All right, so the breezy “Hawk” will inevitably blow sharply into the Midwest from Canada or wherever. That’s no reason you have to ground your car in the Chicago area. Decidedly, there are ample travel opportunities in the late fall and early winter.
One possibility is wandering Wisconsin, which is not limited to Milwaukee, Madison and Door County. Instead, head for some off-the-beaten-path spots in a trip that my wife, Pat, and I leisurely accomplished in four days.
Start off at the Kohler Design Center in Kohler, two-thirds of a mile west of Interstate Highway 43 and 140 miles from Chicago. The snazzy, 36,000-square-foot center is a design resource and Kohler product showcase visited by more than 165,000 homeowners, builders, architects and designers each year. The mezzanine level features bathroom and kitchen designs and products. The main level includes plumbing products and a striking display of working whirlpools and glass-block waterfalls, and a museum on the lower level showcases the company’s early years and a history of the village of Kohler, one of the first planned communities in the country.
No, the Design Center most definitely does not house a gift shop, and Kohler decidedly does not have an outlet store. But its products may be purchased at its stores in the Merchandise Mart and in Glenview and Burr Ridge.
Then it’s up to Appleton and “AKA Houdini,” the showcase exhibit in The History Museum at the Castle. The exhibit became controversial months before it opened, a brochure informs us, when people learned that it “would allow visitors to perform Houdini’s illusions, thus violating the magician’s code of secrets.”
Guess what? Visitors, apparently, couldn’t have cared less. “AKA Houdini” has been a popular one. It’s full of hands-on stunts, including the chance to break out of jail (if you find a hidden key) and get out of a straitjacket.
Born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary (not Appleton, as he claimed), the man who became Harry Houdini, we learn, came to the U.S. in 1878 at age 4 (his father was Appleton’s first rabbi). When he was 8, Houdini moved with his family to Milwaukee and then New York City. (He died on Halloween 1926, of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix.)
Houdini’s various handcuffs are on display, as are lock picks and a full-body straitjacket. Among the items he escaped from were water-filled milk cans, mail bags, a giant football, even the stomach of a giant squid. He claimed he could pick up pins with his eyelids.
A short drive north is the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Bears fans may squawk, but it’s a nifty venue for those interested in pro football history. It’s inside legendary Lambeau Field, outside of which stands a “Fan Code of Conduct,” including the admonitions not to engage in “behavior that’s unruly, disruptive or illegal in nature” or use “verbal or physical harassment of opposing team fans.”
Start off with a film about, well, “the NFL’s most fabled franchise.” There are, of course, vintage historical films set on the fabled “frozen tundra,” and the narrative is sometimes hyperbolic, sometimes gushing (players “reaching out for glory”). It ends, ironically, with shots of Brett Favre, now suiting up with the hated Minnesota Vikings.
Exhibits include photos of the Packers’ signature “sweep” formation and the “Weather Theater,” spotlighting “The Ice Bowl” win against Dallas on Dec. 31, 1967, with the wind chill at minus 46 degrees. There’s also a kids area, where youngsters can kick field goals and aim passes at targets.
Now go west to the Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area, close by Wausau and the town of Rib Mountain. For those tired of being humiliated in downhill skiing, cross-country skiing awaits. Nine Mile features a scenic 18.3-mile cross-country ski trail system, along with equipment rentals. Trail levels range from beginning to difficult, and the system includes about four miles of trails lighted at dusk until 9 p.m. daily during the ski season. (For updates and trail conditions, call 888-948-4748 or 715-355-8788.)
Chug on west to Chippewa Falls, where lots of folks tour the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., the regional brewery co-founded in 1867 by Jacob and John Miller. The company was bought in 1988 by Miller Brewing (no relation to John), and produces such brews as the Original (pale lager), Berry Weiss and Sunset Wheat.
