Discover Oshkosh: Outdoor Adventures and World-Class Hospitality

Howard Fox [00:00:05 - 00:01:05]

Hello everyone, this is Howard Fox and welcome back for another episode of the Outdoor Adventure Series podcast. Today's episode was facilitated by Travel Wisconsin, who along with Destination Madison hosted the 2026 Outdoor Writers Association of America's annual conference In Madison. During today's episode, we hope to share with you why Wisconsin and communities like Oshkosh are the perfect destination for— 3, 2, 1. Are the perfect destination for family vacations, couples getaways, outdoor adventures, meetings, conferences, and conventions. Anna Murphy-Pochask is our guest today. Annie is the marketing coordinator for Discover Oshkosh. And she and her team promote Oshkosh to families, groups, regional leisure travelers. And for one week each year, I'm going to let her share what that is.

Howard Fox [00:01:06 - 00:01:26]

It is a major, major global destination. I'll let her spill the beans on what that means because I know— I knew it already, but it's a— I definitely want Anna to share it. So, Anna. First off, it's great to see you again. We were in Madison together like a— seems like a long time ago, like a week and a half ago. Yes.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:01:27 - 00:01:39]

Yes. Thank you so much for having me on. It's great to see you again. And yeah, Oshkosh is such a special place. So thank you for having us on and just able to share more about it.

Howard Fox [00:01:39 - 00:02:12]

My pleasure. My pleasure. Well, first, I have to ask, as a part of an association, the Outdoor Writers Association of America, I mean, I've been a member since the end of 2020, and when I moved from Chicago to Las Vegas, and, and just the idea of hanging out with all these journalists, very accomplished ones, writers, bloggers, podcasters, videographers, photographers— what was, what was your experience like hanging there, hanging around all these crazy people?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:02:13 - 00:02:34]

Well, it was so special. I think everybody, like you said, they're such good storytellers. And I got to meet very, very special people here in Oshkosh on the pre-convention. And yeah, just such great stories about their outdoor adventures and everybody was super friendly and kind. So I had a great time getting to know everybody.

Howard Fox [00:02:34 - 00:02:52]

Very nice. I wish I had the time each day and through multiple days to be able to participate in all of the pre-tours and post-tours. But for our members on the pre-tour, what were they experiencing in the Oshkosh area?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:02:53 - 00:03:37]

Yeah, so we had about 4 members, and we took them out on a fishing charter on Lake Winnebago, so Wisconsin's largest inland lake. And it was just such a great time. All of them caught a ton of fish. They went out for a couple of hours, and It just got to be like a perfect day outside. They got some time to do that and then, excuse me, have a Wisconsin fish fry. So it's a classic staple right there, being able to eat some fried fish right next to the lake. And then they ended the night on a tiki cruise. So just multiple ways to explore all of the lake and rivers here in Oshkosh.

Howard Fox [00:03:37 - 00:03:53]

Very nice. I seem to recall when I got back from my excursion, there was an individual. I had not met him before, but he was carrying like a white bucket and he said he had fish in it. So this was you guys then?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:03:54 - 00:04:04]

Yes. Yep. Yeah. They, they caught a ton of fish. I mean, I think they were out for about 2 to 3 hours. I can't tell you the amount of fish that they caught, but I know that they're all very successful.

Howard Fox [00:04:04 - 00:04:45]

Oh, very nice. Very nice. And There are so many accomplished anglers, fishermen, fisherwomen out there in our organization, and to be able to go out and experience that while they're at conference as well, that had to have been a very special opportunity. So thank you again for hosting them, and I'll definitely be sharing this episode on our Facebook page, the Outdoor Writers Association's Facebook page. And so I'm sure all of them are going to be reminiscing of that great time that they had. So perfect. Perfect. So let's talk a little bit about you and Oshkosh.

Howard Fox [00:04:45 - 00:04:55]

So are you a Wisconsin resident, born and raised through and through in Oshkosh? And how did you end up in this role as a marketing coordinator?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:04:56 - 00:05:25]

Yeah, I was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, which is about 30 minutes outside of Oshkosh. But I did grow up coming to Oshkosh a lot for the waterfront destinations and rivers and boating and things like that. I ended up moving to Oshkosh for school, for the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and I studied public relations and then got to intern with the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau where I'm full-time now.

Howard Fox [00:05:26 - 00:05:26]

Oh, nice.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:05:26 - 00:05:34]

So I've been here for about 5 years now. Just in Oshkosh, but just over a year full-time with Discover Oshkosh.

Howard Fox [00:05:35 - 00:05:41]

Very nice. I'm curious, what was your degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison? Oshkosh?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:05:41 - 00:05:44]

Oshkosh, yeah. I majored in public relations and advertising.

Howard Fox [00:05:45 - 00:05:45]

Okay. All right.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:05:46 - 00:05:46]

Yep.

Howard Fox [00:05:47 - 00:05:50]

And did you ever think you were going to get involved in this space?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:05:51 - 00:06:09]

Honestly, I didn't really know that it was possible, but I guess just kind of getting familiar with this city. I was very intrigued in the work that Discover Oshkosh was doing with highlighting all the fun things to do. But yeah, hospitality and tourism is definitely a fun, fun space to work in, and I've enjoyed it.

