![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Weekend update
Aug. 28th, 2011 11:53 amYesterday was spent on a roadtrip to scenic western Wisconsin with a friend. We kicked off the day with breakfast and kitties at our place, then proceeded to drive south. And missed a turn in Hastings, MN so we ended up in Red Wing. My friend had never been there so I introduced her to Best of Times Bookstore, which is an excellent general bookstore right downtown. They have introduced a coffeeshop since I was last there, as well as a nice courtyard seating area. From there we wandered down to The Red Wing Confectionery where we picked up some lovely salted caramels, made in their kitchen. I showed off the Sheldon Theater from the outside and then we drove off...in the wrong direction once again. GPS = not always right. At which point, we switched to using maps on my phone, which went much better.
We finally made it over the river and into Wisconsin and stopped off at Old Stuff Antiques in Bay City. Interesting selection and one of the owners does really nice woodworking. From there, it was on to Maiden Rock, which was considerably more hopping than I remember it from a few years back. It's pretty much a sliver of town built around the highway and the freight trains but ti's definitely worth a stop. The Smiling Pelican Bakeshop is amazing - best garden and biscuits ever! We also enjoyed the art galleries across the street/highway.
On the way down to Stockholm, we decided to check out a winery/cidery that had a sign out by the side of highway, so it was up into the hills to head over to the Maiden Rock Winery and Cidery. This turned out to be quite the spread, with its own apple orchards, locally made wine, mead made on sight and all kinds of other fun stuff. My friend picked up some wine and cider and helped me pick out wine for other folks, since I don't drink and didn't feel like risking a migraine. We took the scenic road down into Stockholm, which is a nice little artist's town by Lake Pepin. We wandered in and out of little shops and drank chai and had a very pleasant time. Some high points: the little book/junk store on the main street where we picked up some books and had a lengthy conversation with the owner on bonsai (he grows them) and Wimshurst Machines (he makes them); A Sense of Place; Abode Stockholm Art Gallery; A Plus Antiques; and Northern Oak Amish Furniture.
It looked like rain and we were pretty tired by this point so we started for home. It turned out that Jana's truck had conked out (second time this week) so we picked her up for dinner, then limped the truck over to the garage. Hoping this is not an expensive repair as Tuesday's repairs dented the budget. We'd like to keep it going until after October, if possible since we also need a new roof. Sigh. Gonna be one of those autumns. Last week's news was that I have plantar fascitis (the sprained ankle that will not heal) and need to start taking progesterone to deal with some of the fun side-effects of peri-menopause that I've been having. But at least these are fixable and covered by my insurance so feeling like I'm getting off lightly on those fronts.
We finally made it over the river and into Wisconsin and stopped off at Old Stuff Antiques in Bay City. Interesting selection and one of the owners does really nice woodworking. From there, it was on to Maiden Rock, which was considerably more hopping than I remember it from a few years back. It's pretty much a sliver of town built around the highway and the freight trains but ti's definitely worth a stop. The Smiling Pelican Bakeshop is amazing - best garden and biscuits ever! We also enjoyed the art galleries across the street/highway.
On the way down to Stockholm, we decided to check out a winery/cidery that had a sign out by the side of highway, so it was up into the hills to head over to the Maiden Rock Winery and Cidery. This turned out to be quite the spread, with its own apple orchards, locally made wine, mead made on sight and all kinds of other fun stuff. My friend picked up some wine and cider and helped me pick out wine for other folks, since I don't drink and didn't feel like risking a migraine. We took the scenic road down into Stockholm, which is a nice little artist's town by Lake Pepin. We wandered in and out of little shops and drank chai and had a very pleasant time. Some high points: the little book/junk store on the main street where we picked up some books and had a lengthy conversation with the owner on bonsai (he grows them) and Wimshurst Machines (he makes them); A Sense of Place; Abode Stockholm Art Gallery; A Plus Antiques; and Northern Oak Amish Furniture.
It looked like rain and we were pretty tired by this point so we started for home. It turned out that Jana's truck had conked out (second time this week) so we picked her up for dinner, then limped the truck over to the garage. Hoping this is not an expensive repair as Tuesday's repairs dented the budget. We'd like to keep it going until after October, if possible since we also need a new roof. Sigh. Gonna be one of those autumns. Last week's news was that I have plantar fascitis (the sprained ankle that will not heal) and need to start taking progesterone to deal with some of the fun side-effects of peri-menopause that I've been having. But at least these are fixable and covered by my insurance so feeling like I'm getting off lightly on those fronts.