Algoma

 After driving 10 hours from New Ulm, we arrived in Algoma, Wisconsin on August 9th.  For those of you unfamiliar with this quaint little town, Algoma has a population of approximately 3000 people and is situated on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Ahnapee River..  There is not a single stoplight!  In fact, there is only one stoplight in the the whole county of Kewaunee.  It's a town where you can step in the middle of the road to take a picture and not get run over!  You sure can't do that in Phoenix.

As we biked around town one morning, I stopped to take a shot of the sign that had been erected since the last time we visited.  If you look close, you can see their lighthouse in the middle of the "o".

Also around town are various paintings depicting former times. The Ahnapee trail was once used by the Ahnapee and Western Railroad primarily for logging, but it also was used to transport German prisoners of war to Door County to help with the fruit harvests.  

The sign on the building above let us know you could have a room upstairs and go to the bakery in the basement for a 5 cent piece of pie.  Seemed like a great idea to me.

And no visit to Algoma would be complete without a stop at Von Stiehl Winery, Wisconsin's oldest winery.  We picked up a case for an unnamed relative and got a few bottles for ourselves. One of their signatures wines is made from Door County cherries.

Roy and Char's house sits a few blocks from Lake Michigan and their back yard butts up to the Ahnapee River.  We spent many hours on their back porch looking out towards the river, at times seeing herons, the local woodchuck, duck families and people kayaking up the river.

Here is one pic that I captured of a Heron looking for it's next meal in the shallow water.

This older house has many amenities that you would never find in a home today.  It was obvious that the man who built and owned the house previously made sure every available space was used. Under the stairs to the basement is a small wooden holder just for Kraut recipes!  Any good German would certainly be thankful for this.  After all, doesn't every household have more than one recipe for sauerkraut?

A locked cabinet for guns and ammunition is located just above the basement steps.

And also above these steps is a special cubby for shoe polish.  Roy and Char were told that is what this was used for so they also use it for this sole purpose.  I know of no other house builder in Arizona that offers these options.  You always know where your guns are (if you own any) and the same goes for shoe polish.

One other nice feature in their lovely home is a laundry shoot.  You can drop your dirty laundry from the first or second floor and it will end up in the basement.  Saves a lot of time going down 2 flights of stairs. It also has a holder for some type of paper (maybe more recipe cards for kraut).

A large cute gnome is a new resident in Char's back garden.  But she also has a two sided one that lets you know whether or not you are welcome. I was glad the gnome had the happy welcome face for us!

Who is "Wine-ing" Now?

 There was no whining at Morgan Creek Winery!  At least not the one that Verl and Clara took us to.  It was a beautiful setting amongst the well manicured grounds and the scenic backdrop.  Plus there was a pianist later on to entertain us as we ate,

A view from our table looking out at the barn.

Verl came out to check on Don and Clara.  Hmm, did we get the right wines ordered for the guys?

 I guess so!  Two light and two dark.  Looked like two small glasses of water and two root beers to me but I knew it wasn't.  

The menu was very limited, but the wood fired pizza was excellent.

And so was the raclette on a toasted bun offered as one of the appetizers.  

We were thankful for the food, the wine, the scenery and the chance to spend the evening with great friends.

Signs of the Times

 All the signs we've seen and photographed got my brain working.  What do signs do?  So here is my take on the different ways they impact our lives:

1) Give you instructions of what to do, or not do:

2) Give you an idea of where you are at while providing additional information.  

3) Provide you with tidbits of history.

4)  Lead you to the best roasted chicken meal in Minnesota.

5) Guide you to the correct trail.....hopefully!

6) Leave you in a conundrum:  Do I go in?  Or wait until we get somewhere else?

7) Provide times of performances. 

8) Make you wonder what in the world the sign meant!  Am I overeating?  😜

The Two "S" Places to visit in Minnesota

 We discovered that two of the popular places to visit both start with S.  Schell's and Schmidt's.  You think they might be German?! 😄   One has great beer (if you are a beer drinker) and the other smoked sausages and meats.  

