State Fairs, a comparison

We have now been to three state fairs--Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  Here is a review.

The Michigan state fair is held at an Expo center in Novi.  It is what you would expect from a state fair being held in an expo center.  As state fairs go, it is very disappointing.  I doubt we'd have ever gone back if it weren't 10 minutes from our house.  They did have good parking, though.

We had heard the Minnesota state fair is the best in the US.  My assessment has the Minnesota and Wisconsin state fairs as equals.

What Minnesota does better: Wide streets/walking areas.  There were LOTS of people filling the streets throughout the fair, but the width of the streets made walking easy enough.  There were also lots of shade trees throughout the fair grounds.  It was not hard to find relief from direct sunlight.  Very nice!

What Wisconsin does better: Parking.  WAY better than Minnesota.  Maybe seasoned fair-goers would disagree, but as newbies, we found the parking to be lacking and the resultant backed-up traffic to be frustrating. I might also give Wisconsin a slight edge in the buildings and stages.

Next year, we will have to put Iowa's state fair to the test as some claim theirs to be the best in the US.

Minnesota and Wisconsin can hold their heads up high. Both fairs are outstanding. 

Traveling with the Schroeders--Wisconsin via the U.P.

We were able to skip town after Christmas for a short run to Wisconsin.  For the sake of the scenic view, we went over the top of Lake Michigan.  We stay in Mackinaw City.  Not surprisingly, it was pretty dead.  There were perhaps two hotels open and restaurants were limited.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed seeing the main street all lit up, as well as the Mackinac Bridge.

From there, we drove down the east side of Wisconsin to see family in Fond du Lac, including my mother who just turned 90.  We had some nice family time with her and with my brother and his family before making the trip back.  Time to get back to planning for Sunday and beyond.

Peter at the Big Boy in West Branch, MI.

The quiet streets of Mackinaw City.

Traveling with the Schroeders: Sheboygan, Wisconsin riverfront

Actually, it is Traveling with A Schroeder since I am here solo.  I got up too early, so a walk along the river front seemed like a nice idea.  I even got a job offer from a fishing charter!

Traveling with the Schroeders -- Wisconsin and Illinois

In early August, we traveled to Wisconsin.  The attempt to see my parents fell apart, so we stayed with Faith in the Milwaukee area.  On Friday, August 6 we went to the Wisconsin State Fair.  Peter was very impressed with the size of the fair.  Naturally, we saw the pig races.  Peter and I went on the ferris wheel.  We were able to see downtown Milwaukee from the top.  Our highlight of the day was seeing The Kids from Wisconsin, a show choir and band of high school kids from around the state.  They were always a must-see for my Mom, so we had to catch their show.  They were excellent.  A hot day meant that we chose beverages over food, but the State Fair offers so much food that four stomachs would be helpful.  Note to Wisconsin State Fair goers: We did not get cream puffs.  Don't hate us.

We left Wisconsin on Sunday.  The daily forecast for the U.P. was rain, so we changed direction and headed south to Springfield.  We had been intending for years to get to the Abraham Lincoln sites down there.  They called for rain only on Sunday (and did they ever get it!), but Monday and Tuesday were clear. 

On Monday, August 9, we started at the Abraham Lincoln Home National Historic Site.  Admission is free.  What surprised us more than anything was that it was more than just Lincoln's house (the only one he ever owned); it was four square blocks of homes preserved to recreate the feel of the neighborhood Lincoln lived in.  Two homes were utilized for exhibits; others were used for national park purposes.

From there, we went to visit the Oak Ridge Cemetery to see Lincoln's Tomb.  Mary Todd Lincoln and three of their children are buried there as well.  (Robert is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.)  There are many statues in this monument.  It is worth the visit if you are already in Springfield.  Of course, it is free.

