Fishing lull, going on a non fishing vacation.

[throttleplate]

Wife and i are headed to GreenBay next week for Packers trainging camp, this will be my 3rd camp and her 2nd, then we head 50 miles south to OshKosh Wisc for the big week long airshow, then we are headed for Milwaukee for another air show and have tickets for the Milwaukee Brewers game on monday when they play the Braves.

I am an Orioles fan but its baseball and it is close to greenbay so i jumped on it, its Miller beer monday promotion so for 2, 200 level tickets and parking it cost me $32.00 to attend the game.

On our way back home when we pass through Minneapolis my wife asked if we are close to the Mall Of America as she wants to check it out, i cringed and said we will see dear what time it is and how far out of the way it is from I-94. The last time i was at Mall of America was 1991.

 

 

[Mobasser]

Have a great time. Wisconsin is a cool place to visit.

[gim]

@throttleplate the Mall of America has seen some changes since you were last there, some good, some not so good. There has been a noticeable increase in crime but they recently addressed that with additional security. I don’t go there much myself but when coming in on I-494 , I recommend parking in the east ramp by the aquarium.

 

As long as you are there during normal business hours and not the middle of the night you should be ok.

[throttleplate]

4 hours ago, gimruis said:

by the aquarium.

What is this aquarium you speak of ?

[TOXIC]

Doing a non-fishing trip myself in a couple of weeks to Wisconsin and it’s not by choice.  I’m somewhat bummed out by it.  We go to a chain of lakes in Waupaca/King.  We have been going for 26 years.  For a number of years, I towed my 21 foot Ranger up from Virginia and enjoyed great fishing.  I also got to link up with a good friend and fish the Wolf river.  Times change and it was not for the good.  We changed cottages and I can no longer park my boat trailer at our current cottage because it is down a 1 lane road set deep in the forest.  So I am forced to park it off site at a lot the marina graciously lets me use.  Then my friend unexpectedly passed away and the lakes property owners association decided to chemically treat the lake vegetation which totally ruined the fishing.  Covid exposed the lakes that were once kind of a local secret (my wife’s family is from the area) into an extremely busy, party spot.  So, towing the boat 2 days up and 2 days home for crappy fishing just isn’t worth it.  We still rent a pontoon for riding around the lakes but fishing is no more. 😢

[gim]

12 hours ago, throttleplate said:

What is this aquarium you speak of ?

Here’s the link with hours and pricing. It’s right by the east entrance.

 

https://www.visitsealife.com/minnesota/

 

 

[Arevets]

Enjoy the vacation, if you want a piece of advice consider visiting the MOA on a weeknight evening, typically less crowded at that time 

[slonezp]

If it makes you feel worse, I will be in Green Bay fishing on Sunday and Monday and shooting guns at the range on Tuesday of next week.

[throttleplate]

Wife and i spent monday night in EauClaire Wis, We had booked a motel 6, we stopped early and checked in at 1pm, 2 hrs early but they didnt charge us for early check in.

I have stayed in real dumps from Memphis Tenn all throughout Asia and this motel 6 ranks in the top 3 of crap holes i have ever stayed at, pure scum hole from the smell to the bugs in the fridge, broken tv, microwave, air con, moldy shower.....Then this guy smoking outside walks up to me and asks me if i would take his $5.00 and walk next door and buy him a pint of vodka because he lost his ID card, umm no i told him.

 

We left Eau Claire early in the morning and arrived in Green Bay at 930am and went to Lambeau field and watched practice and then the sky opened up and it poured rain for 35 minutes, the packers stayed out and ran their practice in the pouring rain and i and hundreds of others stood and sat and got drenched as i left our umbrellas in the car as i didnt nor did the weatherman predict this downpour.

Hey, it was a blast even soaked and when practice was over we went to check into our extended stay hotel, very nice, clean with kitchen, sink, full fridge, stove top, micro and furnished with pots and pans, plates......We went to wallmart and bought food to stock the room and i also bought a footlong at Subway, a footlong in Fargo, ND costs me $8.99, here in Green Bay it costs $11.98.

What is really crazy here in GB is all the roundabouts in fast moving traffic, really caused me problems and i missed the exits a few times, even with gps just not enough time in the roundabout to get a lock on checking the signage and counting the exits with cars zooming all around me.

Oh, Jordan Love is in camp standing on the sidelines but is not practicing untill he gets a new contract signed supposedly this week.

[TOXIC]

Funny story, when we go to Wisconsin and I was pulling the boat, I route us waaaay south so as to miss Chicago and other cities on the “fastest” route.  Pulling a 21 foot boat through Chicago traffic is zero fun.  We take 2 days.  The first year I went without the boat I went ahead and went the fastest route.  We didn’t make reservations ahead of time because I am an upper level Hilton Honors member and there are Hampton Inns at most every exit.  Well, it just so happened we were going through at the same time as the Experimental Aircraft Association event in Oshkosh.  There wasn’t a room within 100 miles that wasn’t $400 a night.  Wife was on the phone calling non stop ahead of us.  We managed to find an EcnoLodge for $150.  It was the absolute worst chit hole I have ever stayed in and I went to some pretty sad places in my career traveling for the government closing banks.  To give you an idea, there were barbecue grills out in front of the rooms of the “long term” residents.  We slept on bare mattresses after pulling off the sheets.  We were up and out of there after getting a few hours of shut eye.   The wife threatened my life if I ever made her stay in another rat hole like that. 😂

[throttleplate]

Wife scolded me because i pulled the curtains back and opened the windows in our ground level floor while i was naked.

