A day away... off to New Glarus

I had a random floating holiday for work last week, so I talked Mike into taking the day off so we could have a day of fun sans children. It was a bit gloomy out, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. We drove down to New Glarus- about 45 min south, out in the countryside. Its is kind of a random little mini-Switzerland in Wisconsin. It was actually started over 100 years ago by Swiss emigrants and many of the buildings are swiss-style.

We stopped at a bakery for donuts, and then went off on a hike though New Glarus woods. It rained on us a bit, and we had to do some off-trail bush-wacking to get back to our car, but it was a fabulous adventure. It was strange thinking that our lives used to be like this all the time- just going off on adventures on our own. In some ways, it was fabulously freeing to do it again. But at the same time, it lacks the richness of our time as a family. I kept thinking of things that Caroline would enjoy if she were with us...

After our hike, we stopped by New Glarus brewery, which was just across the road. It is a great spot. We walked around the brewery and hung out tasting the different brews in the giftshop. It would have been a fantastic spot to sit outside and enjoy a beer, but alas, it wasn't really a day for picnicing. So we drove back into downtown New Glarus (all 3 blocks of it), and had a lovely fondue lunch. Mmmmm.... Cheese and beer. Such a Wisconsin day! Then we perused the shops before heading home. Loads of fun!