M and I headed almost exactly east on Friday, October 30th for a place I never really had any desire to go (ever)....Green Bay, Wisconsin. Before I go into the actual trip, here's a little background as to how we choose our "vacations" each year.
When M and I were just months into our relationship, I suggested we go to Philadelphia to see the Vikings play the Eagles for the divisional playoff game. From that trip forward, we have planned our vacations around the Vikings. Since January 2005, we have seen the Vikings play around the country in each of the following cities in this order; Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and now, Green Bay. It's a very exciting time each April as the NFL team's schedule is released and we just wait to analyze it to see who the Vikings are playing, when and where. Actually you can find out who the Vikings are playing for the 2010-2011 season already but you just can't find out the actual dates until April. (Away games for 2010-2011 season: Washington, New England, N.Y. Jets, and 1 of the following teams to be determined: New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina or Tampa Bay)
Our first destination choice this year was not Green Bay. We actually had made the decision to go to Cleveland and Detroit for both week 1 and week 2 of this season. Until doing research, I didn't realize that Cleveland and Detroit were only roughly 170 miles apart and that would be a great way to see two games consecutively on the road. We decided last spring that is where we would go...until Favre came into the picture. I said in the beginning when the first talks of Favre coming to the Vikings happened that he was going to be a Viking. I just knew he would. And as more stories developed over the months, I looked as though I would be incorrect and then finally I did stand corrected as Favre would not become a Viking...and then I would be right again as he obviously did sign as a Viking. Through all of this media circus, M and I thought how awesome it would be to see Favre as a Viking play at Lambeau against the Packers. We dreamed of this scenario sometime in the summer before he signed. Game ticket prices were starting to go up in anticipation for this match up. M and I decided to book a hotel in Green Bay, just in case he did sign as Viking. At that point forward, we decided to go to Green Bay as our destination to see the Vikings on the road for this year. Shortly thereafter, we found out Favre would not become a Viking. We were bummed that the match up we had anticipated would not happen and that we would be spending Sunday, November 1st, our 5 year anniversary in Green Bay. While we would still be seeing the Vikings that day, as a girl, I could have found better places to be on our anniversary. Once it was announced that Favre was not signing as a Viking, those tickets prices went way down and that's when we bought them as I told M, hurry up and buy them before he changes his mind! And that's exactly what Favre did. So, we had our hotel booked and our tickets in hand before Favre signed with the Vikings. That move saved us roughly $360 PER TICKET, in hotel costs and allowed us the chance to see a game of this magnitude.
We checked into our Motel 6 at exactly 8 pm on Friday. We originally planned to leave for our trip Saturday morning but decided to leave Friday instead and booked a room at Motel 6 just the night before. It was dark so we didn't get to explore the town too much. We did have one destination in mind though...Brett Favre's Steakhouse. We arrived there and while it was a little later, there weren't that many people in the restaurant. We weren't sure how the locals felt about Favre anymore as we had already heard some mixed reactions. Hey, we have mixed reactions about Favre in Minnesota. However, many seem to be OK with him now considering how well we've been doing. M and I both knew people who had been to the steakhouse before, even as early as 2-3 months ago. We were told the food was just alright and overpriced. M and I found it to be quite the opposite. We both really enjoyed our food and thought it was more than reasonable for the price. I had shrimp bisque, salad, petit filet and the largest and best baked potato ever. If you do not like Favre, this place would have been a nightmare for you. He is plastered all over the walls in pictures, painting, murals, etc. Our server used the name, "Brett Favre" so many times that M started counting how many times she said it. I think M lost count somewhere around 15. Here are some pictures from outside and inside the restaurant:
These monuments are all around the stadium for certain Packers players of the past. This one sits right in front of the restaurant, just blocks from Lambeau Field.
Gross Michael!
After dinner, we went to take a peek at Lambeau Field. It was cold and extremely windy that it was hard to be out of the car more than a minute trying to take pictures. My first impression of the stadium was, Hey! This place looks new! I know they did a renovation about 6 years ago but I didn't expect it to look that new from the outside. Click on the pictures to get a better view.
You can tell how windy it is in this picture just by looking at the flag.
