Earlier this month, Mike and I headed to Wisconsin Dells for the Fall Tap Takeover hosted by Dells On Tap — a two-day fall craft beer festival that was the perfect way to spend a weekend. Day 1: Craft Beer Walk Friday night brought the Craft Beer Walk downtown. From 5 to 9 pm, we wandered through a handful of bars, tasting 4-ounce pours at each spot. The Craft Beer Walk ticket gave us a tasting mug and a map, which made hopping between places easy. There were also food specials and tap deals to go along — a really fun way to visit multiple downtown bars in Wisconsin Dells. The shuttle was a great perk - it made it simple to travel in between destinations. Day 2: Fall Tap Takeover Saturday was the beer festival — the Fall Tap Takeover , held at the Wisconsin Dells festival grounds just off La Crosse Street. There were more than 65 breweries represented, pouring a huge variety of beers. We took advantage of the VIP tickets so we got early access starting around 11:30am, a special tasting mug, a pretzel necklace, and a food voucher. Once inside the tent, the atmosphere was energetic: rows of brewery booths, many with their brew-masters present, ready to chat about process, ingredients, and Wisconsin beer culture. There were food trucks, live music, and even a beard and mustache competition (which was very entertaining). Pro Tips: Get tickets early , especially if you want the combo (walk + takeover). Bring ID  — you’ll need it for sampling. Dress in layers  — fall evenings in the Dells can be cool. Designate a ride  — lots of beer, and you’ll want to enjoy without stressing. Talk to brewers  — they have great stories and insight! Explore downtown  — Friday’s walk gives a good excuse to hit local bars you may not have visited before. If you like craft beer and don’t mind walking, this weekend in the Dells is such a fun getaway. Perfect mix of brewery discovery, local flavor, and laid-back fall fest energy. Tickets are on sale for 2026 -- if you buy the combo to attend both events, you get a discount! Where we stayed The Vue The Vue - a boutique hotel right on the river. It was perfect for walking to both the downtown bars and the festival grounds. The views were gorgeous, and the restaurant inside ( The Boathouse ) was even part of the Craft Beer Walk! Other activities Wisconsin Deer Park If you’re exploring Wisconsin Dells and looking for something a little different, the Wisconsin Deer Park is a standout stop. I used to visit frequently when I was a kid, but Mike had never been. He loved it even as an adult. Once in the park, you’re free to wander along scenic paths through its wooded grounds where over 100 tame deer roam freely—does, bucks, fawns—and you’re encouraged to feed and pet them. They are adorable and it is such a fun experience. Just a note: the park runs seasonally (mid-April through late October) and the feed for the deer is an extra purchase. Timbavati Wildlife Park If you’re looking for a hands-on, family-friendly adventure in Wisconsin Dells, Timbavati Wildlife Park is a must. This was my first time here and I will absolutely be back. Walking through the 25-acre park, you can get up close to giraffes, kangaroos, and even rhinos, and the Safari Train ride makes it feel like a real little expedition. There’s something magical about hand-feeding a giraffe or watching flamingos wander nearby—it’s the kind of place where humans of all ages can really connect with the animals. The park has a relaxed, playful vibe that makes it easy to spend a few hours just exploring, taking photos, and soaking in the wildlife all around you.

