usa: wisconsin: milwaukee and kenosha

I chose to make this post about the two cities I visited in Wisconsin.

Kelley and Jon like to travel and explore as well, but don't get to do it as often as I do. (Not many people do.) Though I usually say they live in Chicago, that's not quite true, they live in one of the suburbs. I mention this because when you look at a map you realize it takes just as long to get into downtown Chicago as it takes to get to Milwaukee, in Wisconsin. There are a number of fairly large cities that aren't all that far away if you have your own transportation.

We decided to do a quick half day in Milwaukee one Sunday, just because we could. The drive was easy, and only about an hour.

Milwaukee has nearly 600,000 people, and is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin.

Our first stop was related to one of Jon's loves, beer. He loves brewing beer, so it made perfect sense to visit one of the cemeteries in the city where a number of beer barons and their families are buried. There was supposed to be a museum/information center in the cemetery, but it wasn't open when we arrived. Maybe because it was Sunday? Maybe I'll come back another time and learn more.

We parked and walked through various parts of the cemetery. There were different sections for the family that started Pabst, and Schlitz (sp?) and more. Not surprisingly, some of what we saw were big, fancy mausoleums. I wonder how often or if family members come to visit their dead relatives. It was saddest to see the graves of children who didn't even live long enough to be named.

From there we drove through the city to a modern art staircase with a nice view of the city. The stairs aren't the sight, it's the little observation platform at the bottom of the stairs that is the sight. 

The guidebook that lists this set of stairs says locals have mixed feelings about it, because it doesn't really fit into the neighborhood aesthetic, and they don't love random strangers driving through just to stop and take photos of and on the stairs.

The same guidebook that listed these stairs also listed a bridge in a suburb of Milwaukee. We drove there, only to be quite disappointed. It was just a bridge over a small valley. No water that I could see, no view worth seeing. I have no idea how this bridge ended up as a listed sight.

At that point we were feeling peckish, so we headed to a chili place Kelley wanted to try. She got food to go for her lunches at work that week. Jon and I were able to hold off until we got to a branch of Leon's Frozen Custard.

Apparently frozen custard is a Milwaukee thing. It's basically ice cream, but with egg yolks in addition to the milk and cream. This makes it heavier, and meltier. Leon's has two or three traditional flavours, as well as a flavour of the day option. I went with three scoops of raspberry, which was pretty good but not amazing.

Somehow all of us ended up eating it all without dripping all over ourselves, woo hoo!

From there it was an easy drive back home. I'd definitely come back to Milwaukee, especially to explore other areas of the city. I don't know if there is a central place I could park, then walk around all day?

Later on that week I drove Kelley to work, then borrowed her car so I could go to Kenosha, Wisconsin for the day. Kenosha is just over the state border with Illinois, it was easy to get there.

Kenosha feels a like a small town, but has a population of around 100,000 people. There has been habitation in the area for a long long time, with evidence of this going back to at least 13,000 years ago.

My first stop was a diner. I didn't really need to eat, but when I find a diner I rarely walk/drive past it. Franks is in an old train car, there isn't much space. Their specialty is something called a garbage plate: a half plate has three eggs, hash brown potatoes, eggs, cheese, and onions. You can add in meat and veg too. A full plate has 5 eggs with all the other stuff.

It looked and smelled good, but I made the mistake of ordering French toast with fruit topping. It took 45 minutes for my food to arrive, and that was after I asked what had happened. The fruit had clearly come from a can, and the whipped cream wasn't very good. I'm pretty sure they forgot me, and didn't put any effort into the French toast. I won't make that mistake again.

I was able to park for free near Frank's for three hours, and since that time wasn't yet up I walked to the marina area. (Kenosha is on Lake Michigan.) 

Very pretty, but VERY windy. The marina shape was created when they piled up a bunch of big rocks, the wind nearly blew me off the rocks.

There was a small splash pad nearby, I would've walked through the water if it hadn't been so windy. I followed the pavement just behind the rocks for a while, enjoying the smell and sound of the water. Something about it is calming.

Coming around the peninsula near the marina I saw a couple lighthouses. I don't know why they were so close to each other, or if either of them is still used. I wanted to walk over to the biggest one, but when I pulled out my phone to figure out how to do it I realized the streets were connected in a way that it would take me quite a while.

Instead I walked through a sculpture park, then to a small city park where a summer concert was taking place. I saw people of all ages, which made me think school hadn't yet started here for the fall. (I knew it had started in Chicago, and my hometown.) There was a veterans' memorial near this park, which was nice to see. There aren't nearly enough memorials and monuments to those who have served in the States.

From there I walked through the downtown, cute area of Kenosha. I was thrilled when I stumbled on a pie shop, woo hoo!! 

Did I need to buy any pie? No, but did I? You bet. The flavours were good, as were the prices. I'm definitely going back.

