Lake Geneva Shore Path... not for the faint of ankles

I've lived in the area surrounding Lake Geneva in 3 different towns for a total of 15 years now. Ah, Lake Geneva, the playground of the rich and famous...and everyone else in between on a summer weekend! Most common folk in town for a day or two lounge around the lakeshore in downtown, take a lake cruise, walk around to all the shops and stop somewhere nice to eat, but Lake Geneva has a few more things to offer if you take the time to look for them.

Last fall I took my first peek at the Lake Geneva Shore Path which I didn't even know existed before then! I picked up the path on the north side for about 2 miles and then turned around and headed back to my car for a leisurely afternoon of mansion gawking. The south side of the lake is where the bigger mansions are mostly located, but on Sunday I was itching for a long walk after being cooped up in the office all week and decided to park at Big Foot Beach and pick up the path across the street near the Geneva Inn on the north side of the lake. It was a perfect day for a stroll around the lake, temperatures having dropped down to the 70's and staying there the night before and the sky was sunny with just the right amount of fluffy clouds. What more could a girl ask for? I wasn't on the path a few minutes before a challenge presented itself.

Now, most people would see this sign and say to themselves, I don't think so! I saw this sign and said, I was going to do 6-7 miles round trip anyway, why not walk all the way to Fontana! I have a 20 year old son at home I can call to pick me up, right? I figured I'd wait another hour and then call him to come meet me in Fontana later.

The full length of the path is around 21 miles from start to finish. The 20 feet closest to the lake are deemed public access according to a law passed in 1975, the decision being made formal after many years of casual agreement.  The Geneva Lake Association has posted about two dozen signs along the lake path laying out the rules for co-existence between the path hikers and the property owners. If you go, be prepared with good hiking shoes and water at the very least, and if you bring your dog, be prepared with bags for its waste. The section I took has no access to services of any kind.

So the path itself...is not easily described. In many places it's old flagstones set into lawns, in others it's an actual dirt path. Sometimes there are stairways going down to piers to navigate as part of the travel plan, or a beach, or someone's patio, and sometimes it disappears completely and you just wander across people's lawns hoping you're on the right track and not intruding on accident.



 

The section from Lake Geneva as far as Black Point was very visually stimulating, but also most of it was canted towards the lake, so after some time I developed a sore left ankle and started having to put my weight down on my forefoot on the angled sections.

 

 In general I'm not overly impressed with the exterior of mansions, but I do enjoy creativity and a few homes provided some surprises that made me smile, like the one shaped like a boat!

I liked the big clock on this one...didn't notice the sunbather until later!

Not quite sure what this was about...but it was definitely different!

The path got a little confusing in the town of Linn. At one of their Lake Geneva boat access points the path turned onto a paved road and meandered through the subdivision for awhile before going through the woods and emerging onto the golf course! There was no sign telling you which way to go, so I turned right and hoped for the best. I don't know what the flowers were that were blooming here, but they smelled great!

 If things weren't confusing enough, the path led right to the corner of the Lake Geneva Country Club, and you pass underneath the building itself. At least at that point the path once again became recognizable.

 After an hour on the path I started trying to call Cory, figuring if I found out he wasn't home I could always turn around and head back. He didn't answer...and didn't answer...and still didn't answer. But I kept going because I knew that meant he was asleep and therefore home as opposed to being on his way to work or somewhere else.

The section from Black Point to Fontana was flatter and wider and I got there just as the Lake Geneva Cruise Line was letting off a tour group.  If I ever walk this section again with a buddy I'd start in Fontana, go to Black Point and return back. The first half had its charms, but it was hillier and just harder to navigate in general. More people started emerging as I got closer to Fontana, both on the path and on the lake, and most everyone was friendly.



By the time I made it as far as the Lake Geneva Yacht Club I was starting to get a bad feeling about not being able to reach Cory because I knew he had to work and I was afraid I was going to have to turn around and just walk all the way back on my own. Finally I got Wayne to call a neighbor and have him go to the house and wake up Cory, and luckily there was just enough time for him to come get me at the Yacht Club entrance. I was exhausted, hungry, my knees and ankle were throbbing, and I had some explaining to do about my impulsive decision to walk at least 7 miles without planning ahead. But, it all worked out in the end. I plan to do the segment from Fontana to Williams Bay as a shorter round-trip excursion someday soon, and at some point I'll go from Lake Geneva to Williams Bay and arrange for a water taxi back if it doesn't turn out to be too expensive.

I also work in Lake Geneva, and earlier this week I went on a few walks on my lunch breaks to check out some of the historic residential architecture...but more about that another day!

Update: check out the Fontana to Williams Bay section on my second post about the Shore Path!

Don't want to walk? Take a cruise instead!

Many homeowners had beautiful landscaping along the path

Thank you, President Obama

I saw this on my daughter's Facebook page to celebrate August's arrival. I thought it would be a great way for me to start off my August posting as well. Thank you Eau Claire College Democrats for posting this, and thank you, Mr. President, for taking steps to make affordable health care an option for more women!

