Portsmouth 2017

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Claude and I left at 7:30 a.m., dropped the Volvo at Economy, and met the Dorns at the Southwest desk. The Sorensens arrived shortly after.

The flight to Boston was pleasant, arriving at 1:20 p.m. Jay went ahead to arrange for the rental vans;   

we followed, after collecting our luggage. Brad's GPS got us to 20 W. Thorpe Ave. with no problem where we will be residing for the coming week.  Somehow, Jay made some error and he arrived almost an hour later. 

          

We assessed the sleeping arrangements and Claude volunteered to sleep on the couch. The boys will sleep downstairs, as will Laura and Jay; Brad and Janice will have the other bedroom, Annika will sleep on the floor. I will have a bedroom to myself.

Laura, Jay and Janice planned menus for the next couple of days and grocery shopped. We searched nearby restaurants for tonight's supper, but most had long wait times. Pizzas would be the best idea. 

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Janice, Brad, Claude and I went to the 8:30 a.m. mass at St. Anthony's Parish. After mass we stopped to

chat with the pastor.  When we told him that we were going to the park named after Roger Williams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams he said that he was a descendant of the founder of Portsmouth. 

The Conservatory of Roger Williams Botanical Gardens consisted of four buildings and gardens.

         

A park bench and a bistro table provided a place to have lunch, with a homestead nearby.

After relaxing at home we dressed for our 7:15 p.m. dinner at The Boathouse. Our table was ready at a table overlooking the ocean. I enjoyed a delicious

seafood scampi, a mix of shrimp scallops and lobster over linguini, that I enjoyed very much with my

martini. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their entrees as well.

Claude, Janice and Jay worked on a puzzle to finish their evening.

Monday, August 7, 2017

Janice made an egg/cheese dish with a corn flakes topping and hash browns plus fresh fruit.

 

Brad tested the ocean.

Our original plan was to do a mansion tour. Aleksei is under the weather and it would be a wasted ticket

if we went. Since it is not a dated ticket, we can go another time. We headed for the New Bedford

Maritime Whaling Museum. 

We watched a whaling movie in the Information building before going to the museum. It was vast, with floors and rooms filled with fascinating artifacts and stories. I was especially impressed with the scrimshaw room, containing intricate carvings on utensils, jewelry and other objects made from whale bones and teeth. 

We met at 2:00 p.m. and found a food store for more

supplies; the food store was not as well stocked as others. We found a place to spread our food (cheese

crackers sausage, chips, cookies, apple and beverages) on the waterfront near a military museum. After we ate we walked through the museum that was loaded on every wall and cabinets filled with collections from every war. There was no admission, but donations were accepted by volunteers who answered our questions. It was an overcast day with a few sprinkles. We made good use of it. We ate

local at Localz Restaurant, very near our home. We were quite satisfied; Aleksei was still not able to join

us because his stomach was unsettled. We finished the evening playing Tribond, a game where a team

had to guess the common bond of three phrases/words. A lot of fun.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Jay made pancakes, sausage, fruit, with some of yesterday's egg dish. 

We browsed the cute shops at the wharf before setting sail for our 12:30 p.m. schooner ride on an overcast day, holding my breath that it wouldn't rain.

We had no rain, but sunshine and calm waters on a lovely sail that everyone enjoyed.

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Jay and the boys brought coolers to a nearby square for our light lunch, just enough to satisfy us until dinner.

Janice, Brad, Claude and I went to the Trinity Church that was once visited by George Washington and Queen Elizabeth II. 

               

              

We walked back to the wharf checking out restaurants for dinner, but there would be too much time to fill until dinner time. When we assembled, I suggested that each car group explore on their own and we'd meet at the house at 6:00 p.m. and have dinner at J.J.Dion's in Bristol. Janice wanted to do a walking path, but we changed course when we learned about the first tavern in America near where our car was parked. It was a cozy place and the bartender gave us some historical facts. There were also people from Milwaukee sitting at the bar. We had beers, and cocktails outdoors. 

