In celebration of the day I entered into this world, I once again invited some friends to spend the weekend at the family's homestead in Green Bay. Last year it was such a hit with the Door County winery tour that I knew I had to come up with something equally fantastic. And I did.
Friday Evening: Arrival
Most everyone arrived by Friday evening just in time for a drink. I took the gals to The Bar, as Tom, Dick, & Harry's, GB's trendy night spot, had a total of 3 cars in the parking lot.
You know, if you're business only happens when you've got live music, then you are in trouble. That's all I'm saying.
The margaritas were sadly free of any but the smallest amount of tequila. We requested an extra shot to make it more, hm, "South Side Milwaukee," if you will. The price of the mid-shelf tequila shot was almost the same as the margarita. Fail.
Saturday
Wakey, wakey, eggs and bac-ey
Because we got to bed around 3 a.m. the night (morning?) before, we woke up bright and early at 9 a.m. Just in time for LB to arrive and the rest of us to realize that we'd better get showered and dressed.
Go Pack Go
Our only plan for the weekend was a birthday dinner and a Lambeau Field tour. We braved the 10,000 marathoners at Lambeau and happened to get a tour all to ourselves. This way we were able to ask all the silly, ridiculous questions we wanted much to the good-natured chagrin of our very patient tour guide. No, we can't see the locker rooms as a few players were in residence. No, she's not sure where they hang out in their free time. No, she cannot pass along our phone numbers to the single ones.
I kid.
Sort of.
But really, we got a great tour all to ourselves and asked all sorts of pertinent questions lady Packer fans graduating with communications degrees would want to know the answers to. Like how do they rig up the sky cam on game day? How many times per day do they feed the players? What do they do with all the food left over from feeding the media?
We ended our Packer fan experience with lunch at Curly's (respectable Bloody Mary's by the by), and a stop in the Pro Shop.
A Girl's Best Friend
For graduation my parents took me to the jewelry store and let me at it (within reason). I had my eye on something since January and so the trip was brief, but the gals got to look around and decide what kind of engagement rings they would want should they become engaged.
Captain's Walk
Last year we started the Door County winery tour at Captain's Walk in Green Bay. For the rest of the day every other stop was slightly disappointing as it just couldn't live up to the Captain's experience. They treated us real well last year, and again this year when we went for an afternoon tipple, I mean, tasting.
My favorite was the 7 Seas.
My second favorite was sitting on the porch in a rocking chair with my glass of wine for an hour, chatting with the gals and soaking up the sunshine.
Seriously, if they took on boarders, then surely I'd live there.
Dinner
I'd been telling the ladies how awesome Angelina's in Green Bay is for, oh, 10 months or so. Three of us had gone to Italy last summer to study abroad and I said, "Ladies, this is the best Italian I've had outside of Italy."
(This was before I went to Chef John Besh's Domenica in New Orleans, bygones).
So when I called for a reservation for Saturday night, imagine my extreme disappointment when they told me they were full.
10,000 marathoners will do that, I learned.
Then I tried not to think about how I might punch anyone in running shorts in the face.
Then I called my parents. Surely they would know a great place in the greater Green Bay area?
"But, of course!" said my stepdad, "Don't you remember that delicious seafood restaurant by UWGB on the bay?"
How could I forget? Harbor Fish Market & Grille, the magical place that makes risotto cakes (think Suppli if you've ever been to Italy) that are like small, fried, pillows from heaven.
The waitress remembered me from my one visit there, oh, about a year ago.
We gals each ordered something different and not one of us was disappointed.
We did not regret this dining experience. I even stopped wanting to punch runners in the face.
Sunday
Our weekend ended with an amazing breakfast. Homemade waffles with a variety of toppings combined by homemade Bloody Marys with a variety of garnishes. Really, the hitch was that we needed to commit ourselves to one thing before moving on to the next - to start with sweet? or savory?
I think I pickled my intestines.
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