Wisconsin Part Two: Milwaukee (Beer & Cheese Curds)

You can readabout Wisconsin Part One: Oshkosh and EAA Air Venture here <-

The second half of our trip we moved hotels so we could be closer to the airport for our early flight out on Sunday.  Once we checked out of our hotel in Germantown, we had another great Yelp recommendation for breakfast, Cranky Al’s in Wawutosa.  Had we known Kenyon’s breakfast pizza was going to be so big, we would have shared.

We had some time to kill before checking into the next hotel so we stopped by the Cheesehead Factory to look around as well as Clockshadow Creamery for some cheese curds.  I’m being told these are the best of the best for curds. 

I left Kenyon at the hotel to relax in the air conditioning while I met Regina at Sheridan Park in Cudahy.  Regina, who lives near Chicago, is a WW online friend whom I’ve been communicating with for seven years now.  We had lovely walk along the riverfront where we chatted about so many things.  I really enjoyed my time with her and was thankful she was in Wisconsin for a bike race so we could meet.

After picking up Kenyon, we navigated our way to downtown Milwaukee to the lake front district for a fish fry and brewery tour.  Lakefront Brewery was amazing with good beer, good food, and good company.  We met Sherry and Mark in our River Cruise in Europe last year.  It was wonderful to see them again and get to know them better.  I wished they lived closer since we have so many things in common.

The Fish Fry, a Friday tradition all over Wisconsin, was delicious.  You are seated with others at community tables so we enjoyed our chat with a couple from the area who had reconnected after 40 years.  There was also a polka band playing upbeat music that people danced to.  We had a great time!

Sherry and Mark suggested visiting a bar nearby called Safe House, which you have to know a password to enter.  I didn’t remember the password given to me so Kenyon and I had to do a “trick” to get in which included a slow motion hug.  Apparently you can be seen inside the bar doing your tricks in the lobby.  It was so much fun looking around the unique bar.  On our walk to the bar we passed The Bronze Fonz.

It was so hard to say goodbye to Sherry and Mark.  We will be back for another visit soon.

Saturday was our final day in Wisconsin and even though we were tired, we settled for a boat tour of the river/lake front.  It was an excellent choice for scenic views and a cool breeze.  I found a condo for sale right on the river for $399,999.  It makes it very tempting to move to Wisconsin.

The air show was in town so many of the planes we just saw were also preforming in Milwaukee.  We had a bonus air show while we were on the boat tour and the Thunderbirds were also cruising around town and could be spotted a various times among buildings.  They are hard to miss because they are really loud.

We were hot, tired, and hungry and I was in the mood for a bratwurst.  I spotted MKE Ale House along our boat tour which was also a short walk.  The beer was good as well as the food but the service left a lot to be desired.  The Brewers were playing the Cubs so we saw a lot of Cub fans walking around.  Maybe next time we will make it to a baseball game.

We went back to the hotel for a nap and an early bedtime after getting Applebee’s to go, which was next to our hotel.  We were wiped out after a great vacation.  Our flight out on Sunday left Milwaukee at 6am and we landed in Boise just after 10am.  It was crazy to travel all morning and still be home so early.

I’ll miss you Wisconsin…especially your beer and your cheese curds.

Wisconsin Part One: Oshkosh and EAA Air Venture

Time for a vacation recap. 

I’ll split our trip into two parts, Oshkosh and Milwaukee.  I loved everything about Wisconsin except for the humidity and there is no Coke Zero.

Today I will recap the first part of our trip: Oshkosh and the EAA Air Venture.  The main purpose of this travel destination was to take part in a huge air show Kenyon has been dying to attend.  We had decided ahead of time we would commit to two days, which I think was perfect.  I can’t imagine those that camp the whole week.  It was dusty, dirty, and HOT.  When we go back next time, we will prepare a little differently.  Overall, a great first part of our trip though.

We rolled into town early afternoon on Tuesday and were in desperate need of food.  We were delayed in Boise as we were headed to the runway and told by Denver we needed to wait 20 minutes.  This meant our second flight was boarding when we landed in Denver and thankfully only had to go to the gate across the way.  So, we were starving by the time we arrived in Milwaukee.  We stayed three nights at a hotel in Germantown and made the hour drive to Oshkosh each day.