We woke up on Saturday, Halloween, and instead of venturing around the city of Green Bay, we were back on the road heading northeast to Door County, which is known for their cherry orchards and as being referred to as the Cape Cod of the Midwest because of it's 300 miles of shoreline. From Sturgeon Bay, it is roughly 45 miles to the tip before you can take a ferry to Washington Island. Sturgeon Bay is around 40 miles northeast from the city of Green Bay. The penisula of Door County is only 20 miles across at the widest point, separating Green Bay (water) and Lake Michigan. Here's a map of Door County:
We drove to Sturgeon Bay and had breakfast at a place called the Pudgy Seagull. This was the first town we encountered in Door County. It was just as imagined this area to be with little main streets and small shops. We drove up the Green Bay side and back down the Lake Michigan side. We went through so many cute towns that it would be very hard to pick as my favorite but I really liked Fish Creek, which is where we drove through Peninsula State Park. It was a cloudy, cold day with the leaves past their peak but it was still a beautiful place. I only imagine how nice Door County looks in the summer or the peak of the fall colors. Here are some pictures from the peninsula:
Sturgeon Bay
The water had a turquoise/teal color to it
Fish Creek--Again, it was an extremely windy day
Inside Pennisula State Park--there's a cemetery in there!
Another lighthouse--I believe there are 12 lighthouses in Door County.
So windy!
Ephraim--This boat house is full of graffiti. It first started out that people would put the name of their boat and the date on the wall when they docked but now anyone can write on the walls as long as it's tasteful. I didn't see anything that was inappropriate. We didn't write on the walls but I did find my name and it so happens my middle name was down just below, even with the same spelling. Dana Leigh!
At the very top of the peninsula is Gills Rock, where you can take the ferry to the island. Click on the picture below to take a look at the road. This would be a very fun road for a motorcycle.
I love this photo of the lighthouse. It was actually far away and I had to zoom in quite a bit to get it. It looks like it is a painting.
This lighthouse is on Cana Island. We took a little walk to get there and there is only about 25 feet wide passage, if that, to get to the island. This is on the Lake Michigan side. I lost my camera case here!
Lake Michigan
This is a terrible quality photo but the sky was so dark pink at the horizon while we were driving home.
We got back into Green Bay around 6:30 pm and checked into the hotel we would be in for the next two days. We got assigned a room on the 5th floor and when we get to our door, this is what we see and it's not on anybody else's door besides ours:
When we open the door, this is what we saw:
This has been here for awhile. Tampa Bay is no longer in our division but at least they put the correct helmet on top
Ummmm....what the hell just happened?!
We were so surprised when we got into the room and had no idea what to make of it. It was a neat room but not for Vikings fans! We found a dude in the hallway that had a Vikings jersey on to come and take a look at our room. He came in and we asked him if his room looked like this and he just laughed and said, "No", which made it even funnier to us. So what are the chances that we would get this room? When we went down to the front desk, we asked them if they did that on purpose because we were Vikings fans. It was quite obvious they knew we were Vikings fans because we were carrying our Vikings jackets and we have purple luggage. She asked us what we meant by doing that on purpose. We said, "putting us in the Packers room!" and she started laughing and said that she didn't even think about that! We asked her if there was room like that on every floor and she said no, that's the only one in the hotel! So the chances of us getting that room? 1 in 146, as that is the number of rooms in the hotel. But we are good sports and decided to stay in the room, even though it did smell moldy.
We drove around the city looking for something to do since it was Saturday night and Halloween. We could not find what looked like a good place to eat and have a drink or two and ended up at The Golden Corral. It was just ok and suited our needs and then we drove back to see Lambeau Field. We parked and walked around a little bit and we went up to the doors of the atrium entrance and they were open so we went in. We found out that this place is open every day for people to come in. You don't have access to the stadium but you can shop in the Packers store, eat and drink at Curly's Pub or play games in the arcade. This place did not look like stadium, but rather a mall. The atrium was all a part of the addition in 2003. We spent our night at Curly's Pub drinking Curly's Brew and admiring some of the Halloween costumes that came in, including one of Brett Favre in a Packers Uniform.
M standing next to the famous Vince Lombardi statue
M says he was getting a picture of the dude wearing Favre's jersey that says, "Traitor" on it but realized he got Ms. Witch's boobs in the picture. Actually, how can you miss them.
Isn't this picture scary? That's me in the middle as a blur.
