Hello Everyone!
It’s been a wonderful week here in southern Wisconsin and I’ve spent most of it among family and friends. The weather is so much cooler here with the high today supposed to be 76°, and life for me is always better in cooler temperatures. It still feels like summer, but not summer on the surface of the sun. This may have been the week that really saved my summer from slipping away as it’s been full of boat trips, barbecues and even a wonderful day at the Wisconsin State Fair. I haven’t traveled too far or done too much in the way of sightseeing or exploring, but I’ve laughed a lot and sometimes that’s the best thing you can do with your time.
After leaving you last week, I headed out into Madison and made a stop at Forest Hill Cemetery to visit the grave of Eston Hemings Jefferson. Eston was the youngest son of Sally Hemings who was an enslaved woman of mixed race who spent much of her life at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia. DNA evidence from 1998 shows that Eston’s father was a Jefferson and while any number of people have tried to argue that it wasn’t our third president himself, there can be no definitive proof one way or the other. Thomas Jefferson’s documents show that he was present at Monticello when Eston was conceived, and Eston’s brother Madison stated during his lifetime that his mother had told them that Jefferson was their father. Of the more than 600 people enslaved at Monticello during his lifetime, Jefferson only freed a handful in his will. Eston and Madison were among them and all of those he freed were related to Sally Hemings. Eston lived with his mother in Virginia until her death and then moved to Ohio and on to Madison, where he lived the rest of his life. He and his wife both passed as White and their two sons served on the Union side during the Civil War. It was interesting to visit the grave of a man who was likely the youngest son of Thomas Jefferson and to think about his life. Forest Hill is also the site of the northernmost Confederate cemetery in the country, as nearby Camp Randall (now the site of the University of Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium) served as a POW camp during the Civil War.
Leaving the cemetery, I stopped for a quick bite in downtown Madison at the Caribou Tavern. This was a great little dive bar and they served up a delicious bratwurst and some amazing cheese curds as well. From there I headed back to my friend, Chris’ house and we spent the rest of the evening talking and drinking a few beers on his back porch.
Thursday morning Chris took me to meet his parents and then to meet his sister and his nieces. I was on my way out of town, but it was still nice to be able to stop by for a short visit with his family. Bidding them farewell, I zipped north to Appleton, Wisconsin, the hometown of Harry Houdini. I was there to visit my friends Dana and Eric who had traveled with me on the tour I did of Morocco back in 2024. We had a great evening sitting in their back garden and catching up. A little bit later, they grilled up a delightful dinner of salmon and a ton of fresh vegetables (which were needed after a few days of cheese and brats). It was great to hear what they’ve been up to and to share some stories of my own, and when they invited me to go on a boat trip with them the following day, I accepted enthusiastically.
In the morning, we all headed out to the Chain O’ Lakes near Waupaca, Wisconsin. The Chain O’ Lakes encompasses 22 interconnected spring-fed lakes and is a huge boating destination in the area. They had rented a big pontoon boat for the day and we set out to explore with Dana at the helm. There were nine of us out there on the boat and we enjoyed a day of sun, swimming, snacks, drinks and good times. The lakes were all really clear and some were a beautiful turquoise while others were a deeper blue. They were all refreshingly cool for a swim, but not cold at all. There were plenty of birds out there on the lakes and even a couple of loons made an appearance. It really was a wonderful day all around and felt like how summer should feel. They were all staying at a nearby cabin for the night, so I said my goodbyes when we arrived back at the dock and zipped down to Oshkosh for the night. After finding a good parking spot, I made my way over to the Dockside Taver for a beer. They had a great band playing who even threw in a few polkas, this being Wisconsin. The bartender was friendly, the evening was cool and clear and it was a wonderful way to end a really great day.
I got up on Saturday and had some breakfast at the Mineshaft restaurant just outside of town. Then I made a beeline for Milwaukee, as it was State Fair Day for me. I found a great free parking spot about a 10 minute walk from the fairgrounds and headed in around noon. My dad used to take us to the Wisconsin State Fair every summer when my brother and I were kids and it will always hold a special place in my memory and in my heart. It hasn’t changed much since then, and it doesn’t need to because it’s always a popular place and a great fair. I started my visit with a stroll through the livestock barns, looking at prize-winning cows, sheep, goats, horses and chickens. Next up were the pig races which are always entertaining. By then I was getting hungry so I wandered over to the Lion’s Club area for some fresh grilled corn on the cob. I wandered over to the Dairy Pavilion to have one of the fair’s world famous cream puffs (which area always incredible), rode the Giant Slide for old time’s sake and then had a couple of beers and listened to some live music. By then it was just about time to catch the Love Monkeys, the band I had planned my day around. This is their 31st year playing the State Fair, and they are always full of energy and ready to go. I was also happy to see that a band called Plumb Loco was also on the schedule, though they had played the previous week. I remember seeing them at the fair at least 35 years ago, and they also played my cousin’s wedding around the same time. I stayed and enjoyed the music for three hours of their four hour set, and by then the sun and fun was catching up to me. I grabbed a brat and another cream puff for good measure and then headed out. I was probably asleep by around 8:30 which was a very good thing after such a busy few days.