Howard Fox [00:06:10 - 00:06:37]

You literally just hit something right on the nail on the proverbial head, is you have the best jobs in the destination space. You're out there promoting your destination, You're crafting these experiences for folks and whether they come in for a day or a week. And that's— can imagine doing that for the rest of my life. And like, that would have been my career if I could have turned back the hands of time. So I appreciate that.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:06:38 - 00:06:39]

Super rewarding.

Howard Fox [00:06:39 - 00:06:52]

Yes. So what are the— I actually have to ask one more question, and I definitely will age myself. I seem to recall there was clothing that had the word Oshkosh. Is that from you? Was that you guys? Growing up?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:06:52 - 00:07:15]

Yes. Yeah. So Oshkosh B'gosh, the brand, um, originated here in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And there's a lot of odes and history to that here. However, it is now bought out by the children's clothing brand Carter's, if you're familiar with that brand. So not necessarily known to us right now, but, um, it, it started, started with us. Yeah.

Howard Fox [00:07:15 - 00:07:19]

Okay. So I definitely remember the, the overalls, the blue bib overalls.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:07:20 - 00:07:21]

Yes. Yep.

Howard Fox [00:07:22 - 00:07:27]

Thank you for getting that, helping to get that one out of the vault because it's been sitting there for a while.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:07:27 - 00:07:28]

So, yes.

Howard Fox [00:07:29 - 00:07:45]

So tell us a little bit about Oshkosh. I mean, you're on Lake Winnebago, you've got rivers crossing through it. What is it? What, as a community, what is Oshkosh like for folks that are coming in visiting, maybe have never been, been to your destination before?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:07:46 - 00:08:21]

Yeah, definitely. So you kind of touched, touched upon it there, but from an environmental perspective, we are split between 2 large lakes. So Lake Winnebago, Lake Poygan, and also Lake Buttermore. So we have lots of waterfront properties here, lots of public waterfront. So people enjoy that by shore fishing, kayaking, boating, all of those things. So We're definitely known to be like a small town with a lot of things going on. So it kind of gives that big city feel. So people here are definitely super friendly.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:08:22 - 00:08:40]

I personally, that's what drew me here. Everybody's very welcoming. Come on in, come join us. Very, very welcoming here. So lots to do. Our downtown is continuing to thrive with new shops and restaurants. So it's, it's a great space to live in.

Howard Fox [00:08:40 - 00:09:20]

Okay. I have to share with you, when I interview destinations, for the most part, I'm always thinking, could this be my next place to live? Because I always will say I'm always looking for my next place to live. And after all the interviews taking place in Wisconsin before the conference and even what I'll be doing right now, you know, with yourself and others, And, and having lived in Chicago just down the road a bit, I could actually see myself living in Wisconsin. There's so many cool communities. There's the culture, the outdoor spaces, there's restaurants. There's actually some really good coffee.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:09:20 - 00:09:21]

That's right.

Howard Fox [00:09:21 - 00:09:31]

And I, there was a great coffee shop right up the street from the hotel. So I was very thankful for that. But I imagine you probably have some really good little coffee shops too, as well.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:09:31 - 00:09:47]

Yes, definitely. We, um, we're right by the university as well. So having a ton of college kids here, I think, um, that definitely sparks a lot of the young professionals that wanna stay and work and play here. And then college kids need coffee too.

Howard Fox [00:09:48 - 00:09:49]

So, yes, they do. Yes, they do.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:09:49 - 00:09:54]

Yep. We have a ton of coffee shops located in our downtown and right by, um, our university as well. Yeah.

Howard Fox [00:09:55 - 00:10:11]

Okay. So what are some of the new newer experiences, especially like in the outdoor space that visitors who are coming to your community can take a part, take part in, whether it's just coming up for a day, maybe a long weekend?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:10:13 - 00:10:48]

Yeah. So a couple of things come to mind, definitely seasonally based, and we know this, but during the summer months, people love to go kayaking. So We have kayak rentals right in our Miller's Bay on Lake Winnebago that people can just pop in and rent kayaks, which is really nice for beginners or people who have been kayaking for a long time. Lots of river trails. So people for hiking, biking, strolling, walking, all the things. We have a nice Oshkosh Riverwalk that is about a 13-mile loop right along the Fox River. So people—

Howard Fox [00:10:48 - 00:10:49]

Oh, wow.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:10:49 - 00:11:23]

People often tend to enjoy that path and just take a, a long stroll of that with waterfront restaurants as well. So maybe stopping for lunch and continuing on their walk that way. And then, yeah, like I mentioned before, those fishing charters, there's a ton of options here in Oshkosh. People can book their tours with a lot of our experienced anglers here and get a great experience on the Laken River and Fishing that way. So yeah, the hiking, fishing, kayaking, um, tons of fun that way.

Howard Fox [00:11:23 - 00:11:31]

Okay. Now I'm curious, this 13-mile walk. Now, what do you allow e-bikes on that walk?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:11:31 - 00:11:32]

Mm-hmm. Yep.