We wake up on Sunday morning, not only to celebrate M and me and our five years together but to hopefully see a Vikings win! We had enough in our Packers room, mostly because of the smell but a little because of the saturation of green and gold so got a different, no-themed room for Sunday night. The game was originally at noon but was changed to 3:15 pm for television reasons regarding the World Series. We left the hotel around 10:30 am to go to the grocery store and liquor store, which were conveniently located next to the parking lot we were to tailgate in. Being that I was all decked out in purple, I was nervous to see how fans would react. You just never know how mean the opposing fans will be towards you. We walked into the grocery store and it was hilarious. EVERYONE was dressed in either Packers or Vikings gear. Just imagine the only colors you see are green, purple and gold. I felt just fine being in there and felt even better after receiving numerous compliments in the store that they liked my wig, headband and lashes. Yep, you heard that right. Here's what I was walking around in:
Beside the wig, I had long, fake purple eyelashes on, which causes me to look a little drunk in the pictures ahead. We parked in the K-Mart parking lot, as we were both recommended to do by people who had been there before. It was only 2 blocks from the stadium and only $20 to park. That's something we are not used to in Minneapolis as it costs a minimum of $40 to park if you are going to tailgate. M and I have never tailgated before at another stadium with a grill and our own supplies since we've always flown to our destinations. It was nice to be able to set up our own grill, Vikings table and listen to our own tunes. We played the bean bag toss with our neighbors, who were both Packers fans but one had a Vikings Favre jersey on because he still loves Favre. There was a lot of that type of confusion surrounding the day. There were people that had half Vikings, half Packers clothes on. Some even had a jersey that had three parts to it....Packers, Jets and Vikings but obviously a Favre fan. One woman even came up to Michael and told him that she hopes that the Vikings win the Super Bowl, because she wants Favre to win. That is coming from a Packers fan. The people we encountered and spoke mostly with were Favre fans, regardless of what team he was on. Then there was the other group. The bitter ones that cannot get over the fact that Favre betrayed them, personally. That's how they feel at least. They do not like him, do not want him to do good and wishes nothing but the worse for him.
The weather was amazing. It was November 1st and we could not have received better weather. Sunny with a hint of clouds and the temperature was about 55 degrees. Many were tailgating in just their jersey's. Here are some of the pictures from tailgating.
A nice warm welcome from some Packers fans:
Walking to Lambeau--There were lots of purple!
We've arrived!
Curly Lambeau
Vince Lombardi
We're in!
A nice warm welcome from some Packers fans:
Walking to Lambeau--There were lots of purple!
We've arrived!
Curly Lambeau
Vince Lombardi
We're in!
We got to our seats early than normal to soak it all in.
Our neighbor was nice enough to take our picture for us
See the jets starting to fly over? We've experienced this at other stadiums but this was THE LOUDEST ones I've ever heard, to the point where it was a little scary.
Our neighbor was nice enough to take our picture for us
See the jets starting to fly over? We've experienced this at other stadiums but this was THE LOUDEST ones I've ever heard, to the point where it was a little scary.
The Vikings got booed when entering the field but wow did they boo for Favre. I read that they booed for 28 seconds while he was coming onto the field. After looking at coverage on TV, he just winked and smirked.
It was so warm out that we didn't even need our jackets in the stadium, until the sun started to go down and it got a little cooler. I was never cold the whole time I was there though. Can't say enough how lucky we were when it came to the weather.
The Vikings biggest lead--24-3 and that was when the Packers scored 17 unanswered points to make the score 24-20 and it was time to get a little nervous.
Not only did we get to experience Lambeau during the day, we also got to experience a night game due to Daylights Savings Time. We spent our extra hour at Lambeau. :)
Game Stats:
Favre got 4 TD's, the most he's ever had a Viking, Harvin ran one back for 77 yards and Jared Allen sacked Rodgers 3 times and Rodgers was sacked a total of 6 times between 3 players. This all equates as follows: Favre was the offensive player of the week, making that the 15 time he's done it in his career. 11 times with the Packers, 2 times with the Jets and 2 times with the Vikings, both against the Packers. Harvin is in the lead for Rookie of the Year and Jared Allen is the league leader for sacks after week 8. I hate to even mention anything about the Super Bowl but I can't help thinking about it. As with any game on the road, they are very hard to pay attention to. You are not only trying to concentrate on the game, you are taking in the atmosphere and your foreign surroundings, in addition to worrying about the fans and if you are going to get your ass kicked. The Packers fans for the most part were good. I wonder how it would have been if the Vikings wouldn't have won. We had a dude in front of us that was quite the hot head and he would get mad at certain calls that were obviously against the Packers but he didn't quite see it that way. While he was passionate about his team, he didn't appear to be that knowledgeable of the game. He hated Favre. He also booed our kicker, their former kicker, Ryan Longwell. We asked him if he would boo Darren Sharper if he came back to Lambeau and he absolutely said yes. Some people will always have a chip on their shoulder.
We ran into Syd outside the stadium. Does he look familiar? He goes by "100% Cheese Free" and has been featured in many aspects of the media nationally. He's from Winnipeg, Canada and comes to the dome for every home game as he is a season ticket holder.
We finished off our evening by eating at Green Bay Pizza and retiring to our Non-Packer room. We got up and went to breakfast at a pancake place that was recommended. It was delicious and the size of the pancakes were huge! We slowly made our way back to the Twin Cities, taking pictures of random things, including the horse below. We went to see Couple's Retreat when we got back and saw Michael Jackson's, This Is It on Tuesday before winding down and heading back to work on Wednesday.
It was a fantastic weekend!
Brenna, you would have loved these pancakes!
