Wisconsin Adventures, Day 7
Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Posted by Kara - 1 comments
Saturday, June 12
Eau Claire, WI to Bloomington, IN


Bright and early on Saturday morning, we finished packing Louis and started the trip home. Do you like the huge rusty tomato cages tied to the top of Louis?


Before leaving town, however, we stopped at the Eau Claire Farmer's market. The rest of the family came too, except Grandma Cathy who went back to bed after getting up at 4 a.m. to make us breakfast. If Annie also looks really tired in this picture, it's because she woke up crying at midnight and wouldn't go back to sleep until close to 3:00. My loving husband got up with her so I could get some sleep. Thank you, lover.


It was COLD in Eau Claire that morning! Even with a blanket around me and Annie, we were still freezing, so Collin and Lindsey stopped for some hot chocolate and coffee which we walked around sipping.


One of the vendors at the market was a local chocolate shop called Obsession Chocolates. They have gorgeous truffles, with exciting flavors like raspberry cardamom. We didn't buy any chocolates, but we did split a couple sticky buns.


Collin, Lindsey, Emma and Ellie gather around the sticky bun just outside the market area.


We bought a few vegetables to bring home with us, including these gorgeous bright red radishes. Many of the farmers at the market are Hmong, since there is a large Hmong community in Eau Claire. They grow really nice vegetables.


After a while with Lindsey and the girls, we ran into Forrest, Nomie, Eddy, and Dan (not in the picture).


Forrest enjoyed a bubble wand we ran across. Ostensibly, he was blowing bubbles for his grandkids, but I think Nomie is a little worried about his enthusiasm!


Also at the market this week was a huge crafts fair. We all especially liked these birdhouses made from pieces of roots. I wish I'd gotten the name of the artisan, but we were in a hurry to leave.


All the Hobbs men, plus Naomi!


When we finally got on the road, we were in a hurry to get home so we only stopped twice. Our most exciting stop was in Mauston, WI, to visit the Carr Valley Cheese Factory.


It was a really nice little place, with even nicer cheeses. They had a great variety of cow, goat and sheep cheeses, all clearly labeled. It was hard to decide what to get!


The ladies behind the counter at the cheese factory were extremely friendly and offered to let us try any cheeses that caught our fancy. In the end we came home with some 6-year-old aged cheddar, a nice hard sheep cheese, and (the one I'm most excited about) a black truffle goat cheese. We're going on a picnic (d.v.) Monday to celebrate our two-year anniversary, and I'm really looking forward to a meal with fresh crusty bread and Wisconsin cheeses.

After that stop we made really excellent time coming home, despite going in and out of enormous thunderstorms all the way through Illinois. 

So there you have it. Our vacation and family reunion in Wisconsin. We had a great time, but we're so happy to be home and to be in our own beds again.


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1 comments:

    Kathy J said...

    Very happy I was able to be in Eau Claire with you and Collin and Sunshine...will be a faithful blog reader from now on...love your pics and comments!

  1. ... on 10:01 AM, June 15, 2010  

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