10/5/10 Day 2

     We woke up to a frosty morning and hopped in the car to drive around the campground in search of a toilet (and also to warm up).  We then promptly packed up the tent without bothering to change clothes or eat breakfast (much to Eric's disgust).  We filled the water jugs and brushed our teeth next to the water spigot.  By about 9am we were back on the road.  
     We needed to make it to Monroe by 1pm in order to take the Minhas Brewery guided tour.  I knew we would be cutting it close if we stayed on the road we had been planning to take, so we jumped on a couple of interstates to make time.  We arrived in Monroe at about 12:20 with plenty of time to have a small lunch from the cooler in the brewery parking lot.  
     Minhas Brewery is owned by two young entrepreneurs (much like ourselves) who have helped the Brewery to flourish.  They brew a large variety of beers from Bergoff to Clear Creek Ice (which was sold at the liquor store in Muncie for 50 cents a can.  Eric and I agree that it is probably the worst beer we have ever had.).  Minhas Brewery is the oldest continuously running brewery in the midwest and the second oldest in the country.  The brewery was there before the town of Monroe and takes up 3 city blocks.  Open since 1845, Minhas (formerly known as Joseph Huber Brewing co.) stayed open during the prohibition by making near beer and sodas.  The brewery owners have taken great care to preserve the rich history of the brewery by keeping some of the original buildings intact, still making brands tat were made long ago, and making brews and sodas that are named after previous owners.  

     We sampled several of their craft brews during the tour.  I recommend Rheinlander, Lazy Mutt, or Huber Bock.  We also got a complimentary beer glass and a sample pack.  A pretty good deal for 10 bucks each!

     After getting a little happy on the free beer, we decided to walk around the courthouse square and check out a pub we were told about by some british lady on the brewery tour.  "It's a must!"  she had said, so we made our way to Baumgartner Pub.  They sold many Minhas brews as well as various cheeses.  The british lady specifically mentioned a limburger cheese sandwich, so we sat down and ordered two limburger cheese sandwiches with onions (they also came with an andes mint for obvious reasons).  We sat at the bar eating our smelly cheese sandwiches and were confused as our taste buds were delighted, but our noses were assaulted!  I think we enjoyed the sandwiches, especially after ordering a nice Huber Bock to wash them down.  We took a stroll around the square then got back in the car to start towards the campground.  
     We camped at New Glarus Woods State Park (I was appalled at the price of 10 dollars for our car and 14 dollars for camping, but the DNR officer wouldn't cut us a break.).  We were the only campers in the park.  We set up camp at around 5pm and Eric got a fire started.  Dinner consisted of a few snacks since we were still full of our stinky cheese sandwiches.  We sang some campfire songs til the fire burned low and our eyelids grew heavy.
- Virginia