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. 😀

Superior & Duluth 2021

31 March 2021 - After over a full year of COVID-19 social isolation, cancelations, telework and virtual school, we decided we needed to get out of our house for a few days. Nick and I were vaccinated 10 days ago, so we feel slightly more comfortable about putting ourselves in social situations - but not entirely, which is why I planned a waterfall-hunting trip centered around Superior. Nick and the kids have never been up here, and I was a sophomore in college the only time I visited (and that was only overnight). I found a nice two-bedroom Airbnb apartment and started planning from there. I asked my parents (now fully vaccinated and fully immune) if they'd like to join us, and they rented a hotel room nearby for a few nights. 

We got everything packed and left Rapids about 10:30 Wednesday morning in Nick's Tesla. Low 30s, but mostly sunny and smooth sailing to Eau Claire. Our plan was to supercharge while eating lunch, then get to Superior around 3-3:30. The supercharger had other plans... What should have charged at ~75 kW/h charged at 10, meaning we had to stay well over an hour and a half to get enough charge to make it to Superior. (To kill time, I took Iris on a walk to the nearby mall, buying a pair of leggings and gum for her, and a 5-pack of face masks for me at Old Navy.) It turned out that the charge we got was barely enough. We found a 13+ mph wind from the northwest the entire way, which cut into our power. Initially, we were concerned we wouldn't make it (which made Felix (and us, if I'm honest) nervous), but Nick dropped our speed and we pulled into the Duluth supercharger at 5:20 pm with 8% charge remaining. Whew! We walked a little ways downtown to a quiet Iris pub (the Dubh Linn). The kids played darts and my folks joined us for dinner and a beer. This was our family's first time eating indoors at a restaurant since March 6, 2020. Felix kept his mask on, but it being a large, mostly empty space made us feel better about sticking around and chatting. We left ~7:30, made our way over to Superior, and got into our quaint apartment in a house built in 1911. Got ourselves settled, then relaxed for an hour of MST3K on Netflix. Got us all to bed.

Chilling in our Airbnb apartment

1 April - Never a great night sleeping in an unfamiliar place, but got enough. Woke around 8 am. Attempted to make breakfast (fried eggs, turkey patties, toast), but the electric stove and nonstick pans thwarted us a bit. Made do. Mom and Dad came over and we all got ready and left around 9:45 to start today's adventure. Felix picked Amnicon Falls as our first stop. It was chilly (below 30°), but pure sunshine. We put on our hiking boots and took in the covered bridge and roaring falls. Beautiful! 

Upper Falls at Amnicon Falls

We walked the loop to see the falls, including a fall of ice in one area. The kids were impressed. We could walk on the rocks and be inches from the rapids. Gorgeous to see. Deafening to hear. Mom and Dad brought their walking sticks (forgot ours...). We spent about an hour and a half walking, exploring, taking pictures. Cool to see the ice formations hanging like chandelier crystals above the rushing water.

Family by the Upper Falls

We drove on quiet county highways to Pattison State Park. Our first stop was the Little Manitou Falls. Nice little hike down and around. They were bigger falls, which perked up progressively grumpy Iris. (Nick carried her, which helped warm her cold legs.) 

Next, we drove to the parking lot for the Big Manitou Falls (highest waterfall in the state). Wow, very high and impressive (even for Iris). We saw it from the far side first, then walked over the bridge and to the near-side lookouts. Felix made my heart sing, telling me how amazing he found the waterfalls. :) It warmed up to the mid-30s. We placed an order for sandwiches for lunch(since we were done looking at the waterfalls around 1 pm), then drove up to Duluth to pick them up from the Northern Waters Smokehaus. We took them back to the folks' hotel room, where we ate while watching the Brewers' opening day game versus the Twins. Iris got impatient, so after 5½ innings, we all went down to the pool. We had fun spimming and playing with the kids in the little pool Even Mom and Dad got in briefly. We got out and back up to the room in time to watch the Brewers rally and win the the 10th. Woo! After a quick Kwik Trip stop for butter, we headed back to our apartment. Mom and Dad joined us to watch the UW volleyball team win the Big Ten title, have a snack dinner and play many hands of sheepshead. We also put on some MST3K. Nice evening.

Big Manitou Falls

2 April - We were up and eating breakfast by 9 am (butter today made everything better). We headed over to Duluth for a charge. We had to wait a bit, but got some coffee and split a doughnut while we waited. We were finally ready to go around 10:30. We headed north on highway 61 to Tettegouche State Park. It was in the 40s and windy. We all decided to hike to the High Falls. 1.5 miles from the parking lot. So much mud! It took forever (nearly 2 hours) to walk a mile. Nick and Iris didn't want to go so far, so they went to the Twin Falls instead. 

Twin Falls

We trekked the 0.5 miles to High Falls. It was nice to see, but given the trail conditions, I'm not sure it was ultimately worth the interminable hike. We got slowed so often by mud or ice-covered areas, and there were many, many elevation changes. Drier conditions would have made it easier on all of us, I think.

