Out of Office Message

As if I need any help packing. We plan to ride out the two (yes 2!!!) hurricanes bearing down on us and then fly out of here to parts unknown and a well deserved, and long awaited break!

Fishin' Holes

The fishing tackle has been put away until the next visit.  The last week of summer is upon the Midwest and Labor Day weekend will remind the kiddies that school is about to start again.  All the little critters in this favorite hole will have to wait for me to come back and see them another time.  It's been a good trip and a relaxing one, but it's all but over.

Part of the joy of heading out to these (not always so) secret fishin' spots of mine is the scenery this time of year hear.  Soon it will all change color and then be covered in a blanket of winter white.  The cycle will continue.

Wisconsin is a great place.

Johnny T's NYC Tourist Tips

Hilarious. Planning a trip to New York City? Yuzgatta see dis, yo.

10 Days

You have to envy the courage it took to go through with all this. So whatever you do tomorrow...

Make it Count.

Fish Aaaahhhn!!!

One of my pleasures growing up was fishing. Truth is, I never outgrew it, just moved away from it. Being home for a while this summer and reconnecting with old friends has rekindled the joy of fresh water fishing again. Maybe part of it involves memories with my pop too. He loved fishing, and loved taking me along. Whatever the reasons, fishing in small lakes and rivers is a sort of zen that one never loses. Time stands still when you fish. Everything else just melts away.

Tonite I went out in the late afternoon and caught more bass and bluegills. Nothing large enough to take home. Just large enough to enjoy finding, landing, and releasing.

FISH AAAAHhhn!

Supper Club Redux

Feil's Wine Barrel

We had brunch at Feil's today and really got our money's worth...especially at the dessert counter, where we followed up a traditional midwestern breakfast with brownies, grasshopper pie, some sort of caramel-peanut high calorie square, apple tart squares, cherry cheesecake, and a lemon bar.  By the time we got home the sugar crash had claimed us both for naps during most the Brewer's game.

Going to and from the restaurant you pass through the German-theme bar, and the barrel above.  Yes this dispenses wine, not beer, although it wouldn't be an honest German establishment without a wide variety of beers and steins and ambiance.  And no, it's not a complete barrel.  We found out they had to cut a lot of it down just to fit in the space.  Three types of wine are dispensed here: Rose', Chablis, and the Lake Niagra mom likes.  The owner, Herb Feil, was kind enough to allow me behind the bar to grab this shot with my 20mm, and while I was there gave mom the full history of the place, a few anecdotes, and some souvenier post cards.  It was his father, the baker from Wangen, West Germany who established the restaurant many, many years ago.

Ah, summertime in Cheesehead country.

Supper Clubs

Feil's Supper Club

Wisconsin, the land of "supper clubs" and the Friday night fish fry.  And no, you don't have to be a member to eat there... you just have to bring your wallet.  This one is near Randolph, WI, and is also the home of many Meals on Wheels deliveries.  Feil's makes great bread too... over a million loaves and counting.  German heritage (maybe Austrian too), as may be obvious by the "chalet" construction, with great food.

It was nice to drive by one of these and see it open for business... many are boarded up and for sale these days.

This one has my mom's favorite wine too... the "original" Lake Niagra "Niagra", a rich, semi-dry New York white table wine.

Taken from their web site:

Feil's Supper Club offers original old-world recipe homemade bread, serving white and onion rye. Enjoy tap wine and a 30-item salad bar including cheeses and soup. Our featured menu item is the "Herb's Special" - a center cut Sirloin Steak topped with a mountain of our famous homemade onion rings or mushrooms. Fridays we feature a Fish & Broasted Chicken Buffet and Sundays we offer our very popular Sunday Brunch.


N8743 State Road 73
Randolph, WI 53956

... I guess I know where Sunday brunch will be this week!

Summertime

Lazy Lake, Fall River, Wisconsin

For the next few weeks I'll hang out here in the midwest with mom after the passing of my pop.  The memorial image for him is below and was taken along the western shoreline of the Big Island, Hawaii on the evening I received the news.  He's in a better place now.

Lazy Lake in Fall River is about 5 miles or so from where I grew up and is great for fishing all year around.  It's known for excellent crappies, bluegills, and probably a few other game fish as well.  Whether the water is open like this in the summer or completely frozen over in the winter there always seems to be somebody out with rod and reel trying to pull something out.  One of the things on my list of things to do this summer while back is get out once again and fish for bass.  I'm hoping to talk one of my old high school buddies into going with me.  It's been a long time since I've wet a line in these waters.


So it's that and doing things around the house for mom for the next few weeks, the same house I grew up in.  Pretty amazing that they have been here that long, but nice.  It's always just the way I'd remember it.