With only two hours left in the afternoon, we visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.  We were pretty familiar with the life of Lincoln, so we were able to skim some of the history about him.  Still, we were very rushed.  Two hours is not enough time to do justice to everything there.  If you go to Springfield and have time for only one stop, this museum is the one to go to before all other sites.

There are numerous dioramas throughout which help to color the life and struggles of the Lincoln family.  Only a few pictures are included below.  It is best to go see it.  It was also very moving to see the display which depicted the president's coffin while lying in state.  It is no surprise that Lincoln died.  Still, the display was striking.  No pictures of that here; go see it.

Finally, on Tuesday, August 10, we visited Abraham Lincoln's New Salem site.  It is a restored village (only one building original, all others rebuilt on old foundations) which tries to give you the feeling of a twenty-something Lincoln settling into a short-lived village and trying to make a success of himself.  There are numerous stories about Lincoln's life from this time, but it seems that many of them are mythical.  Entertaining, but questionable.  We spent a few hours here, but decided that this would be the first place to be dropped from an itinerary if it had to be.  It is also about 20 miles away from Springfield, so you have to go there intentionally.  After our New Salem visit, it was time for the long trek home.  Another presidential museum under our belts, though, and long over due!

Here are some photos from the trip.

Peter and I from the top of the State Fair.

The Lincolns' bedroom.  I thought the wall paper might be a little to loud to wake up to each morning.

The best looking attraction in Springfield!

Here are the crossroads in the Lincoln neighborhood.  

Lincoln's house would be just off the camera shot on the left.

Two of Lincoln's son wreaking havoc in his law office.  Lincoln ignored them and let the wild play go without rebuke.  This was, apparently, typical, and not often well-received by law partners.

Lincoln and his cabinet strategizing during the Civil War.

Lincoln had attempted to run two general stores in New Salem.  Both failed.  

This is the second one.  Shortly after this venture, he served as postmaster.

Traveling with the Schroeders -- Trip to Sheboygan

It had been more than six months since I had seen my parents, and it had been about 3 years since Caleb had seen them, so we waited until Caleb was on vacation to make this trip to Wisconsin to see my parents.  We managed to get some yard work done for them, and we put Peter to work picking raspberries in their back yard.  My brother made the trip over from Fond du Lac to see us for the evening.  And then after a nice stroll out the the lighthouse at the Sheboygan marina, we came back home.  Here are some photos.

Notice how the harbor side is brown and the lake side is blue.

Vacation 2018 -- Arizona & Utah, part 5

The title of this final entry is mislabeled a bit.  We did not spend any time in either Arizona or Utah, but since that has been the title of this journey (and its main focus), I will keep the title here. 

We were in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin before our final drive to Michigan.  We had rolled into South Dakota on Saturday, June 16, and made a quick trip to Custer State Park to see the bison herd.  Then we went to Crazy Horse Monument at night to see the light show.  Instead, we saw low cloud cover in the rain.

We returned to our Custer KOA campsite for a cool, rainy night.  This was a far cry from the weather in Phoenix and Utah.  On Sunday, we got up and knew we had to make tracks.  We took down our wet camper and went to see Mt. Rushmore.  Peter had been wanting to see this since Kindergarten.  The "wow" factor was pretty low since the rain and clouds dominated our view.  We took pictures right after we had gotten there--which was a good thing since the clouds covered it shortly afterwards.  It was also very chilly (50 degrees or so), so we joined all the other tourists in the gift shop.  Peter's long-deliberated choice of a souvenir was a stuffed bison.  He named it "Jim" after Jim Halpert from The Office.

Our stay at Mt. Rushmore was brief, which was just as well since we had a lot of driving to do to get to Minnesota.  We began the drive through the Black Hills to get to I-90 near Rapid City.  Since it was so wet, we had skipped breakfast at the campground and promised to take the kids out to eat at some restaurant.  It was also Fathers' Day, so we ended up having to wait about an hour for seating.  Nevertheless, hunger must be satisfied, so we waited it out.  It also improved our moods.

