Winter BBQ Guests

I live in a suburb of Milwaukee that has a population of 50,000 people. Surrounding us is another one-million residents of the Greater Milwaukee area. However, due to our incredible amount of parkland in Milwaukee County, we still have plenty of Wisconsin wildlife roaming around. Every year, the young deer tend to wander away from the woods and get a bit curious. We now have six deer who have decided to set-up camp in our backyard.

It has been a very cold winter and I am sure with the snow cover it has been tough finding food. I've thrown out some corn cobs and our neighbor puts out apples once in a while. I realize we shouldn't be doing this, but they are so darn cute!

This guy (or gal, not sure) is getting a bit more curious and is getting really close to the backdoor. Looks like he/she is looking to join us for a BBQ!

Tugboat Wisconsin

I drove along Canal Street and spotted the tugs waiting the winter out in the Menomonee River. You have to love the tugboat. Perhaps it's due to Scruffy the Tugboat book that I read as a kid, but you really have respect for these little boats and the amazing jobs they do. Seeing a little tugboat hauling in a massive Great Lakes freighter is really fascinating. The strength and power is phenomenal. And this tug is really special because of its name - Wisconsin.

Some people claim that this tugboat is haunted. In 1941 it sunk in the Detroit River coming to the assistance of a grounded Great Lakes freighter, The B.F. Jones. Six men lost their lives. The tugboat was brought to the surface and restored. Now there are men who won't sail her. There have been strange noises and incidences where valves are open when thought to be closed. In a story from JS Online - a crew was bringing the boat back from Chicago when one of the men was joking and making remarks about "the ghost". He questioned why the ghost wasn't down running the engines. All of a sudden the engines died. Mechanics later found water in the fuel supply even though the lines were sealed...and the engines had been running just fine for nine hours. Oooh...I don't know.

Winter on the Water

This has been a brutal January in Milwaukee. The temperatures have been so cold that there have been days that are considered too dangerous to be outside. Of course, all the kids (and teachers) who got out of school for a couple of days were ecstatic. But they will be hating life when they have to make up those days in June! Although it has been really cold, I haven't seen the biting wintery winds that I remember as a kid that used to take your breath away. Not that I miss them either!

Well yesterday was a break from the freezing temps and it got all the way up in the 30's - just enough to melt a little bit of the snow piles which is now turning into ice I'm sure. That's because the temperature dropped again today and we're in for another frozen weekend. If anyone is going to do well in this economy and weather, I'd say it's the liquor stores - not much else to do and what better attitude adjustment source is there?

So due to the "balmy" weather I decided to check out the frosty fog on the lakefront. The pictures are from underneath the Hoan Bridge next to the Marcus Amphitheatre. This is where the rivers converge into the lake. Lake Michigan is not frozen, however the river has quite a bit of ice on it. Yesterday the ice chunks were cracking and moving around - actually pretty mesmerizing. Great sounds coming from the ice and water.

Happy New Year...a little late.

Welcome to 2009! I got a little bit of late start on my blog this year but really intend to stick to it this time! Today is January 21 and I am finally starting to feel normal. After a party at our friends' house on December 21 I got some crazy chest conjestion/cold that has haunted me for a month. Sounds gross, but if phlegm had a viable market - I think I could be a millionaire. Anyhow - enough of that. I see the light at the end of the tunnel on this issue.

This is how I started the New Year. Finally did the Polar Plunge! Every time I drive by Lake Michigan with a tour group I tell them about the crazy people that jump into the lake on New Year's Day - now I can say I was one of them! I had no problem convincing myself that this was the year to do it. But I do have to say, I was a little reluctant when I got to the lakefront as the winds were much stronger than they were at home, making it a little bit chillier and the waves looked daunting.

But I went in. Actually the most difficult part wasn't the water - it actually felt refreshing. It was manuevering the huge icebergs on the shoreline that were wet and slippery that made things interesting. Luckily they had volunteers who were helping people in & out of the water. One of the last things I read before leaving home was a blog about last year's plunge and how the girl wished she would have worn shoes - good tip! I can't imagine doing this barefoot. Once I got into the lake, the big chunks of ice near the shoreline really ripped up my shins. Of course you don't know that until you get out and see the cuts and bruises. As I mentioned, the water was actually the easiest part - it was warmer than the outside temperature and I made my way into the oncoming waves. I really wanted to go all the way under, once I got to my shoulders I turned around thinking I would fall in backwards - that's when I realized how far from shore I was and really thought "I better get back before I get too cold". So, I made it back to shore and thank God for the volunteer who pulled me back over the iceberg. The adrenline really keeps you warm because you're so excited to have accomplished this crazy goal - until you get back and start trying to get your wet clothes off and warm clothes on. I am happy I brought my big robe and my boots.

