My photographer and his wife were able to sleep in on Saturday July 25, 2015 because the Mall of America didn’t open until 10:00am and we were only 12 miles away. I was not overly excited about visiting the famous mall; even though it was the second largest mall in the country. To me, it was just a shopping center and not a Presidential site.
We pulled into the parking structure at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota at 10:15am and I tagged along in my usual place alongside my photographer’s camera. Tom had heard that the large mall had been built on the site of Minnesota’s old Metropolitan Stadium and the site of the stadium’s home plate was designated by a plaque in the Nickelodeon Universe amusement park area. Another memento of the stadium that was also located in the confines of the amusement park was a red chair that marked the bleacher seat that was struck by a home run ball hit by Harmon Killebrew on June 3, 1967. The mammoth blast that hit that spot travelled 520 feet from home plate and was the longest homerun ever hit at Metropolitan Stadium.
We spent about four hours at the Mall of America. Some of that time was shopping; some was people watching; some was eating lunch at Hooters; and some was watching my photographer’s wife ride the indoor roller coaster.
I had to laugh to myself because as the unbiased bobble head that I am, I saw the difference between the Mall of America and a Presidential site. During our time at the enormous mall, Vicki was always several paces ahead of us and it appeared that she had springs in her shoes. Whenever we visited a Presidential site in the past, Vicki was always several paces behind us and it was like she had lead in her shoes. But that day was hers as Vicki had always wanted to visit the Mall of America; just “so I could say I was there”. At 2:00pm, as we walked back to the Avenger, Vicki was asked what her thoughts were of the Mall of America. “It was just another mall. It was huge, but a mall is just a mall. I was glad to have been there once, but I won’t need to go back.” It was at that moment I thought I heard my photographer let out a huge sigh of relief.
For the rest of that Saturday, we drove east towards Green Bay, Wisconsin where my photographer and his wife had planned to visit Lambeau Field; home of the Green Bay Packers. The four-plus hour ride from Bloomington, most of which was a four-lane highway, was tedious as there wasn’t much to see except for trees. At roughly 6:20pm, we arrived at the Comfort Suites in Green Bay where we spent the night. That motel was located perfectly as we were only 12 miles from the football stadium. My only thoughts during the night was whether or not the Packers made ‘Cheese Head’ hats small enough for a bobble head.
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We arrived at Lambeau Field on Sunday July 26, 2015 about a half hour before the stadium had opened for tours. That gave us time to walk around the outside and capture some images of the stadium’s exterior, as well as some of the statues.
At precisely 10:00am, the stadium doors opened, and we entered historic Lambeau Field. Opened in 1957 and known as New City Field for its first eight seasons, the stadium was renamed in August 1965 in honor of long-time Packers coach Curly Lambeau who had died two months earlier. Lambeau Field is the oldest continually operating NFL stadium in the country. The following photos were taken during the tour that my photographer and his wife had taken of Lambeau Field. During their tour, I stayed hidden inside the camera case.
The tour of historic stadium lasted nearly an hour. We finished our stay at Lambeau Field in the Team Shop where Vicki shopped for a pair of Aaron Rodgers jerseys for their grandsons. Tom was unsuccessful in his search for a small Cheese Head hat for me; which was disappointing. At about 12 noon, we headed for our second site in Green Bay: The Riverside Ballroom; located five miles from the football stadium.