We got home shortly before 6:00 p.m., with just enough time to get ready for dinner.  We had table in a private room indoors. I had delicious baked scallops with mushrooms and cheddar cheese in Marsala

sauce.

 Everyone enjoyed their meals. The day was a huge success.

             

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Laura prepared an egg dish together with a lot of fresh fruit with halved grapes. We made a stop for groceries before heading to the Breakers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breakers. Head phones were included in admission and enhanced the experience tremendously. We could pace ourselves and get a lot of information without having to strain to hear a docent. The mansion was beyond description, with so much opulence.

                    

We drove to Brenton Point State Park where we had our lunch with one of the most spectacular views of the east coast.  

We saw some kite flying as we ate.

 A man offered to take our picture.

The nearby Marble House was our next stop. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_House. There weren't as many people because the Breakers is more popular.  Again, we had earphones and paced ourselves along the tour. Everyone enjoyed both

houses.

We drove home and relaxed until time for dinner at the 15 Point Restaurant where we ate on the deck

with a guitar player in the background. I was comfortable with my stole as was Laura with her newly

purchased poncho.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Peter this morning. We are splitting our destinations: the Dorns want

to see the Patriot stadium, the rest are researching other destinations.

Laura, Jay, Annika Claude and I took off for Bristol. We explored some shops; I bought a quill card and

frame for Laura 's birthday. We looked into  restaurants and a couple look promising.  

We found an ideal picnic spot for lunch before continuing our exploring.

             

We drove to the Slater Mill in Pawtucket where a guide gave us a personal tour, explaining much of the machinery and operating some. I learned a lot about the textile industry. It was a very worthwhile place to spend some time. 

        

             

                             

On the way home I made reservations for tonight's and tomorrow night's dinners in Bristol.

We had delicious dinners at Le Central Bistro in Bristol. Colin and I had grilled lobster with fingerling

potatoes, green beans and beets, done to perfection. 

              

We ended the evening sitting around a bonfire toasting marshmallows.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Janice's breakfast was Company French Toast, that satisfied all of us nicely.

We drove to Coventry, RI to the homestead of Nathanael Green a Revolutionary War General, very respected by George Washington.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathanael_Greene.  

We watched a video with text from Wikipedia, with very distracting background music that competed with the narration.  A 14-year old docent gave a remarkable tour. It was definitely non-text, and he was able to answer our questions with a lot of confidence as he led us through the house. We are visiting history.

           

Next we drove to Wickford, parking at the wharf to spread out our lunch. It was just perfect, with

sailboats and kayaks in the water. After lunch, we walked through the town's little shops. Claude and I

walked together and I bought a colorful top; there is no tax on clothing.  We stopped for groceries for tomorrow's last breakfast before heading back to relax before dinner in Bristol.

                      

Saturday, August 12, 2017

We explored some of the Boston area before our plane departed for Milwaukee.

Gemanfest

 Thursday, July 27, 2017

Peter and I drove to the Summerfest grounds to drop off the poster that I made of Austrian-Born Americans.  I asked Frank how the trip sign-up was going and he said that so far he has one person signed up.  Henelore said she didn't remember that I gave her the extra copies at the picnic; I said I would make more.

Friday, July 28, 2017

We drove to Sommers Auto in Mequon to look at a Subaru that Peter was interested in leasing. He thought he was going to think it over and make a deal closer to winter.  After hearing the terms, Peter agreed to lease the one we test drove.  Since we were in the area, we went for a fish fry in Germantown and ate outdoors.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

After breakfast and pickleball, I made Peter's August calendar and attempted printing the trip notice.  Printer didn't respond after countless tries.  I determined that I needed ink.

We met at State Fair P & R to drive to our parking area.  We would have done better taking the shuttle.  There was a long back-up into the lot.  Doug was getting anxious, because he had to conduct the Opening Ceremony orchestra.  We handled the booth until almost 9:00 p.m.