My Dark Obsession

Are you ready to look into the dark corners of my soul? I'm a sick person. I am helpless with desire as I approach my destination. I travel all over to feed my dark obsession, distance is no deterrent.  Today I only had to go as far as Burlington, Wisconsin.

The curves of the glass display gleam under the soft lights. My eyes caress the array of colors, from lustrous creams to burnished mahoganies to satiny sables. The aroma is delectably decadent, the choices are endless, one is never enough.

Obsession? Addiction? Six of one, half a dozen of the other...and no, I do not want that hand picked box of chocolates gift wrapped, I'll be eating them all myself, thank you very much.



I've only eaten two (so far) today, but this shop definitely won't make my Top 3 list. A little heavy on the sugar, a little too safe with the flavoring. The 3 best specialty chocolate makers I've found so far:

1. Gail Ambrosius, Madison, Wisconsin - I cannot say enough good things about Gail Ambrosius chocolates. There are no words, but here's the ones Gail uses on her website, "Real chocolate is strong, earthy, fruity, floral … a whole world that unfolds on your palate. It’s the deepest, densest tropical jungle mixed with the refinement of Paris and the sheer wonder of childhood." Amen, Sister!

Gail only makes dark chocolate, so if you're into the milky stuff you're out of luck. You can find Gail’s chocolates at her store on Atwood Avenue and a number of wonderful shops and restaurants in the Madison area which are listed on her website. And if you can’t make it to Madison, you can shop online. But be prepared to pay extra to get that gorgeous chocolate to you in peak condition. No cutting corners with chocolates like these! My favorite is the tea inspired collection, especially the Earl Grey, but the gold brushed Buddhas are delightfully delicious as well.

 2. Chubby Chipmunk, Deadwood, South Dakota - I kid you not! I was a little unsure when we pulled up in front of this building on the edge of Deadwood, but the chocolates in here are worth the trip to Deadwood alone! All the confections were amazing, not just the truffles. After tasting the raspberry dark chocolate truffles I bought for my daughter I had to go back inside for more because there was no way those were making it home to her! Yum! Photo courtesy of Seriously Foodie.

3. Chocolat´, Galena, Illinois - I admit to stealing the photo below, but I paid for every sinful chocolate I've eaten there. When Wayne and I went to Galena we stumbled upon this shop. We bought $20 worth of fine chocolates...ate them all that night and went back the next day for more. He loved them, and he doesn't even have much of a sweet tooth. The shop is just beautiful, and Galena is not only a shopper's paradise, it has a lot of neat historical things to do as well. We were there in November to celebrate our anniversary without the crowds and toured a mansion, stayed at the historic DeSoto Hotel, and visited the home of Ulysses S. Grant as well. I've also been to Galena and taken the trolley tour in early summer and that was nice also.

Don't want to go to all that trouble of picking out chocolates at a specialty shop? There are great bars available at your local retailers. I'm partial to Chocolove, I about die when I lay my eyes on their crystallized ginger dark chocolate bar, available at Whole Foods and other fine markets. My second favorite is Lake Champlain, especially the coffee filled dark chocolate bar and the peppermint crunch bar. Check their website for retailer locations.  And last but not least, I never pass up the opportunity to drop in to World Market and pick up some dark chocolate with sea salt which is available in their stores only.

My advice? Own your obsession, feed your addiction...even sicknesses like mine are good in moderation!

That's My Cory

On Friday our son Cory turned 20. How did that happen?

The first few months of his life was a whirlwind of exhaustion because Cory was a screamer! But in between the lusty howls of colic there were moments of sweetness, and he was definitely a charmer. His sister just adored him and was kissing on him all the time. That child was baptised in saliva! The colic passed, and Cory was on the move...walking by the time he was nine months old and into all kinds of trouble. One day I caught him climbing across the kitchen stove to try to get to something on top of the fridge. Yikes! It wasn't long before we had to buy him one of those kiddie leashes to keep track of him. Some of the Newfoundland relatives even called him the Energizer Bunny!  He would just go and go until he collapsed. We have a lot of pictures of him asleep because it was the only time he held still long enough for me to take them.

Yes, he was hard work...but so worth every exhausting minute! He had the most infectious laugh, and sometimes I felt sorry for him as Wayne tickled him yet again just to hear it. He loved his people and his pets fiercely, sometimes squeezing a little too tightly but he just couldn't help showing physically how much love he was feeling.

Enthusiastic would be the word I'd probably pick to best describe him when he was little.  Whatever he was interested in at the moment, he went after it with an intense energy and a focus that was amazing.  When he was a preschooler it was trains and dinosaurs.

Over the years the object of his fascination would change, but that focus would stay the same. He was as easily bored as he was amused, and some of my favorite memories are of how he would ham it up when he had enough of sitting around waiting for the excitement to begin.  Whenever he said or did those quirky things of his I just said, "That's my Cory!" I get the opportunity to still say it sometimes!

