Holiday Music Motel

I ran across the Holiday Music Motel a couple of years ago after we started exploring more unique lodging, but we didn't get a chance to stay there until this month.
Located in Door County's Sturgeon Bay, WI, the motel was built in the 1950s and underwent renovation in 2008.
As we checked in, we were greeted by a wall of Route 66 photos and a cheerful front desk clerk who told us our room featured original 50s furniture.
The beds were upgraded and comfy, but the desk, nightstand and chair were indeed vintage and quite attractive with their green and white motif.
The bathroom had what appeared to be original tile and an appropriate-era wall sink, but everything was tidy and clean.
The main floor rooms were pet friendly and the second floor was for pet free guests. Being on the main floor with our dog, we did occasionally hear footsteps above, but not so much that it was bothersome.
I got a kick out of the counter style continental breakfast room with the low vinyl-topped stools. The breakfast room housed serve yourself coffee, cereals, pastries and fruit.
The motel even features live entertainment on the lawn, which we unfortunately were not on site for.

Holiday Motel
30 N. 1st Ave
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

Frederick C. Bogk House

The Frederick C. Bogk House, built in 1917, is Frank Lloyd Wright's only single-family residential project in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The house is located on N. Terrace Avenue and is used as a private residence.

Frederick C. Bogk House
2420 N. Terrace Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Sauk City, WI and vicinity

On a recent Saturday morning as I sat reading the paper, my husband said "You'd better get in the shower...you're being kidnapped."
"Kidnapping" is a tradition my friends and I came up with several years ago. The nabbers plot and plan a secret trip for the victim, perhaps having to tell them the date(s) of said trip in advance, but nothing else. The kidnappers plan everything and whisk the person off to destination unknown.
The only clue I received regarding this trip was that it was someplace we had never been before.
We drove for a couple of hours, eventually crossing into Wisconsin. Was it Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's house in Spring Green? Nope.
We decided to detour into Madison for lunch and ended up heading out of the college craziness to a more sedate neighborhood where we noticed an inviting looking place called Mickey's Tavern.
Nearby there was a bike path, the Yahara River Bike Path.
Once inside, we were directed to help ourselves to some coffee or water at the side bar and take a seat.
We selected a small table near the door and I drank in the delightful art deco-esque decor.
After we ordered iced teas, StfRon decided to go with the World's Greatest Sandwich, which was sort of a BLT with an egg and cheese. I went for a steak sandwich which involved ginger after wavering between it and the portobello sandwich. Both came with chips and slaw.
The sandwiches were tasty, the slaw not the creamy variety.

During our visit we did venture to the restroom and were able to check out some of the other rooms. I especially enjoyed the room with the pool table, with its bright, funky colors and mod pendent lamps.

Back on the road, my husband revealed our first destination just a few minutes from our arrival at the Wollersheim Winery in Sauk City.
The property, first selected for vineyards in the 1840s, made us feel like we were back in the Rhine Valley in Germany, with its hills and stone buildings. The property was purchased by the Wollersheim family in 1972.
Oddly enough, I later found that my parents had visited the winery many years ago with me in tow as a child.
We headed to the tasting bar and asked which wines were made with grapes grown on site. We tasted three of them and were surprised to find that we really enjoyed the Prairie Blush, so much so that we each ordered a glass. We normally drink red wine, mostly Zinfandel and Cabernet.

We took our wine out onto the grounds and walked around, heading toward what appeared to be an old stone wine cellar graced with a beautiful ornate gate. We sat on a nearby bench for a bit and enjoyed our wine, then headed back to the wine store.
Upon looking at the literature for the Prairie Fumé, we decided we should sample that wine as well, since it garnered Wisconsin’s famous nationally-acclaimed Double Gold and Gold medals. We found it to be crisp, fruity and refreshing, so we bought a bottle to go.
On our way out, I stopped and snapped a photo of the charming Ganser's Motel sign, which sadly had no vacancy lit up.

We next stopped in downtown Sauk City and poked around in some antique shops, then headed on to Lodi to check into our hotel.
We visited downtown Lodi for a bit of shopping and exploring, then headed for the next phase of my surprise trip, dinner plans at a German restaurant in Roxbury (the address is Sauk City).

The Dorf Haus Supper Club was originally a grocery store and tavern, purchased in 1859 by Vern and Betty Maier who began serving dinners a couple of years later.


