Wisconsin Trip September 2008

We left Little Rock at around noon on Sunday, September 21st. We made good time and the trip got off to a great start when stopped in Frederickstown, Missouri where we stumbled on a great steakhouse when we were actually looking for a family type restaurant. I don't think I have ever had a better steak (with the usual trimmings) and I know I have never gotten better value for the money. Our total bill was $30 and I had a 7 oz. rib eye and Richard had a 9 oz. sirloin. They were both melt in your mouth tender.

The next morning we headed to Washington, MO and then on to New Haven where my Grandfather on my Dad's side. I took a lot of church and cemetery pictures to upload into my genealogy program. While both of these churches are only a few miles outside of New Haven the Bethehem Lutheran church shown on the right was founded when the congregation split. My Grandfather Witte's Mother is buried there. No one knows where his Father is buried as he was a very fly by night person and disappeared when my Grandfather was a small child. The Ebanezer lutheran Church on the right was founded by my Grandmother's people. It has a copper roof. Nothing but the best for these very pious and hardworking bunch of farmers.

After stumbling around in the cemeteries and taking a lot of pictures we headed for Illinois via Hannibal in the afternoon. I lived in Hannibal for a couple of years when I was in my early teens but very little looked familiar to me . I must have been a deeply self absorbed 13-14 year old . I did recognize Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher "childhood homes" We did not take any pictures there as we were busy trying to find the highway that would take us over the bridge to Illinois.

Next day we, as Richard says, put the hammer down and started up through Illinois. Even though it's flat and 99% farmland it's a beautiful state. I was very surprised to see so many wind mills. Good for them! The waitress where we stopped for lunch said that the electric coops lease the land from the farmers - and you can see where crops are planted all around them. Richard said it must be like having an oil well on your land - only cleaner. I went kind of crazy with my camera having noting else to do with myself as we were zipping along. I was very happy with the pictures I got. I used the sports setting with the super fast shutter speed. I lost a little quality but still got what I felt were very good results. I waved big at Carie as we went through Rockport. I hope she saw me.

The next day we got to Kristen's house and for three days just kicked back and enjoyed her and Zack. We did some local sight seeing and Richard really enjoyed Zack. There is a marina not far from Kristen's house and Zack loves to ride his bike down there but of course he is not allowed to ride down there alone. He asked Richard if he want to go down to the lake and cruise for chicks!!! Richard is seldom at a loss for words but he lost a few beats there before he swallowed and said "Sure" When they came back I asked Zack if they saw any chicks and he said "No, but we saw some dead fish and got an ice cream." I guess this is an even better outcome for a six year old. One of the things that really surprised us was the number of bars in Wisconsin and Michigan. Drinking and socializing in bars seems to be a big part o there culture.

On our last day there we drove up through Door County which is peninsula close to Green Bay. It was beautiful. We drove up the penninsula to Sturgeon's Bay which looks like a pretty pricey resort area. Lots of beautiful yachts in the Marina and plenty of pretty scenery. On the way back we had a request from the smallest member of the party to stop at Lambeau field which actually meant a visit to the pro shop to see what the Grandparent's would spring for.

We decided that while we were all the way up here we might as well see something of the country so we left by driving North into MIchigan and then across the upper part of Wisonsin through the North Woods area. The trees were turning and that was where I regret losing some quality on my pictures because the foliage was just dazzling. We crossed over into Minnesota which was every bit as pretty. We also saw a lot of Amish farms. I had not realized there were so many Amish in Minnesota.

Then down though Iowa which was pretty much a replay of Illinois and on to Forest Green, MO where my Grandmother, her parents and grandparents are buried. I have a lot of childhood memories of Forest Green as my Grandfather had a chicken farm here and I spent a lot of time in the summers visiting him. He and my step grandmother both attended the Salem Lutheran church and she had a lot of family there. She and my Grandmother were cousins. Relationships in that area are a real challenge to try to unravel as this bunch of people emigrated from the same small hamlet in Germany and settled in Forest Green which is anther small hamlet and their families have known and lived side by side for at least 300 years that I can document. I am sure we are all not only related to each other but are related to ourselves as well. I took some more genealogy pictures.

By that time we were just wantin to go home so again, Richard "put the hammer down" and we headed or home. We made one stop at Pickles Gap, AR for fudge. I just ain't gonna pass that fudge factory without stopping.

Below is a link to all the pictures that I took on the trip:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jfinan/NewAlbum93008748AM# - pictures