Tinker Swiss Cottage

On our visit to Rockford, Illinois in March, we stopped to see the Tinker Swiss Cottage.
The architecture of the building was beautiful, and StfRon was interested in taking the tour, so we paid our $12 admission in the gift shop and waited for the tour to start.
On this rainy Saturday in March, we were the only two waiting for the 3:00 tour, so we got a private tour of sorts.
Built in 1865 by Robert Hall Tinker, the house is filled with stunning woodwork. We started in the sun porch area, and I don't think I would ever have grown tired of studying the room.
The gentleman who gave us our tour was engaging and full of interesting stories, and the house was very impressive with all of its beautiful wood and hand painted scenes on the walls and ceilings.
The property was left to the Rockford Park District by the family, and all of the belongings were intact when the park district took over. As a result, there is a lot of good information on the history, including some diaries kept by Tinker.
I had heard about the suspension bridge on the property and was looking forward to walking across it, but it was closed during our visit.
Due to the heavy rain that day, I forgot to get a photo of the exterior (photography is not allowed of the interior). I'll stop back on a sunny day and take a picture of the house, and hopefully get to test out the suspension bridge as well. Actually, we also need to go back to take another stab at finding the geocache located on the Tinker Swiss property. We looked for a bit, but the rain eventually sent us back to the car.

Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum
411 Kent Street
Rockford, IL 61102

Der Rathskeller

Early in March we had a chance to stop for dinner at Der Rathskeller in Rockford, Illinois.
In business since 1931; the restaurant is said to be the oldest in Rockford operating in its original location.
We were just under an hour early for dinner, so we sat at the bar to wait for the downstairs dining room to open. From here we were able to check out the many sausages and cheese offerings. Most of the sausages are made on site, with a few of them coming from Usinger's of Milwaukee.
Once the basement dining room was open, we headed down and took a seat. I get the feeling that the basement decor has not changed much over the years, especially since there was a picture on the wall near our table displaying the dining room from years ago, and we recognized the same quaint chairs and the same wall sconces. There's something to be said for leaving things the same.
I started my meal with a cup of the beef Spatzle soup and found it to be delicious. The stock tasted homemade, perfectly savory and chocked full of Spatzle.
As my entrée, I went with a Schweineschnitzel, which was a special menu item that evening, along with red cabbage and potatoes. Everything was quite good, although after sampling my husband's sauerkraut, next time I would select that over the red cabbage.
Service was good and the waitresses helped each other out with the tables. My only complaint was that they congregated right next to our table a few times and chatted amongst themselves, since we were right near the kitchen serving counter.
Der Rathskeller was quite the find, and I know we will be trying to work more visits there into our trips back and forth to Milwaukee.

Der Rathskeller
1132 Auburn Street
Rockford IL 61103

Rock Men

On March 7 we visited Rockford, Illinois and ran across the Rock Men.
Located on the Rock River recreation path, south of the greenhouse in Sinnissippi Park, the Rock Men Guardians are four majestic 12 foot tall granite men made by sculptor Terese Agnew in 1987.

Rock Men
1401 N. Second Street
Rockford, IL 61107

Wisconsin Concrete Park

We originally visited the concrete park in mid September 2003

My mom, husband and I were on our way to Bayfield, Wisconsin and the Apostle Islands one evening when our headlights glinted off something alongside the road. We didn't think much of it, but on our way back home a few days later we had a bit more light left in the day, and were quite surprised by what we saw.
The Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips, Wisconsin is a collection of over 200 concrete sculptures built by the retired lumberjack Fred Smith.
Fred Smith, a lumberjack, was born on September 20, 1886 in northern Wisconsin to German immigrants.
In 1936, he and two other men, John and Albert Raskie, built the Rock Garden Tavern on Route 13 just outside of Phillips. It was during the construction of the tavern that Smith began to become interested in sculpting.
After Smith retired from the lumberjack trade, he took over the operation of the Rock Garden Tavern.
Over the next several years, Smith created over 200 sculptures which range over a 3 1/2 acre site next door to the tavern.
There are characters and scenes from fiction and history, like Paul Bunyan and Abe Lincoln and the chariot race scene from Ben Hur.
Smith built the figures on wooden frames, wrapped them in wire and then covered them with cement and embedded the broken glass, bottle bottoms and beer caps, among other items, into the sculptures.
What a neat discovery this was for us, and it really sparked the whole Roadside Trail Mix style of traveling we've since adopted.

