We had planned on going to the Farmer's Market in downtown Eau Claire this morning but when we woke up, it was raining.
The weather network was saying that the rain would stop in a couple hours so Jason went down to the gym to kill some time and I worked on my blog in the room.
The rain did not look like it was going to be stopping anytime soon.
The hotel had a pool and it was on the bottom floor of the building right across from our room (the hotel was a horseshoe shape).
So we decided to go down and have a swim.
It was a beautiful pool area and there was a really nice hot tub there.
Pool area, Staybridge Inn & Suites, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
We stayed swimming as long as we could then we went back to the room to get dressed and pack up and we checked out right on time at 11 am.
We both had brought rain coats with us so we headed down to the Farmer's Market anyway.
A lot of the market was under this roofed area so it was out of the rain.
Luckily, the rain pretty much stopped right after we got there.
Such a pretty flower.\
One of the first tents we went to was an artist - Jason loved his work so he picked out a picture to buy and asked if he could get a picture of the artist with it.
I picked out a picture as well that I purchased from him of a bird on a tree branch with an umbrella.
Random message on the sidewalk.
I think the weather scared some people off because it wasn't horribly busy but that was good for us.
There were lots of booths with bouquets of flowers for sale.
They were so pretty and a very fair price too.
So much good looking fruit.
Heirloom tomatoes.
String beans.
This booth had some baked goods.
We ended up getting a Bacon and Egg Kalaches, a loaf of Cheddar Onion Bread an almond bar.
It was all really good.
More flowers - they were all so beautiful.
I loved all the colorful displays of vegetables.
I like the signs too.
Love this one, Hooterville Junction - what a great name.
The peppers look so good and I loved their home-made signs on the paper bags.
What a great idea.
The mushrooms always look so great - I wouldn't know what to do with them though.
The downtown river walk area here is so pretty.
Cherry's.
We decided to go for a walk around the river.
More flowers.
Cool lamp post.
(Not as cool as the one's we saw later today in Stephen's Point).
We love going across bridges when we have a chance.
View of the river from the bridge.
There was a nice trail along the river on the other side of the bridge.
Looking back across the river at the downtown area we walked around last night.
It started raining again so we sheltered under a tree for a short time.
It didn't last long.
It's makes everything look so lush and healthy.
There were lots of spots with seating so you could sit and take in the views.
The chairs were painted with all different themes.
Not sure what this theme is?
There was a street that looked like it had some stores/restaurants so we walked down it.
There were more art installations like on the other side of the river.
A torso of a woman,
Metal bird.
There was a gift type store so we went in it for a walk around.
There were some beautiful cards made with cool paper.
I love this little miniature world inside of this cupboard.
Another neat card - I love what it says.
A duck made from the golf club.
We noticed these fairies made from an egg carton - Jason got one for Freya.
There were a few different ones with different colors but this is the one he picked.
On the wall.
I love the vibe of the place inside, like a real hometown spot that's been around forever.
There were lots of people in there eating too so that was a good sign.
It was called Court'N House.
There were two sides - this side wasn't as funky as the other side - it was much more toned down.
We sat in a booth in the window and the window was decorated with one of these America flag things.
I don't know what they are called but they are so patriotic - I like them.
We had French Onion Soup.
We shared one of the burgers they had on special.
Our waitress told us that they were know for their burgers and she led us in the right direction.
It was a fantastic burger.
The battered fries it came with were also really good.
We walked back across another bridge after we finished eating and saw more art.
Not sure what this was supposed to be.
This was on the side of the river where we had just eaten.
There were some kids down on the riverbank skipping rocks on the water.
Lots of bridges here and they were all different.
We walked around the downtown area.
Giant bee.
Downtown Eau Claire.
Mona Lisa on the side of a building.
Strange bird looking thing.
I like the eyes.
I had to get Jason to stand next to the plant pot just to show how tall they were, they were taller than Jason.
Another picture of this angel in the daylight.
Pretty tree.
Jason
Another picture of the kitties on the bike only this time in the daylight.
Mural.
I like the colors.
Interesting plant pot outside of a business.
Daylight picture of the dogs on the bike.
It's so funny.
Love their red tongues hanging out.
The artist called it Mischief - what a great name.
Stickers on a sign.
