Jarochs

Drove down from Borderline RV to Lakewood on Wheeler Lake to stay with friends of ours, Kathy and Greg Jaroch, from Libertyville, IL at their lake house. They sold their place in Illinois and moved to the lake house permanently last year.

They had thought about adding onto their home to accommodate their growing family but decided to buy another lake house two doors down. That way when their kids and grandkids visit they have a place of their own.

And friends (like us) could crash as well!

Kathy found us a place to park the Busse Bus at a friends of theirs hanger near the golf course:

On the drive down I kept the speedometer around 55mph just to see what the mpg would be. Check it out:

Greg was returning from a golfing trip in Michigan later that evening so Kathy took us out on their pontoon boat for a ride on the lake. What a beautiful lake, it is especially nice to see the homes from the water.

Bear loved jumping off the pontoon into the water. We all laughed when after he had jumped we repositioned the boat near the dock. He thought that we were leaving him and he started to frantically doggy paddle out to the boat. Luckily he listened to us and waited on the shore for the boat to dock.

After getting cleaned up we headed out for dinner at the Waubee Lodge and met up with Greg. We had a nice dinner out on the deck overlooking Lake Waubee.

The next day it was supposed to rain so we decided to do a bar crawl. Our first stop was at The Little Tipsy:

where we had a pizza for a late lunch.

Next we went to the Potawani Casino to try our luck at the tables.

Unfortunately all the tables were closed during the day due to lack of employees so all we got to play were video machines. After about an hour, and 3 out of 4 of us losing, we decided to leave. I always think that it’s so sad seeing older people in casinos in the middle of the afternoon gambling their futures or social security checks away. I hope that doesn’t happen to us in our old age!

We stopped at a local artist, Joan White, where the Jarochs have purchased a couple of pieces. Here’s one of their pieces:

The good thing about the stop was that the artist was actually there working creating art by painting on thinly cut cross sections of wood.

We headed back to the Jaroch’s where Greg grilled some very tasty pork chops and Kathy made everything else. A very lovely dinner sitting on their screened in porch. Afterwards we play some Rubikub while listening to some music and drinking a bourbon.

The weather cleared the following day so Kathy and Katrina were able to get a pickleball game or two in:

Later on we enjoyed a long boat ride around the lake. Afterwards Greg and I made a trip to the local dump and then stopped at the Sand Trap for a drink. Greg grilled out again this time chicken while Kathy and Katrina made couscous and a salad. Another wonderful evening topped off with us teaching them how to play Oh Fruck!

The next day it rained so we loaded up and headed to the town of Shawano (pronounced ”Shawn-o”) to check out a few places.

The town had absolutely beautiful hanging flowers along the street:

First up was Stubborn Brothers Brewery where we tasted their beer and ate a wonderful lunch.

The owners rehabbed an old movie theater into a beautiful space! Delicous food!

Then we stopped at The Stock Market to pick up some oils and shop around. They recently added a wine and spirits tasting room where you pay by the ounce.

Really neat idea and place!

Since the Jarochs hadn’t been to The Boarding House Supper Club in Suring and we wanted to eat at a supper club we stopped there on the way home.

The old restaurant hung close to their origins by sitting you at the bar where you got a drink and ordered your food. Then they seated you at a table and brought the food to you. Interesting way of working through the dinner crowd. A real ”home” feel to the place.

We continued home since their daughter, Kayla and son-in-law, Steve had arrived with their children. Since we didn’t get the traditional Wisconsin after dinner drink at the supper club we loaded up in their car and headed over to Maiden Lake Supper Club. We ordered a grasshopper and sat on the deck overlooking the lake.

Very nice! It was a wonderful way to end our time with the Jarochs as we left the next morning.

Before we headed out, Kathy stopped by to wish us adieu. Great visit! Thank you Jarochs for hosting our stay!