Visiting Wisconsin

“My father and I will be visiting Fond du Lac, WI, May 22-26 for an 82nd Airborne Reunion. My uncle was in the 82nd Airborne in WWII and was MIA 28 Sept 1944. We will meet a lot of veterans who knew him. It will bring a lot of closure to the family.

I have never been to Wisconsin other than airports. If anyone has any recommendations of things to do, places to see, or restaurants around Fond du Lac, please email me:
prrosenkrant@csupomona.edu

Not sure how much time we will have to sight-see, but it is nice to know what's available.”

“If you can get over to Oshkosh to the Experimental Aircraft Association facility, home of the annual EAA Fly-in, I bet there are some things to see. Unfortunately I have two graduations I have to be at this weekend, one Saturday as faculty, one Sunday as parent. Otherwise I'd try to zip down and say howdy.”

“I'm pretty sure Fon Du Lac is on the indian reservation...so there's sure to be a casino there.”

“Phil: I found the following, and a lot more, at www.fdl.com

EAA AirVenture Museum
View a fascinating display of more than 95 full-size, historically significant aircraft. See the dynamic WWII Eagle Hangar and interactive exhibits. NEW! World's Greatest Flight Simulator. Seasonal airplane rides available. Open year round Mon-Sat 8:30-5pm, Sun 11-5pm. Closed on major holidays. Adults $8, senior citizens $7, students $6.50, 7 and under free. 17 miles N of FDL on Hwy 41. 920 426-4818. www.eaa.org

Eldorado Marsh
Explore 5,500 acres of primitive land, a habitat for many varieties of birds and game. Open to hikers and mountain bikers. Provides a 30-mile snowmobile trail and a challenging cross-country ski trail. 4 miles W of FDL, off Hwy 23-W.

Have fun and salute those 82nd guys for me!”

“Bummer. I'll be in St. Ignace or I'd stop in.

Appleton would be a good daytrip. Nice downtown and the Harry Houdini Museum. Hiking can be had at Kettle Moraine SF, High Cliff SP and Point Beach SP. Nothing too spectacular, although the Niagara Escarpment passes through the area - the same rock formation that the falls pass over. The Ice Age Trail is nearby.

Shoot, I'd might even make a trip to Madison. Way cool town with lots to do.”

“Definitely bisit the Air Museum at Oshkosh.”

“Hey RF, keep us Wisconsinites aware of your visits to the Badger State. I'll have a pretty open schedule this summer, flexible at least, so if you'll be in the neighborhood, we can always try to link up.”

“Phil - as others have said - the EAA Airplane museum and the Kettle Morraine state forrest/Ice Age Trail are both within 30 minutes of Fond du Lac. There are other museums, brewery tours, shopping, nature areas, etc within an hours drive - what kind of things interest you ?
dawn”

“The Ice Age trail is very cool you should check out some of the North Central unit.

8)”

“Solitary Dawn - My main objective is to meet and informally interview as many veterans as I can that knew my uncle (before they are no longer around). Then, if we have any blocks of extra time I would like to look around. The air museum sounds awesome. Not sure if my Dad would be interested in hiking, although he is in good shape and walks for exercise. Museums and/or historical stuff sound interesting. Shopping is not a high priority.

I might break away for a short hike if time allows.”

“Phil - there is museum about 20 miles East of Fond Du Lac (I'm looking at the map) - it is The Wade House and Jung Museum. I was there a few years ago - it is the site of an old stage coach road intersection - kinda like an old motel. They feature about a hundred antique coaches in the museum. Not exactly my #1 interest - but you or you dad may like it. There is also a maritime museum about an hour away in Manitowoc. They feature a WWII submarine that you can tour.


http://www.artcom.com/museums/nv/sz/54220-68.htm

http://www.wimaritimemuseum.org/

I think the EAA or Submarine are the best museums in the area -especially if you want WWII connections
dawn”

“Dawn & others - Thanks! Good stuff.”

“If you have the time, check out the Packers Hall of Fame. On the way up, you will see Mars Cheese, that should be on your right just out side of Kenosha. Good Cheese in Wisconsin, of course it should be since they supply the country with 80% our cheese. ( I know there will be a joke come, bring it on.)”

“The Mars Cheese Castle is very cool and they have so much good cheese.

