Quick Trip: Milwaukee

Michael's brother-in-law works in Des Moines, and he had a business trip in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago. His whole family came, and they invited Michael and I to come explore the city with them! We love visiting new places, living in the "Crossroads of America" is the best. So, we took off on a Friday afternoon for a super quick trip up north!

If you ask Google Maps (which we did), Milwaukee is just 4.5 short hours away. But if you take Chicago traffic into account (which we didn't), it's about six...I don't know why everyone is trying to get the same place on those Chicago freeways all.the.time. But, we made it through and got to Wisconsin in time to see our cute nieces and nephew before they went to bed. Then we had fun staying up with Danny & Diana just talking, laughing, watching this video, and laughing some more.

The next day we went downtown to explore. The pictures above are Michael and Danny being thoroughly entertained by a cool bee pod. Michael is kind of obsessed with bees, and always making future beekeeper plans...I don't know how I feel about that. I have never been stung because I'm really good at leaving bees alone. So letting them live in my yard? Questionable.

Plus, they're a little expensive... THIS is probably #1 on Michael's some-day-far-away wishlist. But I can't judge him because THESE are high up on mine. That kind of shows you how much cooler he is than me, huh. Dang it. 

Ok back to Milwaukee. That day we also went through some markets, took a tour of a cheese factory, experienced quark, ate a lot of Greek food, drove through beautiful neighborhoods, and......

...found the beach! It was a windy cold day, but there was still a volleyball tournament and plenty of beach goers. I guess they just get used to that freezing water and embrace their unique beach situation. Jocelyn and Madeline loved running around...just chasing sea gulls and playing in the sand. Dirt is so good at entertaining children.

We drove back home Saturday and braved that Chicago traffic again (yes, it was still there). But this time we made it more enjoyable with a quick exit to drive through downtown and pick up a couple of these. Of course.

We love seeing family, and we love seeing new cities! Thanks for inviting us, Danny & Diana!