Wisconsin and other Adventures

After a week of wild temperature swings and totally weird weather, this weekend looks like it's going to be pretty nice. Maybe not quite as nice as we would like for June 11th, but at least it's not 103 or raining. I'll take it. Today, I definitely decided to take advantage.

My roommate Maren had recently discovered a Groupon offer for a vineyard tour and wine tasting at a "local" vineyard in St. Croix Falls, WI. Today was the day. After an hour or so's drive through some very pretty Minnesota small towns, we arrived in Wisconsin at the Chateau St. Croix winery. It turns out that they were having an arts festival at the vineyard this weekend, so we picked a good day to go! After having some food and checking out the various local artists (I got a very pretty new necklace), we had a tour of the place and sampled their vintages. The Zinfandel and Syrah were both quite excellent, so I may have to keep an eye out for their wine at my local liquor store. On our way home, we stopped in lovely Lindstrom:




We definitely stopped at that donut shop and had a donut. They were excellent AND they cost less than a dollar. That's the thing about getting out of the city - almost everything is cheaper.

Andy arrived at my house almost the same time we did - he took his "riding around" bike over, so we could ride to dinner and enjoy the beautiful evening. Some of my dear readers may remember the story that appeared elsewhere on the internet about the Wireless Trek. Well today, I took it out for its' inaugural ride of the season:

First stop, Jack's Cafe for some lovely food. This was our starter of spicy cheese curds:



From there, my riding companion and I went over to Minnehaha Creek to check out the new pedestrian bridge at Bryant Ave S.


I have never seen the creek this high, or flowing this fast. We must have gotten a lot of snow, or something?


Finally, here I am with the aforementioned Wireless Trek. It's actually a much nicer bike than I remember it being, aside from the twist shifters, that is.


On our way home past Lake Harriet, the sunset was begging me to stop and take a photo. So that's what I did.


All in all, it has been an EXCELLENT day. Plus, my MN Twins beat the (non-undefeated) Texas Rangers today. I am going to the game tomorrow, so I hope this trend continues.

Comments

Mom said…
Wow, what an action-packed, fun, unusual day! All the photos are good (you look so cute on the Trek on your night out), but I especially like the sunset picture (no surprise, I guess). Great post.
I hope you have a fun day tomorrow also at the Twins' game and the Lake Como Pavillion.
XXOOXOX
Santini said…
Nice, newsy post. Sounds like a nice way to spend a spring day -- good friends are priceless.

I'd like to say 'nice bike' -- but.....
Gino said…
There is, of course, only The Undefeated Rangers. TUDRs were not, in any significant way, Texas Rangers.
Gino said…
And a couple of other things:

Are sausages available at Deutschland Meats? Scandinavian Donuts being sold at a "Bulk" Pantry? I've always liked the Lindstrom water tower.
Emily M said…
Santini - It's a much nicer bike than I gave it credit for initially. Not super speedy or anything, but comfortable and not too heavy for what it is. Perfect for errand running around town.

Gino - I assume sausages are available at Deutschland Meats, what with the giant wiener on the roof. Sadly, we did not investigate. The donuts at the Bulk Pantry place were excellent though.