And so it is that a crazy week of travel came to an end. Had a blast trying out new activities every day and meeting such fun friends. My highlights were definitely the kayaking and fishing. Driving along the river was beautiful. Lots of nice scenic viewpoints - the photog in you might want to visit here. Watch out for the image galleries coming along next week and for more info on upcoming trips :) Happy weekend as I head off to the airport for my flight back to Atlanta. It will be a bit of a drive but the weekend will be well-rested. Cant wait for my next adventure, and looking forward to sharing it with you here. Watch out for images coming through next week!

Looked like the weather in La Crosse was going to be a bit of a downer today...but that was alright since we were off to Prairie du Chien for a guided wildlife eco-tour with Backwater Cruises! It was certainly a bit of a drive and supposedly a much more beautiful one in the fall, but good company made it enjoyable. We stopped by the CVB to get some information before heading on the cruise. Very comfy contraption this, with covered seating all through and some uncovered vantage view seats up front and out. They do give a nice commentary  so you get to learn about some of the buildings you see along the way and learn of the history of the area. Spotted a few different varieties of birds and little itty-bitty turtles as well. Lunch was in the area, at Simply Coffeehouse & Eatery and we worked it all off after with a hike exploring Wyalusing State Park in Bagley, one of Wisconsin’s oldest state parks. The rain finally did catch up with us though so our evening activities were cut short rather soon. Since this was the last day of this media trip, we had a farewell dinner at Piggy’s in La Crosse, one of Wisconsin’s favorite dining establishments. I managed to sneak in a walk by the river front before that to get some nice snaps in the evening sun. Dinner was a 3 course affair, well-planned by the chef and busy with catching up on all the fun everyone had been up to and starting out on the goodbyes with some folks leaving for the airport in the wee hours of the morning. Couple of us at the Marriott took this opportunity to try out their lobby lounge bar before bidding adieu. I am glad to be one of the later departures tomorrow, I don't have to be out until after 8am :)        

Was very excited to head to Wisconsin for the first time today. Have lived in the US 8 years now yet somehow Wisconsin never seemed top of mind for vacation plans. Arrived at Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport, met with my travel team, got a Starbucks lunch to go and started driving straight to the Great River Road Visitor and Learning Center at Freedom Park in Prescott. This was a point A of sorts for the trip. It is also at this time that I learned that this was pretty large group of travel writers and a team of PR folks to drive us around so it would be a caravan procession from here on! We then stopped at Flat Pennies Ice Cream in Bay City for the ice cream from a caboose experience. After some shifting around of people and luggage, a friend and I were dropped off at a quaint little bed and breakfast in Pepin with instructions to be ready for dinner at a farm. The B&B was pretty but noisy - I knew only when we got back to bed tonight there is a goods train passing by every 15 minutes or so and the whole place rattles like an earthquake announcing its arrival. Any who, welcoming dinner at Suncrest Gardens Farm in Cochrane, a 16-acre family farm nestled amongst the rolling river bluffs of central west Wisconsin, was a fun affair. Met all members of this travel adventure while we enjoyed some local wines and dined on wood fired pizzas right on the farm. A chilly day for me so I am happy to head back to the comfort of a warm bed (trying to ignore the trains) and some rest as we have a hectic day tomorrow. I promise to have lots of images from the trip to share after but for now just posting some highlights.