He was so kind and generous with others, and had a heart that was so easily bruised when the world was not as kind as he was. He loves everyone in his life, but he's always had a close relationship with his sister, something I was so grateful for since I was an only child and had heard so many other people's sibling stories that didn't turn out as sweetly as theirs did. I feel good knowing that they will have each other through their lives.

I was watching some home movies the other night with Cory and his girlfriend, and it's strange how your heart can be so sad for what is gone and so full of love and pride at the same time. He's all grown up now, and I'm so glad he's becoming as good a man as he was a boy, but in a way to me he'll always be that little boy who could make my heart melt and keep me going doing the incredibly hard but rewarding job of "mom".  Happy Birthday, Cory!

Elmer's Car and Toy Museum

Looking for something different? We found it at Elmer's Car and Toy Museum in Fountain City, Wisconsin. Antique cars, racecars and trucks, Indian and Harley Davidson motorcycles, antique bicycles and a collection of over 500 pedal cars. Not enough for ya? They also have a collection of dolls and toys as well. We almost missed this opportunity by judging a book by its cover. The cover looked a little something like this.

And that's the nice photos! After taking turn after turn up the bluff to get to the place, you drive past Elmer's, er, junkyard to get to the museum. When we pulled up to the barns we drove right through the aisles of cars that were busy being claimed by the earth.  We were very hesitant, but with no other plans we paid our entrance fee and walked over to the barns.

Unfortunately, photography is not permitted inside the outbuildings, which is a shame because some of those cars would have been a delight to shoot! The extent of the collection is really remarkable, many cars with hardly any miles on them. Their website does have a few photos on it, so click their link if you're wondering whether it's worth your time. The workers are all knowledgeable and were happy to share information as we walked around.  I didn't get into the buildings that housed the toys and dolls due to air fresheners being used in them, but Wayne enjoyed them while I wandered the junkyard aisles looking for inspiration. I didn't do too badly....but I sure wish I'd been able to photograph that robin's egg blue Auburn I saw! The worker told us about the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana, so I'm going to try to work that into one of our trips out east because I checked and they do allow photography.  In the meantime, enjoy the rusty stuff...I know Diana will love it!

Winona National Bank

The most interesting building we saw while in Winona, Minnesota was the Winona National Bank which was recommended to us by the worker at Sole Sport when we stopped in to look for an oar tether for the kayak.

 When it was built in 1916 it was called Winona Savings Bank but became Winona National Bank shortly afterward. The entrance pillars are made of granite and were quarried in North Carolina. When we opened the front door I thought I'd somehow traveled to downtown Chicago!

When we started admiring the Diebold steel vault we ended up getting a tour from a bank employee. The Tinos Green marble is from Greece and the English Vein marble is from Italy. The reason why it looked like a building one might see in downtown Chicago is because the architect was George Maher, who moved to Chicago at the age of 13 to be an apprentice in the architectural firm of Bauer and Hill. At the time Chicago was becoming a center for innovation in architecture as it was being rebuilt from the fire of 1871. By 1887 Maher was working in the large and influential office of Joseph L. Silsbee where Frank Lloyd Wright  was among his co-workers.

After getting a brief tour of the vault we were encouraged to explore the bank on our own. We got a great view of the vault from the second floor landing, then moved on up to the third floor which held lots of surprises. The furniture upstairs is the original Prairie School influenced furniture and was renovated in 1991. The third floor also houses a collection of guns and trophies from the original owner's 1942 African safari, including a now extinct black rhino.

 

Every last detail was breathtaking, the marble,the Tiffany stained glass window, mahogany stair rail, decorative floor tiles, original working light fixtures and even the vent coverings and skylights. The best part was unlike a tour of an architectural wonder in Chicago, there were no crowds and you could wander around and enjoy the splendor while trying to imagine a time when such attention to detail mattered... and it was free, too! I hope we can find more gems like this in our future travels. If you know of any, please share!

Historic Winona

The first day we were camping we drove over to visit my dad at his campsite across the Minnesota border in Winona. It was his birthday the day before so we cooked up some steaks and brought along some cupcakes also.

While passing through Winona we noticed that there was some great architecture in town.
Winona only has a little over 27,000 people living there now, but used to be a center of industry due to its location on the Mississippi River. Growth in Winona was built on a railway and steamboat transportation system, lumber and wheat milling. In 1856 over 1,300 steamboats stopped at Winona. The Winona Railway Bridge was the second railway bridge to span the Mississippi and during the 1860s southern Minnesota was the greatest wheat producing region in the country and Winona was the main port for shipping Minnesota wheat. The Winona sawmills reached their peak production in 1892 when they produced over 160 million board feet (380,000 m³) annually and ranked eighth in production of lumber in the upper Midwest. During the late 1800's Winona was the place to be!

One of our stops was the Winona County History Center.  For a small museum there was lots to see.  While driving through town over the next few days we saw a lot of surprising things, so if you're passing through Winona stop and give it a closer look!

coffee cart from the Temperance Society ladies