[MN Fisher]

"Had to feel a bit of a breeze on yer bits, lad?"

 

Doesn't matter - cameras in the room already got everything recorded.

[Texas Flood]

On 7/20/2024 at 10:35 PM, throttleplate said:

What is this aquarium you speak of ?

Its a big building with fish, but thats not important right now.

 

[slonezp]

On 7/23/2024 at 10:18 PM, throttleplate said:

Wife and i spent monday night in EauClaire Wis, We had booked a motel 6, we stopped early and checked in at 1pm, 2 hrs early but they didnt charge us for early check in.

I have stayed in real dumps from Memphis Tenn all throughout Asia and this motel 6 ranks in the top 3 of crap holes i have ever stayed at, pure scum hole from the smell to the bugs in the fridge, broken tv, microwave, air con, moldy shower.....Then this guy smoking outside walks up to me and asks me if i would take his $5.00 and walk next door and buy him a pint of vodka because he lost his ID card, umm no i told him.

 

We left Eau Claire early in the morning and arrived in Green Bay at 930am and went to Lambeau field and watched practice and then the sky opened up and it poured rain for 35 minutes, the packers stayed out and ran their practice in the pouring rain and i and hundreds of others stood and sat and got drenched as i left our umbrellas in the car as i didnt nor did the weatherman predict this downpour.

Hey, it was a blast even soaked and when practice was over we went to check into our extended stay hotel, very nice, clean with kitchen, sink, full fridge, stove top, micro and furnished with pots and pans, plates......We went to wallmart and bought food to stock the room and i also bought a footlong at Subway, a footlong in Fargo, ND costs me $8.99, here in Green Bay it costs $11.98.

What is really crazy here in GB is all the roundabouts in fast moving traffic, really caused me problems and i missed the exits a few times, even with gps just not enough time in the roundabout to get a lock on checking the signage and counting the exits with cars zooming all around me.

Oh, Jordan Love is in camp standing on the sidelines but is not practicing untill he gets a new contract signed supposedly this week.

Wisconsin has gone roundabout happy the last 10 years. They have put them everywhere. 

[throttleplate]

#29, packers new safety picked up from Giants in free agency and now the highest paid safety in the league. Shawn Rhyan right guard and running back AJ Dillon.

The new Packers helmet for the year 2050. The ability for us fans to approach the players before and after practice is truly a gift.

[TnRiver46]

On 7/23/2024 at 10:18 PM, throttleplate said:

Wife and i spent monday night in EauClaire Wis, We had booked a motel 6, we stopped early and checked in at 1pm, 2 hrs early but they didnt charge us for early check in.

I have stayed in real dumps from Memphis Tenn all throughout Asia and this motel 6 ranks in the top 3 of crap holes i have ever stayed at, pure scum hole from the smell to the bugs in the fridge, broken tv, microwave, air con, moldy shower.....Then this guy smoking outside walks up to me and asks me if i would take his $5.00 and walk next door and buy him a pint of vodka because he lost his ID card, umm no i told him.

 

We left Eau Claire early in the morning and arrived in Green Bay at 930am and went to Lambeau field and watched practice and then the sky opened up and it poured rain for 35 minutes, the packers stayed out and ran their practice in the pouring rain and i and hundreds of others stood and sat and got drenched as i left our umbrellas in the car as i didnt nor did the weatherman predict this downpour.

Hey, it was a blast even soaked and when practice was over we went to check into our extended stay hotel, very nice, clean with kitchen, sink, full fridge, stove top, micro and furnished with pots and pans, plates......We went to wallmart and bought food to stock the room and i also bought a footlong at Subway, a footlong in Fargo, ND costs me $8.99, here in Green Bay it costs $11.98.

What is really crazy here in GB is all the roundabouts in fast moving traffic, really caused me problems and i missed the exits a few times, even with gps just not enough time in the roundabout to get a lock on checking the signage and counting the exits with cars zooming all around me.

Oh, Jordan Love is in camp standing on the sidelines but is not practicing untill he gets a new contract signed supposedly this week.

I stayed in eau Claire last week and loved it, we were at the oxbow hotel 

[throttleplate]

We went to the biggest air show in the USA on saturday, Oshkosh, Wisc, I highly reccomend to anybody that has been to an airshow before to STAY away from this colossal mess unless you are into buying or building an airplane, the air show itself was terrible, uninteresting with only a handfull of WW2 aircraft on display and not even a B-17 on the grounds only 2  B-25,  some P-51,  corsairs and P41 flying tigers, people around me were so wanting to see warbirds on the ground and in flight but were dissapointed. There were no Blue Angels or Thunderbirds at the week long event.