This post went over so well in 2024, I knew I needed to repeat in 2025. Below is the complete list of Cheese Festivals happening throughout Wisconsin in 2025. The list may be updated as new events are added. Beer, Cheese, and Beyond Festival | Madison | January 18, 2025 The first cheese-filled Wisconsin festival is Beer and Cheese Fest  in Madison. This festival has been around for 14 YEARS! General admission tickets cost $60 and get you unlimited beer and cheese samples. There is a V.I.P. option for a more elusive experience. Make sure you have sober driver to take you home! Dairy State Cheese & Beer Festival | Kenosha | April 13, 2025 The Dairy State Cheese & Beer Festival is a fundraiser that was created for the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha. There will be live music, beer, and lots of cheese. Tickets are $55 online ahead of time or $60 at the door! Between the Bluffs | La Crosse | April 26, 2025 The Between the Bluffs Beer, Wine and Cheese festival in La Crosse is one you should not miss. I attended this festival a few years ago and it was so much fun! Ample amount of vendors serving up craft beer along with cheese samples to fill your stomach. Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival | Little Chute | June 6-8, 2025 Little Chute holds a yearly festival called the Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival . Activities include amusement rides, food booths, live music, a cheese curd eating contest, a cheese curd catching contest, and more. There's an entire weekend of fun to be had! Beer, Bacon, and Cheese | New Glarus | June 14, 2025 This festival is one of the most well known in Wisconsin. Check out Beer, Bacon, and Cheese Festival  in New Glarus for all of your cheesey desires. The festival has several beer and seltzer vendors along with cheese vendors. There is a parade, live music, and tons of fun. Tickets for this one sell quick! Cheese Curd Festival | Ellsworth | June 27-28, 2025 Some may refer to Ellsworth as the Cheese Curd Capital of the state. Ellsworth Creamery puts on an annual Cheese Curd Festival  where vendors create cheese-curd centered dishes like cheese curd tacos, cheese curd ice cream sundaes, and more. There is live music, a car show, shopping, and games for the kids! Cheese Capital Festival | Plymouth | June 27-28, 2025 The Cheese Capital Festival  in Plymouth, Wisconsin is always a hit! The festival consists of a parade, live music, cheese eating contest, foam cheese race, and more. There are dozens of activities for children and TONS of cheese to eat! Colby Cheese Days | Colby | July 18-20, 2025 In a town that shares a name with cheese, would you expect anything less? Colby Cheese Days features a lively carnival, parade, 5k/10k race, car show, peddle tractor pulls, street dances, and free Colby cheese! Sign me up. Blair Cheese Festival | Blair | September 18-21, 2025 Located in Trempealeau County, Blair Cheese Festival boasts a weekend of fun! Catch  a truck and tractor pull, run in the 5k, meander through the car show, and stay for the variety show performed by the local schools. Art of Cheese | Madison | September 25-28, 2025 The Art of Cheese festival around Wisconsin's capital in Madison showcases artisan cheeses throughout the state. This festival is said to be one of the best fall festivals in Wisconsin. Some activities include a cheese brunch, cheese and wine pairings, and more! Drink Wisconsinbly Curd Fest | Milwaukee | October 2025 The date for Curd Fest has not yet been announced, but this event is put on at Drink Wisconsinbly Pub in Milwaukee, right outside of the Fiserv Forum. Expect to see several cheese vendors, live music, signature cocktails, and more.

When you think about Elkhart Lake , Wisconsin, you probably think of a summer destination lake town because that's what it is known as. We decided to visit during the first week of November and found it to be a wonderful fall vacation spot. Elkhart Lake has the feeling of "up north" but it's less than two hours away from Milwaukee. Here is how we spent our fall weekend in Elkhart Lake. DINING We like to eat and eating at new places is one of my favorite things to do. There are several restaurants in Elkhart Lake and surrounding towns that I will definitely go back to try. Here are the spots we visited: Harrys Pizza e Vino We didn't want to leave the dog alone a ton this weekend, so we ordered takeout at Harry's Pizza in Elkhart Lake. I wish