We keep saying we are going to make some of Freya's artwork into stickers and take it with us on a trip to put up in random places but we haven't done it yet.
Daytime picture of the child with the plane.
Chickens on a piece of machinery.
Love his beady eyes.
We didn't notice this one last night - the giant dog with the glasses on.
A fish.
This is the spot we'd gotten ice creams at last night.
Metal plants.
There are so many bridges - we were on a bridge and this was looking one way.
This was looking the other way.
That's like 4 bridges just in this small section.
Loved the colorful artwork on the side of the building.
Random hand.
We ended up seeing another one of these outside of another business when we were driving out of town but it was painted with a different theme.
More flowers.
It started raining again so we decided to head out to our next destination which was Stephen's Landing.
We saw this weird looking building along the way.
It was a cheese pavilion.
Cheese Pavilion somewhere in Wisconsin.
We snacked on our Farmer's Market goodies on the drive.
The Norwegian Almond Bar.
I'd also bought a cream cheese and berry scone - it was delicious.
We made it to Stephen's Landing and found a spot to park in the downtown area - there was tons of parking available.
Then we just started walking around.
The sky was looking so cool.
All the stores along the street seemed to be closed but we got to check out the window displays.
This was for a toy store - love it.
Gepetto's Workshop.
I like how fancy the tops of the buildings were.
I love all the details.
The garbage can's were painted.
We found a spot to get something to eat, found a pizza place with good reviews.
Bill's Pizza Shop.
It was really old school.
But we like that vibe.
It was really busy - Good Sign!
Jason.
Moi.
They had a lettuce salad on the menu - it was basically just lettuce and dressing.
The dressing was their house dressing and it was delicious.
Then we got a thin crust pizza, with pepperoni, olives and onions.
It was very good.
The crust was cracker thin and crispy - just the way we like.
After we ate, we walked toward the river area and the sun was starting to go down in the sky and it looked so nice.
Just like Eau Claire - it was super quiet, even in the downtown area.
It seems like a really nice, quaint place.
There was random artwork.
Another painted garbage can - I like the beehive theme on this one.
These giant painted plant pots bursting with flowers were gorgeous.
The clouds looked so pretty.
Another cool mural we saw.
Just a closer shot of it.
I think this tavern has been around forever.
Another mural.
Made it down to the river.
There was a really nice path all along the river.
Veteran memorial.
We walked along the path by the river and on the other side was this pond.
The river was calm and pretty.
Steven's Point.
There was this garden along the way.
This canoe sculpture was cool.
The sign about it.
Birds on a post.
The garden had all these different sections.
This section had a big giant bell.
There was a big building that looked like a spot they might but concerts on or something in the park.
Then we noticed this lamp post.
It's playing a guitar.
I've never seen anything like this before.
It was such a lovely evening.
We happened upon this tree that was just littered with branches and acorns.
They were all over the place, a real mess.
We were looking for some acorns to take home and as we were standing there, I could hear scurrying up in the tree then noticed acorns and branches being thrown down.
There was a little squirrel up there just going to town, throwing stuff down and making quite the mess.
This lamp post was looking through some binoculars.
Bird watching perhaps?
A ballerina lamp post.
A bunch of ducks hanging out.
I scared them when I walked by and they all took off.
Sun Flowers.
This was an orange one.
Walking back now, this is the tree that where the squirrel was causing all the mess.
I thought this might be the culprit but as I was taking this picture - I could hear the other fellow still up in the tree scurrying around and throwing acorns and branches down to the ground.
Lamp post holding an umbrella.
This one was fishing.
There were a few people out fishing.
Path lined with lights.
There was a picture of the river in the center of this stone area.
The the whole outside was a ring of handprints and names.
A last picture of the sky and the river before heading back to the car.
Passed another mural that we liked.
This fire escape had quite the garden on it.
Such a cute downtown area.
I love when there are lights in the trees.
Another gorgeous giant plant pot.
Interesting bird in a shop window.
More of those details that look so good on the buildings.
Butterfly garbage can.
After our walk, we headed to our hotel to check in.
It was actually in a neighboring town called Plover.
We stayed at AmericInn - you could tell it was old but it was fine.
I sat in the room and worked on my blog and Jason headed out for a run,.
I did get all of my steps in!
That's all for today, until next time, be happy!
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