Even though this was only our second Splorin’ Saturday, we had to divert from the original “plan.” First, we were visitin’ our daughter Carrie at Marquette University for her 20th birthday and second, there was a major Winter Storm comin’ in tryin’ to disrupt our Splorin’. We were going to try to find a way to get our splorin’ in anyway!!

Friday was Carrie’s birthday and her Spring concert for the Marquette University Liturgical Choir. We absolutely love the liturgical choir — they make beautiful music and no doubt add a lot to the weekly masses when they sing. Gettin’ to listen to them in inside the Church of the Gesu makes it a totally movin’ experience.

Carrie sings both Alto and Tenor in the choir, don’t know how, but she does. The concert was simply amazin’. We had a late dinner and ended the evenin’ droppin’ her off at her “study place”, Cudahy Hall at about 10PM.

Saturday was Winter Storm day — the warnin’s we had been listening to for the last two days said 5 to 8 inches of wet heavy snow with significant blowin’ and driftin’ afterward. If we wanted to get our Splorin’ in, it was going to have to be early. We got up at the (butt) crack of dawn and headed to Lakeshore State Park. We thought it would be nice to get there to enjoy the sunrise over Lake Michigan, but silly Mike thought it would be cloudy (afterall there was a WINTER STORM coming) and not worth it …..so we got going a little later and had to enjoy the beautiful sunrise from the car on I-94 East headin’ towards downtown Milwaukee. We made it to the park about 10 minutes after sunrise and it was still beautiful.

Walkin’ the trails along the lake was absolutely beautiful (albeit a little chilly). We saw lots of birds includin’ Red-winged Blackbirds that would basically let you walk right up to them, but flew away as soon as you took your phone out. We even got to see a cute little puppy that was absolutely terrified of us — Tammy tried talkin’ to it and it just could not get far enough away from us.

We also saw lots of people “fishin'” includin’ one guy sittin’ in his car listenin’ to the radio while he had three lines in the water — not “real” fishin’ then.

We then walked to and through Veterans Park. They were in the process of settin’ up the park for the Sweet Home Wisconsin 5K race. The race sounds cool — you get a Bloody Mary before the race, a beer after the race and the medal you get for finishin’ is a combination beer bottle opener and a magnet. Thankfully they are a beer drinkin’ bunch and not early risers, so we were able to complete our walk without gettin’ run over by a bunch of people runnin’ a race. We made it back to the car havin’ walked 4.93 miles….so close to 5 – and all by 9 am! So far no rain or snow, although Tam was getting a little anxious about the stormy looking skies.

Breakfast, which usually comes before the Splorin’, was at Sweet Diner in the Third Ward. The food was amazin’…and the hot coffee was….thawin’. Had it not been so early and had we not been so cold, we might have partaken in their adult beverages. After breakfast we wandered up to the Milwaukee Public Market. The last time we were there was at Christmas 2 years ago and there were a million people there, so it was nice to walk through when it was almost completely empty.

We picked up Carrie after her tutoring gig (after our obligatory stop at Coopers’ Hawk for a tasting and to pick up our wine club bottles) and decided on Steny’s for a quick, but small, lunch. Food was very good, not at all small though, and it was a really fun, neighborhood place. I think we will be back. Mike spent the afternoon nappin’ and Tam spent the afternoon catchin’ up on Words With Friends, while Carrie was hard at work studyin’. It finally did start to snow a bit right around 4:30 pm, just as we were leavin’ for the Supper Club part of our Saturday.

As another departure from our original splorinsaturday, tonight’s Supper Club experience included Carrie and two of her friends, Elena and Kate, to celebrate her birthday. The Packing House was a very iconic, 50’s style Supper Club. We had early reservations because when we called, the host told us there were 2 parties of 30+ people scheduled to dine at 5:30. Yep, it was pretty packed. The food was very good, albeit a bit pricey, and the relish tray was a little sparse, but fresh. (missing the 2 pickles we already ate too)

Tam decided to “cheat” just a bit and ordered the Beef Wellington since it is not often featured — it was definitely worth the few extra carbs! Our waitress was not super thrilled about her job and it definitely showed — although it really could have been just because they were so busy. The service was exceptional, just not the friendliest we have encountered. Carrie finished her meal with a birthday sundae and the girls split a chocolate mousse cake too. But the rainbow jello brought from home was more popular I think. It was snowing pretty hard when we left the restaurant but I think all in all, the Winter Storm was a bust and there was maybe 2 inches at the end of the night.