Howard Fox [00:11:32 - 00:11:33]

Good to know.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:11:33 - 00:11:53]

Paved path. Yeah. We were just talking about e-bikes before. Yeah, it's a paved path. So we're definitely activating it too with a lot of public art right now. And we just installed Wisconsin's Largest mural along the Oshkosh Riverwalk too. So people can enjoy that by the Oshkosh Riverwalk. You can't drive to it.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:11:53 - 00:11:56]

You have to experience it on that Riverwalk. So.

Howard Fox [00:11:56 - 00:11:57]

Oh, very nice.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:11:57 - 00:11:57]

Yeah.

Howard Fox [00:11:58 - 00:12:36]

I've been doing some projects out in the West on murals and, and I've seen them before, but it never really dawned on me until last year because I had a speaking engagement in Indiana. Danville, and they had murals all around the community. In Barstow, California, off Route 66, there's murals about Barstow. And it never dawned on me and how powerful those types of projects are to attract people into the community. And in this case, this mural that's on the trail, you actually have to get a little exercise. Hopefully we'll see it when we kind of tour your website in just a minute.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:12:36 - 00:12:36]

Yeah.

Howard Fox [00:12:36 - 00:12:37]

Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:12:37 - 00:12:37]

Definitely.

Howard Fox [00:12:38 - 00:12:49]

You said something before, the, some of the sports which lends itself to seasons. Would you call, would you say that Oshkosh is a 4-season destination?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:12:50 - 00:13:28]

Absolutely, yes. So I was gonna say too, there's lots of experience in the summertime, but in the wintertime we have sturgeon spearing, which is a very unique, unique thing to us. If you haven't seen sturgeon, it's those Very large prehistoric looking fish. And people will drive their trucks out onto the, onto the ice of the lake and carve a hole out, put shanties out there and go sturgeon spearing. So definitely a unique experience that way. Wintertime, summertime, there's definitely fishing and outdoor recreation that way.

Howard Fox [00:13:28 - 00:13:48]

Okay. So now I have to ask, the fishing that I've been used to, Uh, when, as I only learned like 2 years ago when I went to Tennessee for a conference, when you are out there on the lake spearfishing, I mean, you're not giving this fish back. So I'm assuming you're eating the sturgeon afterwards.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:13:49 - 00:14:05]

Yeah. People will get really creative with their recipes for that. There's a guy that I interviewed last year and he actually makes sturgeon bites. So there's lots of different ways to eat and prepare and enjoy these, these fish. So, yes. Okay.

Howard Fox [00:14:05 - 00:14:27]

Okay. Well, we're in Madison. We, on that Friday evening before the conference started, we were, I was looking for, and a friend of mine was looking for it as well, is the fish fry, obviously, but walleye had to be walleye. Couldn't be anything else. Fortunately, just up the street was a bar restaurant. So we We got our fish fry, walleye, and—

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:14:27 - 00:14:27]

Oh, good.

Howard Fox [00:14:28 - 00:14:30]

Yes. Do you guys have farmers markets as well?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:14:31 - 00:15:00]

We do, yes. Our farmers markets are year-round as well. So obviously in the wintertime when it's below zero, we're indoors at our Oshkosh Arena. But our outdoor farmers markets are very well attended with over 160 vendors. So lots to choose from. But that happens right in our downtown of Oshkosh. The outdoor ones run through October. So lots of time to, yeah.

Howard Fox [00:15:01 - 00:15:19]

Nothing, nothing quite like a Midwest farmer's market. And I just, I, it brings back great memories from Chicago, but, uh, you guys had a great one, even like in Madison, again, right up the street from the hotel that Saturday. I got, got a chance to visit the farmer's market again. So that, that made me feel very good.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:15:20 - 00:15:21]

It is. It's homey feeling.

Howard Fox [00:15:22 - 00:15:27]

Yes. I mean, especially in the fall when you start to get the, the ciders and the apples coming in.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:15:27 - 00:15:28]

Yes.

Howard Fox [00:15:29 - 00:15:32]

Ah, okay. I could talk food and coffee all day.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:15:32 - 00:15:34]

I hear you. Me too.

Howard Fox [00:15:35 - 00:15:48]

So if you could like paint a picture for who your target visitors are throughout the year, who are they? What's, which, who are you trying to attract into the Oshkosh area?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:15:49 - 00:16:01]

Yeah, we definitely have a demographic of family-friendly visitors. So, you know, young adults with younger kids as well as kind of like that adventurous spirit demographic.

Howard Fox [00:16:01 - 00:16:02]

Mm-hmm.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:16:02 - 00:16:34]

So what I mean by that is we have, we host one of the largest aviation celebrations here, which is EA AirVenture. So lots of aviation enthusiasts will come visit us year round. So that adventurous spirit, with aviation, outdoor recreation, and everyone alike. So I would say kind of those 2 worlds are our families that are looking for a lot of affordable Midwest kind of vacation experience, and then also that adventurous type as well.

