The flights from Portland to Milwaukee (via Chicago’s O’Hare aka the airport from hell) were pretty uneventful.
The Lady and her BCFF, Amy, along with new cheese friends gathered in a pub at the airport and waited until the Alaska contingency arrived. They spent some time getting to know each other and exchanging cheese war stories.
Once everyone arrived, they boarded the bus for Plymouth, Wisconsin where we would spend the first night. I must say that The Lady, Amy and Cheryl did not seem the least bit surprised to find me waiting on the bus. I got the distinct impression that the rest of the group didn’t even notice my presence… oh, but they will…
Enroute, we stopped and had dinner at Culver’s, a local fast food chain known for the “butter burgers” (yep burgers with added butter) and frozen custard. The Lady had a grilled chicken sandwich and fries; opting to save her fat intake for cheese over the next few days. I was forced to stay on the bus as Culver’s has some silly rule about no feline foodies (or otherwise) being allowed inside… sheesh…
After the burger stop, the group re-boarded the bus and headed north into the night. Robert, one of the hosts from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, treated them to a video, Living on the Wedge, about the artisan cheese movement in Wisconsin that featured some award-winners: Carr Valley Cheese; Uplands Cheese and their Pleasant Ridge Reserve, the only cheese to win “Best of Show” from the American Cheese Society (2001 and 2004); Larry Ehler of Larry’s Market; Hook’s Cheese; and Anne Topham of Fantome Farm. During the viewing we heard a huge boom from the front of the bus and learned we had hit a deer that ran across the road.
Bit of trivia: The WMMB requires its dairy farmers to provide 1.2 acres of pasture per cow… and that’s a good thing…
Once we arrived at the hotel, we saw the damage as seen in the picture below. Please no comments on the quality of the picture… sometimes The Lady disappoints in the photo quality department.
Tomorrow we head out early for our first stop at Henning’s Wisconsin Cheese.
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What kind of cheese goes with deer meat? Just kidding. Hope you and Spaulding have a fun trip