Returning to Wisconsin

Being just across the river in Marquette and having missed out on cheese curds last time we were there, we returned to the land of the Cheese Head. Just across the river, we saw Valley Fish and Cheese... kind of like crossing the border into Missouri and finding fireworks. Unfortunately, I was in the wrong lane and already committed to turning; we'd come back.

The turn put us on track to visit Saint Feriole Island, home of the Villa Louis, Brisbois House and Store, and the Mississippi River Sculpture Park. We didn't really stop to fully immerse ourselves in any of these but it was interesting to see the structures and location. Having done that, I've read up a little more so I think it served its purpose.

Back on track, we were headed for the cheese when we saw a place too cute to pass up. Looks were not deceiving; this place was a potpourri and candle hunters dream come true. There were all sorts of cute little things to adorn any home. I really liked the tiny ears of indian corn out front, tied in bunches and attached to shocks of corn. Around the base were assorted pumpkins. Very appropriate for the season.

This shop did have something that did catch our attention: the fudge counter. Under the glass were several blocks of color and flavors to choose from. We settled on the chewy praline. The bottom third was vanilla fudge, the middle was pralines, and a nice layer of chocolate fudge filled in the gaps and took us to the top. We only got a little more than half of a mounds bar... it's not like we were all that hungry, it was just a nice sweet treat. We portioned it out into several small tastes and enjoyed that for several miles.

Back on track for the cheese (sounds like we were mice in a maze by now), we wound around surprising one way streets and streets that didn't go through. Finally solving our maze, we parked and made our way up to the curiously decorated shop. The smoked cat sign made me wonder just what kinda folks live in Wisconsin. We stepped into the shop and found a pretty simple interior lined with about any kind of smoked midwestern meat I could think of. It was all there... along with a decent variety of cheeses. They even had cheese curds! Mission accomplished. Time for us to get back to Iowa.