Wisconsin v. 28

We made a short foray into southern Wisconsin on one of our only rainy days of the summer.  The cheese was beckoning...  All along I-94 there are signs for the Mars Cheese Castle. They are the same signs from 18 years ago when we lived in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and they've been calling our names since then!  The marketing worked- we visited, had fun, and spent good money on good cheese.

But wait! The Jelly Belly factory is only 10 miles down the road back toward Chicago!  And it closes in 20 minutes!  Can we make it?  Yes we can! ...I don't knooow... (Credit for the excited exclamation to Bob the Builder, and the "I don't knooow" to the doubting blue truck).  In typical Bob fashion, we did it!  It's not really that hard to shop in a jelly bean store with just 10 minutes to go before closing.  Sadly, we did miss the factory tour.

Bob flew back into Milwaukee and we were planning to continue our tour of baseball parks at the Brewers game.  He read that the Packers were playing their first home preseason game against the Browns. We gave Becca her choice of games with the caveat that we could get to Green Bay and not get a ticket, since they are perennially sold out. She immediately said, "Let's go to Lambeau!" Bob had done some homework and (thanks to all who offered!!) brought some Browns gear.  

What a blast!  Becca wrote her own version of events- we'll blog that when we find it in the car.  I'll fill in some awesome details.  The plan was to get there, find some tickets at the box office or on the street, then put on the Browns gear and look around. We studied the stadium map to know what we were getting. On the way into the parking lot we stopped 2 ladies with Browns jerseys (both 72) and said, "hey we are Browns fans too- are you from Cleveland? We're going to look for tickets-anything we need to know?"  Turned out we were talking to Joe Thomas' Aunt Sue,  who promptly invited us to the family tailgate!  We found tickets at half the printed price - less than we would have offered- from an older couple who didn't want to "eat them"- 12 rows up, on the corner of the end zone.  We joined the Thomas family and friends for a brat and a beer, and got an impromptu concert from the "Tundraline".

Just before the game started, we entered through the Atrium- a majestic foyer if there ever was one!

We got some good natured ribbing from Green Bay fans, and Becca made a Go Browns poster. 

We were so impressed with the Packer fans- they were by far the nicest group of sports fans we have ever encountered at a game.  Bob would be explaining something to Becca, and they would add details.  They chatted, joked, and were genuinely concerned that we were taken care of while in their city. We had a great time, and the Browns won!  They only acted like the Browns of the last few years during the first 2 minutes:).

  Tomorrow we cruise to Michigan on the SS Badger Ferry.  Loving this adventure!