I knew the fair would take a lot out of me, so I didn’t have much on my agenda for Sunday. I went to the gym and then decided I wanted one or two of Milwaukee’s infamous Bloody Marys. The first place I hit was the West Allis Cheese and Sausage Shop which served up one of the best Bloody Marys I’ve ever had. The drink itself was great, but it’s the accoutrements that make it special and this one came with a bratwurst slider, fried cheese curds, a meat stick, pickle, olives, celery, bacon and some cheese straws. It was a meal in itself and I really enjoyed it. From there I went to Sobelman’s, which is one of Milwaukee’s most famous Bloody Mary destinations. They serve one which comes with a whole fried chicken on it, but I didn’t need anything quite that big. I got one with a burger slider, celery, pickle, green onions, meat, cheese and shrimp. It was delicious, but the one in West Allis was definitely better.
From there I headed to downtown Milwaukee which I’ve actually never spent much time in. My grandparents lived out in the burbs, and most of the places I went to as a kid were outside of the city center. I parked over by the old Schlitz Brewery and was happy to see that many of the buildings associated with the brewery were still there. Schlitz was bought out in 1982 by Detroit’s Strohs Brewing Co and Milwaukee production stopped after a 133 years. It was bought out by Pabst in 1999, but just 3 months ago was finally shut down for good. Schlitz had an epic rise after Prohibition ended and became the biggest brewery in the world, but it had an equally epic fall and now is gone forever. C’est la vie. From there I wandered down the Milwaukee River and into the heart of the city. I stopped off for a beer or two and then continued down the river into the Historic Third Ward. This neighborhood had a lot of old warehouses, but also a sprinkling of beautiful old buildings as well. I stopped off for a brat at the old Milwaukee Brat House on my way back to my van and it was so nice and cool out as I drifted off to sleep.
I headed out of Milwaukee in the morning and made my way north to West Bend where I met up with my Uncle Greg at noon for lunch in his new retirement community. After my Aunt Nancy died last year, their house was a lot for him to deal with on his own, so he made the big move into his new apartment a few months ago. I haven’t seen him in about five years and we had a lot to catch up on. He also knows a lot more about our family history than anyone else, and I wanted to be sure I got some questions answered while we were together. We had a great meal in the little restaurant on site there and then he gave me the grand tour of the property which seems quite lovely. We hung out in his apartment for a while and then he took me out for a drive around the town. He showed me a lot of places which were important to him like his old house and where he worked, but we also drove over the oldest bridge in Wisconsin and saw the castle-like old courthouse in West Bend. We ended up at a nice country restaurant called Jug’s and had a beer while we waited for my cousins Kaytlyn and Emmalyn and Kaytlyn’s husband Matt to arrive. We sat outside together and enjoyed a really good dinner and some excellent family time. After dinner I headed over to Kaytlyn and Matt’s house where I parked in the driveway for the night.
Matt is a 5th grade teacher, so he’s still on his summer vacation. While everyone else had to work yesterday, we set off for Green Bay first thing in the morning. We were headed to the Green Bay Packers’ practice facility which is right next to the legendary Lambeau Field. The Packers hold a few of their pre-season practices there for the fans to come out and watch. One of the highlights of these days is watching the players arrive. When they leave their team meetings at Lambeau, neighborhood kids are there to greet them and the players ride the kids’ bikes and scooters over to the field, shaking hands and posing for pics along the way. It’s a quaint and charming tradition and a lot of the players seemed to really be enjoying themselves. We watched the practice for a while which was cool to see and then headed off to get some lunch. We stopped first at the Booyah Shed for a steaming bowl of booyah, which I was appalled to realize was a Wisconsin dishI had never had before (or even heard of before). Booyah is meaty stew with potatoes and vegetables which reminded me a lot of Brunswick stew. We both really enjoyed it and then continued south to a place called Eggrolls Inc. where we both got a couple of their famous (and huge) Hmong eggrolls. We ended the afternoon with some amazing custard from Leon’s which has been serving it up for 79 years.
We headed back to their place and relaxed in the garage for a while as a big storm passed over us. There was some thunder and lightning, but mostly just a lot of rain. When it gave us a little break, we shot over to my uncle’s Outdoorsman Club’s clubhouse for a corn roast fundraiser. For $15 we got all-you-can-eat roasted corn, brats, beer and a bunch of other dishes brought in by the members. My uncle was auctioning off some of his home-brewed wine as well. It was a fun group of guys and we had a great meal which really filled me to the brim. At the end of it all, they held a raffle and I walked away with a nice new backpack. Matt and I stopped off just down the road at a bar called CC’s for a beer and to watch the end of the Brewer’s baseball game. If you want to have a real Wisconsin day, it should probably include the Packers and the Brewers, brats, corn, cheese, beer and frozen custard and yesterday had all of the above. It was awesome.
This morning I needed fruit and exercise, so I headed off early to the gym and got a nice fruit bowl and some yogurt along the way. Then I cruised over to the library to finish up this week’s post and get some other work done as well. This afternoon we are all headed down to Milwaukee to catch the Brewers game in person which should be a lot of fun. I’m not really sure what the week ahead will hold, but I’ll definitely be hanging around Wisconsin for a good chunk of it. At some point I may start making moves south and east as I do need to be back in D.C. by the beginning of September. It will still be hot there, but there will be an end in sight, and fall is really beautiful on the east coast. I’m looking forward to watching football games with my friends and hopefully seeing a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time. I won’t be home by this time next week, but I’ll get there sooner or later. I hope you’re all enjoying the ends of your summer, wherever you are, and that you’re doing your best to stay cool out there. Have a great week and thank you, as always, for reading.
-Mike