Kelley Country Creamery

Dick and Jill were headed back to Milwaukee at the same time we were leaving for Chicago, so we made plans to meet up on the road for lunch. Or maybe just for frozen custard! They knew of a place called Kelley Country Creamery, outside of Fond du Lac. The custard was pretty amazing. …. but not only that, they had this HUGE sunflower field. I was afraid it was going to rain, but it held off long enough for us to do some exploring. It was beautiful, and unexpected, and a good break in a long road trip!

Making the Best of it in WI

On June 26th, my Uncle Doug passed away. His memorial service was in Fremont, WI on June 30. Dallas had to travel to Atlanta that weekend for work, so I took Makai up to WI for a long weekend over the holiday. My Aunt Wanda, his widow, told me two things at the memorial service – When something bad happens, you just have to keep going, because what else can you do? And don’t put things off til tomorrow because you never know. We were there for a sad reason, but tried to make the best of visiting with lots of family.

We left on Thursday night. Dallas had left for Atlanta earlier in the day. I picked Makai up at daycare and we drove from there. For dinner we stopped at Culver’s in Franklin, WI, just outside of Milwaukee. You can see Makai loved his cheese curds and ice cream!

The memorial service was at the funeral home in Fremont, WI, nearby where my uncle lived. Doug, my dad’s brother, was married to my mom’s sister, Wanda, so a ton of my family from both sides came to show support for the family and respect for my uncle. It was very moving to see his army uniform empty.

On display was also many, many photographs and some of his medals from his army service, including the Purple Heart. I never knew much about the Purple Heart, but Aunt Wanda told us “Their camp was hit by enemy mortars (bombs), although he was wounded he helped the other wounded men get loaded into choppers. He still has shrap-metal and foreign matter in his back.”

Following the memorial there were military rites and taps. It was so emotional.

 Following the funeral, we all went to the American Legion, which was only a few blocks away. A lot of people made food so we all had lunch. Doug’s favorite drinks were Budweiser and Jim Beam. My brother already had a Bud, so I got another for my dad and a Bud Light for myself.

My cousin Sabrina informed me that I was doing it wrong. I was supposed to be drinking Budweiser. She took me over the dessert table, grabbed a couple shots of Jim Beam, pointed to the photo above that was on one of the photo collage boards and we both threw them back. Now this crazy photo below is seared into my braid with the glue of Jim Beam.

Outside the American Legion post was a tank. Like… a real one. All the kids were interested in it. It was nice to get a breather outside, checking it out.

It felt weird to just go home after the memorial, but everyone was so exhausted. We needed to rest. Later on we decided to get a fish fry for dinner. After some Googling we ended up at Dairyland Brew Pub. Great beer list. The food was good too.

The next morning I went to Woodman’s with my dad. We purchased food from all of the Wisconsin food groups: Milk, cheese, sausage and corn.

Makai messed around with Grandma. I drank a Rosa on the patio.

Oh, and before Makai and I even woke up, Buddy ran away. At like 4:30 a.m. My mom finally called the police station at about 3 p.m. or so and they said he’d been turned in at 5:30 a.m. Off to break that troublemaker out of jail.

For dinner my dad grilled all the sausages and other meats we got at Woodman’s. We had Aunt Wanda and my cousin Sabrina over for dinner. So they could get out of the house and just relax for a while. Brianne came along too, with her daughter, Annaleigha, and Makai had fun playing with her.

 In the morning I was texting with my cousins Kacey and Stephanie, when we were suddenly like “Why are we texting? Let’s just meet up for lunch!” So we did. At Houdini’s Escape, which I really really liked.

Dawn was out of town, but we texted Sabrina to come and join us. Stephanie mentioned that she was meeting friends at a bar with a patio and a band was playing. It wasn’t far away and was really close to my parents’ house, so off we went. Fun night. Nice friends. Lots of dancing. And, of course, Jim Beam for Uncle Doug.

 While I was out with my cousin’s, Makai spent approximately 95% of the day in the kid pool at my parent’s house!

The next day my cousin Kelly came over from De Pere with her daughters Tessa, Margo and Charlotte, and Charlotte’s friend Kiki. We played around the house and my dad grilled some burgers and dogs for lunch.

