Tea and travels in Wisconsin

Most of last week I spent in Wisconsin, where my husband and I were enjoying a nice leisurely visit with my stepdaughter and her husband and exploring the local sights, which to my delight were more than I had even hoped for! The fun included some great tea finds at antique shops and quilt stores, lunch at a unique tea room, a visit to the Mecca of bath fixtures, and even a personal tour of a small dairy farm! Today, I thought I'd tell you about Elkhart Lake, where we enjoyed a nice visit before heading on to stay with family. The historic Siebkens Resort was our home base, and I loved it immediately. After all the hot, humid days we've had lately, I could not get over how pleasant it was there.

I would like to have taken one of Siebkens' frilly iron rockers home with me, but I couldn't figure out a way to get it on the plane. (Legally, I mean.)

Here is a back view of the newer rooms, which were later additions to the resort. The flowers in the foreground mark the entrance to a public walking area to the lake, whose name comes from a wonderful old Indian legend you can find here.


I am still just stunned that it looks like the height of spring in Wisconsin while, back home, the flowers are drooping and the people are too! On the walk back to the hotel, I was impressed by the giant white mophead hydrangeas and the blue-eyed daisies, which I'd never seen before.


The next morning, my first retail stop among all the quaint shops was a place my husband actually scouted out online, Gina's Custom Framing and Specialty Prints, which offers more than 100 varieties of tea. The shop had a great selection, and I bought a couple of new iced teas that looked yummy. (Just got home last night and haven't had time to try them yet, so the tea reviews will come later.)

I found two different kinds of tea soaps I'd not come across before, including these Tea Leaf and Wild Honey travel soaps from Lucia. (I got extras for future blog giveaways!)

I also got a box of Botanicus green tea soaps, which smell divine!

Next to Gina's is the old Elkhart Lake train depot, now restored as an antique shop called Mix & Mingle.


It was there I found a vintage tablecloth with embroidered teapots on it for just $6, and I was pretty happy about that!

And finally, at Nordic Accents I saw this beautiful Russian teacup. Naturally I *needed* a good teacup souvenir from Elkhart Lake, and I decided this would be the one breakable I would carry back home on the plane. The shop owner wrapped and boxed it extremely well, and when I thanked her, she said, in her delightful accent, "You're VEL-come!" We don't talk like that back home, y'all, and the fun was just getting started!