we could have eaten inside because it is such a cozy and welcoming spot. We ordered their Corn pizza with a side of bread and pesto. The pizza toppings were very unique but it worked. The crust was fantastic and so was the homemade pesto. I would absolutely go back. Millhome Supper Club About 15 minutes outside of Elkhart Lake is Millhome Supper Club in Kiel, WI. I am on a supper club adventure and this one did not disappoint. We started with a soup and salad bar and ordered their featured appetizer: Brussel sprouts with bacon, gouda, croutons, and glaze. Mike ordered the prime rib dinner with mashed potatoes on the side. He said it is the best he has ever had. I ordered the seafood combination platter and thoroughly enjoyed it. The best part? The Old Fashioneds were only $4.75 each! Off the Rail In addition to trying to find the best supper club, I am trying to find the best breakfast sandwich. We were recommended to try breakfast at Off the Rail in Elkhart Lake and I am grateful to whoever suggested it. I ordered their Commuter breakfast sandwich, Mike got the McRail sandwich AND a breakfast burrito lol. We both ordered lattes. Everything was great and the people working were extremely welcoming. ' THINGS TO DO The entire goal of our weekend was to relax and reset; we spent a lot of time in bed. But I am not the type of person who can spend a whole day in bed so we did some exploring as well. Cedar Valley Cheese Store If you are coming from the Milwaukee area, you must make a point to stop at Cedar Valley Cheese Store. Cedar Valley Cheese is located in Belgium, Wisconsin. They carry an extensive variety of cheeses and if you visit on Friday, your curds will be super fresh! They sell gifts and merchandise, sandwiches, ice cream, fudge, frozen meats, and so much more. I always stop there when I'm in the area. Road America Unfortunately, there were no races at Road America while we were in Elkhart Lake. We couldn't even get into the track to look around. I still wanted to mention it because it is something you should definitely check out if you are in the area. Mike has been here in the past and it was one of his favorite experiences. Ice Age Trail Elkhart Lake is near several segments of the Ice Age Trail. We hiked a little over 4 miles of the LaBudde Creek segment . Unfortunately we were a week or two too late to enjoy the fall colors, but the trails were in great condition and had some beautiful views. Johnsonville Marketplace Did you know that the Johnsonville Global Headquarters is located in Sheboygan Falls? About a 12 minute drive from Elkhart Lake, you can visit the Johnsonville Marketplace. This exceeded my expectations. It's a huge store that carries all of the Johnsonville products, merchandise, gifts, and more. There are some fun photo opportunities, too! Although the best part of Elkhart Lake might be the lake life itself, I would say it's worth a visit in the fall, too.

You have probably heard of a bar crawl, but have you ever heard of a coffee crawl? My friend Kailagh and I decided to take a trip to Milwaukee's Third Ward to visit a handful of coffee shops. All of these are within walking distance of one another which made for such a fun day of caffeine. Canary Coffee Bar First up on our crawl is Canary Coffee Bar . This coffee shop is such a vibe! They have a couple of baked goods to choose from but mostly just a tasty drink menu. Grace Coffee Company About .8 miles away from Canary Coffee Bar, you will find Grace Coffee . We had our breakfast here and they had some delicious food! Such a fun spot with vibrant decor and fantastic beverages. Likewise Coffee If you're a patio fan, Likewise is for you! Located right around the corner from Grace Coffee Co. is an adorable little spot called Likewise Coffee. They serve both drinks and baked goods. The coffee cake is fantastic! Discourse Discourse will be your forth stop on our coffee crawl. Discourse is approximately .3 miles from Likewise Coffee. This place is super cool; the walls are decorated with music! There are a ton of vinyl's available for purchase or you can take advantage of all of the comfy spots to sit and just listen while you're there. Full of Beans Cafe Our last stop on the coffee crawl is at an adorable spot called Full of Beans Cafe . It is a small cafe serving drinks and a handful of eats approximately .2 miles from Discourse. We sat in comfy chairs across from a fake fireplace and sipped on a latte and tea.