After lunch we went to Fritse Park and walked across the trestle bridge that spans Little Lake Butte des Morts. It was a sunny, gorgeous day and we all had so much fun. After walking across and back we played on a playground at the park.

 We were pretty tired after the long walk and playing in Fritse Park, so it was nice to relax for a little while at Herb and Dolly Smith Park, just down the road. I loved the swing benches they had on the lakeside. So peaceful.

The next morning Makai and Grandmas were up baking cookies before I was even out of bed!

 While that was going on, my dad drove out to Uncle Doug and Aunt Wanda’s house and picked a TON of raspberries.

 Makai and I met up with Dawn, Bryan, Keegan and Collin for breakfast at Uncle Doug’s favorite place, Denny’s. We ordered one bowl of grits and each ate a bit in remembrance. Being July 4, it was Dawn’s birthday, so it was nice to see her before heading out of town!

On the way back to Chicago, we stopped in Oak Creek. My brother and Amanda were having a last minute barbecue. Jess had four of her friends over. Stephanie brought her kitten, Sasha!

Shake Shack

While in New York I met up with Tien for my first Shake Shack experience. I think Shake Shack opened just after I moved from New York to Chicago and I haven’t been able to try it on any of my visits back, so I was happy to finally get the chance to see what all the talk is about. We met up at the Battery Park location. I asked Tien what the “standard” order was, I wanted to try just the basic, and not base my judgement off something crazy. I ended up with the ShackBurger (single patty with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and Shack Sauce) and a frozen custard chocolate shake.

I liked Shake Shack. I liked it better than Five Guys, which I just tried a few weeks ago. It could be something to do with the way I ordered, though. I didn’t realize that a double was the standard order at Five Guys. If I was to go there again, I’d make sure to get just a single. Also, I had WAYYY too many toppings. It was so hard to eat and way too much. I did really like the fries at Five Guys, though. Tien and I shared fries at Shake Shack. They were good, but they don’t really stand out in my mind the way that the Five Guys fries do.

And then there’s In-N-Out. The holy grail. It’s hard for me to say if I liked my burger at Shake Shack more. I definitely remember a certain char that I liked on the Shake Shack burger, but I think I’d have to give this one to In-N-Out. Maybe its a nostalgia thing, me reminiscing about my days living in California, but I think I like In-N-Out better. I think the toppings are more fresh. I think In-N-Out uses iceberg? Maybe that’s it?

I must note that my burger at Shake Shack was totally under cooked. So much that I brought it back. I thought it was going to be a long wait, because there was a line out the door and they use a buzzer system, but they plucked a new burger out of the kitchen for me in about 30 seconds. I won’t hold this against them, though. It’s almost to their benefit and shows how great of service they have. The employees in the dining room were very helpful and friendly too. And speaking of the dining room, or the general ambiance of the place, I’d say that Shake Shack does win this. The space was beautiful and modern with lots of glass, metal and dark wood. It did not feel like you were in a fast food chain, which is totally the feeling of In-N-Out and Five Guys.

Anyway, I do not eat burgers that often at all, so this was a great treat for me. Also, Battery Park City? What’s up? Everything down there is brand new and there seem to be a ton of young families living there. Tien went to high school very nearby where we were eating and on the walk to the subway he pointed out all the new things. Aside from a building or two, everything is new. He said that back when he was in school it wasn’t anything…. empty lots. Crazy to think about.

Spa Day in Kohler, WI

To further celebrate Jen’s birthday, this past weekend Jill, Kristin, Jen, Jen’s mom Nancy and I all headed up to Kohler, WI for a pampering girls spa weekend. I’d never spent a whole day at the spa and I’d heard a lot of things about Kohler, so I was excited to check it out.

Note: You’re not allowed to take your phone or electronics around the spa. Which makes sense, because you’re there to totally relax. The photos of the spa and our hotel are from their official websites.

On Saturday afternoon we left for our 2.5 hour drive. I did not want to take my Jeep, since the breakdown was a little fresh in my mind, so I borrowed Jen and Chad’s Smart Car and drove that. Jill rode along with me. Kristin drove the others up in another vehicle just in front of us. In Pleasant Prairie we stopped for a late lunch. I’d already eaten, so I just got a small scoop of the flavor of the day: Backyard Smores. YUM.