Typically, “splorin’saturday” doesn’t spill over into “splorin’sunday” but this time we decided to spent one more day in Milwaukee and took Carrie (and Elena) to her favorite place: the zoo. The weather was just beautiful and most of the snow was gone by the time we got there. We have “splored” there many times and, although Mike and Carrie never were able to come up with the “optimal route,” I believe we were able to see everything -except the elephants who were not on display, much to Elena’s dismay. Tam’s fave, the giraffes, were a perfect photo op however:

The day ended way too quickly but it was a lot of fun and we got in our 10,000 steps. We love going to the zoo with Carrie — she really is as excited now as when she was 10 yrs old at the zoo. We introduced Elena to the “song” (“…where are we going today Gymbo?”) and pressed pennies.

We stopped at another small supper club, Smitty’s Overtime Inn, in Tomah on the way home (as long as it was still part of the weekend, we figured we could splurge on 2 supper clubs 🙂 and the food was very good. (fish for both of us) And true to “splorin’saturday” rules — we made it home right about sunset.

(disclaimer — the abundance of apostrophes are courtesy of Mike 🙂

We got on our way about 15 minutes later than anticipated – but for me that’s pretty good.

Since part of this whole plan of ours is honoring our parents/grandparents and our “older” generation, we decided that the inaugural “‘Splorin’ Saturday” should start with a breakfast stop at one of the places Tammy spent a lot of time at as a kid – the Oasis cafe in Stillwater, Mn. Auntie Cec and Uncle Barney used to take us there all the time when visited them. It still looked the same from the outside and I felt a little catch in my throat as we walked up to the door. I just imagine aunt Cec poking my dad in the arm up in heaven and saying “look at that Denny, Tammy Jo remembers.”

I know the restaurant has expanded, but when you walk in, it looks EXACTLY THE SAME. There were a few people ahead of us and when the host asked if they wanted to wait for a table, he asked for their favorite cartoon character instead of a name. 🙂 We were lucky and got to sit at the counter by all the action. The menu was huge as always and I was so excited to see breakfast salads! I had the original – spinach, roasted peppers, onions and mushrooms, bacon, walnuts, bleu cheese and 2 over easy eggs! So good. Mike had eggs benedict with portabello mushrooms and a side of bacon. We were hoping the mushrooms were in place of the english muffin but nope. Now i have no problem just putting the english muffin aside if i get a benny – but not Mike. 🙂 He did skip the fruit since it was mostly grapes, apples and watermelon. (We need to remember to ask for berries.) There is no doubt why this place is very busy. The staff was running around like crazy but with smiles the whole time – and a bit of teasing back and forth – and the food was THAT GOOD! The coffee cups looked like they came out of my mom’s kitchen – each one unique and fun. My only “complaint” was that the iced tea came from the fountain and not fresh brewed. But given that we were going ‘splorin’ later in the day – it’s probably a good thing anyway.

After our hearty breakfast, we ran to Hudson to spend some time with Mike’s dad. It is hard to have much of a conversation with him, but he listens pretty intently and interjects an “aye-yi-yi” once in awhile. We talked with another resident, Faye, for quite some time and learned she knew some teachers in Eau Claire (she was pretty sure I should know them too) and had a cabin in Balsam Lake where we were having dinner. I was glad to notice Ray’s cough from last week was gone and he sounded much better.

We were then off to explore Wisconsin’s Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls, WI. This is a park we know very well – we have hiked, camped and canoed here since we were in high school.  Exploring (sorry, splorin’) this time was going to be different.  With our newly re-found energy, we were going to walk and hike the whole park. We were a little worried the trails might be wet, muddy, and just plain soggy, especially with all the snow melt and 2+ inches of rain a day or two ago.  Mike asked the attendant who sold us our daily park sticker and he told us “All the trails are open and in good shape.”  Mike specifically asked if they were muddy and he blatantly lied to us by saying “Nope!” (ominous foreshadowing). Pulling in we stopped at the very “top” of the park at the Ice Age Trail visitors’ gift shop.  We had already decided (ok, Mike had decided because he always has to have a plan…) that we would leave the car there and hike down to the beautiful St. Croix River via the hiking trails.  Trail Map