Howard Fox [00:16:34 - 00:17:02]

Okay. You know, I was just thinking as you were sharing that, and for our listeners, that was the big reveal, is the Oshkosh Air Show. It just dawned on me though, we should have had a merch giveaway. So whoever comments to this episode on either on the website or Facebook or LinkedIn with the word Oshkosh Air Show gets a free piece of merch. I think, I don't know if that's too late, but I just thought that's what we should have done.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:17:02 - 00:17:03]

Yes.

Howard Fox [00:17:03 - 00:17:10]

I would love if we could maybe take a little tour of the website and just kick the tires a little bit.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:17:10 - 00:17:10]

Yeah.

Howard Fox [00:17:10 - 00:17:18]

I'll hopefully the miracle modern technology, it'll work. And just, you, you kind of tell me where you would like me to navigate to. Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:17:18 - 00:17:19]

Absolutely. Yes.

Howard Fox [00:17:19 - 00:17:42]

All right. So let's do— technology is always an interesting facet here as I'm looking for the share button. And of course I don't find it. Yeah. One second here. There it is. All right. So we're going to share, we're going to go to there.

Howard Fox [00:17:43 - 00:17:45]

Okay. Hopefully, Anna, this worked.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:17:45 - 00:17:47]

I can see it. Yep.

Howard Fox [00:17:47 - 00:17:52]

All right. Nice logo, by the way. I like that. We'll use that in part of our banners.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:17:52 - 00:18:19]

Thank you. If you click on our logo, actually, that'll take you to like our main page, um, of the, of the, um, website there. So. We have like an outdoor video that we shot right on Lake Winnebago. So, this gives a great example of how people enjoy the summertime in Oshkosh. So, that boating experience, that's that tiki cruise that our writers got to go on.

Howard Fox [00:18:20 - 00:18:20]

Oh, very cool.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:18:21 - 00:18:26]

So, yeah, just kind of like a little glimpse there of the water, the water in Oshkosh. So—

Howard Fox [00:18:27 - 00:18:27]

Okay, very nice.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:18:27 - 00:19:03]

Lots of fun that way. This is kind of like our homepage, but if you go under things to do, it's kind of like a dropdown of different things. And I will take your attention to sports and outdoor activities just because it's probably pretty fitting for us here. But there are multiple things to do there. So we have hiking, hiking and biking, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, boating, all the outdoor activities there. So we can pop into those or another one would be like nature and parks that we could look at too.

Howard Fox [00:19:03 - 00:19:54]

So we'll look at nature and parks too, but let's do hiking for just a second. See what we get. This, the, you know, the importance of just being outdoors in nature. There is, there was a, it's a growing area, a body of work on the connection between our Mental health and just putting our feet on a trail, on the sand, in the water. And that's an area that I'm focusing on. And when I'm not podcasting, I'm also a coach, leadership development, career development. And that connection there between outdoors and nature, our health in nature is just so important. And it's, I mean, you can't help but— be healthy, stay healthy and centered just by taking advantage of all the nature that's around in your area.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:19:55 - 00:20:11]

Absolutely. Yes. So here's a little bit of a high— some highlights of our trails here. We have lots of hiking and biking trails. People love our Wheel Wash State or our Wheel Wash State Trail. Sorry. Easy for me to say.

Howard Fox [00:20:12 - 00:20:15]

I like that. Yeah. Thank you for doing that.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:20:15 - 00:20:25]

Yes, Weawash State Trail. So people normally explore that on bike or with just on foot. But, um, yeah, good length there. 20+ miles.

Howard Fox [00:20:25 - 00:20:33]

Yeah. 21.8 miles on an e-bike, pedal-assisted. I could do that.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:20:33 - 00:20:35]

You could do that. You could. Yes.

Howard Fox [00:20:35 - 00:20:56]

I would definitely be doing that. And it's just, I mean, just Here, like in Nevada, I mean, you go outdoors, you are literally outdoors, blue sky, hopefully. And depending on the time of the year, it's actually very nice or very hot. But I like the fact I, there's something about these country trails, these old railroad trails that are really cool.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:20:56 - 00:21:05]

Yes. Yeah, definitely surrounded by that greenery depending on the season, but, um, tons of trees, historic trees around you.

Howard Fox [00:21:05 - 00:21:06]

Oh, very nice.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:21:07 - 00:21:19]

And then this is the Oshkosh Riverwalk that I was chatting about before and, um, kind of located near our downtown Oshkosh. So people tend to, um, use that, use that as their, their pit stops.

Howard Fox [00:21:19 - 00:21:27]

Okay. Very nice. And you've got a, an island trail, Terrell's Island Trail. Terrell's. Very nice.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:21:27 - 00:21:28]

Yes.

Howard Fox [00:21:28 - 00:21:31]

Okay. Very nice.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:21:31 - 00:21:33]

Couple of trails that way that people can explore.

Howard Fox [00:21:34 - 00:21:42]

Okay. And let's go back to, 'cause I do want to look at where, where was the national parks, the parks? Oh, nature and parks.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:21:42 - 00:21:42]

Yes.

Howard Fox [00:21:43 - 00:21:47]

Okay. And which one? Let's pick one.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:21:47 - 00:21:49]

I would click on Menominee Park.