On the way home I stopped at Walmart to buy print cartridges.  I thought I left my phone wallet at home with my credit card in it.  I tried using my ECU debit card and it was rejected.  An assistant tried it on another machine, but no luck.  I drove home and when I got to my garage, my phone wallet was on the floor of the car.  I didn't want to go back, even though Walmart is open 24 hours.  I got to bed and couldn't sleep, wondering how I was going to get the trip sheets to Frank.  Finally, I gave up and drove to Walmart for ink.  After a couple of tries, the printer was still not responding, even after printing test sheets.  Then, I looked at the settings, and saw that it was set to print in PDF!  I must have printed in that format when I wanted to send Frank a copy and it saved the setting.  I got hooked on a jigsaw puzzle and didn't get to bed until 2:00 a.m.

Sunday, July 30, 2017

We met on Sunday at the State Fair P&R for the 10:30 a.m. mass, and spent the rest of the time walking around until our shift started at 4:30 - 9.

It was a very long day.  How many caps would I have knitted in that time?  I didn't bring my knitting because I didn't want to take the knitting jar with the cap that was started. We alternated getting something to eat.  Peter managed to get a brat that he was shorted last night, I got a shaum torte at Mader's;  coffee would have hit the spot, but they didn't have any. 

When we finished our shift, Peter had all of his tickets and I had 4.  He wouldn't leave without cashing them in, but now all the stands were closing, including tap beer and pretzels.  We got a can of beer and Peter left for the Goulash stand to see what he could get.  He was gone a long time, but came back with a bag of food he said was gladly given to him.  He really missed working in that stand because it had more activity.  But what would I have done alone in the culture booth knowing nothing about Austrian culture.  We got to the bus and were the only ones on until one of Peter's friends boarded.  The driver asked to make sure we were headed to State Fair because this was the last bus!  We would have had to call a cab if we had missed it.  That would have really tipped the scale with Peter.

After evaluating our time spent at Germanfest, we really didn't need to go to mass if we were going to volunteer; it made for too long a day.  Because we had work passes, we could get in free at any time and not have to spend so much time there.

Apostle Islands

 Monday, July 10, 2017

I got to Peter's house at 7:30 a.m. It had rained hard during the night and it was still overcast.   Peter was ready and we were on our way by 8:00 a.m.  I drove in light traffic and good roads.  We stopped for a satisfying breakfast at Schreiner's; I had eggs Benedict, very good.

At 11:15 it is very sunny, no wind and 79 degrees.

Peter spotted a wayside marked Great Divide.  It was a perfect setting for our picnic, except the mosquitoes were beginning to get annoying.

We arrived at the Washburn Motel at about 5:00 p.m., a  very modest, no-frills place, but it was clean and had everything we'd need.  I didn't waste any time taking a nap after the sleepless night that I had last night.  My sciatic nerve is  causing pain down my leg, originating in my lower back. We stopped at a bar next to the motel that Peter said served food.  We no more than entered the place when a man started talking German to Peter.  He said he used to live in  New Ulm.  We joined him at the bar sharing our experiences of New Ulm while having gin and tonics and chatting with a few other men that joined in. The first man said we have to try the Scottish eggs at The Snug Restaurant.  When we got to this Irish restaurant they had only one Scottish egg left.  I ordered it, Peter had a bowl of clam chowder;  we both had diet cokes. Scottish eggs are hard boiled eggs wrapped with breakfast sausage, rolled in corn flake crumbs, dipped in beer batter and deep fried. I chose a Dijon mustard sauce for dipping. It was pretty good.  We laid out our warm clothes for tomorrow's boat ride 

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

We were up at 6:30 a.m., and headed to the Time Out Restaurant.  Our waitress taught art at a parochial school and was very pleasant. We had scrambled eggs and ham; one serving would have been plenty for both of us.  We found  the Bayfield Marina and drove around the area before lining up for the boat ride. There was 2-hour parking near the marina and Peter had to drive quite a distance to find unlimited parking. Luckily, I got in line while he parked. There was a pretty long line in front of us, but we were fortunate to get on the upper deck. The day was perfect,  I didn't need my fleece jacket.  As a matter of fact, I was almost too warm.Jay gave a lot of local history, pointed out features of the islands, like the fish camp on Manitou Island,

the lighthouse and caves on Devil's Island

and a lighthouse on Raspberry Island that was entered into service during the Civil War.