I have not written a blog in a WHOLE MONTH! A lot has changed in the last month and I have been extremely preoccupied. I went from living in the Colorado mountains to living in my boyfriends house very quickly and unexpectedly. When I left Wisconsin back in April, I was planning to come back in August for a friends bachelorette party. It lined up with State Fair so I thought "heck yeah, I'll come back for both!" The weekend prior to the party, I was still in the mountains about an hour outside of Colorado Springs - a 17 hour drive from Milwaukee. I was going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to make the trip. I wanted to see friends and have a good time but it was suuuuch a long drive. I decided it didn't make sense for me to travel that far for a week just to turn around and drive back. I told my friend I was not going to make it to the bachelorette party around 9:30am on Friday morning. I have had a boyfriend (Mike) for over a year and he lives in the Milwaukee area. Back in May, we took Kona on a 4-ish mile walk and he complained about hip pain afterwards. We figured it was just from the walk. Fast forward about a month and Mike is moving from his apartment into his new house and his leg started to get super swollen. It didn't really hurt, but it was a balloon. He talked to a few friends and Googled a few things and came to the conclusion that he tore his abductor muscle during the move. Those take 4-8 weeks to get better and because he was moving (figuratively and literally) we assumed it wasn't healing because he wasn't really resting it. All of a sudden one day he had excruciating pain in his leg. It lasted two days and he decided to make a doctor's appointment. He got an ultrasound done and they couldn't see anything. They thought maybe the swelling was from a blood clot and recommended a MRI. He scheduled that, but the appointment took two weeks. Within that two weeks, he actually came to visit me in Colorado for a few days. That was the first time I saw his leg in person and it was definitely swollen but I attributed it to him not resting it when he should have. When he got back to Milwaukee, he got the MRI done on that Tuesday. On Friday morning, he received a call telling him to go to the ER because there was a mass discovered in his MRI. By 1pm, he was informed that he "probably" has cancer but it would not be confirmed until the biopsy next week. That's when I decided I needed to come home. The drive home was absolutely HORRID. I mentioned earlier that it was shown as a 17 hour drive on my GPS but the RV cannot go 75MPH on the highway. I also have to stop every few hours for Kona so the drive took a lot longer than 17 hours. We drove from 6am - 7:30pm on Saturday and 6am-5:30pm on Sunday... WOOF. It was confirmed about a week later that he does in fact have Follicular Lymphoma at age 36. He had his first chemo treatment last week and will continue those through the end of the year when we will reevaluate and see how the treatment is going. Cancer is terrifying. Lymphoma is a type of cancer that has a high potential to revisit later on in life, so there's a good chance this will not be the only time Mike goes through chemo. Thankfully his body took the first treatment pretty well and he did not have any major side effects, but it is supposed to get progressively worse. We are crossing our fingers that the symptoms remain tame but honestly, as long as the chemo does what it is supposed to, the side effects will be worth it. ANYWAY. If you made it this far, that is why I am in Wisconsin. This was obviously not the plan but life throws curveballs sometimes, right? And there's nothing we can do except to deal with what it throws at you. We are participating in the Light the Night Walk hosted by the Leukemia and Lymphoma on September 26th. IF you are able to donate to this great organization, please consider doing so. Everything helps! If you have any fun new restaurants I should try, festivals to attend, trails to hike, etc. in Wisconsin, let me know! I will be here until at least January 1, 2025.

Let me preface this by saying I am not professional. I am just a woman who hikes with her dog nearly every weekend. I am often asked what I bring on hikes with Kona (my 75lb pup) so I have compiled a list of my must-haves for dog friendly hikes. You can find all of these items on my Amazon Storefront. All links are affiliate via Amazon - thanks for your support! Dog Water Bottle I have this water bottle for Kona and I LOVE it. It doubles as a bowl so it ends up taking up less space in my backpack. There is a switch to open/close the bottle so it doesn't leak and it holds 19oz of water - enough for a quick hike! Collapsible Dog Bowl Before having the water bottle mentioned above, I used these collapsible dog bowls. They are awesome because not only do they collapse, but they also come with a clip to hang on the outside of your bag. Keeps any remaining water from getting your stuff wet! Harness I have tried a lot of options for Kona - leashes that go around the nose, prong collar, regular collar & leash, padded harness - and none of them have worked quite like this one. This harness allows me to keep control while allowing Kona to stay comfortable. Dog First Aid Kit If there is one thing I have learned while on the road, it's that you should always be prepared. I keep this first aid kit in my hiking bag. A lot of this stuff can be used for humans, too! Doggy Waste Bags This one should be obvious but I still felt the need to include it. POOP BAGS! I follow the Leave No Trace principles while outdoors which means taking all of your trash with you. This includes dog poop! Double bag it and toss it in the backpack to throw away when you're near a trash can.