Howard Fox [00:21:49 - 00:21:53]

Menominee. Yep.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:21:53 - 00:22:18]

This one is a favorite in Oshkosh and it is also a Zoo. So we have a free admission zoo in Oshkosh that people can explore. Um, but Menominee Park is a very special one. Pat, our tour guide right here, is using the kayak rentals so people can easily hop on a kayak and paddle around.

Howard Fox [00:22:19 - 00:22:31]

Okay. The last time I was on a kayak, I proceeded to tip over. So I will do it again. I will do it again, but it's just like, I have to get past that, that, that memory.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:22:31 - 00:22:33]

Yes, I understand that.

Howard Fox [00:22:34 - 00:22:40]

Okay. Oh, got the, those are, what are those? Those elk, mule? Look like mules.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:22:40 - 00:22:41]

Um, elk. Yep.

Howard Fox [00:22:41 - 00:22:42]

They are elk. Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:22:42 - 00:22:43]

Yep.

Howard Fox [00:22:43 - 00:22:43]

What do I know? Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:22:44 - 00:22:54]

So yeah, lots of beautiful views over Lake Winnebago at Menominee Park. Um, and lots of outdoor recreation there. So.

Howard Fox [00:22:54 - 00:23:06]

Okay. Now, is there a guide that Discover Oshkosh provides that the visitor can go online and get, or maybe have it mailed to them?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:23:07 - 00:23:14]

Yes. And you can access that. It's our destination guide. So you can go under plan your visit.

Howard Fox [00:23:15 - 00:23:16]

Plan your visit. Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:23:17 - 00:23:21]

And then you can go to visitor guides at the very top.

Howard Fox [00:23:21 - 00:23:21]

Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:23:22 - 00:23:33]

Yep. And then, um, you can actually just request, um, your visitor guide through us. And we also have an online version right there that you can flip through. So.

Howard Fox [00:23:33 - 00:23:35]

Okay. How often do you update the visitor guide?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:23:36 - 00:23:37]

Yearly.

Howard Fox [00:23:37 - 00:23:38]

So yearly. Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:23:39 - 00:23:39]

Yep.

Howard Fox [00:23:40 - 00:23:41]

Very nice.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:23:42 - 00:23:55]

So yeah, you can request that and we'll mail one to you with a little sticker and postcard as well. So. Yeah. Feel free to, um, flip online if you want, or else you can request them from us and we'll mail it to you.

Howard Fox [00:23:55 - 00:24:06]

So you've got exhibits, events. Are there any stories in here or is it, it looks like right now it's just kind of highlights of events that are coming up.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:24:07 - 00:24:22]

Yep. Mostly, um, we have like different guides, um, for people. So like summer adventures or senior experiences. Yeah. Like take, this is kind of like the outdoor, you can take a hike, pump up your tires, things like that.

Howard Fox [00:24:23 - 00:24:37]

By the way, I love the fact you're using these QR codes in the guides because then you have access to other kinds of information. So you literally in your next year's episode, just a hint, you could put a QR code to our interview. See?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:24:38 - 00:24:40]

Yes. Yes. That would be awesome. That's a good idea.

Howard Fox [00:24:42 - 00:24:48]

Okay. More QR codes. By the way, I know this is on the website, but I really love this map, by the way.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:24:48 - 00:24:49]

Oh, thank you.

Howard Fox [00:24:49 - 00:24:50]

In fact, let's go to it.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:24:50 - 00:24:51]

Thank you. Yeah, that's our downtown.

Howard Fox [00:24:52 - 00:25:28]

Let's go to it. There it is. Yeah, I love the fact that you put your cursor over each one of the icons and then you, you either get your guide or you get information. About the park and the pool and kind of, you can kind of read more and then it takes you to that little bit of an about. Okay. Is that excellent? Yeah. I think the, the maps I'm finding are very popular. I mean, even like the, the murals, if I don't know how many, is it just the one? We didn't see the mural.

Howard Fox [00:25:28 - 00:25:35]

We gotta look at the mural. Is that, is there just one mural or are there other murals throughout the, uh, Oshkosh.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:25:35 - 00:25:48]

We have a whole blog on ways to experience, um, all of the murals. So if you click on our blog, which is up there, we have a nice, um, like if you scroll down.

Howard Fox [00:25:50 - 00:25:50]

Yep.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:25:50 - 00:26:00]

And then you can probably go under art. Yep. Should be on there. Let's see.

Howard Fox [00:26:01 - 00:26:01]

Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:26:01 - 00:26:13]

Yep. Right there. Yep. So you can click on the Explore Oshkosh's Mural and that, um, this Wisconsin's largest mural is the one that I was chatting about before.

Howard Fox [00:26:13 - 00:26:17]

So is that— are we, are we looking at pieces of it right now?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:26:18 - 00:26:43]

Yep. So the first photo that you hover over right there is the, um, extension of it. So it's the largest mural and it Um, is right on the Fox River there, but there's little murals within the large mural that are odes to Oshkosh. So you see there that Oshkosh B'gosh overalls that you, you mentioned before. Yeah. Lots of little odes to it. So. Okay.

Howard Fox [00:26:44 - 00:26:44]

Very nice.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:26:45 - 00:26:46]

Lois Hein.