Those not wishing to linger over lager hustle over to the Leinie Lodge and Gift Shop, which really isn’t a lodge (you can’t sleep there) but supposedly looks like one. All the stuff for sale features the Leinenkugel logo, naturally. Clothing. Lamps. Toy trucks. Patio umbrellas. Golf bags. Adirondack chairs ($329.95). Pub tables ($249.95). Canoe paddles. Cribbage sets. Bottle cap dangling earrings.
Now head southwest to Eau Claire and Dennis and Carol Heyde’s Fanny Hill, an unusual, charming bed and breakfast inn, restaurant and self-described “hilarious” dinner theater. It’s named for the infamous 18th century novel “Fanny Hill: Or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure,” considered the first “erotic novel” in English. (Why, Wisconsin!).
The inn originally (1969) was a nightclub, then a supper club and became its present incarnation in 1988. Titles for the theater presentations in November, December and January are “A Nice Family Gathering” and “Rudy’s Holidaze Reunion.” The rooms (“Lady Abigail,” “Lady Gwendolyn,” etc.) have their own color schemes, fireplaces and whirlpools, and some have views of the Chippewa River. It’s undeniably romantic and cozy, especially in the cold Midwestern weather.
Before pointing home to Chicago, drive southeast to Osseo (pronounced OS-so), where Norske Nook Restaurant & Bakery packs them in — and no wonder. “Pie Fixes Everything,” trumpets a sign in the restaurant, which has been a first-place winner at the National Pie Championship in Orlando, Fla. For our fix, Pat and I ordered the sour cream raisin and peach praline. Other temptations are strawberry rhubarb, Dutch apple, blackberry cream cheese and sugar-free (!) apple, blueberry, cherry and peach. Unusual suspects like pumpkin cream cheese and raspberry white chocolate rhubarb tempt as well.
The Nook also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you care.
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If you go
Getting there
To get to Kohler, drive north on Interstate Highway 94 past Milwaukee, then north on Interstate Highway 43. To get to Appleton, take state Highway 23 west to Fond du Lac, then go north on U.S. Highway 41 into Appleton. From Appleton, take U.S. 41 northeast to Green Bay. From there, state Highway 29 takes you northwest to Wausau. Then head west on 29 to Chippewa Falls, and south on U.S. Highway 53 to Eau Claire. I-94 south will take you to Osseo, then back to Chicago.
The attractions
*The History Museum at the Castle, Appleton: 920-735-9370; myhistorymuseum.org
*Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame: 920-569-7512; packershalloffame.org
*Leinie Lodge: 888-534-6437; leinie.com
*Nine-Mile Recreation Area Cross Country Ski Trails: 888-948-4748 or 715-355-8788; co.marathon.wi.us/index.asp
*Fanny Hill: 715-836-8184; fannyhill.com
*Norske Nook: 800-294-6665 or 715-597-3069; norskenook.com
Lodging
In Appleton, choices include Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, 333 W. College Ave. ($130 to $194); and Best Western Midway, 3033 W. College Ave. ($79-$89).
In Green Bay, several hotel chains have accommodations within walking distance of the Packers’ Lambeau Field, including the Best Western Midway Green Bay.
Wausau options include the Jefferson Street Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Hampton Inn, and La Quinta Inn & Suites. Wausau rates can range from $58 to $126.
In Eau Claire, Fanny Hill charges, depending on the day of the week, $69 to $199 for bed and breakfast.
Dining
Kohler: Restoration Gardens & Brickhouse Bistro; 920-467-8370; restorationgardens.com
Appleton: Choices include Vince Lombardi’s Steakhouse in the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, 920-499-6874, vincelombardisteakhouse.com; and India Darbar Restaurant, 920-560-4967, indiadarbar.com
Green Bay: Choices close to Lambeau Field include the bustling Stadium View Sports Bar & Grill, 920-498-1989, thestadiumview.com, and Brett Favre’s Steakhouse, 920-499-6874, brettfavresteakhouse.com.
Wausau: Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant, 715-845-5570
General information
TravelWisconsin.com, the Web site of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
EscapeToWisconsin.com, the Web site of the Wisconsin Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus.
— C.T.
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ctc-travel@tribune.com
