Tour de Pearl: Sharing Stories & Hospitality

We started at The Arterial Tavern. The thing about neighborhood taverns is they have their cast of regulars and if you're not one of them, you stand out. The ten or fifteen stools around the bar were filled with unfamiliar faces.  It felt strange to be in a new place but we soon had two cold beers in front of us.  A friendly bartender began telling us Tour de Pearl stories. An older lady sitting next to us asked about our Tour cards. She was mostly curious about the brewery itself.  "Now, where is it?" she asked. When she realized it was in the old La Crosse Footwear building, she introduced herself and her friend. They were Bernice and Betty. Betty told us she worked for fifty-five years at La Crosse Footwear.  Fifty-five years? I was doing the math in my head and lost track of what she was saying.   How old is this lady?  I just kept looking at her dumbfounded. She'd spent her entire working life there, I realized. As a person who's shuttled between 13 or 14 different jobs so far, it was just hard to fathom. "Well, I probably should have looked for another job," she said. "I probably could have earned more."  But she said she was happy there. And her friend Betty had worked there 40 plus years. As we were talking, the bartender pulled out one of Pearl Street Brewery's recent seasonal brews. The Rubber Mills Pils is named after La Crosse Footwear (formerly named La Crosse Rubber Mills) and has a rubber boot logo on the label.   Betty and Bernice became very excited when they saw the label. Betty pointed to the bottom of the boot and said this was the part she was responsible for making. We bought them a beer, they bought us a beer.  As the bartender handed my husband his beer, Betty yelled, "Give it a good home!"

Here is the face of La Crosse Rubber Mills. They need their own beer label.

Clearly this would be the highlight of our Tour de Pearl experience. We biked across the river to our next destination with beautiful sunshine and ideal biking conditions.

Sand sculpture on Pettibone Beach.

Pettibone Boat Club, Tiki Bar

We sat at the Tiki Bar and talked with the bartender, watching boaters glide by.  The big warm late August sun dropped in the sky.  

Our next stop featured very loud, drunken bar patrons but a good jukebox. Our last stop was fittingly quiet, sending us on our way home. In the end, we only made it to a handful of the Tour de Pearl spots.  We captured the spirit of the Tour though.  Biking around town and sharing stories and hospitality was a blast.  Now if we can get Betty & Bernice into Pearl Street Brewery for some photos I think we've got ourselves a new marketing campaign.

Pearl Street Brewery: Nice People, Great Beer!

I have visited Pearl Street Brewery (PSB) with my dog, with my baby niece and family and regularly with my husband. Sometimes we bike there, sometimes we drive there, sometimes it's quiet and sometimes there's a band playing.  There is a real versatility and freshness to this place but the one reliable thing is the good beer.  They have four regular beers and then they mix it up with limited edition or seasonal beers.  The tap room is nice with good natural light, and a nice wood bar and wood floors crafted by the Brewmaster himself.

Outside the back door, there is a firepit and a little bit of seating if you need a fresh air break.

PSB is hosting a Tour du Pearl event from June 4, 2012 to September 22, 2012. You ride your bike to 20 different bars/restaurants in the surrounding area and get stamps at each place.  You'll get one of those cute neon green water bottles when you sign up and at the end of the event you get a PSB T-shirt...all for a $10 entry fee.  My husband and I have not made it to a single place yet and we'll just blame the heat.

My brother and my niece.

The lovely bar where all that lovely beer gets tapped.

I see my husband eyeing those yummy pretzel snacks.  The tangy mustard and pretzels are one of my favorite things about Pearl Street because let's face it, that beer is strong!

T making a new friend.

I forgot the name of this game.  It wasn't a regular pool table.  

oops, these are begging for coasters.
and one last important thing to know about Pearl Street, well two things, their hours and their location.  Pearl Street Brewery is not located on Pearl Street but on 1401 Saint Andrew Street (in the historic La Crosse footwear building) and they have limited hours so best to remember them:

Tuesday through Friday from 4-8pm and Saturday from noon to 5pm.

Now go enjoy some of that tasty beer...

Pig Races, Fireworks and 100 Degrees: Riverfest 2012

The 30th annual Riverfest Celebration in La Crosse, WI opened to stifling temperatures and the shared goal of trying to stay cool. With the Mississippi River flowing by all of the festival events, there are scenic views from every vantage point.

With boaters and barges floating by and sprinklers and lemonade to cool us down, we fested.

E. flips and somersaults her way through the bungee jump. This would have been fun 

30 years ago. It makes me dizzy just to watch it now.

The kiddos were completely into this inflatable game where they try and knock each other off of these bean bags.

We took a ride on the Mississippi Explorer which rides through the backwaters of the Upper Mississippi's wildlife refuge. Our guide did a great job of sharing facts about the river and wildlife but also left time for a quiet ride along the river.