Howard Fox [00:26:47 - 00:27:14]

Yeah. Very nice. Very nice. So if you were going to have some friends come into Oshkosh to pay a visit, maybe you haven't seen them. In a couple years, again, I don't want you to get into trouble, but let's say they come in and you're gonna start up, you're gonna start the day. You have to start with coffee, by the way, whether you drink coffee or not. But yes, where are you going to take them for a nice cup of coffee?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:27:15 - 00:27:24]

I would probably take them to one of our downtown Oshkosh locations. So we have a nice, um, spot called Elsewhere.

Howard Fox [00:27:25 - 00:27:26]

Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:27:26 - 00:27:39]

And that is also a market, so you can— it's right there on the left. Yep. That's a photo of it. You can stop in and get a nice cup of coffee and then peruse, peruse the market. So, okay.

Howard Fox [00:27:40 - 00:27:41]

Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:27:41 - 00:27:42]

But yeah, many to choose from here.

Howard Fox [00:27:43 - 00:27:50]

So that looks like a good bagel. I've got to be careful of eating bagels. So I'm very— I don't just eat any bagel, you know?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:27:50 - 00:27:51]

Yeah.

Howard Fox [00:27:51 - 00:27:55]

So you got an iced coffee shop place. Where are you going to take them for breakfast?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:27:56 - 00:28:22]

Oh, lots of, lots of good spots. We, um, we're definitely known for, um, kind of like a diner experience as well. I personally love Mike's Place. It's like a family-owned diner breakfast. But if you're looking for like more of an upscale, um, breakfast, I would, I would definitely take them to Anchor and Port. It's a waterfront That our Waterfront Marriott Hotel.

Howard Fox [00:28:22 - 00:28:40]

Oh, nice. Yeah, I like— there's something about sitting outside. I'm not drinking it now because it gets too dehydrating, but I like to have my coffee in a nice glass coffee mug because I want to see good coffee. But when it's accompanied by a gorgeous view, can't beat that.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:28:40 - 00:28:41]

You cannot beat that.

Howard Fox [00:28:42 - 00:28:53]

Okay. And where are you going to tour your friends around to when you After you've had this coffee to get started, you've had breakfast, uh, where are you going to tour them around to?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:28:54 - 00:29:08]

Yeah, I would probably take them downtown Oshkosh, um, perusing all of the shopping and, um, little boutiques that we have going on. So yeah, just shopping downtown, um, walking the Riverwalk.

Howard Fox [00:29:09 - 00:29:10]

Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:29:10 - 00:29:10]

Okay.

Howard Fox [00:29:11 - 00:29:14]

And, uh, is there a special place you like to go for an afternoon snack?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:29:16 - 00:29:39]

Ooh, let's see here. We, uh, we have really good popcorn. It's called, um, Caramel Crisp Cafe. They have really good treats there, popcorn, little snacks that you can grab to go. And they're also really known for their cookies. So they have really delicious big cookies right there. Caramel Crisp Cafe.

Howard Fox [00:29:39 - 00:29:40]

Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:29:40 - 00:29:46]

Yeah, it's, it's a staple. So that's that popcorn I was talking about.

Howard Fox [00:29:46 - 00:30:20]

Yeah. When I got to the hotel 2 weeks ago Friday, it was, it was the flights getting from here in Nevada out to Madison was horrendous. Oh no. And all I did, like the first thing I got in the hotel, I went to the little kiosk there and I got my Cheddar cheese popcorn bags. Oh, but, uh, I have to watch eating popcorn and carbs, but this looks really, this looks really good. I, I would have to take the hit and do this, but, uh, just a little bit.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:30:21 - 00:30:23]

It's a good treat. It's a good treat. Yes.

Howard Fox [00:30:23 - 00:30:25]

Okay. And where are you going to go for dinner?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:30:27 - 00:30:32]

Oh, we just got this, um, new restaurant in town. It's called Truffle Pig.

Howard Fox [00:30:33 - 00:30:33]

Truffle Pig.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:30:33 - 00:30:57]

And it is an authentic Italian experience. So definitely known for its Italian. They have a big Parmesan pasta wheel that they'll spin the pasta in. So definitely a super well-known. So yeah, it wouldn't be downtown. It would be, or yeah, perfect. Truffle Pig.

Howard Fox [00:30:59 - 00:31:03]

I've never done— okay. No results.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:31:03 - 00:31:04]

If you scroll up to the—

Howard Fox [00:31:04 - 00:31:09]

Wait, let me just get rid of that. Now we'll do a search.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:31:10 - 00:31:22]

If you go, I think you're in the downtown tab still. So if you go up to the right, the top search bar, all the way up. Food restaurant. Perfect.

Howard Fox [00:31:25 - 00:31:27]

Restaurant, dining on water, outdoor dining.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:31:27 - 00:31:32]

You can just actually search it in the top right if you want to at that little search bar.

Howard Fox [00:31:32 - 00:31:35]

Okay. I can follow directions, Anna. I really can.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:31:36 - 00:31:44]

No, you're good. It's super delicious though. They do brunch and lunch and dinner. So really good.

