My trip to Wisconsin was sort of a last minute decision. I had planned to visit my aunt in Ohio but thought about it and realized I wanted to check out Wisconsin and Michigan, since I've never been to either and a quick visit to Chicago. I knew that meant alot of driving within a shorter time period,but at this point what's a little driving? I decided on Milwaukee. Why? I just thought of Happy Days and picked it! I never said my trip decisions were logical.
After the long drive from Iowa I pulled into Milwaukee (which in Native American, I forget which tribe, means "gathering place by the water") and felt a feeling of such peace. I can't answer why I feel peace in some places and not others. It's just a feeling I get or don't when I arrive. It often determines how long I'll stay. I pulled into Milwaukee and there was a beautiful sunset. The sunsets all week were deep and colorful. (Here's one from my hotel room).
I love a fall sunset anyway but these were profound. It was balmy and lovely that first evening. Wisconsin was also where I saw the first signs of fall, a few trees changing color. It was unseasonably warm when I got there but I guess it had been colder in the days prior. So, what is Milwaukee known for? Hmm. Well, there's the obvious, dairy and cheese! If you like cheese? wow, it is an art form here! I bought and ate lots of cheese while I was here.It was delicious,fresh and all local.There are the Milwaukee Brewers whose field, Miller Park, I saw on my way into town; very nice. And of course there is the Milwaukee Brewing company. Beer is really big out here(and it's not other places?). The first thing the girl at the hotel told me to do for adventure was take a tour of the micro breweries. "Umm, I don't think that's a good idea, what else you got?" So she says, "You could see the Jelly Belly jellybean factory which is here", strike 2. So I opted for a walk along Lake Michigan, down town.
The lake is so vast it feels like open ocean. There is a beautiful beach on the lake, too,with permanent volleyball courts filled with kids/teens playing and people everywhere having cookouts, flying kites, bike riding, running; it was like being back on the California coast! It was so fun to just be part of it. There was a marina with a beautiful pier. One pier was an extension of a beautiful park area(a mile long) where I walked out and just sat under a tree listening to everyone "playing".I got a chuckle as two teens rode their bikes past one complaining about how long the trip was and the other joking back to him "Hey it's not about the destination, it's the journey,man". "That's right" I yelled out. It was a great afternoon!
I wanted to take advantage of these balmy days knowing fall was coming soon so I decided to take a little boat cruise along the Milwaukee River and out into Lake Michigan. I wanted to see the sky line from the water and just enjoy the weather. So one afternoon I drove down to one of the piers for a 2pm trip. Boy do I love to be on the water. I was giddy with excitement. Just to be out on the water, face in the sun and soaking up the sounds of water splashing,wind blowing and the song of seagulls overhead;reminded me home and I loved it! I got on the boat and decided,in my little cocoon that it would be fun to get a picture of me on the boat. So I started taking pictures of myself, laughing and posing til I got one I could actually post. I was having a good ole' time with myself and didn't even think, til later, what potential I had there for looking crazy. Well, so be it...It was fun!
One of these pictures has a view of the Art Museum. The architecture of the museum was beautiful (see the triangular shaped building?)and I wanted to show you.
I also took a couple of afternoon drives. One afternoon I went to historic Cedarburg. It was a quaint little bedroom community with beautiful old stone buildings converted into shops, galleries and restaurants. It was beautiful to just walk around and window shop. I also went out to Madison. It was about an hour from me but I had heard it was a fun college town to walk around in. It was great. It was also near the water and there is a gorgeous walking area near their capital building and I walked around a bit.
I really enjoyed Wisconsin and I am so glad I made the decision to go!!!
Off to Chicago!!!
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