If I'd ever been to Rhinelander previously, it was a long time ago when I was a kid. Unfortunately, we only spent about a day there and I didn't have much time to check out the lay of the land. I was there with a section chief and a bureau director so I had to be on my best behavior. However, I managed to find a little time to take a stroll down the street.
Rhinelander, of course, is the territory of the hodag.
The Wisconsin River also meanders through town.
Just down the street was a potent reminder of why it's going to be a long winter.
After dinner that night, we headed to Bugsy's Sports Bar which housed the Brown Street Brewery. The joint was divided in two. The bar half was quite crowded and the typical blonde hottie with a push-up bra and lots of cleavage exposed manned the taps. On the other side was an open area filled with billiard tables and normal ones as well. A Packer pre-season game played on the all televisions so we grabbed some pints and found a spot to watch the game. I guess I was in denial of the fact that autumn was approaching as I started with the Raspberry Wheat. It was pretty good with the raspberry flavor hovering in the background instead of dominating my palate. If memory serves, I followed it up with a Honey Wheat which was also tasty. Meanwhile the Pack looked awful. To be honest, I'm not a big sports fan but I do root for our state's teams. Looking back at the loss to the Bears in the season opener, I can imagine that there are lots of people in this state feeling a sense of déjà vu as if it were the 1970s again.
From Rhinelander it was off to Green Bay. While I'd driven through it before, I'd never actually done anything in the city. I had no time to wander around, unfortunately. The DNR office was on the outskirts of town near Howard. It was housed in a very new building that conformed the green standards. While I'm not certain exactly which bits were green, I presume that the plastic urinal which did not flush was part of the scheme. Legends Brewhouse and Eatery was just down the street and we took lunch there a couple times. Since we were on the clock, I did not have a chance to sample their suds. I do want to mention that, while their French onion soup was tasty, they also tossed all of their salads in dressing so the lettuce was soaked. Someone needs to tell them that salads are supposed to be dressed, not drowned. Plus, what's up with their sign? The sign stands right in the middle of the driveway. Well, the column upon which the sign sits is in the middle of the driveway. How many drunks have scraped or crashed into it?
And so why do I think it's going to be a harsh winter? Well, one of the DNR folk in Green Bay noted that the oak trees were producing higher than average amounts of acorns which led him to believe that the trees know something and were making more food for squirrels to store for the winter ahead. So there's your bit of folk wisdom for the month.
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