8)”

“Just got his off of the hotel website:

Attractions:
Wild Goose Trail (1 MI)
Bowling Lanes (1 MI)
Rolling Meadows Golf Course (1 MI)
Kristmas Kringle Collectable Shoppe (2 MI)
Forest Mall (2 MI)
Galloway House and Village (3 MI)
Marian College/ Stayer Center (4 MI)
Lakeside Park/ Lighthouse (5 MI)
Blue Line Family Ice Center (5 MI)
Windhover Center for the Arts (5 MI)
Moraine Park Technical College (6 MI)
Horizon Outlet Shopping (17 MI)
EAA Airventure Museum (17 MI)
Road America (35 MI)
Kettle Moraine State Forest (35 MI)

Regarding cheese, you should see the California cheese commercials. They are pretty funny.”

“Guess I just don't know where Fond Du Lac is......... sounds like between Milewaukee and Oshkosh?”

“lizs - Fond du Lac is just south of Oshkosh on the lake.”

“Fondue Like?

lol”

“Ooohhh, get some kringle! Yummy stuff!

Hey RL - been to the chocolate factory in Appleton yet? My friend Molly worked there in high school, and used to bring us treat back up at Tech. Mmmmm!”

“Hi Smiley!

I'll have to check that out. Sounds yummy. Where's snackboy when you need him?”

“Phil, Moraine Park Technical College is a sister institution to my school, part of the Wisconsin Technical College System.

Whatever you choose to do, I hope you have a great visit. Just getting down to the Lake Winnebago shoreline might be relaxing.

Just remembered, the famous Horicon Marsh is just a ways to the SW of Fond du Lac. If you are at all into birdwatching, its a fabulous area on the central flyway. A huge heron rookery is one of the highlights. Should be lots of waterfowl in residence by now.”

“If you get away to Oshkosh also check out:

HUGHES HOMAID CHOCOLATE
1823 DOTY ST
OSHKOSH WI 54901
414/231-7232

They operate out of a house at above address. Their chocolate is to die for!

Then there is Arty & Ed's. A '50's type drive-in where the carhops are on skates. It's on Highway 45 very near Hughes' Chocolate.

Mmmm, now I'm hungry!”

“Guess I'll have to try a kringle!

pekka - more good info. Thanks! How far away is your institution from Fond du lac?

More info: A native son of Fond du Lac is James Megellas. He was the most decorated officer in the 82nd Airborne in WWII. He just published the book: "All the Way to Berlin" in March. He mentions my uncle a couple of times in his book. They were both in H-Company of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, but in different platoons. Great book! As a book, I liked it better than "Band of Brothers". The reunion is also a book signing and supposedly 25 veterans who were mentioned in the book and still living are going to be there. Should be awesome!”

“Not sure if I will be posting much the next 5 days. Take care everyone!”

“Make sure it is a real Racine Kringle. There is a difference. Racine is the best.”

“Well, I missed your post yesterday morning, Phil, but I'm about 3 hours or so from Fond du Lac. Hope it's a great trip.”

“Just in case anyone is close to Fond du Lac and gets this, the veterans are going to be interviewed on radio AM 1450 from about 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. (I could be an hour early on that) today.

We got in last night and had a wonderful time meeting them. They had some unbelievable stories.”

“Cool, Phil.

Wisconsin? Ya gotta see the West Coast!! phhhht!!”

“Radlo program went well! Those veterans are all around 80 years old, but are really doing great!”

“I did some web surfing in early '99 after my dad mumbled his first words about the war.

I was mostly interested to find out about the LCS(L) craft and their part in the war.

I learned that there is an LCS(L) association, and that they had a reunion scheduled the following August in Philly. I amassed a slew of info (mostly back issues of their newsletter) and forwarded a rather loaded packet to my dad. He was *literally* speechless. He had had absolutely no contact with his crew or any other LCS(L) veteran since '45.

Long story short - he and I attended the reunion, along with some 1000 veterans of the 130 LCS(L)s that served in the Pacific - two of his 60 shipmates were there. The experience was one of the highlights of my life...

Those guys are something else, eh?”

