Milwaukee 2022

 31 March - After doing our delayed "Spring Break" trip in November, Nick and I decided that we would take the kids on a surprise trip this time around. We kept the kids in suspense all the way until Thursday of Spring Break week, when we told them to pack for a few days. They knew we were driving less than a day's ride away, and that it would be new to us. 

We left after lunch and headed south. This spring hasn't been very warm and today was no exception. We stopped at our usual place in Madison supercharger to give the Tesla more battery, then turned our vehicle east. We arrived at our Airbnb in Milwaukee shortly after 4. The kids figured out our destination when the navigation counted down our time to arrival. They were not disappointed. 

We checked into our lovely Lower East Side upper apartment on N Humboldt, relaxed a bit, then headed downtown for our dinner reservations. We found our way to the parking garage I had reserved, and then walked to the Safe House. I gave Iris the code just before we walked in, and it was perfect, her hurried whispering of the pass phrase to the gatekeeper. I'd never been there before, and was delighted to find a theme restaurant that was worthy of the hype. We were seated in a secluded nook and enjoyed our first dinner in Milwaukee by completing the scavenger hunt, eating our spy-themed meals and enjoying some fun beverages. When finished, we were given fake mustaches, which I unashamedly wore while purchasing the spy swag the kids wanted (a stress ball in the shape of a grenade for Felix and a voice changer for Iris). We braved the very short walk back to the car, then back to the rental for the night.

Once in, we got cozy in PJs and played a family round of sheepshead. Iris declined a second game in favor of Roblox, but Nick, Felix & I played Perudo while watching some MST3K. It was a very pleasant evening. More surprises in store for tomorrow!

Agents reporting for spy duty

1 April - We slept in a bit this morning. We decided to head out to get breakfast at around 9. It looked like there were several options nearby, so we walked a bit north and found ourselves on Brady St. Despite it looking like there was more nightlife than morning-life, we found a coffee shop that also served some breakfast (Nomad). Nick and Felix shared a stuffed waffle, Iris got a Nutella waffle, and I got a breakfast sandwich. Good, wrong coffee for the grownups, while the kids got their first lattes. After eating, we walked back to the rental to let the food settle. 

First Lattes

At 10:30, we headed out for our next adventure: Discovery World. The kids enjoyed all the science stuff with which they could interact. Iris liked the aquarium best, while Felix was fascinated by the variety of gears. It crept into lunch time, so we left at 12:30 having been through all the exhibits. We drove back to Brady St, where we picked up some Jimmy John's sandwich to go, and ate them back at the rental. 

The kids enjoyed the Discovery World aquarium

We spent a few hours resting before our biggest surprise for the kids: going to a Bucks game! We parked at the same lot as yesterday, then hurried through the brisk coldness (come on, Wisconsin, think Spring!) to our 4:30 dinner reservation at Mader's. The kids like yesterday's theme restaurant, so we thought we'd try a new theme tonight: German. It also helped that they took reservations and the area was going to get crowded as game time got nearer. We had a very nice dinner. I'm proud of the kids because they each ordered something that was decidedly German and not American. Felix got the Bratwurst and Knockwurst, while Iris ordered the Kassler Rippchen (slabs of salty ham). I got a cold meat and cheese starter which I shared around, and helped myself to some of Nick's Schnitzel and Scallop sampler. He got a tripel for a beverage and then helped me finish off my liter of dunkelweis.

Photo credit: Iris

Sated, we walked the short distance to the Fiserv.Forum for the game. It was pleasant to get inside after standing in line outside for a while. We got there plenty early, giving us time to find our seats (section 109, row 11) and look around. Game highlights? Not many, as the Bucks were crushed 153 to 119 against the Clippers. None of the regular Bucks starters played at all, so we missed out in seeing Giannis, Brooke Lopez, and Kris Middleton play. Giannis was there, however, and was honored during the first quarter for becoming the Bucks leading scorer in team history. Our highlights? A man in front of Felix caught one of the t-shirts tossed into the crowd and gave it to Felix. Souvenirs? I got a nice jacket, Iris a giant pillow (naturally), and Felix a new cap. Other highs? Clearly somebody near us because we smelled weed *a lot*.

Row 11!

One of the few highlights

Felix on the left, Iris in the middle

The game finished around 9:30, so we made our way through the crowd back to the car (the blowout had the upside of many people leaving early), and made our way back to the rental within a half hour. The kids got ready for bed, then we followed suit. Nick and I turned off the lights around 11.

2 April - I woke at 7 (this place has white blinds which don't keep the rooms dark) and rested until 8. Nick and I got up to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee while the kids slept. I did my Duolingo for the day (634 straight days of Spanish!) and relaxed. We don't have plans for the day, just this evening, so we're going to leave it up to the kids as to what we do today. The kids were content to stay in and play Roblox this morning. It was snowing wetly out, so we didn't want to push going out.

We did take them out for lunch near E North Ave at Fusion Poke. The kids shared small sushi rolls while Nick and I got poke bowls. And boba teas! Yum! Thus fed, we took them to our next surprise: a cat cafe! And cue instant disappointment, because we didn't know we had to make reservations and they were booked. 😞 We looked in for a couple minutes, then left. Unsure where to go next, I suggested a bowling alley on the same block. We turned lemons into lemonade by having an enjoyable time bowling a game. We all did... okay. We don't bowl often enough to do well. Once finished, we drove down to the 794 bridge which Felix saw yesterday. Unfortunately, the snow and low clouds resulted in low visibility - we could only see the road and very little beyond that. We headed back to the rental to rest and recharge for the evening.

Bowlin', bowlin', bowlin'

We left at 4:30 and to the parking garage shortly after. Shortly after arriving, I realized I left the phone charging at the rental. 🤦🏼‍♀️ We got lovely Neapolitan pizzas at Proof Pizza. Then we headed back with the leftovers to the rental so I could grab my phone.

Back into the parking garage, we had 20 minutes before our final surprise: a Milwaukee Wave major arena league game against the Dallas Sidekicks. (I had bought tickets for the scheduled Brewers game tonight, but the lockout cancelled the series. Boo.) But it ended up being a lot of fun. We were 4 rows from the field, which gave us a great view. The Wave were playing for a playoff position, so they were in it to win, which they did, 8-2. It was a lot of fun, with nearly constant party hits of the 80s, 90s and today, lots of kids, and giant buckets of popcorn. The game ended at 8:15, and we walked back to the car. We stopped at a nearby grocery store for some ice cream, wine and muffins. 

Our first Wave game

Row 4!

Celebrating the Wave victory!

Once back, we put on the MST3K Channel and played a family game of Chutes & Ladders from the available games (Felix just edged me out). We said good night shortly after that.

3 April - We were up, packed and ready to go shortly after 9:30. We headed out back towards Madison. We stopped at HyVee to charge and grab an early bite for lunch. After an uneventful drive, we got back home to Roary and Robin at 1 pm. The kitties were very happy to see us. 

Afterthoughts:

Iris liked going to the games best, while Felix preferred the Bucks game. Iris now thinks the Safe House is the best restaurant ever. I would definitely recommend a Wave game. Nick couldn't pick a favorite thing. 😀