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!

My Blog is messed up.

Hey - I am back at it but have noticed that the format of this thing is all messed up. Hmmm...

Man at Work

The rooftop sculpture garden at the Grohmann Museum at Milwaukee School of Engineering is one of Milwaukee's newest "must-sees". The museum opened in October 2007. It is dedicated to artwork that shows men and women at work, predominantly in industrial situations.
The museum has 700 paintings and sculptures with a dozen of the sculptures replicated and placed on the rooftop overlooking the city. The sculptures are bronze, about 9' tall and weigh about 1000 pounds each.



The view from the rooftop is spectacular. MSOE is located in the center of the oldest part of the city, a neighborhood known as Yankee Hill. From this location you can see many of Milwaukee's most beautiful buildings - Milwaukee City Hall, Blatz Brewery, Old St Mary's and the Cathedral of St John - to name a few.



MSOE took over many of the buildings that were originally part of the Blatz Brewery. They've done a great job in the renovation and reuse of the buildings preserving Milwaukee's brew city.



Milwaukee City Hall is currently under a major renovation as you see by the scaffolding in the background. This is my favorite building in the city and I look forward to seeing it restored to it's original grandeur. The sculptures and the buildings in the background really make you understand all of the work (and the manhours) that it took to build Milwaukee.

Kewaunee

A new addition to the countryside in northeastern Wisconsin is the Parallel 44 Winery in Kewaunee, just outside of Green Bay. Growing up north of Green Bay and spending a lot of time traveling between Milwaukee and Green Bay, I've seen this area but really haven't had a chance to spend much time really checking it out. So, I recently made a trek north to visit some of the lakeside communities. I really enjoyed visiting Parallel 44 and seeing what the new vineyard/winery was all about. I look forward to watching this vineyard grow and prosper.

The lighthouse is in Two Rivers near Point Beach.

Caddies at Whistling Straits

I was at Whistling Straits in Kohler in June and had the opportunity to meet some of the caddies. Here they are walking up the course near the clubhouse making their way to the next hole.



Now on to the 10th tee. Lots of advice to be given? Or are they just looking for some treats?

Bailey's new profession

Bailey was checking out the truck the other day. I wasn't sure why. So I went to check it out.



I guess Bailey was checking the safety of the tires???

Or perhaps a chipmunk made it's way into the wheel well?

Rain Soaked Wisconsin

We went to the AMA Superbike races at Road America in Elkhart Lake on Saturday. Started out as a beautiful day and then the rains came in the late afternoon. This pic, albeit a bit blurry, shows the bikes coming around the Bill Mitchell Bend well over 100+mph. These guys are really good and a bit crazy. It actually was really hot prior to the dark clouds, so we opted to take the motorcycle. It's a beautiful drive through a portion of the Kettle Moraine from Milwaukee to Elkhart Lake. On our way home we hit rain just north of Milwaukee and it was coming down fast and furious. We ended up with close to 4" of rain in a short period of time. The rivers and creeks were rushing, the streets were flooded and some cars even ended up swimming in some of the low levels. Lots of flooding in basements, etc. - luckily for us we are on high ground and only had a little bit of dampness.


This picture shows the "usually calm" Menomonee River running through Wauwatosa. This particular spot is wild to me because it is where a small creek enters the river. Typically we are able to jump across the creek or step across on exposed stones. Even our little Bailey has been brave enough to cross the water here even though she is petrified of getting wet. So this really shows us the amount of water the river has taken in.

Quite a few trees fell along the riverbanks due to the soil eroding underneath or the rushing of the water on the branches that normally hang over the river. This was a big tree!