Wisconsin Concrete Park
N8236 South Hwy 13
Phillips, WI 54555

Highland Park Diner

We originally visited the Highland Park Diner in mid July, 2007.

When I found out we would be coming through Rochester, NY, I made note of the address of the Highland Park Diner so we could stop by and visit this landmark.
When we drove up to the building, we were instantly charmed by it.
The diner is an original 1948 art-deco styled diner manufactured by the Orleans Diner Company, still occupying its original location.
It may be the only surviving one of this manufacturer, as only two or three were produced.
Most of the interior was removed in the 70s, but it was purchased by a new owner in the 80s and restored.
We tucked into a cozy booth in the back corner and admired the retro decor, from the quilted stainless backsplash to the neon lining the arched ceiling.
The Highland Park was cool and clean, the service friendly and the food was good.
We even tried the apple pie because apparently Conde Nast voted in best apple pie a few years back. It was good, but I won't say it was the best apple pie I've ever had. But if I ever find myself anywhere near Rochester again, I will definitely be back.

Highland Park Diner
960 Clinton Ave S
Rochester, NY 14620

Koz's Mini Bowl

This month for my husband's 40th birthday, we decided to hunt down Koz's Mini Bowl in Milwaukee, WI.
We found the nondescript building after riding several blocks through older neighborhoods in Milwaukee.
The current owners purchased the bar, featuring miniature bowling lanes, in 1978.
We opened the door and stepped into a somewhat small bar with a pool table in the middle of the first room. Looking through the doorways into the next room, we could get a glimpse of the mini bowling lanes.
The 17 foot lanes were installed in the 1950s and use mini balls, mini pins and employ humans to set up the pins and do ball return duty for the bowlers.
Talking to the owner Carol, it seems we lucked out because she had a no show on a reservation, and it was possible we could have their lane. She was going to give them a few more minutes to turn up. Since we were ravenously hungry, we ordered a couple of Jack's pizzas, a pitcher of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a Coke, and found a seat so we could watch the bowlers.
The music was loud, but it was a lot of songs I remember from high school, so it was right up my alley (no pun intended). And I saw that I wasn't the only one grooving to the tunes.
Shortly we were told we could have the lane, so we got our score sheet, and with Kim at the scoring helm, we let birthday boy take the first turn.
Taking one of the colorful four pound mini balls, he rolled it down the lane for a perfect strike.
Heck, soon we all figured out that this shorter lane/lighter ball bowling made us all look like pros. Matt, my husband and I were getting strikes and spares left and right.
We all struggled a bit to remember how to manually score a bowling game.
The pinsetter men were hustling the four lanes, jumping down to pick up pins and return balls, then back up on their perch to get clear of the lane for the next turn.
On my last frame, I left one pin standing. Our pinsetter, when clearing the pins, had an, er, clumsy moment where he knocked that last pin over. Darn, a spare! Which gave me another frame!
During our visit, Carol also told us that Koz's is the last mini bowl of the kind in Milwaukee.
The place is a real bargain, from the drinks to the bowling (and tips to the pinsetters) and quite a find. We had a great time, and will add this to our list of fun things to do when in Milwaukee. And next time we'll be sure to make a reservation.

Koz's Mini Bowl
2078 S 7th Street
Milwaukee, WI 53204

Old Jail

We ran across this old brick jail while heading to an open house at a local winery.
This was the third village jail in Manito, Illinois, built in 1906. The previous jail was destroyed by fire, so this structure was designed to be as fireproof as possible.
In the late 1970s, the jail was rumored to be slated for demolition. The Manito Historical Society was then formed and worked to save the jail and move it to its present location.
Next door is an original old red village schoolhouse also nicely preserved.
Both are available for tours by appointment.

Old Jail
204 State St.
Manito, IL 61546