Milwaukee and the Rest of the Trip

This post wraps up our trip to Chicago - but with a side trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But before we chronicle this part of the journey, we have to include this shot of Adam and his new blanket. When it was time to go to bed Wednesday night, Adam discovered his favorite blanket had not made it to the train. It was still in the hotel room in Springfield. After lots of hysterics, we promised him we would call the hotel in the morning and see if they had found it. We also reminded him that his blanket had come from Bed, Bath & Beyond and we could go there in the morning and buy and new one in the interim. Morgan supplied a substitute blanket that got us through the night and the next morning we headed to BB&B which was visible out the condo window. We found an even fluffier (is that a word?) blanket that was the same color and it came with a cuddly teddy bear which Adam left in Chicago for "Junior". Here is he smiling proudly at being in possession of a cuddly blanket again.

Luckily the hotel had the blanket and shipped it to Gilbert. It arrived about four days after we got home. Phew!

Back to the trip...


Morgan took a half day off Thursday, and we rented a mini-van to make the drive to Milwaukee. On the way we stopped at a shop with a machine to make fresh potato chips. We were hoping for sweet potato chips (Morgan had purchased some earlier and they were sooo good) but they were only making regular chips, but they were great too, so we bought a bag for the trip. Here is a shot of Adam with the Jiminy Chips machine as it churns out fresh potato chips. I told you this trip was all about food.

Our trip to Milwaukee was to revisit some places Dan had enjoyed while he lived there in 1984-1986. Morgan was only 2 when they moved there, and 4 when they left, and she had never been back. When we finally made it to Milwaukee and checked in the hotel, there was still some time before Jamie would arrive (he took the train up after work in Chicago). So Dan took us to a restaurant called Mader's which serves authentic German food. The Germans are known for their beer, but they also have great rootbeer which we couldn't pass up since it was served in steins. Cheers!

The giant pretzel caught Adam's eye on the menu and he ordered it. No one was prepared for the size of it when it arrived. We all had a sample. It was yummy! After dinner we drove around the beautiful downtown until it was time to pick Jamie up.

The next morning we drove straight to the Medical College of Wisconsin where Dan had done his residency so many years ago. Many of the familiar buildings were gone and replace with new ones, but Dan still found some that were there during his training.

Dan took us by St. Joseph's Hospital where Lindsay was born.

The impressive VA cemetery next to the hosptial where he did rotations (at the hospital - not the cemetery!)

We saw lots of gorgeous fall colors along the way.

The Veterans hospital.

After vetoing visits to the Dome and the Harley-Davidson museum, we ended up at the Art Museum to see the museum itself. Jamie had seen it a year ago and recommended we take a short spin inside. It has a "sail" on top that moves with the wind and sun. Inside the museum was very impressive.

Here is a peek at the inside and the interesting architecture.

Adam walking on the sideways curbing. Outside you can see the amazing view of the lake.

Adam served as Michelle's motor for this excursion to the museum. Only two close calls - but she never was actually ejected from the chair.

On the way back to the car Adam complained of walking, so Jamie showed him a new mode of transportation.

After Bryce pointed out that he is only a little heavier than Adam, Jamie picked him up to give him the same experience. Bryce protested - but actually he thought it was fun.

This was an all-things-Lincoln trip. We found statues, streets and parks everywhere with Lincoln's name and likeness. Here we even found a statue of him in Wisconsin.

We couldn't make a trip to Milwaukee without going to Kopp's Frozen Custard. It is the custard Dan measures all other custards against. Here he is enjoying his turtle sundae.

We all enjoyed this stop on the nostalgic tour.

Fresh strawberry frozen custard - can it get any better?

Dan took us by the apartment where they lived. Morgan couldn't recall the building, but she did remember the stairs inside.

So they went inside for a quick look and picture in front of the apartment door.

Next stop was the park to get some of the wiggles out of our passengers. Bryce remembered the park from our last trip here three years ago. He said he wanted to frolic in the park - so off we went for some serious frolicking. Jamie worked on this part of the playground equipment and spelled out Adam's name.

Bryce frolicking.

The club house on the public golf course. All the golfers in the car wished for their clubs and that our public courses back in Arizona looked like this.

Then it was time to head home - not only back to Chicago, but home to Arizona. On Saturday morning we did some quick packing and then went to the movies to see "Where the Wild Things Are" since Jamie had been looking forward to it, and so had Adam and Bryce. After the movie Morgan took us to a candy store for which she had procured a "groupon" (check them out on the internet) and we left with LOTS of candy.

Thanks to Jamie and Morgan for a great week, good food, terrific accommodations and fabulous company. We are looking forward to the next visit when "Junior" has made his appearance!