“gojo - Met a guy yesterday that was one of the LCS(L) drivers for the landing at Anzio beachhead in WWII. Said his craft got hit. I wished I could have talked to him more. Apparently he lives locally and came over for the book signing. Met some awesome people here. Some of these veterans led some intereseting lives after they got back from the war. They seemed to have large families in many cases.”

“Fabulous day talking to the paratroopers who knew my uncle. I am still high over it.

Also drove to the Experimental Aircraft Association Air Museum in Oshkosh. It was really a first class air museum...definitely the nicest facility of its type I have ever seen.”

“Just got home. Had a great time visiting with those paratroopers. Must have met 19 of them, most of whom knew my uncle. Two of them even witnessed him being killed in Holland. Some of them went on to do some pretty awesome stuff after they returned home from WWII.

Brought home a Racine Kringle to eat for breakfast!”

“Hope it was REALLY from Racine. I grew up there, there are a lot of imitations, but nothing like a Racine Kringle! ENJOY!

By the way, glad you had a good trip!

Mark”

“Phil,
The LCS(L) didn't come along til '44. Anzio likely featured the LCI, which was the hull design for the LCS(L).

Landing Craft, Infantry:
Did as the name suggests.

Landing Craft, Support (Large):
"Ton for ton, the most heavily armed vessel in the US Navy at the time." The LCS(L) hit the beaches right along with the other craft to provide pinpoint fire support via rockets, 20mm, 40mm, and 3" cannon. They would most often run along the beach a'strafing, but could run aground if neccessary.

After the Okinawa invasion, they accompanied destroyers at picket stations to protect the shipping lanes from suicide planes - that's when Hell really broke loose...”

“What flavor Kringle? Did you hit one of the Cheese shops?”

“Fabulous air museum, kringle, cheese, yeah, we got it all here in the Badger State!

Glad it was a good time with good contacts, Phil. Wished I could have dropped down. Guess I'll have to come to La La Land some day.”

“gojo - Thanks for the info. Not sure I got things straight there.

Blueberry Kringle - I thought it would do better no the plane than some of the others and it was a popular seller.

Went to a cheese shop in the Milwaukee Airport and got something for my wife. She was happy with it, but hasn't eaten it yet.

Sorry I missed you pekka. As it was our weekend was packed. You now have an excuse to visit the left coast...before we go bankrupt.”

“Well Phil, Wisconsin is doing its own rendition of the deficit debacle, though California once again shows the nation how to do something on the Hollywood Blockbuster scale.

Good luck as the legislators swing the ax at the budget.

Blueberry is a good choice...very upper Great Lakes filling.”

“Almond Kringle from Racine is the BEST!”

“Almost bought the Pecan Kringle, but the popularity of the blueberry was the clincher. It was pretty good!

pekka - Calif now at a $38M deficit. The idiots in Sacramento are still playing games. IMHO, after we got voted in term limits here, we lost any interest in elected legislative officials to take the time to learn about the state budget and understand its institutions. They are too busy planning their next office position.”

“Phil, I expect that is supposed to be a "B" for billion after $38, rather than an "M." Here in Wisconsin, the hole is about 1/10th of that mark (we probably have about the same ratio to California for population, too, though). Many of the policies that brought it about were set by our current Sec. of HHS, former Gov. Tommy Thompson. So don't expect the Feds to help out California or Wisconsin.

A few weekends ago we were in Madison to visit our goddaughter and her slightly older brother wondered if we were going to bring kringle again, as we had on our previous visit. So when we came for Sunday brunch, I stopped at their neighborhood market to get kringle -- I couldn't make up my mind about one from a half dozen flavors, so I ended up getting cherry, apple and Bavarian creme. We had a kringle pig out.”

“pekka - yes, Billions...and I don't see the Feds helping California either.”

“Did you know that Sputnik crashed to earth in Manitowoc, WI?”

“Sputnik IV to be precise... not THE Sputnik.”

“Yeah, ummm, I think area resident Lorax shared that Manitowoc fact with me!”

“"area resident Lorax"? It just sounds funny, kind of like "special agent". "Hello, I am Area Resident Lorax, how may I help you during your stay"?”

“I thought Sputnik was a Wisconsin town.”

“New behavior sucks.”

“that wasn't a chunk of Sputnik IV ... i saw it! it was a chunk of lizs' broom!”