Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Random observations from Milwaukee

So I've just returned from a mildly interesting 3-day stay in Milwaukee.  And to tell you the truth, I'm not sure I know much more about it now than I did before I left.

Here are the highlights...

Milwaukee is a beautiful, bleak, sad place with great people and some fabulous buildings...


...and some buildings with lonely trees on top of them...


...and some buildings that are being attacked by large insects.


It has large wieners...

No. 3 has either just been kicked in his sausage delicates or really has to pee


...and some of the coolest freakin' jewelry I've seen in a long time!

All cut glass.  The colors are gorgeous but hard to see here.

I got a little carried away.  I had to buy some for BFFFFF K too. (I have a matching pair that didn't make it into the picture.)

We stayed at the Pfister Hotel, which is over 100 years old and rumored to be haunted.  Frankly, I was more concerned about the giant ladybugs down the street than the ghosts.

The Boy was suffering from a sinus infection all weekend and I got to enjoy several hours each day watching him try to 'pop' his ears.  Those are some fun faces, let me tell you.  Total turn on.

The Boy's sexy face.

I didn't come across any brown sauce.  Very disappointing.

I waved across the water in the general direction of RN Mama and gave Cathy a mental shout-out for telling me where to go (Third Ward is kinda small and awesome!).  

I left Sunday morning, but ended up spending another 4 hours at the airport bar because AirTran sucks ass.

I can now officially check Miller Park off of my stadium list and Milwaukee off of my "cities I never wanted to visit but went to anyway" list.  

All in all - a successful trip.

14 comments:

  1. GIANT LADYBUG ATTACK!? That is the most horrifying thing I have ever seen in my life!!! I hope you were in a safe place when you took that picture.

    They are all very nice pics though. And I am in love with all of that jewelry. Welcome back!

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  2. I was at the Pfister... specifically at the 'Top of the Pfister' to see some forgettable bug-eyed stand-up comic with a big nose.
    My ex and I were staying with some friends of hers who put us in the basement.
    It was as close to the trip from hell as I can think of. We realized after a couple of days that if we mentioned we had something we'd like to do, they would find a way to make sure we didn't do it.

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  3. Oh... and my favorite "city I never wanted to visit but went there anyway" has to be Cleveland. I would have said Detroit, but I went there before I knew I never wanted to visit.

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  4. Thank you for the travel log about Milwaukee... now I don't have to go!

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  5. I've always wondered what Milwaukee was like - really. Just from a sports fan perspective, they have no NHL team, but they have an NBA (Bucks), and they have a baseball team, but it switched leagues a few years back, and they lost one previously, when the Braves moved to Atlanta, and they don't have a football team, even though Green Bay used to play some home games there but they don't now. Seems to be the most in-between city in the country, insofar as being major league or not-quite-major league.

    But, probably more breweries than most anywhere else, so they probably don't care :-)

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  6. Did you love Miller Park! I think it's a fab stadium. I'm glad you found your way to the Third Ward. Where'd you find that jewelry??!
    My husband used to work next to the ladybug building. Isn't it weird? So weird. Anyway, I'm headed there soon and am still bummed the universe didn't put us there the same weekend. Then you could have came out with the cousins and we would have shown you a good, drunk time!

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  7. Ha! You said "large wieners"!

    I forgot what the reason for this trip was. Will have to go look it up in your previous posts.

    I have had ear trouble since I was a kid, and I make those faces too. It's a big reason the airlines are dead to me. Flying is horrible on my poor little ears.

    Too bad about the brown sauce. As a food-oriented person, I would have loved to hear about how it was. Oh well. Maybe next time. Although I guess if you're lucky there won't be a next time.

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  8. The ladybug thing was pretty cool, and you gotta love the wiener guys. The Washington Nationals have guys in Presidents costumes that are hilarious also.

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  9. I love that description, sad. It fits Milwaukee to a T.

    I'm glad you got a prize for enduring that sad city. The jewelry is beautiful.

    And at least the bugs were ladybugs. That would have been even sadder and very horrifying if it had been cockroaches.

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  10. Salt - I almost missed it too! The wind was blowing hard and my hair was stuck to my lipgloss. If it wasn't for the Boy who pointed it out, I would have totally missed the bugs behind a curtain of hair!

    IT - Ah, Blu was nice. Great view. But of course, I only saw the view at night and everything looks better in the dark. And Cleveland is "the city I never wanted to grow up in but did anyway". Cleveland also looks better in the dark.

    Robert - It wasn't exactly on my bucket list, but I'm glad I could provide a service.

    Suldog - There are a lot of midwest cities like that. Indy has a football team and basketball team but no baseball team. Columbus is bigger than most of them and doesn't really have anything. You're right about the beer though...Milwaukee folk seem pretty content.

    Cathy - Miller Park was great! But they kept the roof open and I froze my ass off! There's a shop in the Third Ward called Shoos. The owner of Shoos is the one who makes the jewelry. She has it displayed near the register. Fabulous stuff! I think I bought out half her inventory and unsuccessfully tried to get her to put it online. Drinks next time! Thanks so much for the info...you rock!

    FabuLeslie - I had to go to Milwaukee to get laid. Go figure.

    Chris - I love the giant dead presidents in Washington because they're not afraid to take each other out during the race. The wieners were much too civil.

    Joann - Beautiful architecture. Interesting history. But it's like a ghost town. Thank heavens for jewelry!

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  11. I am at work and I can only see the one photo of the building with a tree on its roof. I'm killer bummed. Your descriptions of the photos (and the subsequent comments) make me really interested now. Damn.

    I'll have to come back to this.

    LOL @ having to go to Milwaukee to get laid. Damn girl. I feel ya.

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  12. Love that jewelery! Totally absolutely bitch fab!

    The boy is something,... looks a bit something..

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  13. Yea! Thanks for the wave:)

    My daughter, Lainey, would love the ladybugs! Her nickname is "Lainey Bug." What was the deal with the ladybugs anyway? That seems completely random!

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  14. You sound like you had the culture shock much as I did when I moved from Florida to Ohio. Dark winters... bleak. To be honest, Im still not use to it.

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