For the past 2 weeks, we have been traveling around the stunning state of South Dakota in our RV. Despite covering a lot of ground, I strongly suggest paying a visit to the locations highlighted in this blog. I am focusing solely on the places that left a lasting impression on us. Be sure to explore these must-visit spots in South Dakota. Spearfish Spearfish, SD is located on the far west side of South Dakota, approximately 90 minutes from Badlands National Park. I learned about Spearfish through a fellow influencer and by golly I wish I would have done more research before going. I knew I wanted to hike in Spearfish Canyon but I would have loved to spend more time in the area. It is beautiful! We took the Rough Locks hike which is approximately 2 miles out-and-back. It looked like a storybook. I was actually obsessed. The trail is a segment of a handful of other trails in the area so you are able to make the hike a bit longer if desired. Spearfish Canyon is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Custer State Park Custer State Park is a must when visiting South Dakota. This was my first time here and although I looked at maps and researched hikes ahead of time, I did not realize how HUGE it is! It was quite hot this day (high of 90* F) and although we arrived by 9:30am, hiking was already becoming strenuous in the heat. We chose two short hikes but then drove through the park exploring a bit as well. We got to see a bison cross the road! They terrify me, but they are fun to watch. Black Hills National Forest Black Hills National Forest is absolutely stunning. We disperse camped in a few different areas of the forest throughout our time in South Dakota. My favorite was a spot right outside of Wind Cave National Park. Note: this park is not on my list because I didn't love it. But I did absolutely love the spot we had down the road. There are so many free places to stay in the forest and so many activities to be had! Tons of hiking trails, ATV trails, equestrian trails, etc. Devil's Gulch Our journey in South Dakota began in the southeastern part of the state, where we decided to camp in Garretson for a week. During our stay, we stumbled upon Devil's Gulch, a delightful surprise located less than a mile from our campsite. Nestled within the red quartzite canyon, Devil's Gulch offers a plethora of hiking trails and stunning vistas. Palisades State Park Our time at Palisades State Park involved some exploration. Regrettably, the roads were being worked on during our visit, leading to some stress. Nevertheless, we managed to go on a few hikes. Palisades State Park is traversed by Split Rock Creek, which is surrounded by Sioux quartzite formations, offering truly breathtaking views! Lake Vermillion Recreation Area During our trip, we also visited Lake Vermillion Recreation Area. I want to mention this particular stop because it truly stood out as one of the finest "paid" campsites I've experienced, despite the relatively high cost of $37 for a single night. The lake teemed with fish constantly leaping out of the water. Additionally, we were fortunate enough to spot a couple of deer and wild turkeys during our stay. If you enjoy lakeside activities, this destination is a must-visit. Badlands Although I highly recommend Badlands National Park, we didn't visit it during our South Dakota trip. The park isn't very accommodating to dogs, and since I've been there before, I chose to skip it on this occasion. Instead, we spent a week in the RV at "The Wall," an area outside the Badlands that offers free camping. The scenery is stunning, there are plenty of friendly people around, and you can even enjoy watching free-range cattle chomping on grass in the distance.

Time for the next round of Milwaukee area breakfast sandwiches! This will be the last "part" of my series, but do not fret! I plan to create a master list along with a downloadable Google Map that will be updated on a regular basis! Thank you to my friend Julia for this suggestion - it's a great idea and I am excited to execute it! Ney's Premium Meats Ney's Premium Meats in Slinger was such a delicious experience. You can build your own breakfast sandwich - choose your meat, cheese, and bread! I went with brisket, egg, hashbrown, and cheese on a croissant. It was magical. If you live in Milwaukee, I promise it is worth the drive. Grace Coffee Company Grace Coffee Company has a handful of locations - I visited the one in the third ward. This sandwich had scrambled eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, garlic aoili, and arugula. Make sure that you order the cheesy hashbrown bites on the side! Better Together Cafe I have been stalking Better Together Cafe for months and I still have not been able to try their milkshake drinks. Someday! You can choose between bacon, ham, or sausage for your breakfast sandwich. It is topped with an egg and cheddar cheese; served on an English muffin. Beerline Cafe This one is for all of my vegan friends! Beerline Cafe is located on the East Side in Milwaukee and they have a breakfast sandwich! I was a little hesitant, but I enjoyed it. The BLATZ is marinated tempeh, carrot bacon strips, avocado, tomato, & romaine. It comes with some zesty mayo and i loooved that. Nosh Nook Last but not least, let's chat about Nosh Nook in West Bend. You can find them at the extremely popular farmer's market on Saturdays. Get there early if you want to try out this breakfast sandwich! The Benny Bagel is a bagel stuffed with fried egg, provolone cheese, ham, spinach, tomato and hollandaise sauce. It is what dreams are made of.

