Wisconsin Cheeseheads - Day 3

• Headed back to Milwaukee for our return flight, but first stopped at the Wisconsin Cheese Mart, home of the world's largest selection of Wisconsin cheese. Got some cheese and our cheese (hats) on.

• Wandered around downtown Milwaukee for a bit admiring the pretty, clean and quiet city.

• Popped into Rock Bottom Brewery for Milwaukee's finest, including the tasty seasonal pumpkin ale! 

• Flew back to L.A. in the afternoon.

Wisconsin Cheeseheads - Day 2

• After a tasty buffet breakfast at the hotel we visited the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. We donned sailor apparel, admired the vast display of model boats, read up on the state's maritime history and toured the "nation's most completely restored" WWII submarine, the impressive USS Cobia.

• Roamed around Manitowoc County for a bit checking out the festive seasonal displays, creeping on some resident's yards and driveways, and enjoying the fall colors.

• Back to the hotel in the early afternoon in time to grab our complimentary beers before boarding the party bus, decked out in Pack colors, streamers, balloons, etc. and headed for Green Bay.

• Arrived in Green Bay with plenty of time to spare before the game, so we wandered around town checking out the Packers paraphernalia, history, fans and whatnot.

• 7 p.m. kick off -- Pack vs Vikings -- our first NFL game!

• So much fun to watch our favorite team take on the Gunslinger (one of our favorite players, despite everything that has happened with him on and off the field in the last few years) and pull out the W!

* Thanks for the special wedding present, Dad!

Wisconsin Cheeseheads - Day 1

• Arrived in Milwaukee early in the morning and drove up to Port Washington. Walked along the pier and got a tour from a friendly, informative guide of the restored Port Washington Historical Society Light Station built in 1860 -- we were treated to a great view from the very top!

• Ate lunch at Horse and Plow in Kohler as advised in "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" -- tried the recommended plow burger and three cheese and beer soup, both of which were fantastic!

• Visited Point Beach State Park, walked along part of the Ice Age trail and played on the beach. 

• Feasted on delicious pizza from Mischicot Pizzeria near our hotel.

Thai One On - Day 15

• Caught air-conditioned luxury bus to Bangkok for about $9, quite a treat after our last few modes of transportation! Then we grabbed a taxi to the famed Khaosan Road for our final day in Thailand.

• Found a hostel room analogous to a college dorm, jail cell or NY city apartment in which to store our bags until we left around 1 a.m. that night/the next morning.

• Stopped at a street vendor for a lunch of an egg roll and two large servings of pad Thai w/ chicken for a mere $3 total. Also sadly purchased our last fruit shakes, a grape and a guava.

• Spent the afternoon shopping -- purchased souvenirs and gifts, one in particular for which P had a fantastic and hilarious time bartering the price down from 80 baht (only $2.70) to 50 baht ($1.70).

• Ended our shopping spree with gremlins and happy hour mojitos.

• Strolled around a bit more before patronizing Lucky Beer for a dinner of pineapple and pork curry, green curry w/ shrimp, and an unknown but delicious appetizer, then played pool in the back room.

• Roamed the streets, now in full party mode with musicians, street dancers and celebratory tourists.

 

• Celebrated a great honeymoon w/ our only dessert of the trip: two tasty banana splits. 

• With only a few hours to spare before needing to leave for the airport for our return flight home, we spoiling ourselves w/ one last massage around 11:30 p.m. -- a perfect ending to a wonderful trip!
  

Thai One On - Day 14

• Started day off early with the most humorous breakfast of the trip. Our night stay at Phaiboon hotel (quite a nice place) included breakfast which consisted of dragon fruit and toast. Lots and lots of toast. First, we were served two plates with two pieces on each plate. When we finished that, we were brought another plate with four more pieces. Thank you for all the toast.

• Along with a Belgian couple, we rode to Khao Yai National Park with tour guide, Jay. We stopped briefly at the visitor museum where we used one of the nicest bathrooms in Thailand, saw a pretty funny sign and watched two monitor lizards laze in the sun and some deer frolic in the parking lot.

• Then we drove to the jungle trail entrance and trekked for two hours -- easily a highlight of the trip! We saw a green pit viper, two giant spiders, horn bills, millipedes, termites, two gibbons and a plethora of really large and fantastic trees. We also heard a boar tearing through the jungle, and later saw it's wreckage, but we never actually saw it.  

• While we were enjoying our tasty lunch of chicken and mixed veggies w/ rice, and red curry chicken w/ rice it started absolutely dumping rain. Fortunately, it let up by the time we finished.
  
• Visited Haew Suwat Waterfall (as seen in the movie "The Beach").

• The day trip culminated in viewing animals: barking deer, macaques, a snake, another water monitor and my favorite, a bull elephant, which we saw just before we were about to turn around and head out of the park. It was fantastic watching the gentle giant rip down trees to eat and lope along the road!

• Back in Pak Chong, we dined at Jay's wife's restaurant on chicken teriyaki, spicy chicken and wontons, all washed down with blueberry and kiwi shakes.  

• Before walking back to hotel, we stopped at night market and bought fresh mango and grapefruit.