Beloit, Wisconsin on the Blogging A – Z Challenge

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 23067 – 1092

Here’s the haps:

Beloit, Wisconsin. This one is an absolute. My wife was born here and one of her brothers is hosting a large family reunion here this summer. She will also get to see another brother whom she hasn’t seen in over twenty years. Along with other family and friends including her favorite cousin ( her only living one) who lives on a nearby farm and collects tractors as a hobby. We already have an AirB&B rented in the nearby town of Rockford, Illinois.

There are actually two cities that are the main part of our visit, Beloit is in Wisconsin and South Beloit is in Illinois. When she was a little girl her Grandpa would drive her down the road and she would be in one state while he was in the other which is a wonderfully Grandpa thing to do. Beloit calls itself the “Gateway to Wisconsin” and if you get a chance to visit you will find Wisconsin to be a beautiful place. The problem for me with writing about such a familiar place is that the things I think are kind of just mundane, everyday sort of stuff wind up being interesting and exciting to people who’ve never seen it before.

One thing you must do when you visit Wisconsin is visit a local cheese factory. There is nothing in the world like it and if you can get some cheese curds fresh from the vat…Ooohhh Baby! Cheese curds are an absolute must. I think people in Wisconsin are fortunate enough to have cheese curds available pretty much everywhere, which is wonderful but nothing can beat a Wisconsin cheese factory.

And, of course, there is string cheese, which a lot of people don’t seem to know how to enjoy but it’s a hard-ish mozzarella in a stick form that you string off and eat the cheese strings. If you aren’t blessed to live in Wisconsin you can buy the Sargento brand pretty much anywhere and they are a Wisconsin company. In fact, we bought some string cheese of that brand and I remarked (before I looked and knew) how close it was to real Wisconsin string cheese. Obviously, there is a lot more to cheese than just that but those are two items I always look for.

Another thing to have when you are in Wisconsin is a soda called Sundrop which is made in different regions of the US but sadly not here where I am. When my friend goes out to North Carolina he tries to bring me some back and when my wife’s favorite cousin comes to visit he brings me some once in a while. TNT loves it, too.

Local dairies and even major dairies there have better milk than anywhere else I have ever been. Even if it’s not fresh from the cow it’s still a better-tasting product in America’s Dairyland, Wisconsin.

Likelihood of this trip happening within the next year: 100%
Likelihood of running into someone I know or met on the Internet: 100%

Remember, the Good Book says:

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

(James 4:13-15 KJV)