We ventured to Port Washington to get a look at Lake Michigan and visit the Duluth Trading Company since we like their clothes and don’t have store nearby.  The tiny lake town was adorable and it had such a costal vibe about it that I had to keep reminding myself we weren’t by the ocean.

Yelp led us to a nearby German restaurant in West Bend which had amazing food and beer.

Our first full day at Oshkosh was 10 hours.  There is a lot of see and do at EAA Air Venture and we wanted to see the night air show, which meant hanging around the park grounds all day.  We were tired and hot by 5pm but pushed through, which was worth it to see the night air show.

Day Two was a shorter day since we had a few items on our agenda Kenyon still wanting to see but with the heat, we didn’t want to stay all day again.  We also wised up and used the shuttle system to get around the massive park grounds.  The highlight was seeing the Thunderbirds, which was a bit underwhelming since they didn’t stay out long.

Imagine our surprise when a Canadian Snowbird pulled up fright in front of us and parked.

We also made a quick pass through the EAA Museum.

It was much harder to find our car in the lot the second day since we were in a new lot and it wasn’t numbered like the first day.  I started to panic a bit we were never getting out of there but thankfully, we found the car!  We wanted to stop at this iconic drive-in for ice cream that Kenyon’s knew about from his EAA podcasts.  It was a tasty treat on a hot day.

I also wanted to make another stop at Duluth in Oshkosh since I had a couple of coupons from the EAA to use.  We spotted a Fazoli’s Italian nearby and knew that is where we were having dinner.  We love Fazoli’s and don’t have one close to us.  It was an extra special treat.

And with that, it was time to say goodbye to the first part of our trip.

Playing Catch Up

Good Monday Morning.

We are back from Wisconsin and I’m back at work for just today.  I have so much to tell you about our vacation and so many photos to share.  But…you’ll have to wait until tomorrow while I get myself organized.

I’m working hard on getting back on track.  We went to Sizzler for dinner and that “after vacation salad” tasted so good.  I am afraid to face the scale tomorrow but I know it is what I need to do so I can fully get back to tracking and accountability.

We have six weeks until our next vacation and a new month will soon be here.  It is time to settle down on the social events and get back into losing mode.  Often we travel I am super aware of my weight gain.  But, on the positive side, I’m also really happy with where I am activity wise and how I feel in my clothes. 

That doesn’t mean I won’t be striving to earn those blue dots!

America's Dairyland

Good Morning from Wisconsin.

This is our first trip to America's Dairyland.  Kenyon is a huge airplane buff so we are attending a big air show.  I’m super stoked to check out a new city.  

We ended up with a tight connection in Denver due to being delayed after we started out towards the runway in Boise.  We had to pull to the side and wait 20 minutes.  It was a huge relief when we learned our gates were across from each other.  They had just started boarding when we jogged over to our gate.  Whew.

Later in the week we are meeting for the first time Regina, one of my beloved WW peeps I’ve known for many years.  Regina is one of the group member from the 100 pound message boards from back in the day on the “old” WW site.  This is the same group that I know Dawny and Nicole from as well.  I’m so excited to meet another one of the groupies.  I have communicated so much with these ladies (and Dave) for so long.

We will also be meeting up with Sherry and Mark, a couple we met on our Europe Viking River Cruise.  They were our neighbors in the room next door and while we didn’t chat much during the cruise, we connected on the last day and found many similarities.  I was excited to learn they were from Wisconsin since I knew we would eventually make our way there for the air show.  Our visit with them will be at a local brewery and also include a fish fry.

Depending on how we are feeling by the end of the week, I hope to take in some of the annual German Festival too.  There is a lot of fun in store this week.  

I’ll check back soon.

July Apple Watch Activity Challege Complete

The July Apple Watch Activity Challenge is complete.

This means I’ve collected seven awards thus far.  I’m super stoked to keep it going for 2019 and earn all the awards for the year.  This month I had to complete 19 workout of at least 15 minutes.  This was a really “easy” as far as challenges go and took the pressure of having to workout hard and fast.  Obviously, I still had workouts that had me sweating too.

Workouts this month included:

Many treadmill walks at home and at work

Biking on the Boise Greenbelt and around Garden City

A few Aaptiv audio workouts

A few Walk Away The Pound workouts

My favorite Wednesday Chisel class at the gym

Giving the shrubs at home a much needed haircut

Activity can be found everywhere and if you look outside the box, you can find all sorts of way to move your body.  Every little bit adds up.