We spotted some eagles and Jay filled the time very nicely with island lore. We were finished at 2:30 p.m., and walked uphill to the car.  Google found us a Dalrymple Park/Campsite that was perfect for our picnic.  To make our loop, we took Hwy. 13 to Parkland driving with a few intermittent raindrops.

At exactly 6:00 p.m. we were at the Chain of Lakes Motel, no frills, not any of the amenities (housekeeping) as the last one, but clean and comfortable.  Google found Gilligan's Restaurant with a tiki bar right on the shore. It was a perfect evening for eating outdoors.  We each had a salad; Peter, Caesar, I Oriental chicken; Peter had a beer, I had a dirty martini on the rocks, not my preferred clean.  We lingered to enjoy the beautiful lake.  We sat outside our motel until almost dark; it gets dark later here.

Wednesday,  July 12, 2017,

We had a full and twin bed in our room, I slept on the twin, and had a restful night, once I got my left leg comfortable. I heard thunder through the night and we awoke to big puddles outside our motel.  We drove into the little town of Chetek' and decided on the Chetek Cafe, featuring German food.  We had German coffee, which was dark but not bitter, eggs and toast and homemade jam, blueberry for Peter, raspberry for me.  We made a very good choice.  I also bought some homemade German bratwurst.  We walked over to a market and bought a 24-pack of water; we do not drink enough.  Peter got the car while I waited with the water and we drove to the bakery for 2 hard rolls and a peanut square. 

The day is warm, 82 degrees at 11:42 a.m. overcast.  Driving is smooth with light traffic.

After that substantial breakfast, we didn't need any more to eat until we got to Lake Mills and found Bartel's Beach, where we had been last year.  It was still as breezy, but the breeze was refreshingly warm.  We finished off the turkey ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and wine, together with the hard rolls and peanut square from the Chetek bakery.

I invited Peter to share the German bratwurst that I grilled and served with warm potato salad.  That completed our outing.

Croatian Day

 Saturday, July 8, 2017

Peter and I were the first ones at breakfast.  Not too many showed up, but enough to almost fill our table.  Some were at the bike outing in New Glarus.  It rained hard during the night, but the streets were getting dry, which was the case when we got to the pickleball court.  I played fairly well today, but the humidity was very high and I was drenched with perspiration.  We left at 11:00 a.m. to go to the Croatian Park on South 76th Street for their festival.  Light rain was falling as we drove in our respective cars, and Peter must have thought I was out of my mind for continuing in the rain.  The rain stopped when we got there shortly before noon.  We found a picnic table, watched chickens and, pigs grilling on the spit.  Lamb was also featured, and it must have been done already.  We each had a lamb dinner with three slices of meat, cole slaw, bread and green onions.  It was quite tasty.  On the web site it said that the grilled meat was sold by the pound; it did not mention dinners.  I didn't understand what that meant.  Had we known, we could have brought our picnic bag with better utensils and our own side dishes like potato salad, condiments and other snacks, and ordered one pound of lamb or pork or chicken.  When we finished eating, we found a table with an umbrella where we could hear and partially see the cultural show with their ethnic instruments.  We saw Marianne and her friend, also Jan from Vagabonds.  It was a very pleasant even, much better than a church picnic.  We stayed until about 4:00 p.m.  The weather was favorable, even though some dark clouds appeared now and then.