We set off on the Skyline Trail which was supposed to take us down the ridge line eventually taking us to the campground areas.  We were on the trail about 3 minutes and ran into a lady heading the opposite direction.  She told us that no one was on the trail ahead of us and that it was “a little bit muddy” (another blatant lie).  We quickly found sections of the trail that were very muddy, but it was easy enough to give them a little bit of a wide berth and we managed to stay nice and dry — not a problem we thought.  Well a little while later we found large stretches of the trail that were very muddy and trying to go off trail to get around them was a bit challenging.  We finally came to one section of the “trail” that actually was more like a running stream.  Attempting to go around the outside of it, Mike stayed mostly dry because of his large stride, Tammy — not so much.  Half way through the mud claimed her shoe.  She did an excellent balancing act on one foot while pulling the shoe out of the mud and getting it back on. She was a little irked by that point in time, but got over it quickly enough. That was the epitome of the rest of our hiking day — tons of beauty and mother nature — tons of muddy spots on all the trails.  Making it to the end of that trail we were treated to a very low lying swampy area that had, to our ears, about 1.3 million frogs frolicking about.  It was unbelievable just how loud they were.

We then took a nice level trail (Silverbrook Trail) out to a waterfall that was just beautiful.  Still lots of muddy spots on the trails, but we were experts at getting around, or through, those by now.

We only had about 4 hours that we could spend at the park before we had to leave for dinner and we were about 2 hours in to that time.  We decided to forego walking all the way to the river and start heading back toward the park entrance — we figured we might need the full two hours since we had to make it back up all the hills we just came down.  We started the journey back up on what was supposed to be an easy loop trail around Lake O’ the Dalles.  It would have been an easy trail had the water in the lake not been so incredibly high due to the snow and rain.  We quickly found there was not just mud in the middle of the trail here, but instead there was actual lake in the middle of the trail.  In several spots the trail just went right off into the lake only to re-emerge at some point in time up the trail (which you couldn’t see).  So, this quickly became “make your own trail” day at the park for us.  Up and over rocks, through deep thickets of brush, being followed by a little white dog named “Charlie” who apparently wanted to follow us instead of his owners.  But we made it through and had a blast while doing it.

We now were in the beach parking lot and had to take the “Meadow Valley Trail” that would take us most of the way back to the car.  That sounds so peaceful and lovely,  although they describe it like this: “Steep, switchback Talus Slope Trail descends the bluff…”.  Well we knew we were ascending instead of descending, but… The trail started looking ominous immediately when, at the bottom,  was a narrow valley between the two rock-filled sides.  Again the trail here was completely under water, a foot or two in a couple of spots, and at least 4 to 6 inches for about an eighth of a mile.  No worries Mike led us up and over the rocks on one side of the trail and it was a blast making it to the dry point of the trail without ever getting our feet wet again. This reminded us so much of our earlier days spent climbing up cliffs and over rock falls in this park and Tammy actually exclaimed  “I feel like we’re 30 again…” (insert more ominous foreshadowing music here).  The trail led through some gorgeous meadows (like it’s name implies) before dropping us at the bottom of the “ascent” part.  This section was basically straight up climbing up rock steps that again were a lot easier for Mike with his long legs.  Half an hour later we were at what we though was the top (more foreshadowing) and we needed a break.  We sat for 5 or 10 minutes enjoying the view (which is incredible BTW).  Tammy now took back the comment about feeling like 30 again and adjusted the age a little bit upwards.  Mike was a bit winded too, but after that quick break we were both ready to complete the last bit of the trail to make it back to the car.  While that “last little bit” was no longer climbing up shear rock faces, it was still decidedly uphill.  We were very happy to see the car sitting in the parking lot and to get some water!!

We then hopped in the car and drove down through the park (that we had just hiked down and then back up again) to enjoy the river view which we had really yet to see, except through some of the trees at the top of the bluff.  We sat at a picnic table and enjoyed the nice Spring sunshine.  (Oops, should have remembered the sunscreen.)  Mike peeled his shoes and socks off his blistered feet (we had walked 10 miles on Thursday and Friday, and now put on almost 6 at the park).  After enjoying a quick rest and a short walk along the river, we got back in the car and changed out of our yucky hiking clothes for our clean Supper Clubbing clothes.

