2013 - Inaugural
One day I saw someone with a pile of things they were giving away outside their house, and there was a matted road map of Wisconsin that caught my eye. I immediately liked it and took it home. It was just sitting in my apartment for a year or two, when Jim suggested we throw a dart at it and travel there. We all agreed it was a good idea and said we'll do it. However a couple of months later I wanted to do something special for my birthday, which happened to land on a Saturday. So I told the boys the date, and we agreed to go wherever the dart said. We met at Eric and my apartment in the morning at 9am and the day started.
This trip: Andrew, Eric, Joe, Jim, & Mike
Our first location, Conrath. We have to take the first throw, the only exception being if it lands outside of Wisconsin. I was blindfolded and the boys spun me around so much I didn't even know which way was up. Finally hit the board on the fourth throw, and that set us off on a journey we would never forget.
Determining the closest town to the dart.
Walking out to the car. We took Mike's car, and he drove, given his hometown was about 15 miles from there. Will probably be the last time someone in the group will know the area we are going.
Mike's Hat. Turned into our theme for the trip. Quite fitting considering our location.
Barely 45 minutes into the trip and we found a tourist attraction, a petting zoo!
Of course we had to have a Swig at Nig's on the way. We had lunch, and played inappropriate music for the crowd.
Decided to hit the Leine's Brewery Tour since it was really close to our route. Leine's original brewery in Chippewa Falls. A good tour with a lot of history. Brewery tours have turned into a tradition on the trip because of this stop.
Enjoying our samples in the Leine's Lodge.
One of the great tourist attractions you'll ever see! Half-way between the Equator and North Pole. Thanks Cadott!
The only hotel within many miles. It is typically a summer resort lodge, but it was still open.
The Paradise Shores. We asked for the biggest room which had a bedroom, living room, and even a bar. More on that coming next...
As we were having a few beers in our room before we left, we noticed a couple of stains on the floor. Then we noticed a few on the walls. We also noticed a hole in the wall that looks like it could have come from a very large knife. After we noticed some dried blood, we got a little worried. We were the ONLY people staying at this resort, and we realized this was EXACTLY how horror movies start. It was dark, we're from way out of town, and we were in the middle of no where. So we did the logical thing, and nicknamed our new digs SPLATTER BAR and went onward to Conrath.
Arrived in Conrath. Two bars, this one looked the best. Saturday night, one patron in this tavern when we arrived. It was perfect.
The food was good, and the hospitality was even better. They even had smirnoff ice! Eric was excited.
And their swag was fresh. Thanks Bryrhoppers!
Afterwards we dropped the car back at the resort so Mike could get his drink on at the next place near the hotel. We listened to some snowmobile stories,
Mike and Andrew ran into a several college buddies,
and we jammed to the band.
We had an afterbar, raided the resort's storage closets (see above), and most importantly we weren't murdered.
Next Morning:
After getting a recommendation for breakfast from our bartender the previous night, we went to the Big Minnow. (who were we kidding, we knew we were going to this place anyway)
The big minnow had everything. A restaurant, bait, bar, grocery store, dart boards, and a gift shop. It was amazing.
After filling up, we hit the road back to MKE. We told some stories, drank lots of water, and came across one last tourist attraction:
The trip was such a success, and we had such a great time that we decided to do it again next year, and the tradition was born.