The Riverside Ballroom opened in 1936 and was the largest venue in Green Bay for twenty years. On February 1, 1959, the ‘Winter Dance Party’ tour played a show at the Riverside following a grueling trip from Duluth, Minnesota. Buddy Holly and his friends played a show at the Duluth Armory on January 31st; following the show, they boarded their bus for the 320-mile ride to Appleton, Wisconsin. During their trip east towards Appleton, the musicians’ bus broke down ten miles south of Hurley, Wisconsin. Drummer Carl Bunch was taken to an Ironwood, Michigan hospital with frostbitten feet, while the other entertainers found warmth at the St. James Hotel in Ironwood. Because of that unexpected overnight bus breakdown, the February 1st Appleton matinee show was cancelled. Travelling by train and then by Greyhound bus, the “Tour From Hell” entertainers limped into the Riverside Ballroom for their 8:00pm show. They were tired; they were cold; their clothes needed washing; but they still put on an amazing show. But it was because of the misfortunes during the trip from Duluth to Green Bay that forced Buddy Holly to say “Enough” and he chartered the plane the following night.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at 12:30pm, the Riverside Ballroom was closed. I was disappointed as it would’ve been cool to stand on the stage where the ‘Winter Dance Party’ rockers had performed the night before their last show at the Surf Ballroom. We walked around the exterior of the Riverside and my photographer captured images of the building from a few different angles. We also saw Ken Paquette’s stainless steel memorial that was located a short distance from the historic ballroom. Paquette was the creator of the memorial at the Buddy Holly crash site as well.
When our 20-minute stay at the Riverside was finished, my photographer and his wife decided they wanted to see the Lake Michigan body of water called Green Bay. Driving due east for less than 10 minutes, we came across an amusement park that was situated along the water. The park was called Bay Beach Amusement Park and although we didn’t pay to venture inside, we did notice the park had a roller coaster that was part of Rock and Roll history. The good thing was we could see that coaster from outside of the gates.
The Zippin Pippin, one of the nation’s oldest existing wooden roller coasters, was Elvis Presley’s favorite ride at Memphis’ Libertyland amusement park. On August 8, 1977, Elvis rented Libertyland from 1:00am to 7:00am for ten of his guests and they had the run of the park. On that night, Elvis rode the Zippin Pippin for two hours non-stop; it turned out to be his final public appearance as he died eight days later at Graceland.
Our Green Bay, Wisconsin visit was over and it was time to head for Michigan. Although I had crossed the border into my home state numerous times on previous trips, I was about to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the first time. It was time for me to become a Yooper.
It was exactly 56 miles from the amusement park to the Wisconsin-Michigan border at Menominee, Michigan. Of course, my photographer had to stop at the Welcome Center to capture a photo with the ‘Welcome to Pure Michigan’ sign. I had hoped that he would take me with him where he could hold me up proudly at the sign, but Tom left me in the car while his wife captured an image of him. I knew it wasn’t a Presidential site, but it was the first time I had “set foot” in the U.P. and it would’ve been nice to have marked the occasion with a picture.
Vicki drove the Avenger along the coast line of Lake Michigan as my companions wanted to see some of our state’s historic lighthouses. The first lighthouse that we found was in Escanaba, Michigan and it was called the Sand Point Lighthouse. The historic light was first lit on May 13, 1868 by Mary Terry, wife of the first appointed light keeper who had died a month before the lighthouse was ready to be manned. She was one of the first female lighthouse keepers in Michigan. The Sand Point Lighthouse, or as others call it the Escanaba Light, warned mariners of the spit of land that extended into Little Bay de Noc.
The final stop on that Sunday in July was in Gladstone, Michigan where we found another lighthouse, albeit a fairly new light. It seemed as though perhaps the city of Gladstone had erected the lighthouse as a tourist attraction rather than a legitimate harbor safety light. Either way, we thought it looked cool; especially with the early evening Moon rising above it. We also saw a new statue that was situated near the lighthouse. The statue was called ‘The Captain and the Kid’ and looked cool as it stood near the lighthouse.
It was early evening and we had packed-in a lot of sites and miles throughout the day. We found a decent motel in Gladstone, called the Lakeside Motor Inn, where we hung our hats for the night; even though I have never worn a hat. Especially not a Cheese Head hat. As I stood silently in the darkness, I thought of our time in Green Bay and I had wondered who cut the cheese there. From the noise that was coming from my sleeping photographer, I think my question was answered. It was great to be back in Michigan; no butts about it!