Approaching the restaurant, we noticed the parking lot across the road, which was next to a beautiful church, was full of cars. We cruised the restaurant parking lot and found nothing, so headed across the street to park and wondered about our chances at getting a table for our early dinner.
Walking inside, however, we were relieved to see that the hostess stand was quiet and the bar was only moderately full. Turns out there was a wedding party in the banquet room.
We mentioned we would like to enjoy a cocktail before dinner and our hostess was very accommodating, offering to come and get us in about 30 minutes.
We thoroughly enjoyed the beer as well as the company of the customers and staff and the atmosphere of the bar.
We took a seat in the dining room and ordered our meals. I went with Sauerbraten and the beef burgandy soup, StfRon ordered Rahmschnitzel and chicken dumpling soup. Our meals also included a soft white bread and salad bar. I was pleased to find fresh spinach on the salad bar along with a crock of hot bacon dressing.
My soup was wonderfully rich and flavorful. The chicken dumpling soup tasted like my mom's homemade chicken and noodles.
The tender Sauerbraten had a distinct ginger gravy and the accompanying spatzle had a nutmeg flavor. Both meals featured appropriate portions, and at $15.95 each, seemed like a steal.
We also split a chocolate mousse cake, which was surprisingly good.

Leaving pleasantly full, we decided to stop by the third staple in Roxbury, the Roxbury Tavern.
The place had an eclectic flair, and was hosting Cajun night. We each ordered a beer from the busy but friendly lady tending bar and I wandered over to read some newspaper clippings posted on the wall, taking in the colorful history of Sam the former tavern dog and the burning of pianos. Back at the bar I checked out the breakfast menu and thought it sounded scrumptious, but alas we headed in another direction when we left the next morning.

Sunday morning we drove through Mount Horeb, former home of the mustard museum, took in the wooden troll collection and checked out the scrap iron menagerie (a fun collection of iron creatures made by Wally Keller) where a dog stood sentry, barking at us to protect his home. We detoured into Monticello and saw a great Blatz beer sign, amidst the intense construction in the downtown area.
We drove through Monroe and discovered that the Joseph Huber brewing company is now Minhas, and noted with interest their annual cheese festival.
And soon we were home, with memories of another great road trip.

Mickey's Tavern
1524 Williamson Street
Madison, WI, 53703


Wollersheim Winery
7876 Wisconsin 188
Sauk City, WI 53583-9529

Ganser's Motel
 7433 Wisconsin 188
Sauk City, WI 53583

Dorf Haus Supper Club
8931 Hwy Y
Sauk City WI 53583

Leon's Frozen Custard

Leon's Frozen Custard, family owned and operated since 1942, is considered a Milwaukee, Wisconsin landmark. Open year round with carry-out service, they feature what they claim to be the "World's Finest Frozen Custard" in a handful of flavors as well as hot sandwiches and hot and cold drinks.

Leon's Frozen Custard opened on May 1, 1942.

The building was remodeled in the early 50s, leaving it with the eye-catching archi-

tecture it features today. The business is still owned and operated by the original family.

Leon's is also rumored to be one of the inspirations behind Arnold's from TV's Happy Days. Currently there is no longer carside service, and there has not been any for many years.

We made the trek out to Leon's to see what all the hype is about. Being from Illinois, the only frozen custard we've had is from Culver's.

My husband ordered a chocolate cone while I went for a chocolate malt.

The chocolate custard on the cone was delectable, rich and creamy with a hearty chocolate flavor. The malt paled in comparison and made me wonder if they had forgotten to add any chocolate. Next time it's a chocolate custard cone for me!

Leon's Frozen Custard

3131 South 27th Street

Milwaukee, WI 53215

Wadhams pagoda-style gas station

With its unique pagoda-style design, Wadhams Gas Station in West Allis, Wisconsin is one place I wanted to take a look at.

Built by Milwaukee architect Alexander Eschweiller in 1916, the steel-frame, glass-walled design is considered iconic.

The station was restored to the 1950 appearance in 2000 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the summer of 2004.

The building is quite beautiful with its remarkable red roof, and there are also lovely stained glass inserts in the roof displaying the letter W.

Looking inside the windows at the historic display, I was amazed at how tiny and efficient the space was and could imagine an employee hard at work in this tiny pagoda.

There are several old cans and bottles of petroleum products on display, and I thought it was funny how many variations of Mobil hand lotion there were. The mechanics must have been concerned about keeping their hands soft and supple back then!

There were also several neat maps and brochures on display.

While at the site, my husband checked the Geocaching web site and found there was a cache hidden on site, so we searched for that for a while before finding it, then logged our find and continued our travels.

