Thursday July 2, 2026
We drove from Green Bay to Omaha. In the evening, we met Jeff, Phyl, Mimi, and Jax in the Bistro of Courtyard by Marriott Omaha La Vista where we are staying.
Friday July 3, 2026
I played golf at the Ashland Country Club in a “Tournament” arranged by Justin. Carl, Jeff, Jason, Justin, and Jax formed a foursome and came in last in the best ball game. We finished 18 holes just as a thunderstorm rolled in. Got to Justin’s around 3:00 to find out that the fireworks scheduled for the evening were postponed (weather) and rescheduled for the following Friday. Lori chilled in the hotel room until arriving at Justin’s about the same time I arrived. We left for the hotel around 8:30 and got there just as it started raining.
Saturday July 4, 2026
Lori and I chilled in the hotel room before heading to Jason’s for more food and drinks. Olivia was in charge of the family fireworks in the street.
Sunday July 5, 2026
We again chilled in the hotel room until 1:00 pm before heading to REI (only bought bicycle chain lube) and Justin’s. Justin offered and we accepted a ride on his new pontoon boat. Headed back to the hotel around 7:00 pm after playing cards with Jacob, Carol, Don, and us.
Monday July 6, 2026
I slept in until 9:15. We departed for the John Wayne Birthplace Museum (2 hour drive). The museum was OK and if one is a movie buff probably great. The cost is $20 and takes about an hour. Following the museum we headed for Amanda Iowa and The Trail Inn, our accommodation for the evening. We walked about a ½ mile to Ronneburg Restaurant where we shared a Jägear Schnitzel with all the sides. All was very good.
Tuesday July 8, 2026
The morning was spent in the hotel room until time for the Amana Colonies tour that was previously scheduled for 11:00am. Our tour had two other folks so there was plenty of room in the 8 passenger van. Our guide, Gary, had married into the Amana Colonies. The tour took us to the Amana Heritage Museum, the Homestead Folk Art Museum, a communal kitchen, and the Homestead Church. All were interesting and worth a visit. The tour took almost 4 hours. After the tour we immediately headed to Waterloo IA and the John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum. The tour was free with interesting exhibits. For dinner we went to a Habachi/Sushi restaurant (it was OK) and then to Hub’s Pub to play cribbage. Hub’s Pub was frequented by regulars and was dark and dank so we decided to only play one game. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express Waterloo which, due to road construction, we had to take a circuitous route to get to it.
Wednesday July 8, 2026
We departed around 10:30 to head to Crystal Lake Cave in Dubuque IA (about 1.5 hour drive) The tour was $22 each, took 45 minutes and was extremely informative. Lori and I were the only two on the tour. Following the tour we drove to the Quality Inn Dubuque at Hwy 29 where we had leftovers from yesterday for supper before heading to Diamond Joe’s Casino for a comedy show with John Bander (?), Jay Black, and Steve Hofstetter.
Thursday July 9, 2026
Our day started early, relative to the other days. We were on the road at 8:00am, as we had numerous stops to make before getting to the hotel for the evening. Our first stop was at Cross Plains State Park where we took a short hike. Next on the schedule was Governor Nelson State Park on Lake Mendota where we walked to the beach (yuck) and took another short hike. Back in the car we headed to Lake Kegonsa State Park where we had considered kayaking. Well no kayaks were there to be rented and it would not of been a good kayak spot anyway, so we took another short walk. The final state park was Aztalan State Park which is an old Indian settlement area. Rounding out the day we stopped at Kettle Moraine Lapham Unit. The highlight of this unit was going up the fire tower at Lapham Peak and a .8 mile hike to see the reservable backpack site along the Ice Age Trail. We had an early dinner at an Italian restaurant before heading to our hotel, a Baymont in Mukwonago WI.
Friday July 10, 2026
Our day started by driving to the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Oak Creek, WI for a guided tour of the facility. The tour was 90 minutes long and took us all over the facility. I was surprised by the lack of use of technology. They did use robots but not nearly to the extent I thought they might be. Maybe this is an older facility that has not been updated for more tech. Our hotel for the evening was about 30 minutes away so we decided to go check-in and get ready to go watch Vince’s baseball games. Surprise, surprise Megan and Vince pulled into the hotel right after we did. Our hotel is the Fairfield by Marriott Milwaukee Brookfield, WI.
Saturday, July 11
We watched Vince’s game (which they lost unfortunately) before heading to Green Bay.