Milwaukee - a Bucket List Trip

It's good to have somewhat achievable goals on your bucket list, which is why a visit to Milwaukee was on mine, right next to a visit to Antarctica. So Sunday and Monday, we all headed out for a 36-hour road trip to go to Milwaukee and visit Lake Forest College.


We left early Sunday, and made it to Madison in time for a delicious brunch with our friends Michelle and Steve at Bear and Bottle.


That allowed us to get to Milwaukee by early afternoon, and spend time shopping and enjoying public art in the Third Ward and walking along the river.



Beatrix had also wanted to visit Shaker's Cigar Bar, Milwaukee's most haunted bar, formerly owned by Al Capone. It was wonderful, with very friendly staff, a great atmosphere, and fantastic views from the three levels of rooftop deck.







Then we checked into the Ambassador Hotel, which was gorgeous, where we had a huge room, and where the staff was incredibly friendly (note if you ever spend the night in Milwaukee nd part on the street, you need an overnight parking permit, which was free to arrange).


To continue the creepy theme, here's the room associated with Jeffrey Dahmer (note they removed the room number from the wall):


We met our friends the Rohdes for a delicious dinner and catch up at DanDan, and then headed to Leon's afterwards for their famous frozen custard and watching some on-street drag racing.



The next morning, we had some delicious coffee and lakefront views, then headed to Lake Forest, about an hour away. We had a fantastic, individual tour — they were very welcoming!


(We had also thought to maybe visit Marquette and UW-Madison, but clearly saw that their big-school sense was not for Beatrix when she asked "Does driving past count as visiting?" Strike those form the list.)

Then we drove back, with a stop in Madison to pick up the knives Michelle had sharpened/fixed at her store. Look what an amazing job she did with a knife Patrick broke while bring out an avocado pit:


Plus there was a cow statue for me to visit:


We had not been on a trip all summer (except for 48 hours at the cabin) and really needed this. So much fun!




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