Wadhams Gas Station

1647 South 76th Street

West Allis, WI 53214

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

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

Metro Milwaukee and homeward bound

This weekend we squeezed in a short trip to the Milwaukee area.
My mom found a German restaurant online she wanted to check out, which was located in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Weissgerber's Gasthaus turned out to be a lovely European styled building with beautiful decor.
The Gasthaus has been serving German favorites for more than 30 years.
My mom and I both started with the spinach salads with hot bacon dressing (a la carte for $4) and both chose the Sauerbraten ($21) as our entrée.
StfRon went with the pork shank ($25), over three pounds of roasted pork on the bone. My dad chose the Rouladen ($22).
From the pretzel rolls and ciabatta style bread to the spinach salads topped with savory dressing to the tangy Sauerbraten and red cabbage, everything was wonderful. I didn't finish it all, and didn't even get to sample the sauerkraut. If it was anything like the red cabbage, I surely missed out.
We've sampled a couple of German restaurants in the Milwaukee area over the years, and I would rate my meal at the Gasthaus the best meal I've had in Wisconsin thus far.

Unlike Saturday, Sunday dawned a picture perfect Milwaukee spring day. Because of the great weather, we enjoyed breakfast outdoors and ended up hanging around the city a bit longer, taking our time on the way home. We checked out a couple of antique shops, and started the trek south sometime after noon.
StfRon pulled off the Interstate in Delavan, WI, to see about some lunch options.
Interestingly enough, it turns out Delavan has some fun history. We noticed the statue of Romeo the elephant along the main brick street, and got out to see what the town's claim to fame was.
In 1847, the Mabie brothers, owners of the U.S. Olympic Circus, then the biggest traveling show in America, selected Delavan for their winter headquarters. This was a year before Wisconsin became a state and 24 years before the Ringling Brothers raised their first tents in Baraboo.
Delavan’s land and water was a great fit for the circus animals. The Mabie brothers' circus stayed on Delavan Lake, where their dynasty survived in Wisconsin for the next 100 years.
From 1847-1894, as the circuses grew in strength and numbers, hundreds of performers from over 26 circuses wintered in Delavan.
P.T. Barnum Circus was also founded in Delavan, in 1871.
Delavan's circus run came to an end in the mid 1980s when the E.G. Holland & Co. Railroad Circus shut down.
More than 250 members of these circuses are buried in cemeteries in Delavan.

Our next jaunt off the Interstate was Clinton, WI, because StfRon spotted an 1895 limestone water tower from the highway.
We decided to see if there were any geocaches in the area, and I found one that I wanted to check out.
The cache was placed near a historic bridge spanning 400 feet across the Turtle Creek Valley near the village of Tiffany.
The Tiffany bridge is a 5 arch stone bridge built with no steam or power in 1869, one of the most scenic railroad bridges in northern IL/ southern WI. It is still in active use on the Janesville branch of the Union Pacific Railroad.
On such a beautiful day, the site was quite peaceful. We saw several people canoing and had it been a tad warmer, I probably would have stretched out on the grass where I could hear the water bubbling along the creek and taken a nice rest. But we had to get home some time, so off we went.
I'm glad we found out about this site and were able to check it out.

Weissgerber's Gasthaus
2720 N Grandview Blvd
Waukesha, WI 53188

Delavan, WI 53115

Tiffany, WI 53511

Landmark 1850 Inn

We visited the Landmark 1850 the weekend of June 23, 2007.

On this visit, we went in search of the Landmark 1850 Inn, the oldest tavern in Milwaukee, constructed of beautiful cream city brick. The building used to be a stagecoach stop.
The place was neat; lots of history, from the converted gaslight sconces to the antique woodwork and tin ceiling to the neat old black and white photos throughout.
The Landmark also sports a decent patio area.
We also noticed some newer touches, but overall it was great to see this establishment, and they had almost 50 draft beers to choose from.
The food selection is light, pizzas and such, but the cozy atmosphere and large selection of beer, it's worth checking out.

Update - I have heard that as of December 2007, the Landmark was closed for remodeling. As soon as I know more, I will post about it.

Landmark 1850 Inn
5905 South Howell
Milwaukee, WI 53207

Village Supper Club

Traveling on Route 32 in Wisconsin, the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, you can hardly travel 10 miles without seeing an interesting looking supper club, family restaurant or cocktail lounge, usually proclaimed by some retro neon sign.
We stopped to check out the Village Supper Club, in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
It was odd at first for us to be in a place that allowed smoking, since our home state of Illinois recently went smoke free.
The dining room was small and cozy, done in dark wood, with a bar along one wall. The bar was topped with shelves housing bottle after bottle of an interesting collection of vodkas. There was Virgin Vodka, vodka bottles shaped like dolls, even a vodka bottle with a skull on it. Someone has quite an extensive collection. Along the restaurant wall, there is quite an array of beer cans as well.
After this most recent stint driving on 32 from Milwaukee to Chicago, we were discussing how much fun it might be to do a supper club/cocktail lounge crawl in the area, after booking a room at one of the motor lodges nearby.
We had a drink and had to be on our way, but would love to come back and check out dinner some time.

Village Supper Club
10909 Sheridan Rd
Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158