Best of Menomonie

When I visited Stout the other day I stopped by Legacy Chocolates to get some coffee. They're the best in Menomonie for coffee, and probably chocolate too (I don't know of any other chocolatiers in Wisconsin). Check them out if you're passing through.

Menomonie, WI

I took a little walk today around Menomonie after I visited Stout, I found two old railroad bridges and a cool cycle shop, that looked somewhat dilapidated. I have to admit, sometimes dilapidation adds "cool" points for me. I walked along a road for a while and then saw a paved walking path. Do I retrace my steps along the road to find it's beginning? No, I climb down a steep embankment and nearly break my ankle. It was fun. There was a nice old couple walking by that wished me the best of luck in my climbing. They said: "we'll be back this way in a while if you break anything", "thanks" I said, really hoping that wouldn't be the case. In all reality, if I had broken something there'd be a picture of it here. I saw them later on down the trail after I had successfully tangled with branches, muddy gravel and gravity. Here are some other pictures I took.

Beer Time

Angela and I made a special trip the other day to the best brewery in the Twin Cities, Summit Brewery. It was pretty fun, we learned about the history of Summit, how it's made and a little bit about specialty beer in Minnesota and the States. This is a pic of the brewing room, the tanks on the left are filled with water (for the beer and to help in temperature control for the beer), and the tanks on the right - which you can only see four but they go three deep for each row - are where the beer is brewing. You should all take the tour! Plus, you get free beer at the end!

Zoo Time

Yesterday Ange and I went with Paul, Libby, Gibbie and Ezra to the Como Zoo. We ended up wandering through all the tropical sections, not really seeing any animals. We did feel great in the humid tropical weather though.

Paul, and His Patience

I went over to Amore Coffee to see Paul the other day, and what do I see? For some reason Amore Coffee is back to the completely manual way of processing transactions. If you look close, you can see that Paul could use a credit card machine that makes a big "ka-chunk, ka-chunk" sound when you run the carbon copy over it. There's the fancy calculator, with dual power - solar and battery, and a print out of what the shop offers so he can mark it down with a pen. I'm not sure if this is being "green" or just painful.

Trip to Fountain City Wisconsin

My parents, brother, Angela and I ventured down to Winona MN earlier this month to meet Angela's parents and to see the space where we'll be having the wedding. It was a very good time, nice lunch and we got to show my family the Hill Top Bar and Banquet Hall. It's been there for a long time. My Aunt had gone there in her youth to dance with her husband. Looks like fun eh?

Party Tricks

Angela and I went to Sam and Kristen's open house, it was real fun. I have to tell you, I have some neat party tricks, sword swallowing, glass eating and another one that I demonstrated - using a person as a hula hoop. In this picture I'm using Reed as a hula hoop, he liked it, as did everyone else.