My feet were really cold and my shins were pretty beat up and bloody which made the long walk back up the bluff to our car seem like an eternity. I kind of look like "The Jerk" in this picture with my robe and thermos - just don't have my pants around my ankles like Steve Martin! Well, I did it and that's that - I am now a true Polar Bear and can scratch that off my "100 things to do before I die" list. Next time I think I'd add a little "liquid courage" before going in and hopefully can convince some friends to join me for a dip!

Touring Milwaukee

I had the opportunity to take 10 ladies on a Milwaukee Tour on Tuesday. They were all in the city for a convention with their spouses. We toured downtown, the original Juneau settlement, and then watched the Brise Soleil on the Milwaukee Art Museum open at 10am. Beautiful morning! We continued through the city along Wisconsin Avenue and saw the sights up to Miller Brewing/Miller Park. From here we went to The Basilica of St Josaphat. The Basilica is absolutely breathtaking. I had called ahead hoping they would turn the lights on for us, but to no avail they did not get the message. Luckily the sun was shining so the stained glass was brilliant enough. I am hoping that I have better communication with them for future groups. For our lunch stop we went to Yanni's - they did an incredible job. Service was outstanding and the food was wonderful, plus it is a very impressive looking restaurant. I have no problem in recommending them. Our tour continued through the city to Brady Street and along Lake Drive up to Silver Spring. Had to stop at Kopp's for a custard treat! On our way back along the lake, I stopped at the Art Museum so the ladies could go inside to see the Quadracci Pavilion. All in all a great day.

Tuesday evening I helped out at an event held at House of Harley. What a great idea to use the dealership for an event! Food was catered in and music was provided by a DJ. The attendees all received a discount for shopping and they were able to pictures on bikes with the "Harley Angels". They even did a couple of burn-outs. Good time. I was there to serve beer. It's been a while since I was on that side of the bar!!

I think overall it was a positive Milwaukee experience.

Wow - what a house!

This house is on Kilbourn Avenue near Marquette U and is one of the most ornate homes I have seen in Milwaukee - built in 1898, it is the Joseph B. Kalvelage house designed by Otto Strack who also designed The Pabst Theater. The style is German Baroque Revival. The carvings on the portico are fantastic! The house is currently under some type of renovation. I would love to see the interior.

Out and about

I have been reading 'Built in Milwaukee -
An Architectural View of the City' and it has made me very curious to check out some of the neighborhoods and buildings around Milwaukee. Bailey and I took a drive through Brewer's Hill and checked out some of the old Schlitz Brewing Co buildings. They are very impressive -huge, cream city brick buildings with alot of detail and ornamentation. It is nice to see them being used for other businesses, restaurants, etc. but at the same time it is sad that "The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous" is no longer here. I wish I could go back in time and see what it looked like when this brewing giant was in full force.

My favorite building is the stables. Again, the detail on the building is awesome. Gotta love the horse heads. It is very sad that one of the most impressive buildings has recently been been hidden behind a big ugly parking structure. I am happy to see new development and the corporate headquarters of Manpower moving downtown was huge for the city, but dang! - that parking ramp sucks.

Lazy Day

It's another chilly day here in the Mil. Don't feel much like getting out to explore. I'm doing alot of info mining online and sending emails to "old friends" as I need to get back into the tourism swing of things in the Milwaukee area and need to re-establish my contacts. Bailey is playing her favorite character of Osama bin Bailey hiding in her Afghani cave, only coming out when there is a possibility of a treat! I am off tonight to the MMAC Business After Hours shindig at Crate & Barrel for some good old networking. This is a great way to meet people in the city and make some valuable business connections.

I have been doing alot of research on Milwaukee architecture for my tours. Milwaukee really has some incredible architecture from the late 1800's, early 1900's and just recently the city has been in a building renaissance. I was really happy to read in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Federal Building is going through a major window renovation - this magnificent building is 108 years old, designed by the supervising architect of the US Dept of Treasury, Willoughby J. Edbrooke - he also designed the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Ave in DC - they look very similar. It is a giant grey granite castle built in the Richardson Romanesque style - absolutely powerful. There are 650 windows that are getting some love - like scraping off 18 layers of paint! Check out the slideshow on jsonline.

The Beer Baron

So I ended up going to Calvary Cemetery this afternoon and found Frederick Miller's tombstone - founder of Miller Brewing and my vice - Miller Lite! I don't think Fred was involved in the making of Lite, but I appreciate all of his efforts prior to it.

Interesting that Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, is in the background and to the left of that (not pictured) is Miller Brewing Co.