Wisconsin Vacation

Hiya!

Well, it only took three months for me to blog about our summer vacay to Wisconsin, which honestly, might be a record for me! LOL

ANYway, as a bit of background, my best friend of ::cough:: too many decades to reveal to the internet lives in Wisconsin. How did two Indiana-raised girls wind up so far from home and from each other? We fell in love, story as old as time. But while we live farther apart than we’d like, we are still as close as ever. When our moms told us to let them know when we got to Wisconsin, this was what we sent them. Besties reunited!

After many years of meeting up in Indiana when we were both back home, meeting on arranged girls trips with other friends, or her visiting me a couple of times, I had yet to make it to her home in Wisconsin. So, this past summer, we rectified that situation!

We packed up the car, loaded up with car snacks, and hit the road! While the visit was primarily about visiting with my friend and her family, we managed to get some site-seeing done as well. So here’s a bit of what we did while we were there.

Hiking at High Cliff State Park

After so many hours in the car, our first group excursion helped to stretch out our legs! High Cliff State Park was such a beautiful place! Overlooking Lake Winnebago, we hiked the Red Bird Trail and the kids enjoyed walking among the tall trees, climbing on rocks and playing in streams. I’ve created a short video of our hike on this trail, too!

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High Cliff State Park Video

Come along on the Red Bird trail with us!

Time Between

My friend suggested that we spread out some of the farther or busier days with more relaxed days, a great idea when traveling with kids. So we headed to parks, playgrounds, and pools for some fun. My oldest even jumped off the diving board for the first time! And my youngest learned how to do summersaults under water! I’m proud of both of them for stepping out of their comfort zone with water play. And by far some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had was at a place called Frio, where you can get churros in your ice cream concoctions. Seriously, so good!!

Fruity Pebble coated churros in my ice cream!

Hiking at Fonferek’s Glen

Another quick hike we did while in Wisconsin was on our way to Bay Beach Amusement Park (more on that in a minute). If you’re lucky, you might be able to witness the beauty of a rather sizable water fall just a short distance in from the parking lot. Sadly, even with quite a bit of rain preceding our visit, the waterfall wasn’t much more than a trickle. Still, the rocks, wildflowers, and birds made this nature reserve a nice diversion. We were able to take the kids down behind the waterfall as well, so that was fun! This nature reserve is open and free to the public.

Bay Beach Amusement Park

After our detour at Fonferek’s Glen, we continued on to the main attraction for the day, Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay. This was SO much fun! Located right next to the bay, the whole park had a Coney Island vibe. Sun shining, a cool breeze off the bay, tons of cheap entertainment and yummy fair food, this park was a hit with everyone! Ferris wheels, spinning swings, bumper cars, and the Zippin Pippin! Let me tell you, THAT was a blast from the past! I was so surprised to learn that this wooden coaster from Libertyland in Memphis (where I spent all my summers growing up) had bee disassembled and moved to Bay Beach! I had to ride it with my oldest, who LOVES roller coasters and take a pic together at the gate to send to my little brother back in Memphis.

At $.25 per ticket and most rides taking 1-3 tickets (Zippin Pippin is 4 tickets), Bay Beach is incredibly affordable. They even let you bring your own food/drink in! See what all you’ll find at Bay Beach in my video below!

Bay Beach Video

Come along with us to Bay Beach!

Door County

Sigh. This is one of those places that I could spend a week visiting. There are so many fun things to do, but unfortunately for me, my boys would mutiny. We will definitely be coming back as a girls trip, I think. We went kayaking, visiting the famous Anderson Dock, and even scoped out a few lighthouses. Plus, I got my oldest to try fried cheese curds…mmmm.

I am writing a blog post dedicated to our day spent in Door County, so stay tuned for that.

We had so much fun visiting with our friends. While rain precluded us from heading out on a planned day of boating, we more than made up for it sitting around playing cards and eating all the snacks we’d planned to take on the boat with us, just chatting, catching up, and enjoying one another’s company. As much as I love going out and doing things, what matters most to me is just spending the time together, whatever that looks like.

Until next time, happy traveling!

P.S. Want to plan your own Wisconsin trip to the Appleton or Green Bay area? I’ve pinned TONS of ideas to Pinterest! Find my planning board for this trip HERE.

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