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| View from our room at Grand Geneva Hotel |
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| Mansions line shores of Lake Geneva |
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| City park Lake Geneva |
Wisconsin is a beautiful state covered with lush, green forests and dotted with lakes.
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| Heidel House grounds at Green Lake |
Our first stop was the town of Lake Geneva, long popular as a summer retreat for people from Chicago and Milwaukee. It was here that Frank Lloyd Wright built the first modern drive-in motel. Wealthy barons of the 19th century built homes here and it came to be known as 'the Newport of the West'. We enjoyed a boat tour around the lake, seeing the beautiful homes and mansions that line the shores.
Then it was on to the smaller but lovely Green Lake. Friends we met while cruising live nearby and it was a pleasure to see them again. As natives of Wisconsin, they were able to give us lots of good advice. We saw them again when we moved on to Stevens Point.
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| Heidel House on Green Lake |
We spent several days in Wausau, a very nice little city bordering the Wisconsin River.
On June 13 we arrived in Eagle River where we had booked a townhouse on Voyageur Lake for one month. The lake is one of 28 composing the world's largest chain of lakes. We were told Wisconsin has more lakes that Minnesota; there are 1,300 in this general area alone. With so much water, you can imagine how popular fishing and boating are here. We were fortunate that neighbors invited us for a boat ride and gave us a tour of
many of the connected lakes.
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Hiking in the National Forest North Country
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| Our place on Voyageur Lake - one of a row of townhouses |
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| Our view |
With 3 stories, our lodging had far more room than we are used to. It was great having our own laundry room and a full kitchen where Ron made many delicious, healthy meals.
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Living area and kitchen 2nd floor
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We hiked local trails and the nearby National Forest, and visited surrounding towns. On a drive back from the tiny town St. Germain, we saw two young Chinese girls walking their bikes so stopped to help them. They are on a work-study program at one of the area lodges so we put the bikes in the trunk and drove them back. It turned out that there are actually 4 of them here. They were so appreciative and sweet that we enjoyed taking them out and to lunch a couple of times.
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Boating with our neighbors
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Not to be missed was the Eagle River 4th of July parade. Surrounding towns participate and people come from near and far. It has been a very relaxing, enjoyable time here. Next week we will be heading south to visit other Wisconsin towns and Door County which we've heard many wonderful things about.
THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT WISCONSIN
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New friends: Chinese girls on work-study program
4th of July Parade
This is what you need for snow in northern Wisconsin
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You probably know Wisconsin is known as America's Dairyland. It leads the nation in cheese production and is 2nd to California in milk production. But did you know it produces more than 60% of the nation's cranberries? No wonder cranberry is the official state fruit.
Wisconsin has long been famous as a major beer producer. Though some of the best known companies are defunct or moved out of state, craft beers have become hugely popular and there are countless microbreweries. New Glarus Brewing Company is considered one of the best in the country.
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| 4th of July parade: Horse of the fallen soldier |
Wisconsin borders Lake Superior as well as Lake Michigan. The state capital is Madison but the largest city is Milwaukee. One third of the approximately 6 million Wisconsinites live in the greater Milwaukee area.
You probably know that Frank Lloyd Wright was from Wisconsin but many other famous people were also from here: Spencer Tracy, Orson Wells, Liberace, Georgia O'Keefe, Jackie Mason, Houdini, Chris Farley and Gene Wilder to name a few.
GERI'S BOOKS:
HEALING FEELINGS:
http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Feelings-Release-emotional-Connect-ebook/dp/B00XKF6MYK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436447095&sr=1-1&keywords=healing+feelings+geri+oneill
MAKE THE BEST OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Best-Rest-Your-Life-ebook/dp/B00WGGTA02/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436447219&sr=1-3&keywords=MAKE+THE+BEST+OF+THE+REST+OF+YOUR+LIFE
HEARTSONG: http://www.amazon.com/Heartsong-Geri-ONeill-ebook/dp/B00VYXVGDW/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0M7GSYG7GES2DET35Y5K
Continuing south, we stopped in Danville and Bowling Green, Kentucky. Danville is a small town with a lot to boast about. The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded it the Great Main Street Award. Money Magazine ranked it 4th best place to retire in 2011. And two Vice-Presidential debates were held there. 
Another charming town we stopped in on our way south was Florence, Alabama. It is the home of the University of Northern Alabama. In the center of the beautiful campus is a huge enclosure for 2 lions, the school mascots.
Not far from Florence is Tuscumbia, the birthplace of Helen Keller 1880-1968. She was stricken with a disease as an infant that left her blind and deaf. Right outside the house is the well where her teacher Annie Sullivan broke through and Helen suddenly understood that Annie was writing the word 'water' in her hand. The story is depicted in the famous movie The Miracle Worker. Helen Keller went on to graduate from Radcliffe College becoming the first blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Then it was on to Birmingham and finally Mobile, Alabama where we visited with my brother and his family. Cousins from New York came down making it a little family reunion. Mobile is actually the birthplace of the Carnival and Mardi Gras. The Carnival Museum houses many of the parade floats and magnificent robes the King and Queen wear. 
