Sweating profusely and breathing heavier than Yokozuna I cleaned up and checked out and had breakfast at Corner Bakery Cafe. The Sonesta had a grab and go with apples, milk, maybe a breakfast bar. Truthfully, there was nothing at all that I wanted. At CBC, I had the Anaheim scrambler and yogurt and berry parfait, the latter of which I took for the road. I knew it wasn't the best idea to stick it in a hot car for a few hours, but it was the risk I took.
I started with a drive to Fond du Lac, where I walked on the southern shore of Lake Winnebago. I think the main reason I wanted to visit FDL is because it's mentioned in the song "I've Been Everywhere." Then I proceeded a half hour north up route 45 into OshKosh and then up to Appleton.
A priority on this trip was to visit the Hearthstone House. Now this is a historical house, built by Henry Rogers, and it's the first house in American to run on water-powered electricity. It uses some of Thomas Edison's system, so factoring in I grew up in Edison NJ and lived on Hearthstone Drive, it had some personal feeling for me. Most of the house was in the style of the 1880s with the decor and furniture. Queen Anne architecture, they said, I can't give specifics on this. But downstairs in the basement is more of the museum with interactive exhibits. There's even a cycle you can pedal to power up the room, it even makes a Thomas Edison figurine start to dance. It's kinda bizarre, but it is fun. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly.
I wanted to eat before arriving in Green Bay, so I went to Jersey Mike's for a Cancro Special. I know it's not local, but I used my points and got my sub for free. All I paid for was my black cherry tarragon soda.
Thirty minutes later, i arrived in Green Bay. It was an ominous trip though. About 10 minutes away from town, I could see lightning bolts in the distance. I'd checked the forecast previously and it called for a brief reprieve of rain before it was to resume around 7 pm, the start time of the football game.
My friends Tommy and Karen asked me to meet them at Hinterland, a brewery across the street from the stadium. Now it was around 1:30 in the afternoon, more than 5 hours before the start of the game. But certain roads around the stadium were already closed off. I basically circled the wisdom before finding my way into the lot. I did have to explain to the attendant that I would only be there a few minutes and I was driving some friends. He told me to be out by 3. 90 minutes seemed more than fair. I said hi to my friends and enjoyed a Jamaican style beer with some mint and coconut and pineapple. It was excellent, not too sweet or bitter or heavy. Great balance, one of the best beers I tried all weekend. The rain was coming down on and off while we were inside. After about an hour, we left. First, we drove to the original City Stadium on the east side, where the Packers played until 1957. Now it's just a revamped high school field.
We also went to the Lombardi House at 667 Sunset Circle, where Coach would host parties after games. It's not right on the Fox River, but it can be walked to in a few minutes. Just a simple one story house, very typical of Green Bay. That's the thing with this town. It's just over 100,000 people, but they don't really have a rich section or poor section. It's kept incredibly clean, and it feels so communal.
After dropping off Tommy and Karen, I checked into the Bay Motel, about a mile and a half northwest of Lambeau. It was well kept up, a small room, but it was clean. And at least I had a fridge and microwave, which I didn't have in my previous hotel in Milwaukee. As I was unpacking, I could hear the rumbling of thunder outside. I spread the shades and the rainstorm was real. Huge puddles were forming outside. I was scheduled to catch a free shuttle from outside the motel that would take me to the stadium. But with the weather issues, it never came. There I was with 10 other folks, standing outside in the misty rain looking at a hill, hoping a bus would come. So instead, I got a Lyft for about 8 bucks. I had Mike, the driver, take me to the Stadium Club, one of the more popular bars in town. It was packed, the music played loud. After a mediocre brat, Wisconsin lager, and a Miler High Life, we headed with Crazy Sam and his girlfriend to another bar I can't recall the name of. At this point the Fireball shots started flowing.
The street we walked down was Armed Forces Road, the direction was west. We went past Ray Nitschke Practice Field. Past the Don Huston Practice Center. Past the Bart Starr statue. Post the Armed Forces tribute monument.
As we walked closer, we could hear the live band playing at the Johnsonville Tailgate area. We made our way into that Tailgate area, which was also slammed. I passed on the food and had a Paloma made with Casamigos Reposado.
The Packers drum line was also playing right outside, it reminded me of a college football atmosphere more than a pro football atmosphere.
And there it was. Lambeau Field. Dark green paint, classic bricks. It's really a beauty. Just a wee bit nicer than the eyesore my team plays in.
We entered through the Fleet Farm entrance gate, one of the many that the stadium has. They'll never sell the stadium naming rights, so they have about 9 gates, all with different sponsor names attached. My seat was in the lower bowl in the southeast corner, Section 132, row 46, seat 10.
It was Jets at Packers. Don't tell me that it was just preseason. The principle remains. I never thought I would get to see a game at this historic site. But I got my chance. Unbelievable experience.
And from the time I got to the first bar, the fans were very cool, a little ridiculous at times, that can certainly happen after 20 Miller Lites. But incredibly friendly. They would come up to me in my Jets jersey and just start a conversation. Now many other cities in America would that happen time after time after time?
The game went great, a 30-10 win for the Jets. And go figure, it never rained after the game started! Afterwards, I went to another bar, and took down some Texas BBQ wings and beers. The wings had a nice space to them, and they were more glazed, I like that they weren't drowning in sauce. The issue is they were overcooked, to the point that the meat basically crumbled in my mouth.
Was going to be a 2 mile walk back to the Motel, but I just happened upon that shuttle that never came pre-game. More conversations, more fun. What a day it was.
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