Wausau Bike Weekend, part 2

After Wendy and I surrendered to the trail and hitched a ride to Wausau with John and Tom, we made it to Wendy's parents house.  My first thought as we were arriving?  I am so glad that we didn't' have to bike up that last hill to the house!  Mosinee Hill is not a hill to have to go up at the end a 90+ mile bike ride!  Once we got the bikes and everything else unloaded, we had two things in mind... showers and food!  

And yes, in that order!

Once showers were done a a beer consumed, we were off to find food at the Great Dane Brewing Company.  On my agenda for the evening?  An awesome burger and a beer!  My apologies to all my foodie friends, the Great Dane Burger, topped with homemade artichoke dip was amazing, but I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of it before I inhaled it!  That burger washed down by a nice light home brewed ale was just was ordered after a fabulous day out on the bike trails!

Next big stop on the agenda was the Wausau Balloon Rally and Rib Fest.  We arrived just in time for the start of the evening festivities and many balloons were already in the process of being inflated.  There were several that we recognized from the several rallies that we hit last yeas as well as a few new ones.  The one pictured to the left with all the sea animals on it has always been one of our favorites. The weather was a bit breezy but not enough to deter many of the teams to show off their balloons.

After the long busy day, we didn't stay at the festival too long, but we were there long enough to find Sara, David and Jamie!  It was great to see David and Sara after way too many years, and to finally meet Jamie.  What an awesome family! We definitely  need to try and find time to get together more often - Wausau is not really that far from Green Bay!!

By the time we got back to the house, I was ready to crash!!  It was a full day and tomorrow was going to be more fun and adventures!

Saturday morning brought more fun and adventures!  We headed to downtown Wausau for the annual Chalk Fest.  This again was another event that we discovered last year and wanted to check out again.  For the entire weekend, local artists take over Downtown Wausau and transform the sidewalks into amazing works of art!  This is an awesome event that we are glad we heard about and greatly enjoy the talent that is showcased.  I am always impressed by the vast variety of ages and talent that is showcased at the event.  One of these years we will actually remember to check out the event on Sunday so that we can see more of the finished masterpieces! 

Our final stop on this weekend adventure was at Doc's Timeline Bar and Saloon in Bonduel for a late lunch.  We have driven past here more times that I care to count and have never stopped in.  One of these we will have to stop back when it's not a super busy Saturday afternoon so that we can actually take some to check out all the fun features and nostalgia of the restaurant and bar.  We opted to sit at the bar and were greeted promptly by the awesome bartender (sorry, don't remember her name but I will definitely recognize here when we go back next time!).  

While we were waiting for our lunch to arrive, we had the chance to try the Musket Balls that Tom ordered.  What is a Musket Ball you might ask?  A Musket Ball is Doc's version of a corn fritter, complete with whole kernels of corn inside them, deep fried to a golden brown and then rolled in powered sugar.  Delish!  Finally it was time for the main event!  The Pulled Pork Platter was awesome!  Perfectly cooked, juicy and soaked up the flavor from each of the different sauces that they had to offer.  Our favorite?  Hands down it was the Captain Morgan Sauce!  Best part?  There was enough food on our platters for a second meal!  Dinner tonight was going to be just as awesome as lunch!!

John enjoying Tom's Musket Balls

Pulled Park Platter, served naked, allowing us to enjoy all the sauces!

Thanks again Wendy for an amazing weekend, riding the trail with me, John and Tom for driving the SAG wagon for us and picking is up when we called it a day and surrendered to the trail and for all of you that stand behind me and support me in all of these crazy adventures that I get myself into!

Until next time my friends...

Next up?  Miller Park Sausage Race 5k in Milwaukee!