The whole show is really devoted to aircraft manufacturers having on display all the newest models of small aircraft with salesman trying to interest the real owners of aircraft into their models. There are also many imformative workshops all week on the grounds with classes about building, welding........so yeah its great for the real enthusiast to learn.

 

The best part of the event was eating a A@W rootbeer float which i last had one in 2008. We are now in Milwaukee as of last night at a Econolodge and didnt get to sleep untill 2 am due to the people above us doing their thing, i thought the bed was gonna crash down through the ceiling. Aside from that these smaller budget hotels are gettin very old in age and the upkeep on the room repairs is just sloppy workmanship low budget and the cleanliness is such as simple dusting isnt even attempted.

 

Today Milwaukee is having their airshow and the Thunderbirds are performing so we will go to the great lake and try to find a place to park as the show itself is free to watch outside the pay area.

[slonezp]

We enjoyed a few of these Green Bay walleyes parmesan encrusted

[throttleplate]

Back home in ND from our trip to Wisc, After the dissapointing air show at Oshkosh the free airshow in Milwaukee on sunday exceeded our expectations. Sittin on the shore of lake michigan with a cool strong breeze with overcast skies it was a great day.

 

We also went to see the Brewers play the braves, the stadium has a retractable roof which was not opened untill after the 2nd inning and thanfully they did as it was a sauna with the high humidity, 95 degrees and overcast skies which it rained earlier hence the roof was still closed.

 

Coming back home we stopped off at Mall of america to make my wife happy, we went in, took pics of the carnival rides and the outside mall of america sign and got out after 1 1/2 hrs. Philipinos love malls, big malls and you will only understand why if you are married to one.

 

On the way out of minneapolis on wednesday on hwy 494 at around 4:25 it started to rain and it came in buckets for 30 plus minutes  and brought traffic to a stop and crawl for the next hour as there was no visibility with the downpour. Hey @gimruis how much rain did you recieve on wed?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

m

[gim]

7 hours ago, throttleplate said:

Hey @gimruis how much rain did you recieve on wed?

 

I wasn't at home on Wed, I was in Brookings, SD for work.  My wife said we got 1.25 inches.

 

Where I was in Brookings, we received 4.5 inches in about 90 minutes.  Pure black out and downpour.  Prior to arrival of that rain, it was nasty outside.  Disgustingly humid.

 

Sounds like you had a good trip minus the issues at the rinky dink hotels lol

[Bird]

I recently went on the long trip without any fishing and had a great time and it was what the wife wanted to do......3 weeks in Maine.

BUT the next trip is 2 weeks of fishing on Stonewall Jackson lake in WV.

 

Oh, the Orioles looking good this year 👍

[TOXIC]

Got here in Waupaca yesterday and went on a pontoon ride around the lake.  Didn’t check any of what used to be great fishing spots to see how they looked.  May do that today.  I wish I had my boat but it’s just not worth the hassle to pull it up here.  I can honestly say that if I had the boat behind me yesterday rolling through Chicago, an elderly man with a small truck pulling a small camper decided not to merge and just stop in a construction required orange barrel merge, then just pull into 70mph traffic going 10mph.  If I had the boat behind me there’s little doubt I would have pile drove the truck in front of me.  As it was, the truck behind me stopped an inch off my rear bumper.  Thank heavens I upgraded my brakes all the way around with Powerstop. 

[throttleplate]

20 hours ago, Bird said:

Oh, the Orioles looking good this year 👍

The orioles are playing very bad and embarrassing baseball to date, no pitching beyond Burnes and Rodriguez, bullpen is terrible, all the errors being made by Henderson at SS, Westburg on the injured list with a broken bone in his hand,  Adley the catcher stopped hitting 40 days ago as did Mountcastle, Ohearn.

 With Holiday back up from the minors, Mayo up yesterday, Cowser playing alot this team now is very young with green rookies and learning to hit and field against major leaguers and until they settle in or not the rest of the season is gonna be on the rough side.

Lucky we started the year hot so we are still tied for first place but playing below .500 the last month we are still hoping to turn it around.

[TnRiver46]

11 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Got here in Waupaca yesterday and went on a pontoon ride around the lake.  Didn’t check any of what used to be great fishing spots to see how they looked.  May do that today.  I wish I had my boat but it’s just not worth the hassle to pull it up here.  I can honestly say that if I had the boat behind me yesterday rolling through Chicago, an elderly man with a small truck pulling a small camper decided not to merge and just stop in a construction required orange barrel merge, then just pull into 70mph traffic going 10mph.  If I had the boat behind me there’s little doubt I would have pile drove the truck in front of me.  As it was, the truck behind me stopped an inch off my rear bumper.  Thank heavens I upgraded my brakes all the way around with Powerstop. 

Glad I drove around thru  Bloomington instead 

[gim]

22 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I can honestly say that if I had the boat behind me yesterday rolling through Chicago

I can’t stand that god forsaken city.