E. and K. on the Explorer. It's pretty relaxing.

Eagles are a pretty common sight along the 261-mile Mississippi wildlife refuge. The Explorer is a great way to see parts of the river you might not otherwise see.  They have ports in La Crosse, Lansing, Prairie du Chien and Galena.

Back on land and time to cool down with a gallon glass of fresh lemonade.

Swifty Swines Racing Pigs

These pig races feature these cute little pot-bellied pigs based out of Van, Texas.  Apparently these pigs travel from coast to coast doing these races. They complete a 150-yard loop and then go for a swim.

The fountain turned into a swimming pool.

Riverfest goes for 5 days and they try to appeal to all different ages and interests.  For the very motivated there is the Chileda Classic, a 5k/10k run or the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes to promote domestic violence awareness.  For the spontaneous Riverfest attendees, like us, there are a bunch of food booths, rides, live music, a beer tent and fireworks.

Our friends, Fayme Rochelle and the Waxwings put on a great show with their acoustic, bluegrass wonderfulness.

My niece, Tula is showing her support.

My husband under the red, white & blue.

The shocking impact of going from 100 degree heat to an ice cold shower.

After games and boat rides and food and music, comes my favorite part of Riverfest.

Riverfest is made possible by a large number of local sponsors. over 500 volunteers and the La Crosse Jaycees who put on the fireworks display.

Keeping it Local: June Fun in the Neighborhood

Why get in the car during the summer unless you're lucky enough to be going on a road trip...and I love a good road trip but backyard and neighborhood activities are so relaxing and fulfulling during the summer.

Owen got a bike for his birthday and he wants to go biking all of the time now. Excellent.  He was always asking his dad to go biking through the university, across the street, and at first I didn't get it.  Until I recently went with them.  A kid's dream.  There are pathways and circles and little boardwalks and roundabouts and it's quiet so you have the place practically to yourself.

So we hopped on bikes, sailed through the campus with Emma as our leader and aimed our bikes in the direction of the Ranison.  Which brings me to our next neighborhood destination.

Ranison Ice Cream has been operating since 1933.  It was first opened by Bob and Helen McVey who operated the store for over 20 years as the Super Ice Cream Store.  Bruce Ranis who worked at the ice cream shop all through high school, purchased the store in 1959 and later renamed it Ranison.  Though the store was bought in 1998, by a UW-La Crosse graduate, the Ranison it remains, in name and spirit.  Chocolate malt ice cream...that's all I'm saying.  

The ice cream is my preferred choice but the candy and chocolate are really tempting.  A sweet tooth's dream.

and it's in the neighborhood.

and the kiddo's favorite summertime activity thus far has been air soft guns.

this photo is some odd combination of awesome and disturbing.  I guess my brother played with plastic guns (definitely army guys) when we were young.  But look at these things.  Anyway, they love them and run around outside for hours.

Bike rides, ice cream and backyard play...every kid should be so lucky.  I'm glad they get to have real childhoods in a nice neighborhood...even if the college kids are too loud.  Ah, you can't have everything.

A Soft and Driftless Long Weekend

Biking on the trails, hiking through the woods, kayaking in the river...the summer weather has arrived and the Driftless Region, our little corner of Western Wisconsin, hums and chirps, rustles and ripples and sits back waiting for us to join her in the trees, in the waters and in her backyard.

The Human Powered Trails is a non-profit organization that develops sustainable trails for the city of La Crosse (WI).  The trails are beautiful, often overlooking large vistas and provide all levels of hiking and biking.  We had a great hike with our dog and were virtually alone on our trail.  There was a sign that said No Dogs but noone bothered us about it and we made sure he didn't get in the way of the few bikers that came through.  They seemed happy to see him.

I love when a long weekend starts out with beautiful weather.  The kind of weather that makes you just want to seize the moment.  And I'm off at noon on Friday and I should go home and relax and clean but what if this is the best weather of the weekend?  So off I went with my husband with plans to meet my brother at our secret spot along the Mississippi.  A quick jump across the river to a sandbar to pass some hours away.

Along the Upper Mississippi River, every hour brings something new.  There are crowds of odd islands, bluffs, prairies, hills, woods and villages--everything one could desire to amuse the children.

--Mark Twain

and Hamlet loved his first river trip.  Yep, he's a river dog.  We wouldn't have it any other way.

refreshments

his favorite position

Hamlet's first kayak trip.  He did awesome.

Off to Winona for some relaxing at the Forsell household.

which generally means taking lots of pictures of my niece, Tula.

Kissing the dolly.

and then a cookout the next day.

a Brewers cup and a wiffle ball in hand, pretty much my husbands dream come true....except for the Bears t-shirt.

the Odin man went nuts with the kiddie pool.  I couldn't stop taking pictures, he was mesmerized and mesmerizing.

the kiddie pool was the place to be.

friends and family make me happy, very happy.

conferring at the grill.

the Odin stare down.

Summertime is always the best of what might be.
--Charles Bowden