We arrived in New Ulm on Saturday afternoon.  The next day we were at Schell's Brewery, enjoying the cool weather with no humidity!  Amazing for August in Minnesota. The brewery has been in New Ulm since 1860 and is the second oldest family owned brewery in the U.S.  During Prohibition they had to be innovative since they couldn't sell beer.  One way was selling chocolate candy made by Hershey.  They also sold most of the walnut trees on their property because walnut wood was at a premium at that time.  Like they say "Where there is a will there is a way".

That day they even had live music, so there were quite a few people enjoying their drink of choice while listening to the guy sing and play his guitar before we took the tour.

The grounds are amazing, with a large Victorian house that was built by the family and inhabited for many decades.  It no longer is occupied.

I still have no idea of what Clara, Verl and Don were talking about when I took this photo!

Below is a  view of the back of the house with the unique water fountain built like a gazebo.

Let's just say that Don and Verl REALLY enjoyed the beer tasting after the tour!  Verl got Clara's samples and Don got mine!  They were quite talkative and a bit high by the time we left and headed to Carl's Corner for dinner.

 

We stopped by Schmidt's Meat Market in Nicolett after our first bike ride in Mankato.  The smell of smoked sausage immediately hits your nostrils when you step into the front door.  Oh my!

I've never, ever seen so many different sausages: regular, garlic, Minnesota style, Wisconsin style, etc.  Since I no longer have my small camera, I had Don take these photos.  It was better than being a kid at a candy store.  There was also so many types and varieties of jerky, smoked meats and cheeses.  It was hard to decide what to buy.  We did end up with one sausage, a garden cheese, bratwurst and some beef patties.  Bet your bottom dollar that we are stopping by there on our way to Wisconsin for more of this good stuff.

Seeing New Things in New Ulm

 What is the first place to visit while in New Ulm?  The Glockenspiel of course!  We arrived before noon so we could hear the whole set of chimes.  During December Christmas music is played.  It can either be set to run by technology or by keyboard.

Since it was already lunchtime, we proceeded to the rest of the downtown area.

The weather was absolutely perfect for lunch on the deck at Lola's restaurant.   How in the world were we so lucky that it wasn't hot and humid???  Loved all the cups that were hanging by the outside side door!

After our lunch we headed over to the famous Herman the German statue that sits on a bluff overlooking New Ulm.  He is quite impressive. Until a few months ago, you could walk up the stairs leading up to the statue.  Now there is a charge of $3.00 per person and a person in the booth making sure you paid😒.

Next on the agenda was Martin Luther College that is used by our Lutheran synod to train teachers and pastors.  The beautiful building now referred to as "Old Main"  pictured below was built in 1884.

It was a great time to do a tour of the campus by ourselves.  There were few people around so we wouldn't interfere with the students yet all the buildings were open.  The Chapel of the Christ building is much, much newer! What a beautiful church for all the students to worship in.

Currently we have one granddaughter who is in her senior year there along with her new husband.  Tatum and Jonah will be living near campus in an apartment for their last year.  What an exciting time for both of them!

In the "Naber-hood"

 Long time friends, Verl and Clara Naber, have a summer home in New Ulm and we finally got to stay with them.  They have a lovely old, restored farmhouse that was built in 1888!  Their quaint home still has some original floors and doors still in excellent condition.  Below is a pic that shows Don and Verl on the front porch.

Just across the grass is the house that was built first, in 1881.  

A look inside confirmed the date that the original farm painted on one of the inside walls.

The nearby barn was constructed a few years after the original home.

Verl and Clara closed in the former front porch and made it into an Arizona room. Perfect for sitting in the mornings and afternoons with the natural sunlight.

We were spoiled with our own coffee area in an upstairs bedroom complete with two types of  creamers.  It was the perfect area to have our morning cup of Joe at 6 AM.  

The doors to all the upstairs bedrooms are the original doors (repainted of course).

When they remodeled the upstairs bathroom, they saved the old linoleum from one of the bedrooms.  After some quick research, we surmised that the flooring had to be from the 1920's or 1930's!

But the best thing of all is being here with them!  We have enjoyed the homemade meals, the conversations, laughter and many rounds of cards in the evenings.  Clara may not let us leave until she wins at least one round of Skip-Bo!😂😂