I am originally from Milwaukee and admittedly had not explored the state of Wisconsin to it's full extent until the last few years. I decided to turn my UP trip into a Wisconsin State Park trip. These state parks are between a 5-6 hour drive from Milwaukee but are definitely worth a trip. Copper Falls State Park Copper Falls State Park is located in Mellen, Wisconsin. It spans over 3,000 acres and has approximately 17 miles of hiking trails. The Doughboy Nature Trail is the one that will bring you to the best waterfall views - unfortunately this trail is not dog friendly. Kona and I took a hike on the Red Granite Falls trail instead. Amnicon Falls State Park Further west, you will find Amnicon Falls State Park, located in South Range, Wisconsin. The park sits along the Amnicon River and features four different waterfalls. We intended to simply hike at this park, but ended up camping for two days because we loved it so much. There are only about 2 miles of trails within the park, but there is so much room to explore! Pattison State Park Pattison State Park is located just south of Superior, Wisconsin. It is home to Wisconsin's highest waterfall: Big Manitou Falls. The waterfall is 165 feet and lands into the Black River. There is a second waterfall, Little Manitou Falls, that is also very picturesque. A storm was rolling in when we visited this waterfall so we made our visit quick. There are approximately 9 miles of hiking trails; hopefully we get to come back someday!

I have visited "The UP" only a few times now but visiting a waterfall is always on my list. I have a whole photo album full of waterfall photos and videos; below is a list of the most recent Northern Michigan waterfalls I visited. If you are curious about the bug situation: yes, they were bad. I recommend long sleeves, pants, and socks, bug spray, and a head net to help. Yondota Falls When visiting Northern Michigan over Memorial Day weekend, we stayed at Lake Gogebic State Park. Yondota Falls are the closest waterfalls to the state park we could find. The drive was about 25 minutes and the hike to the first waterfall was only .10 mile. If you continue on the hiking trail, you will come across several more waterfalls. I suggest continuing on the hike because the falls get more impressive as you walk further. Kakabika Falls If you are not prepared to deal with bugs, I would not visit this Northern Michigan waterfall. The second we exited the vehicle, they swarmed us and they did not give up throughout the entire hike. This is another short hike, about .25 miles to the falls. The trail continues on if you want to keep hiking. These falls are probably the least impressive on this list, but they are still beautiful and within the same general area as Lake Gogebic State Park. These next 3 waterfalls are located in the Presque Isle Scenic Area. They are all within a mile of eachother (probably less). Manido Falls Manido Falls was the first waterfall we stopped at in the Presque Isle Scenic Area. The hike to the trail is about .5 mile and the views are absolutely worth it. The way the sun was hitting the water during our visit ended with a rainbow across the waves. This trail contains a lot of stairs, so be prepared! Manabezho Falls Manabezho Falls is just around the corner from Manido Falls and boasts an extremely strong current. To get to the overlook, there are several flights of stairs. The pathway goes further than the initial waterfalls which allows you to soak in all of the views. Nawadaha Falls There is a hiking trail that connects Manabezho Falls, Manido Falls, and Nawadaha Falls within Presque Isle State Park. We did not take this hiking trail because we were exhausted from hiking earlier in the day. The shorter trail for Nawadaha Falls begins right at the entrance of Presque Isle State Park and is made up of gravel. This trail is the least dramatic of the falls within the Presque Isle Scenic Area, but still worth the views if you are there!