We arrived in the late afternoon and checked into two connecting rooms in our hotel, the Inn at Woodlake. Ironically, this is no quaint inn by the lake. Well, it is by the lake, but it is a very modern hotel. All the rooms were wired up to the max. At one point we turned the TV on and Jill was in the hallway, she thought someone was in the bathroom, but we quickly realized that there were TV speakers in the bathroom!

Also, I didn’t really think about it beforehand, but every bathroom in Kohler and the surrounding areas is all rigged up with top-of-the line Kohler products. You should have seen how many jets our shower had!

While we were settling in to our rooms we cracked open a bottle of wine that Kristin brought along. Our rooms overlooked a putting green, a bocce court, an outside seating area and a small lake (I’m assuming Wood Lake). Since the seating area was empty, we brought our wine outside and enjoyed the evening before dinner. The photo above is of the seating area/event space in use, but of course, while we were out there, we had it all to ourselves. Nice and relaxing, next to the lake, which is pretty much where that guy in the back, standing up is pointing.

For dinner we took a very short drive over to Sheboygan and ate at Osteria Nonna Maria. This place was great! Delicious, down-home Italian cooking. Our waitress was Kim and her grandparents own the place. And we got to meet them. They went all out to help us celebrate Jen’s birthday. I’ll have more on this in a separate post, because the restaurant is one place I did take photos.

So, the next morning we headed over to the Kohler Waters Spa. Our hotel offered a free shuttle to anywhere in Kohler that we wanted to go. So convenient. And there was no wait either. When we had the concierge call, it took about 3 minutes for the shuttle to arrive. I was not getting a massage until 11:00, but decided to head to the spa early with everyone. If you were getting any services there you were able to hang around the spa all day and take advantage of the relaxation pool with a waterfall, whirlpools, sauna, steam room, rooftop relaxation room with a huge whirlpool and fireplace, and refreshments like fresh fruit and nuts throughout the 4-story building.

We checked in, got our robe and spa slippers, changed into bathing suits, put everything else into our lockers and then headed our separate ways. I spent a couple hours on the rooftop reading a book on a luxurious lounge chair nearby the fireplace. I switched off between reading, napping and taking dips in a whirlpool all morning. The funny thing is that in the hotel the night before I was reading a Kohler magazine and saw a photograph. I held the magazine up and proclaimed, “I want to go to there!” Guess where I was the next day? Yeh, I spent almost the whole day in the room I had seen in the magazine. So awesome.

At 11:00 it was time for my massage. I didn’t know what kind I wanted to get, so I got the massage sampler. This was 50 minutes of several massage techniques in sequence, including warm stones, stretching, ah-shiatsu (barefoot massage), and sinus pressure relief. I loved the stretching and the warm stones. The barefoot massage was .. uh interesting.. The therapist actually stood on the massage table and held onto bars that were attached to the ceiling while she massaged me with her feet! It was interesting. You couldn’t really tell it was feet. I had a hot compress under my neck and a cold compress on my eyes at that point and really you just feel the pressure the same way you do with hands/arms/elbows. And yes, she did wash her feet right before the procedure!

At noon we all met back up for lunch. We’d pre ordered lunches when we checked in. I had a salad and a glass of wine. Actually, I think everyone got salads. After Culver’s, an Italian dinner and birthday cake the night before, we needed to detox with vegetables!

So everyone else was staying up in Kohler until Monday, but my vacation time from work is severely limited for the rest of the year because of all the vacation time I took for our wedding. So, I needed to head back home in the Smart Car on Sunday. I’d originally planned to leave after lunch, but I realized there was nothing I really needed to be home for. Dallas wasn’t even there, he was in North Carolina. Plus, I was having so much fun at the spa, I didn’t want to leave. Everyone else had afternoon spa services scheduled, but I didn’t because I had planned to leave. I decided to just hang out for the afternoon. I laid around and did more napping and swimming and reading and loafing around. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

When everyone was done with their spa services we all met back up.. for… you guessed it! More laying around! The spa was just so relaxing and beautiful. I never wanted to leave! But, alas, I had to get on the road at some point. I took a shower at the spa and we all left to go back to the hotel. I quickly packed my things and was about to fly out of the room, but oh man! Kristin and Jill were setting up a cheese plate to have pre-dinner snacks and wine. They were eating at the Whistling Straights restaurant. Fancy! I guess my wallet wasn’t going to miss that, but they do have an awesome looking scallop dinner on the menu that I would have loved to try. Oh well.

