Cheese, Baseball, Fireworks & Music
Transitioning into a new home is always a crazy time for us. Amity has to hit the ground running with adjusting to a new clinic, we have to unpack everything and get settled in, and we have to do some exploring around the new area to see what’s around. Our first few days in Fond du Lac have been very pleasant. It’s nice to adjust back to the Midwestern pace of life, and our new home is so close to Amity’s new clinic that she can walk to work. Our research of the area informed us of some activities we had to check out right away. This included our local lake, Lake Winnebago, the local baseball team—the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders—SummerFest, and lots of cheese. With the 4th of July tied into it all, we found ourselves in our new home in Wisconsin and loving it!
Mile: 67,313
Quote of the Blog: “Sometimes the best therapy is a long drive, good music and good company.” - Anonymous
Song of The Blog: “Ordinary” - Alex Warren
One of the first things we did when we got here was head down to the park on the south shore of Lake Winnebago. This is no more than 2 miles from our house and is a beautiful area. Our first surprise was seeing a wooden covered bridge. This was commonplace when we were living in New Hampshire, but to see one out in the Midwest made both of us smile. The lake is massive. It reminds us a lot of Flathead Lake, but a little dirtier. We probably won’t be doing any swimming in Lake Winnebago. The fishing, though—I was happy to get my lightweight spin rod back out and catch some White Bass. They’re like mini-stripers! The park also has some nice BBQ pits that we took advantage of one night for a little sunset dinner. I have a feeling this is going to be commonplace for us over the next couple of months.
Next up on our list was to check out the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. This is a college-level summer league team. The league is similar to the Cape Cod Baseball League. I personally loved the name of the team—the Dock Spiders. The first week we were in town, they were giving away uniforms to the first 500 fans at the game. I was stoked and made sure to get there early to get one. The team is not doing that well in the league this year, but the level of baseball is still top notch! We really enjoyed the game, and the weather welcomed us back to the Midwest with a beautiful and massive storm cloud. Nothing beats a Midwestern storm! Now that I have a team uniform, I am an official fan of the Dock Spiders. We will be back for more games this summer!
With the weekend being the 4th of July, we had to do two things. First off, celebrate the USA!!! Secondly, we had been told by several friends that we had to check out SummerFest in Milwaukee. So, we put the two together for an awesome 4th of July we will never forget. The drive to Milwaukee from Fond du Lac is just over an hour, which makes it very close for us. The festival is located on the shore of Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee. We have never been to Milwaukee before, and have to say from what we saw it was a nice and clean city. We were able to score some great parking that got us into the venue effortlessly, and at the end of the night got us right out of the city and headed home even more effortlessly.
We had planned on purchasing our ticket to the festival the day we went, but that morning I received a notice that all people getting in before 2 p.m. would get in for free! We easily made that time and scored free entry. The festival has nearly two dozen stages, with all kinds of music from local bands to EDM, classic rockers, and current star artists. We had put on our list to see four artists while exploring for the day: Big Texas, Everclear, Chicago, and Alex Warren. We started our day by exploring the entire grounds. This began with a chairlift ride that goes from one end to the other. It was a beautiful day for a chair ride, and we were able to get a great view of where everything was to help us map out our day. After that, we walked around for a little while before the first artist we wanted to see started.
First up was Big Texas. Amity had done a dance to a song of theirs when she was younger, and I had to see this dance in action. When we walked up to the stage, we were pleasantly greeted with a person dressed as Spiderman doing some awesome dance moves mixed with some “spidey-moves.” It was hilarious! We waited for the one song Amity knew, and she killed it! I love how she can remember a dance she did when she was a teenager. She can never explain them, but when the music hits, she is 100% locked in! We had a bit of time following Big Texas and before the next artist, so we walked down to the lake and sat next to the shore and ate some food in the shade. It’s amazing how big this festival is and how well-kept the venue is.
Next up on the music was Everclear. We had both spent our teenage years rocking to their music. With a few chart-toppers that still get played on the radio, we were excited to see them. We got there just in time to get some good seats for this show, as the venue completely packed out within minutes of our arrival. As with any band that was a hit when we were young, they’re old now! They still rocked out and had all the skill to play the music. It was just a little comical listening to a man in his 60s sing songs about daddy issues—like the song “Father of Mine.” We really did enjoy this show and can check that one off the list.
Next up on our musical carrousel of artists was John Oates. His most famous song comes from when he played with Daryl Hall. This is the song, “Rich Girl.” Amity had heard that he does not play this song at all, because of some legal battle he has going on with Daryl. We still had the lingering hope that he would play it. Unfortunately, he did not. Must be some serious beef, because everything else he played kind of sucked. The sun was still up, but was starting to set. This was greatly appreciated, as it was a really hot day. We did some more exploring, found some local punk rock, drumlines, and all kinds of side music away from the main stages. The vibe was very high, and we were both loving that this was our first weekend in Wisconsin. The next show on our list was Chicago. This was our parents’ generation’s music, and we had to say that we had seen them. Upon them starting, I realized I didn’t know much of their music. At one point, I looked at Amity and asked her, “Is this their Christmas song?” Amity laughed at me and told me it was time to go, as she wanted to see the final artist on our plan.
As we walked over to the stage where Alex Warren was playing, we got to watch some fireworks and see a drone show. This was a pleasant reminder that it was the 4th of July. When we got to the stage, Alex Warren was already starting to play and the venue was PACKED! We were able to find a spot on the side of the seated area to see the stage and dance to the music. I really didn’t know much of his music, but had heard a couple of his songs. By the end of the show, I was a fan. He has a pretty tragic life story and uses his platform to connect with others who have lost family members—to collectively use his music as therapy. While he played, Amity told me that his music was what helped her get through the darkest days of Autum’s battle with cancer. This was touching, as the last concert we were at was the same for me. I am happy she was able to see him, have this moment, and get to dance to some amazing music while thinking about her sister! Alex’s story resonates with a lot of people, and it was obvious during the show. The energy in the crowd when he played songs like “Bloodline” and “Ordinary” were nothing short of electric! His stage had the most people at it that we saw at any show that day—and he wasn’t even on the main stage. Oh, don’t forget… we didn’t pay a penny to go into this festival and got to see him for FREE! Winning!!! Following his show, the festival ended for the night. We made our way back to the car and got on the road back to Fond du Lac. Being just a one-hour drive out of the city is perfect! We were home and in our own bed before we knew it.
With the 4th of July being on a Friday, we still had all weekend to hang out and acclimate to our new home. We spent the rest of the weekend at the local farmer’s market to find the best local cheese curds, exploring around the lake, and testing out some local ice cream. We headed just south of town to Kelly’s Country Creamery, which is a creamery right on a farm. When you can see the cows the cream came from while parking, you know the ice cream is going to be good—and it was! I rolled the dice with my flavor selection and tested out their Hot Honey Corn Bread Ice Cream. Yep, cornbread! It was fantastic! We enjoyed our ice creams while sitting outside watching the cows. As for the curds, we found some Hickory Smoked Curds that are the best so far! If this is what one week in this state looks like, we will “utterly” enjoy our entire time here! This is what Wisconsin looks like when you Live Rad!