High Falls

Mom and Dad (who were such troopers) rested at the top of the stairs. Felix and I went up more stairs to the the top of the falls. A little further on, we found a swinging bridge over the river. No one else was around, so it was cool being up there, just the two of us. 

Swinging bridge above High Falls

It was drier on the way back, so we made much better time. We did the return hike in 40 minutes. There was a very cold wind blowing off the lake as we ate a hasty lunch on a picnic table outside the visitors center. My hips ached, but I wanted to see the shore, so Felix and I walked along another path down to a rock-strewn beach. We found some interesting pebbles for souvenirs and I took some pictures. 

View of Shovel Point from the beach access

We joined Nick and Iris back at the car, where they had been watching Netflix while the car was charging (hooray for destination chargers!). We left Tettegouche and headed back toward Duluth. We stopped at Gooseberry Falls State Park with low energy and expectations. Boy, were we amazed. it was very busy (good tip-off). We took the easy walk from the parking lot to the spectacular Middle Falls. From there, we broke into three groups to do the falls loop (a 1.0-mile hike). It was easier with much less mud. Nick went ahead with Iris. Mom took Felix back to the bathrooms before doing the loop, and I hiked with Dad. It was such a nice hike with great scenery that it really lifted our spirits despite the many miles on our legs today. 

Middle and Lower Falls

We ordered pizzas to pick up at 6, then headed back. We took the two-lane scenic route hugging the coast on the way back. Mostly trees and cabins to be seen, but got nice (hazy) views occasionally. Felix is captivated by freighters. We made a quick stop for lotion to ease itchy skin, then got pizzas and a growler of their beer (souvenir!). [While I was waiting, I was approached by a 30ish man in a beret who asked if I was a farmer. I said, um, no. He said that it was kind of hard to tell with our masks on, but I looked like a mushroom farmer with whom he's been communicated. Okay... I told him I was just a tourist and never raised a mushroom in my life, though it would be interesting to try. When I told Nick, he said he was expecting this to end with a cheesy pick-up attempt.] Mom and Dad met us at our apartment and ate with us. We put on MST3K's Mac & Me, which the kids love. They left around 8:45, and the kids went to bed. We didn't stay up much later. I'm going to be moving slowly tomorrow...

3 April - I didn't sleep well, and everyone else rose early too. We made breakfast and relaxed for a while. Shortly after 10, we made our way to the touristy area in Duluth by the harbor. We looked in a few shops in the DeWitt Building. Iris picked out a stuffed animal for a souvenir (no surprise there), while Felix got a little keepsake box with things that we saw on the trip on it (freighter, lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls). We treated the kids to some sweets at a candy store (ordered through plexiglass, no one allowed in the store). Mom and Dad met us there and did a little looking of their Mom's own. She bought two waterfall prints to frame and hang. Once we were done there, we drove over the lift bridge and along the island. We stopped at the park at the end of the road and let the kids run across. It was partly sunny, mid-60s, light wind - pretty nice. It was about noon, so we made our way back t a nearby restaurant away from the touristy ones (The Silos Restaurant). We had some local beers and everyone found something reasonable to eat. And it wasn't very busy, which was nice. Mom and Dad left to drive home after we ate. We headed inland to Enger Park to take in the views. The park was still closed for the winter, so we parked on the shoulder near the park entrance and hoofed it from there. We weren't alone - many other people had the same idea. We saw some nice views of the cities, harbor and lake. 

Enger Park views

We each rang the Japanese bell and we climbed up by the tower. Felix noticed a freighter going from the river to the lake, so we headed back by the rocks to watch it. Over the course of 20 minutes, we saw the lift bridge rise, the ship pass under, and the lift bridge lower. I took a time lapse video to show Nick and Iris (who headed back to the car to get out of the sun). From there, we went to the charging station to fully charge in preparation for our trip home tomorrow. I walked to a nearby game store and bought a new family card game and a variety of dice. Once we were done, we headed back to our apartment. It was about 4 pm. We spent a quiet rest of the day there. The kids played in the backyard, we tidied up, and we played a round of the new card game (Guillotine). We ate leftover pizza for dinner and watched the Brewers game before bed. 

4 April - We got up around 7:30 am, got ready, got our car packed and were on the road by 8:10. After a quick coffee stop on the way out of the area, we had an uneventful drive to Eau Claire. Nick dropped Iris and me off at Walmart so I could get some groceries, and went to supercharge, which worked much better today. It took only about 30 minutes to charge enough to get home and pick us up. It was fair and warm (mid-70s). We should be home shortly after 1. We're all looking forward to seeing the kitties. 

What did the kids think about the trip:

• Iris: It was one of the best trips because we spent more than two days there. The only thing she didn't like was our apartment was old. "It felt like sleeping in the '90s."
• Felix: It was great. He liked seeing the views of the lake and the waterfalls.