Howard Fox [00:31:45 - 00:31:46]

There we go.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:31:46 - 00:32:00]

There it is. The— and it's cool because it's It's in our, um, historic Oshkosh Northwestern building, which was the newspaper. So it's, uh, historic and also, um, great, great dining.

Howard Fox [00:32:00 - 00:32:28]

So very nice. I've always wanted to do the, I mean, again, I don't eat that much pasta anymore, but I always wanted to do the pasta that's kind of twirled in the big Parmesan wheels. I think that is, they do that here at the kind of the couple of the upscale restaurants in Las Vegas, which I won't invest in. Uh, but I would love, I would certainly love to have experienced that in kind of like one, one of your restaurants.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:32:28 - 00:32:29]

Yep.

Howard Fox [00:32:30 - 00:32:32]

Very good. I like that logo, Truffle Pig.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:32:32 - 00:32:43]

If you click on it too, there's, yeah, if you click on that, you can flip through some photos of kind of the food and the experience that you would get there. Yeah. Super tasty.

Howard Fox [00:32:45 - 00:32:46]

Italian. I will. Oh, look at that.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:32:46 - 00:32:47]

Ooh.

Howard Fox [00:32:47 - 00:32:52]

All right. Very good. So your friends are going to be dining really well.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:32:53 - 00:32:54]

They are.

Howard Fox [00:32:54 - 00:32:58]

During this trip to visit you. Where are you going to go and unwind with them?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:33:00 - 00:33:02]

Like for, like a drink?

Howard Fox [00:33:03 - 00:33:04]

It could be drinks, could be some entertainment.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:33:06 - 00:33:29]

Ooh, that's a, that's a good question. So it probably depends on the time of year, but I would maybe do Beckett's for Like a drink afterwards on the water, or if there's events going on, I would maybe take them to, um, one of our events going on at the Oshkosh Arena or, um, the Grand if they have a play or musical going on.

Howard Fox [00:33:29 - 00:33:29]

Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:33:30 - 00:33:30]

Uh-huh.

Howard Fox [00:33:31 - 00:33:36]

There is literally something for everyone all throughout the year. I love that.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:33:36 - 00:33:38]

That's right. That's exactly right. Yep.

Howard Fox [00:33:39 - 00:33:39]

I love that.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:33:40 - 00:33:48]

We're big for our music here too, so that you can find live music any, any given day here in Oshkosh at any, at any venue.

Howard Fox [00:33:50 - 00:33:58]

Well, you guys are firmly on my list of possibilities for next place to live, I have to say. Oh, yay. Yay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:33:58 - 00:34:01]

Come, come hang out. We are, we're always taking people.

Howard Fox [00:34:01 - 00:34:11]

I love it. I wish I could afford a home up north in the summer because when I get, it was like This year got to like 110, 115 degrees.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:34:11 - 00:34:12]

Oh yeah.

Howard Fox [00:34:12 - 00:34:21]

We finally dipped below 100. I think we're going to pretty much be staying there for the rest of the year, but 95. Oh, this is, this is kind of cool, you know?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:34:22 - 00:34:24]

Yes. Yes. Oh my gosh.

Howard Fox [00:34:24 - 00:34:26]

Tiki bar looks like a lot of fun. Oh my God.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:34:26 - 00:34:27]

It was. Yeah.

Howard Fox [00:34:28 - 00:34:45]

Well, very good. And, uh, let's see, we've got meetings, groups, weddings, sports. And I know I saw the social sites as well, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. Okay. And we'll provide the backlinks to these, uh, in our show notes as well.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:34:45 - 00:34:45]

Awesome.

Howard Fox [00:34:46 - 00:35:08]

Okay. Well, let me stop sharing. Hopefully this will work again. Excellent. So I am curious now if you had the opportunity— well, actually there is a question. I'm looking at my, my show notes. What is it with these geese on porches? Did we see that? Yeah. Porch geese.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:35:09 - 00:35:41]

So we have become kind of unintentionally brand ambassadors for these geese because, um, our team is obsessed with them and we take them to a lot of our events. We dress them up. We have this company here called Silver Star Brands and one of their brands is Gaggleville. Um, which are the porch geese. So, um, we just kind of connected with them in town and, um, we've become obsessed. We've become obsessed with them.

Howard Fox [00:35:41 - 00:36:00]

Okay. So I, I, you and I had chatted at the show and we'll talk a little bit more about it after we, we, we end the episode about getting some photos of Oshkosh and headshot for you that we can have for our banners and show notes. But I definitely want one with the geese.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:36:01 - 00:36:02]

Oh, we can make that happen.

Howard Fox [00:36:03 - 00:36:25]

Even if there's a team photo with the geese, that's even better. And we'll provide— we've got the media links. We'll provide those in the show notes. Yeah. But I had to ask of— they're— I mean, all I know of geese is they, they, they make a lot of noise. They fly over and they occasionally leave a gift for you, but I get it now. Thank you for sharing. We don't have to go any further into my description.