From there, we drove all day Sunday across South Dakota and into Minnesota.  We got to New Ulm and drove to Flandrau State Park to set up the camper in the dark.  I was happy to get the camper up since it had been wet when we took it down.  As it turned out, we had rain all night in New Ulm, so drying out would have to wait.

We moved Faith into her apartment on Monday, June 18.  Philip had requested a walking tour of the Martin Luther College campus since he has intentions to be a pastor.  We visited the Chapel of the Christ and later took a trip to the Campus Store.  We had hoped to take a Schells Brewery tour, but we did laundry instead.  Oh yes, we know how to entertain our children!  We went to church at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church on Monday night, and talked to our kids about how Laura and I went there together when Laura was at Dr. Martin Luther College and I came to visit her.  Some stories we tell just to prove that we are old. 

We bid farewell to Faith on Tuesday, June 19.  Then we drove to Wisconsin, planning to stay in Sheboygan with my parents.  Blow out #4 happened on I-90/I-94 just south of Tomah, WI.  This wsa the worst of the blow outs because it took place on the driver's side.  The freeway was three lanes wide, and the traffic never stopped coming.  I pulled over as far as possible and put a little angle on the camper to give myself a little (emphasis on little) shelter from the on-coming traffic.  Eventually, I just took the attitude, "Well, if I die, I die.  I can't think of traffic if I actually want to get this camper tire changed."  God blessed our efforts.  No one was killed, and we got back on the road.  We dropped off Caleb to see someone in Manitowoc, and then made it to Sheboygan about 8 PM or so.  (Caleb was dropped off later.)  We also got to pop up the camper so that it could finally dry out after several rainy days and nights.

Our stay in Sbeboygan was brief.  We left the next morning, ready to get settled back home.  The last day of the trip, Wednesday, June 20, was pretty uneventful (thankfully!).  We got back home in the evening and decided most of our unpacking and settling could take place the next day.  We thanked God for our travels and that we got back safely.  Whatever glitches we had faced amounted to inconvenience, but they were never a threat to life or limb.

Of course, reviewing these photos makes me want to go on vacation again.  Shrug.

Below are photos from the last leg of the trip.

This is the best view we could get of Mt. Rushmore before the clouds came in to hide everything. 
At least the gift shop was nice.

Peter and hsi new friend, Jim. (Caleb also got one and named him Dwight.)

Philip by the Luther statue at Martin Luther College.

Faith's new apartment.

Saying Good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder

Feeling nostalgic

For whatever reason, I have been feeling somewhat nostalgic recently.  Perhaps it is the Christmas carols, some of which resonate from my childhood.  Maybe it was having all the kids home for Thanksgiving and soon again for Christmas, recognizing that these days of having everyone home at once will be harder and harder to pull off.

Anyway, a strange wave of nostalgia came over me on I-696 this morning.  I was noticing the license plate of a car next to me.  It was a Michigan plate, mainly blue, green, and white, which featured the Mackinac Bridge.  While the plates in Michigan, and there are numerous versions, are nice looking, somehow I was drawn back to the solid blue plates with the white lettering.

Hardly as pretty, but somehow still homey to me.  Those are the plates that every car in Michigan had for years and years.  If you played the road trip game of checking off plates from as many states as possible, that Michigan one was easy to pick out.  In fact, people who make pop art out of old license plates usually work with those blue plates.  It is a classic look.


For that matter, I was even reflecting on the Wisconsin plates the same way.  When I was young, for the most part, Wisconsin had what was not-so-affectionately called the bumble-bee plates, solid yellow with black lettering.  Certainly, there is nothing endearing about the look.  The police must have loved them since they were so easy to read.  If you were out of state, the locals could recognize you were from Wisconsin in a heartbeat.  Perhaps ugly, but still unmistakable.  I suppose hardly anyone would want to go back to those license plates, but today I kind of missed them.