The Indianhead Supper Club in Balsam Lake Wi, is a traditional supper club with a lot of history and no doubt a lot of memories for a lot of people. It was built in 1939 and much of the decor is original.  You can read all about it here:  www.indianheadsupperclub.com We were seated at a small table for two right across from a big family of 12 that was celebrating grandpa’s birthday and at least one engagement.  It was hard not to listen in to their conversations and I admit to playing with the little baby, James, a bit.  We learned that the Indianhead was the first place the daughter dined with her husband when she brought him to town for the first time.  Mike said they reminded him of  “On Golden Pond” which still kind of confuses me, but it was fun enjoying our dinner “with” them nonetheless.   We decided to save the carbs and had no-sugar cocktails and Tammy stepped out of her comfort zone so we could have the calamari appetizer too.  It helped that it was served with a very good basil aioli. It’s still not her favorite but it’s an option.  Mike decided to skip the prime rib and we both had surf and turf and the grilled veggies of course.  (steak and scallops for me and steak and walleye for him.)   The food was great and our server was just fantastic.  She made sure we got our order in before the big family, but didn’t rush us at all.  That is one of the best things about our supper club experience -the servers. It is very obvious that they love their jobs and we always have such nice conversations.   The place was definitely busy so I am glad that we had early reservations. And after our long day of “splorin’, we made it home right as night fell.

A few more hospital stays in December and January for Mike meant that Supper Club Saturday was put on hold. We also discovered that Mike has diabetes and Tam has “pre-diabetes.” A lot of hard work and some new recipes followed and Mike has lost over 50 pounds and his diabetes is under control, and Tam has lost 30 lbs. We have never felt better! It was time for Supper Club Saturday to resume.

But winter meant that Show Choir and Odyssey of the Mind seasons were in full swing so “free” Saturdays were hard to come by, especially in February. We have made a few nights work:

• 01/13/2019  Rex’s Innkeeper — Waunakee, WI (technically “Supper Club Sunday” with the Hoppe family when we brought Carrie back to MU.)
• 03/02/2019  Beedle’s Bar and Restaurant — Centerville, WI (this was Plan B since we had reservations at Wason’s Supper Club but we literally could not find a parking spot.)
• 03/16/2019  Skoog’s Parkside Supper Club — Menomonie, WI
• 04/13/2019  Buck-A-Neer Supper Club — Stratford, WI

Things have changed a bit though — no more au gratin potatoes, ice cream drinks and fancy desserts…. and Old Fashioned are limited to about once a month. But there are still some good choices on the relish tray ( and maybe a cracker or two) and the salad bar –and double veggies — keep us on track.

As we were enjoying our dinner at Buck-A-Neer, we started talking about the warmer weather and walking outside (instead of just on the treadmill) and all of a sudden “Supper Club Saturday” turned in to “Splorin’ Saturday.” The plan is to get up early and find a “mom and pop” restaurant/diner for breakfast, do some hiking and exploring at a park or nature reserve and end the day at a Supper Club. Mike designed this blog, came up with our “mission statement” and we are on our way. I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes us…

On Saturday, August 4th, 2018 we decided to have a “family -free” dinner date at Connell’s Club 12 in Fall Creek, WI. This is a traditional Wisconsin Supper Club experience to be sure, complete with a relish tray and a really good Old Fashioned. We loved it so much and it reminded us of our parents and grandparents and what really matters in life — spending time together. Then and there we decided to begin what we called “Supper Club Saturday”. A quick search on Google led us to a “directory” of Wisconsin Supper Clubs.
(https://www.travelwisconsin.com/dining/supper-clubs) We decided that on Saturdays we would travel the great state of Wisconsin and enjoy dinner at good old fashioned supper clubs.

We made it to the following supper clubs:

08/11/2018 4 Mile Restaurant & Bar — Eau Claire, WI

09/08/2018 Castle Hill Supper Club — Merrillan, WI

09/15/2018 Sullivan’s Supper Club — Trempeleau, WI

09/22/2018 Lehman’s Supper Club — Rice Lake, WI

09/29/2018 Red Stag Supperclub — Minneapolis, MN

10/27/2018 Wiederholt’s Supper Club — Hastings, MN

11/10/2018 Old Abe’s Supper Club — Jim Falls, WI

Then…..life got in the way. Mike had quadruple bypass on 11/16/2018. ’nuff said.

Thanks for joining us!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton