South Shore Park

It was a Tuesday in June and I had the day off and was itching to hang out at the beach.  I loaded up a back pack with a beach towel a book, some ice cold water, and delicious red grapes and fresh cut pineapple.  I jumped on my moped and rode out to South Shore Park.  The beach at South Shore Park is small and pebble strewn but not so much so that it's uncomfortable. 

I had sunscreen on all over but special zinc oxide sunscreen on my face giving me an extra ghostly appearance.

          This birdie wanted to eat all my grapes and pineapple but I wouldn't wasn't having any of that.

I found the teeniest tiniest little shell in the sand next to me.

I spent a few hours out there relaxing, gazing at the puff ball clouds, watching the boats coming and going It was the most perfect afternoon and I can't wait to do it again.  

W.O.B

Last Monday, Joseph and I headed out to the World of Beer grand opening.  It was packed inside and out and I ended up standing in front of this sign for the duration of my visit while enjoying my Purple Haze.

W.O.B is shockingly a beer bar with a huge selection of beers from all over, so if you're like me and have a hard time deciding on what you like think about what you want to order before checking the place out that way you won't be overwhelmed by the large selection.

http://wobusa.com/Locations/BradyStreet.aspx

Biergarten at Estabrook Park

In June Joseph and I decided to check out the new (and the only) Biergarten in Estabrook Park, a Milwaukee County Park.

 It was a gorgeous day and we had a lovely time hanging out, people watching, and enjoying our beverages, which come in liters or half liters.

We ended up sitting on a bench that overlooked the river which inspired us to take a riverside walk along the trails.

There were a million little daisies.

We spotted this frog just hanging out on the river bank.

And I noticed this beautiful little patch of clover growing out of an old log.

I enjoyed walking along the river, and hanging out at the biergarten as well.  I need to go back soon and try one of there giant pretzels.

Wisconsin State Fair

I loved going to the California State Fair, and so without hesitation jumped at the chance to visit Wisconsin's State Fair.  This year was my second year checking out the fair and once again I was not let down.  I did however miss walking through the midway at dusk.  I love looking at all the lights and maybe catching a few rides for old times sake but let's be honest that is not why I love to go to the fair.  The food and the animals are what I love the most, and the All Star Dip booth.  This year Joseph and I weren't too bad when it came to fair food.  We started off our fair feasts with a Cream Puff, which is a Wisconsin State Fair staple.  You just have to have one!

Next we hit up the Wisconsin Products Pavilion and found our way to the booth that sells the duck fajitas.  Last year I had two but this year we just had one each and it was phenomenal. They were served on a wheat tortilla so score one point for being a teeny-tiny, little bit health conscience.  At this point we were sufficiently full and decided to check out the exhibits and animals. Baby goats, piglets and calves oh my!  Who doesn't love a baby animal? I saw the big animals too and even caught a little of the Clydesdale show and saw some sheep getting sheered.  Wisconsin doesn't have as many different kinds of animals showing at the fair as California does, for instance no Brahman Bulls or Texas Longhorn Steer but Wisconsin is the dairy state so they had plenty of dairy cows.

Looking at all those dairy cows made us thirsty and we found ourselves in line for some delicious flavored milk.  I got a rootbeer flavored milk since I was still feeling a bit full from my cream puff and fajita but Joseph opted for both a cup of rootbeer and a cup of banana which wasn't half bad.  Rootbeer flavored milk is by far the best but there are other great flavors to enjoy as well.  Last year I had a cherry vanilla and it was very good.  At 25 cents a glass you can try them all, but I wouldn't recommend doing it all at once.

After wondering all over the fair, running into Joseph's Dad and his fiance, checking out animals and after finding and purchasing my favorite dip mixes we finally were ready for some delicious roasted corn on the cob! This was to conclude our fair feast.  It was hot and buttery and ended up all sorts of stuck in my teeth but it was so good it was worth it.  After we finished eating our corn we decided it was just about time to leave, our feet and legs were getting tired and aside from the midway we felt we saw just about everything.  We just had one last pit stop to make before heading out to our car.  We headed over to the Wisconsin Product Pavilion once again to grab a bag of maple syrup cotton candy which is just so light and fluffy and good.  Not too overpowering on flavor but not lacking either.  We got it to go, so it technically didn't count as part of our fair feast.

 I did not have a corn dog, but they are a classic fair food.

 We didn't ride the skygliders but I loved the way they looked against the sky at dusk.

Pictures of the lights on food stands since I didn't make it to the midway.

Seven Bridges

Joseph and I headed out to Seven Bridges Trails in Grant Park on a Saturday in early October.  We hiked around a bit and eventually made our way down to beautiful Lake Michigan.  There were a few wedding parties taking pictures  under the covered bridge that makes up the main enterance so I didn't bother snapping a photo of it. It was really beautiful and I snapped a ton of photos but again I've just picked a few of my favorites to share below.

I miss those sunglasses, I lost them at Summerfest this year.

I found my four-leaf clover at Seven Bridges

Milwaukee Country Zoo

I never once made it out to the San Francisco Zoo even though I had talked about it almost every year, eleven years to be exact.  Not wanting to make the same mistake we visited the Milwaukee County Zoo not too long after I moved here.   Joseph and I went on a gorgeous September day and I was just in awe at how beautiful the zoo was.  There were so many trees and they were all green and leafy and I felt like I was in some sort of woods that happened to have a Zoo in the middle of it.  I took so , so, so many pictures but have picked just a few of my favorites to share here.  I'm sure you'll all appreciate my restraint.

 Look at this huge lake inside of the zoo!  

Riding the mini steam train.. oh did I forget to mention that little tid bit? 

Butterflies at the Museum

Walking around the Milwaukee Public Museum is like taking a step back in time and no, I'm not just referring to The Streets of Old Milwaukee either.  The whole museum looks a little dated, but that is what I find charming about it.  The best part of the museum though was the butterfly room.  Joseph and I hung out for quite a while in the butterfly room hoping a butterfly would land on us.  We weren't lucky enough on that visit to earn the trust of the butterflies but I did manage to get a few good photos.

Home Sweet Home

This is the house that I call home.  It is split into two separate levels which is very common here. Living in the lower level of the house gives us this huge front porch!  I live and work in the Bay View neighborhood and I love it here.

Anniversary

I arrived in Milwaukee exactly one year ago today.  I am a transplant from San Francisco, California  who made the long 3 day drive with  my boyfriend and Milwaukee native, Joseph and my kitty, Domino in a very packed Chevy Tahoe.

I'm still bummed I couldn't bring everything I wanted to bring but that's life right? The drive wasn't so bad, we didn't rush too much and made sure we were well rested each night.  The big surprise was how well Domino traveled considering she hates riding in cars but with some help from cat nip and Feliway calming pheromone spray she was quiet and relaxed.

We rolled into our driveway in the early evening and decided to leave the car packed until the following day.  We got Domino settled in and just enjoyed being able to stretch out knowing we weren't going to be stuck in the car for another day.

I didn't take too many pictures during the trip, below are the few that I did get.