General blather

Anniversary Adventures Part 2

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A little while ago, DH and I took a week off and went on a couple shorter adventures to nearby areas. I wrote about the first one in Anniversary Adventures Part 1. Our second trip was to Lake Geneva, WI and we had a wonderful time there too! We started off with a lake cruise with a stop at the Black Point Estate historical site. The lake cruise was beautiful – we had great weather and gorgeous fall foliage. Lake Geneva is surrounded by big beautiful mansions owned by hyperrich robber barons, so there is a lot to see. You can only get to Black Point Estate through the boat cruise, and it’s only open in the warmer months, because Lake Geneva does freeze up. As we were on our cruise, all the boat docks around the lake were being dismantled for the season.

Black Point Estate was the family summer home of a Chicago beer baron Conrad Seipp, and was in the family’s possession until very recently. When the family signed the house over the historical society, they basically left all their stuff there and just walked away. As a result, their linens, clothing, toothpaste, cooking implements, furniture, art – everything – is still there. It is a really interesting place, and a very cool tour.

We stayed in a very nice hotel right on the lake, so just like at the Dells had a lovely view of the water.

Then the last part of our adventure before heading home was a tour of the Yerkes Observatory! This observatory was part of the University of Chicago for many years, and a lot of groundbreaking astronomical observation and analysis was done there. They recently stopped using it, and the site was abandoned for a time. Over the past several years, a non-profit organization has put it back in use. Now it is doing some astronomical work, and also hosting programs that blend science and the arts. The building is absolutely gorgeous, and the telescope and grounds are both amazing! We enjoyed our tour very much, and will likely go back. If you are in the area, I highly recommend a visit here!

We really enjoyed both of our adventures. We learned a few things, did a lot of walking, got to be out on boats multiple times, did some relaxing, and had a great time overall.

17 thoughts on “Anniversary Adventures Part 2”

  2. Sounds like a great adventure! I love visiting observatories, especially when it’s one that I can go to in the evening and see stars, too. (I know, with working observatories it’s not always possible since night time is money for the astronomers.)

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    1. Observatories are so interesting! You can get chances to see the stars with this one, but they have pretty limited spaces for those tours, and they are spendy. Still, we might do it someday! I know you’ve got at least one cool one there in California – have you been to others?

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      1. So far I’ve only been to the Lick Observatory here in California, which is neat and full of history (plus I know someone who works there) and we got to do a tour where the big telescopes weren’t available for viewing but they had a “little” one set up outside for the tour. (Definitely little in comparison to the domes, but bigger than many home telescopes.)

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