We left Wisconsin's Door County this morning, totally unaware of who we would see today. But before we left Door County, we got to experience a little more butterfly magic. We had another new butterfly! But the most exciting thing this morning was watching a caterpillar become chrysalis. Last night we saw that a large caterpillar had assumed the "J" position and was hanging upside down from a leaf.
This morning we got to see the amazing process as it wriggled out of its striped skin and became a lumpy chrysalis. We have wandered into more of God's wonders here at this special Boondockers Welcome stay! It was hard to leave!
While we had enjoyed electrical hookups and water at this stop, we had to stop by the local KOA and pay to dump our tanks. Then we were on the road towards the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin. That's when we got a phone call from our son, Blake. He and his wife were also on the road towards Green Bay. We were planning to tour Lambeau Field. They were planning to tour Lambeau Field. We were planning to eat lunch in Green Bay. They were planning to eat lunch in Green Bay. Why don't we meet and do those things together? So we had a totally unplanned meet-up with our loved ones over 800 miles from home!
We were a little ahead of them on the road, so we had time to find a parking place for the pickup and trailer. Then we did a little exploring around the famous Lambeau Field.
One of the statues out front was the namesake of the Super Bowl trophy--Vincent Lombardi. He led the Green Bay Packers to five world championships in seven years. Two of those were the first two Superbowls ever played.
We also found the statue of Curly Lambeau. He was the founder of the Green Bay Packers in 1919, and was a player, coach, and general manager during his career here. He was playing on the team that won this team's first world championship.
Also out front is an interactive statue that invites visitors to do the "Lambeau Leap" into the welcoming crowd of Packers fans.
Before our tour started, we had just enough time to check out the Packers store, and take a picture with an assortment of cheese head hats.
We bought tickets for the 1:00 Champions tour. Our entertaining tour guide first reminded us that this is the home turf of the team that has won more world champions than any other. The Green Bay Packers claim 13 world championships ranging from 1929-2010.
It was so much fun to share this view of Lambeau Field with two of our favorite people!
Green Bay hosts the only team in the NFL that is publicly owned. Our tour guide was one of those proud owners. It's also a place where people put their babies on the waiting list for season tickets, hoping that a seat will come available by the time that baby becomes an adult. This was a magical place with fans known for their loyalty.
Our tour took us high up in the stadium. We got to walk beside the giant G that is their most visible trademark. This G is lit at night, and is the tallest thing in this small city. Locals can find their way home by following the glowing "G" in the sky.
While most of the die-hard fans must suffer the extreme cold of Wisconsin winters to attend a home game, a few can watch the games in warmth behind glass panels. This was the sweet suite view of Lambeau Field.
Our champion tour included some time enjoying the momentary luxury of the Champion Suite. Game tickets here include an unlimited buffet. We were just glad to have a chair to sit down for a while during this hour and a half tour.
No tour is allowed inside the Green Bay Packers locker room. A picture was posted in the hall, but that's as close as we would get to seeing it. Our tour guide pointed out the giant "G" carpet in the center. That's where the team will gather in a circle before every game. There they will pray not for victory, but for safety for all the players. That special carpet travels to all the away games for the same prayer.
One of the highlights of any Lambeau tour is making the trip down the cement tunnel to the field. We didn't have the smoke, spinning lights, or the loud music that the players enjoy on game day. But we were led down the tunnel by our very enthusiastic tour guide.
As we broke into the sunlight, we got our first ground floor view of the famous field.
This is not astroturf. This is REAL grass, and they are very protective of keeping it pristine. Signs warn visitors not to even think about walking onto that grass. So how does an open stadium in a part of the country known for its cold temperatures keep a real grass field growing in the winter?
There are 43 miles of plastic tubing underneath the ground that carries warm water and antifreeze to keep the grass green and growing even during a Wisconsin winter. During the long days of summer, this grass is mowed every other day. In the shorter days of winter, giant grow light are rolled out to mimic the sunshine necessary to keep grass green. The grounds crew will be mowing this green grass on the field this winter while another crew will be shoveling snow in the stands at the same time.
Now that she knew more about this pampered grass, Denisa bent down to take a close-up. Another member on our tour bent down to touch it, and was chastised by our guide. They are serious about protecting every blade of that grass!
Have we mentioned how fun we thought it was to share this time with our son and daughter-in-law? We left the field to climb through the coveted seats in this always-sold-out stadium. They still have those uncomfortably cold aluminum benches, and each ticket only gets 18-inches of space. If you requested a season pass today, there would be 157,000 people ahead of you on the waiting list--all glad for the honor of squishing into that little uncomfortable seat to watch a miserably cold football game.
We like to eat like the locals. When we asked the girl at the visitor center for lunch recommendation, she didn't hesitate to steer us towards the Booyah Shed. It's a tiny local place just a mile from the stadium. Booyah is a meat and vegetable stew that is the Green Bay signature meal. We had the Booyah/Sandwich special and a generous slice of carrot cake before we split ways with Blake and Jamie. They were spending a couple days with her relatives before we will meet up with them again on the shores of Lake Superior.
We started our 2.5-hour drive north on some bumpy two-lane roads into Northern Wisconsin's Nicolet National Forest. It was 68 degrees as we headed north and we're so glad to be where it is cool this July! We were even more glad to get to spend time with Blake and Jamie this day. We would have never guessed who we would get to see in Green Bay!
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