Lake Geneva is known as a “resort town” in Southeastern Wisconsin. The lake in the middle of town is surrounded by beautiful hotels, golf courses, and plenty of shopping, bars, and restaurants. If you are looking for a beautiful area to spend a relaxing weekend, Lake Geneva is a good pick. Check out the details below for things to do in Lake Geneva, WI. SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS There are a lot of options when it comes to spending the night in Lake Geneva and I stayed at The Abbey Resort. Waking up in the morning and being able to sit outside and drink coffee right on the water was PERFECTION. There are three places to eat inside of the resort – Waterfront Grille, 240 degrees West, and Cafe Latte if you’re looking for a quick morning snack. I was impressed with their Spa and Fitness Center, the cleanliness of the resort, and the wonderful hotel staff. If you are a golfer, The Abbey Resort was made for you. FOOD & DRINK We all know by know that most of what I do on these trips is eat and drink. I stopped at several restaurants in Lake Geneva and my favorite was Flat Iron Tap. It’s a very small spot and doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the food and service was fantastic. I ordered deep fried cheese curds, brussel sprouts, and the pollo fresco chicken sandwich from Flat Iron Tap. I couldn’t decide what to get... so I got it all. They do not have a liquor license, but can serve wine or beer with your meal! They created an awesome selection of cocktails with the wine they have on hand and have over 100 beers to choose from. Another restaurant in Lake Geneva that I enjoyed was brand new at the time – Guac Star. They have a CHEESE CURD TACO! Guac Star is located right in downtown Lake Geneva. The vibe inside of the restaurant is very fun and they have several different tequila drinks to try. It’s a good spot to stop for a little snack or a quick lunch while you’re out exploring the area. One of the best coffee shops in Lake Geneva was recommended to me by a friend and it is called Inspired Coffee. In addition to coffee, they serve a variety of yummy baked goods. The mission behind Inspired Coffee is what makes them so special. Inspired Coffee employs individuals with disabilities to help train, coach, and help them become integrated into a full work setting. Everyone there was so nice and the coffee was wonderful. SHOPPING I did not do too much shopping in Lake Geneva, but trust me when I say there is PLENTY. Your girl is on a budget though, ya know? I did stop by Hill Valley Dairy to grab some cheese. Hill Valley Dairy recently opened their store front and I wanted to check it out. Although not very large, they have tons of options of different cheeses and Wisconsin-themed gifts if you’re looking for something to bring home. I purchased the Whiskey Gouda cheese and it was fantastic. They have a "cheese bar" next door where you can sip wine and taste-test different cheeses.

Exploring the city of Kenosha? I've got a few ideas on how you can spend a day in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kenosha is a quaint city about 50 miles south of Milwaukee. Parts of Kenosha are right on Lake Michigan which makes the perfect place to spend a sunny day. If you are looking for food ideas, drink ideas, shopping ideas, or outdoor adventure, I've got you covered. Continue reading for suggestions on how to spend a day in Kenosha, Wisconsin. FOOD & DRINK We started the day at Captain Mike’s – I LOVED THIS PLACE. It is such a cool spot on the inside and they have garage door type windows to open up near the patio area when the weather is nice. Not only that, the food was *fire emoji*. I ordered an avocado toast and Erica ordered a breakfast sandwich. The prices were low and the food deliciousness level was high. Another spot that we ate at and enjoyed was 1844 Table & Mash. We ordered cheese curds and some fancy drinks. The curds here were the best I had in Kenosha. It’s inside of a hotel so I was a little worried about the food but honestly, one of the better restaurants in the city. The next location that I will mention is more of an experience than anything else. If you are looking for a drive-in restaurant while you spend a day in Kenosha, you should check out The Spot. Drive-in means that you order from your car and you eat in your car. The menu is pretty small, but we purchased a few things to test them out. They are known for their ice cream and their burgers. GET OUTSIDE Kenosha has a Sculpture Walk along the water. The sculptures are removed and replaced with new sculptures every two years. While you’re taking the sculpture walk, you’ll see the lighthouses on Lake Michigan. Harbor Park is a really pretty area right on the shoreline. The lighthouses are beautiful and definitely bring a little bit of history to the area. THINGS TO DO We visited Kenosha on a Saturday morning which means the HarborMarket was in full swing. The market is split into two different sections about a block away from each other. There is plenty of fresh produce, cheese, breads, and lots more! A fun way to explore the city is via the Kenosha Electric Streetcar. It costs $1 per adult and covers about a 15-minute loop. The trolley drives past several art galleries, the Civil War Museum and the Kenosha Public Museum. It’s a great use a public transportation!