Western road trip, day 1: Wisconsin

We're embarking on a road trip out west from Chicago to visit some family members, breweries, and hikes. Contrary to usual, I will be uploading blog posts as we go, as opposed to post-logging them when I return! Here we go!

We stopped for a delicious meal and flight of beers at Pig Minds Brewing in Rockford, IL; I love the all-vegan menu and got a tasty salad with quinoa and chickpeas. Husband was very happy with his veggie burger. They do vegan right out there.

Flight at Pig Minds in Rockford

We drove out to Eau Claire, WI (visiting the Black River Falls cheese moose statue on the way) for a stay on our way to the Twin Cities; it's a cute town with a nice river walk. On our way to Eau Claire, we visited the Black River Falls area for a photo op with the big orange moose, and also stopped at a nearby rest stop that had a cute hike with an overlook. Very nice, Wisconsin.

The reason we picked Eau Claire as a spot to stop and stay the night is the Brewing Projekt, a highly rated brewery in the area that we were able to walk to from our hotel. They have a great new facility with tons of space for social distancing during the current pandemic; we chose a table with a cushy corner sofa on the upper deck, but there is also a lower patio, indoor seating, and an event space.

Flight at the Brewing Projekt

The beer was transcendent and truly makes this brewery worth a stop on any road trip. They are famous for their interesting fruited sours and milkshake / hazy IPAs, but they had some nice stouts now, too. 

We were happy to walk around Eau Claire a bit at night and stretch our legs after a long day of driving. Almost 300 miles today!

Foot bridge in the pedestrian area of downtown Eau Claire, WI

I am working on a new yarn bomb for a large sphere I've had my eye on in the South Loop, and I finished a piece of it while we enjoyed our flight at Brewing Projekt. There are other breweries in the area, but we were too tired to get to them. Onto the Twin Cities tomorrow!