away if need be. In the 1920’s two IRS agents came here to arrest Capone. They evidently got “lost” in the tunnels and were never seen again.
Capon had an illegitimate son named Jason who was going to turn Capon over to the authorities. Before it happened though, Jason’s body was found hanging from the attic rafters of the inn. His death was believed a murder rather than a suicide. It is said his ghost use to appear on the roof.
Walking back to the marina we noticed that there was going to be a concert in the park at 5.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31ST, 2011
It was a short 16 miles from Washington Island to Sister Bay as we hop down the western shore of the Door county peninsula. The weather continues to be beautiful.
We walked around the town. It has a very strong Scandinavian flavor to it. We decided to have lunch at the Sister Bay Café.
Today’s special is a lefse wrap with brat, kraut and cheese. The hostess asked us if we knew what lefse was? We answered “ya, you betcha.” She laughed.
I don’t think I have ever broken 100 when I have bowled, so check out line 5. That’s MY score. I finally beat Ross at something!!! I told him it was because I was lefse powered.
If you ever pass through Sister Bay a must stop is Al Johnsons. If only to take a photo. Al started the restaurant in 1949. He married a gal named Ingert in 1960.
It was Ingert’s vision that changed it from a place where you could get a plate of meatballs and a slice of limpa bread to the Scandinavian experience it is today. The trees and garden have grown up around the building hiding the amazing detail from my photos. The shutters around the windows are all carved, as are the support beams.
Al was known for his sense of humor and booming laugh. Each year his buddy, Wink Larson, would give him some type of strange birthday gift. One birthday Wink walked through the dining room with a goat named Oscar. Oscar had ribbons tied to his horns and a sign that read “Happy Birthday.” Al loved it. I’m sure it caused quite a commotion in the dining room.
And up went Oscar on the roof! Oscar and Al are both gone now, but Al’s family still run the restaurant.
Each night the goats climb down this slanted ladder on the back of the building and go home in Lars’ (Al’s son) pickup truck. Spend the night in the barn and then are back at work in the morning, causing traffic jam as people spot them on the roof.
They have on occasion fallen off the roof. But neither man nor beast was ever hurt. The roof is now equipped with “goat cam”. So no matter where you are in the world, you can check out the goats during daylight hours. Oh, and the goats only work during the tourist season.
This is the link to Goat Cam in case you want to check it out.
We did eat dinner here and of course ordered the Swedish meatballs. The female wait staff is dressed in traditional Swedish garb. The interior of the restaurant is exposed log with wooden carving. Beautiful. We did get our slice of limpa bread, along with an assortment of crackers, which we ate with lingonberry jam. Not certain what lingonberries were, I figure I better check it out. Turns out that it’s a staple food in Scandinavian cuisine. It’s very plentiful in the forested areas inland in the Scandinavian countries. It has very good keeping qualities and is high in vitamin C. It has been popularized in North America by the store IKEA where it is sold in large quantities, including buckets!
I’ll have to check that out because it was good jam. Not sure I could eat up a bucket full though. I thought the lingonberry had a mild, sweet flavor similar to a cranberry but not that tart. So there you have it. Our Scandinavian experience in the scenic little town of Sister Bay.
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