Howard Fox [00:36:26 - 00:36:48]

I'm just curious too, you're the team. I know you're a small but mighty team, but how many folks, volunteers, help to make Discover Oshkosh a really enhanced experience for folks that are coming into the community and just want to take advantage of everything you guys have to offer? Who's— how do you support each other in getting this accomplished?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:36:48 - 00:37:33]

Yeah. So we have a team of 5 here, so small but mighty. We, we make it happen. But other than that, we just have such strong partnerships and connections with a lot of local businesses here. So we often will connect with like our Oshkosh United Way here or other local nonprofits to help with volunteering experiences or just making things happen. We're in, it's crazy to think about this in September, but we're in holiday parade mode. And so we're gathering volunteers for that already, but it's easy when your community is so proud to be here and there's just so much pride and happiness with Oshkosh.

Howard Fox [00:37:33 - 00:37:59]

Okay. So if you had to leave our listeners with a compelling argument, a good argument, positive conflict, Not even conflict, positive argument, we'll leave it at that, of why they should come and make Oshkosh a destination, whether any time of the year, whether it's a long weekend or a few days, why Oshkosh?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:37:59 - 00:38:35]

Yeah, I think just something here is that it is truly a one-of-a-kind experience, and we like to say it's everything but ordinary. So lots of uniqueness to it. It's got that small-town feel, but tons of big-city activities to participate in. So if you're looking to unwind with that outdoor recreation, we have that space for you. But also, if you're looking to get top-level entertainment and maybe an air show in, you can do that as well. So lots of large-scale events in a small town.

Howard Fox [00:38:35 - 00:38:39]

There you go. By the way, when is the air show? When does it take place?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:38:40 - 00:38:50]

It happens in July of every year. So this year it's going to be July. I can get the exact dates here, but July of 2027.

Howard Fox [00:38:51 - 00:39:03]

July of 2027. So your air show is before the— like when I was in Chicago, we used to have our air show like in August timeframe. So you're probably right before ours then, I would imagine. Yeah. Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:39:04 - 00:39:07]

We're usually end of July and it takes Okay.

Howard Fox [00:39:07 - 00:39:14]

Very nice. Yeah. It's one of those things. I spent so many years in Chicago and it's like, I never got out.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:39:14 - 00:39:15]

Yeah.

Howard Fox [00:39:15 - 00:39:44]

But, uh, and there's so much to do in, in Wisconsin, whether it's Milwaukee, Madison, there's the National Marine Sanctuary that's up on, on the lake, on Lake Michigan. And it's just so many cool places. So you guys definitely aren't on my next place to live list. So Thank you for that, Anna. So just a reminder for our guests, if they would like to learn more about Discover Oshkosh and the community and everything it has to offer, where are the best places to go?

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:39:45 - 00:40:13]

Yeah, so just like we were perusing before, discoveroshkosh.com is a great site to check out all of our information, things happening, events, and then you can also follow us on our social media channels. We're Discover Oshkosh kind of consistently throughout the social media channels. And then we're always open to, if you want to call too, we have an open visitor center if you want to stop in or call. So.

Howard Fox [00:40:14 - 00:40:37]

Very good. Well, Anna, I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today on the Outdoor Adventure Series podcast. It was a pleasure to Pleasure to meet you at the conference, but really to know you're going to be here this morning and help taking us, uh, not only chat about Oshkosh but also take us through kind of a tour of the website. So we really appreciate your time.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:40:38 - 00:40:44]

Yeah, likewise. So great to meet you, and, um, it was a pleasure being on the show today. Thank you for helping highlight Oshkosh.

Howard Fox [00:40:44 - 00:40:50]

Fantastic. Listen, stay on the line. We're going to do a quick close, and then you and I can have a final Chat. Okay.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:40:50 - 00:40:51]

Sounds great.

Howard Fox [00:40:51 - 00:41:42]

All right. All right, folks, we've just been chatting with Anna Murphy-Pochask. She is the marketing coordinator for Discover Oshkosh. Listen, if you, as you listen to this episode, if you have a reason to visit Wisconsin, you need to get up there and visit Oshkosh and really these communities that we have been introduced to during this series with Destination Madison and Visit Wisconsin. There's some great communities in here to visit, and Oshkosh is just another example. They've got it all. They've got water, they've got trails, they've got culture, food, coffee, and they've got those cute little geese that are on the porches. And really, there's just so much to take advantage of and experience when you come for a visit.

Howard Fox [00:41:42 - 00:42:39]

So whether it's a day trip or a long weekend, Couples, families, this is definitely a location that should be on your list to visit. Now, we do hope you enjoyed this episode. As a reminder, we're going to have backlinks to the Discover Oshkosh website and their social sites on our show notes. And the video of this episode will be up on our Outdoor Adventure Series YouTube page. You can also find us on our website, outdooradventureseries.com. And we have pages on LinkedIn and Facebook as well. And once again, we do want to thank Travel Wisconsin and Destination Madison for helping to facilitate these interviews with these wonderful locations and their very stellar representatives and folks just like Anna here. Okay, folks, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, go out there, have a fantastic day, and we look forward to having you join us on a future episode.

Anna Murphy-Pociask [00:42:39 - 00:42:39]

Thank you.

Howard Fox [00:42:40 - 00:42:43]

Of the Outdoor Adventure Series podcast. Take care now.