My drive back to Chicago was pretty uneventful.. until I got close to Chicago. I left Kohler around 6:15 p.m. and expected I’d be back to Jen & Chad’s by 9:15. Around the part where the tollway ends and merges to the Edens I hit some major traffic and was stuck there for something like 70 minutes. More than an hour. Just stopped. Crazy. It did give me time to call my dad for Father’s Day, though! I had seen him a week then and given him a gift (Kona Brewing beer label tshirt of the beer we had at our wedding!), but it was still nice to chat quick on the actual day. Anyway, I didn’t end up getting to Jen and Chad’s to get my car til late, I didn’t get home til after 11 p.m. I was so tired! Monday morning came early!

Despite the drive home, I had a fantastic weekend. I loved hanging out at the spa. Yes, it was way pricey, but I only got one service and then just enjoyed the free amenities. A big thanks to Jill for coordinating every detail of the trip! She was so organized and prepared that I told her she should be applying for event planner jobs! And happy birthday to Jen. Remember, 40 is the new 30!

P.S. Fun fact I just learned while looking up “Kohler, WI” on Wikipedia:

Many people in Wisconsin refer to drinking fountains as “bubblers,” because the first Kohler drinking fountain was known as “The Bubbler.”

…. so! That explains that. Finally!

Frozen Custard @ Scooter’s

Scooter’s Frozen Custard
Scooter’s Chocolate Frozen Custard, Lakeview, Chicago

Figures, now that summer is almost over, Dallas and I went to Scooter’s Frozen Custard for the first time. On Saturday we had dinner and then it was so nice out, we went for a walk and ended up at Scooter’s. The frozen custard was good… I don’t know if I’d say it’s as good as Kopp’s or Culver’s, but it’s definitely closer to our house!

See also –
– The one time Jessica liked Dallas was when he let her eat all his Culver’s frozen custard.
– Photos from a trip to Kopp’s. Includes a chart of how I rank frozen desserts!

Kopp’s Burgers & Frozen Custard

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Kopps, Greenfield, WI

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Kopps, Greenfield, WI

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Kopps, Greenfield, WI

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Kopps, Greenfield, WI

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Stephanie :: Kopps, Greenfield, WI

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Kopps, Greenfield, WI

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Jessica, Greenfield, WI

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Frozen Custard From Kopps Taken Home, Oak Creek, WI

No trip to Wisconsin is complete without frozen custard, so on the way back from New London, before going to Oak Creek so Amanda could change and go to work, we stopped off at Kopp’s. I’d never been there before, my frozen custard experiences have been limited to Culver’s, which is a larger chain and accessible through more of WI and the midwest. Kopp’s only has 3 locations. We went to the one in Greenfield.

The differences? Culver’s has kind of a homey feel where Kopp’s interior is really stark and more like a factory. And at Kopp’s there’s no dining area, just an outside park-like area where people sat on benches and ate. Culver’s is really well known for their ButterBurgers. At Kopp’s the burgers are good, but so huge, there’s no way you could take a whole one down and still have room for the frozen custard. Also, Culvers has a bigger menu than Kopp’s. Having said all that, Kopp’s was really, really good. Both places have a flavor of the day available, as well as chocolate and vanilla frozen custard. Kopp’s was started in the Metro-Milwaukee area so it’s more of a local gem, Culver’s was started in Sauk City, WI but is everywhere now, and has more of a big chain feel.

For dessert, instead of each getting a serving of the flavor of the day, Cookies & Cream, we decided to get a big container to take home and eat.

One other thing to note: Kopp’s frozen custard can be ordered online.

Next up, to check out Omega, another local favorite. Oh, and check out this site that lists all of the daily flavors at all of the Milwaukee-Metro area custard shops.

And finally, here’s a chart showing on a scale of all things ice cream, how I rank frozen custard.

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