After the pie shop I found the local library. I don't know if the building was originally a library, but it is gorgeous. A lovely rotunda in the middle, the librarians encouraged me to stand directly under it to take a photo. From what I could see during my walk through, the library had a good selection of books as well as programs to serve the community. I hope that library is as valued as it should be.

I walked back to the car, then drove to an area with two museums. The Civil War Museum sounded interesting, but the entry fee was $10USD. Maybe next time, when I come back for more pie and better food from Franks?

Kenosha Public Museum was free, and fabulous. A series of permanent exhibits with the history of the area, and a temporary exhibit of Edo prints from Japan. Very cool. There are a couple big skeletons to see, as there was prehistoric life in this area with fossils still to be discovered. Really really well done.

After the museum I got back in the car and drove to the beach area. The beach itself was quite nice, but with all the wind I don't think it would be fun to hang out for the day. There were people doing just that though, so my anti-sand campaign wasn't followed by everyone. I love beaches, I just don't love being covered in sand. I did enjoy walking the length of the beach, and hearing the happiness of those who were enjoying their last days of summer freedom on the beach.

The biggest lighthouse was really close to the beach, so I walked over to see what it was all about. 

I admit I was pretty disappointed to discover an artist had set up shop in the bottom of the lighthouse, so it wasn't one you could climb.

My last sight of the day was another park, about 15 minutes away by car. There was plenty of parking at Petrifying Springs State Park, which was mostly flat from what I could see. I didn't find the springs after which the park was named, mabye I was in the wrong area? That being said, it was nice to be out in the trees. There are several different walking trails throughout the park, nothing strenuous but still nice.

Despite visiting a city for the day, my favourite places were natural: the lake, the beach, and the state park. And the pie, I can never forget good pie :)

welcome back to hanoi and the perfume pagoda

i didn't know exactly where i should go for my winter holidays, i ended up deciding on vietnam...for the third time...my flight to vietnam was christmas day, and this was one of the decorations in the seoul/incheon airport...korea is only 25% christian, but the country definitely gets into the secular aspects of the holiday...there are decorations everywhere...the airport was busy, but efficient, as always...the flight to hanoi was just under 5 hours, a smooth flight...since i was in the second row of the economy cabin, i was able to get off the plane rather quickly, even catching up to the first class businessmen before they got to immigration...immigration  went quickly, and then i got to stand at the baggage carousel for ages and ages...baggage claim is the great equalizer in travel...everyone has to wait, it's just luck when you get your stuff...i waited almost 45 minutes!!
from the airport i took a minibus to hanoi (the airport is 35km outside hanoi) which took an hour...it was a reminder of the craziness of vietnamese traffic...traffic in vietnam never stops, and i rarely saw traffic lights...most people ride motorbikes, and there are a few cars...even at four way intersections, there still are rarely lights!...but i didn't see any accidents, so i guess it works for the vietnamese...as soon as i got off the minibus there was a tout who wanted me to get a room at his hotel...he had a brochure, and the photos looked decent enough...the price he quoted was also the amount i was okay with spending, and he said he'd take me there for free...all of it sounded okay to me, so i got on the back of his motorbike, and off we went...it didn't take long to get to the hotel, and the room was fine, so i checked in...

my next task was to book a couple tours...since i'm a guidebook freak i had spent time reading it on the plane, and had come up with a tentative itinerary...there are TONS of travel agencies and most of them offer the same tours, so i could've shopped around a bit more, but the numbers i was given at the first place were okay, so i went for it...for boxing day i booked a tour to the perfume pagoda, which is a day trip from hanoi...starting the day after that, i booked a tour to halong bay...having those booked, i started walking around town...i walked through a temple that seemed mostly deserted...i don't know which temple it was, whether it was mentioned anywhere or not...there seemed to be some construction going on, but there was still an room with stuff in it...(i don't know what that room is called?)

somewhere in the guidebook i'd also read that vietnam is known for water puppets...it sounded interesting, and there is a water puppet theatre in hanoi, so i wandered in that direction, intending to book something for later in the evening, or even the next evening...i got there at 1645, and it turned out there was a show at 1700...convenient...i had a "first class" ticket, though the seat wasnt really all that good...plus, there was a tall guy who's bald head seemed to end up in nearly all the photos i took...ugh...anywho, the show was 45mins, and i enjoyed it...i think everyone in the audience did...we were all trying to take photos, but almost none of mine turned out well...(which didn't surprise me, as it was indoors, and fairly dark)...oh well...
after the show i wandered around the old quarter for a while...it's an area with some french architecture, a LOT of street food, a lot of budget hotels, and shops of  all sorts...these gates are on the lake, leading to a small temple...

good times...i ended up having pho for dinner, a typical vietnamese soup...i love sitting down at a street stall and having food appear in front of me...YUM...after wandering a bit more i found a bakery, complete with chocolate mousse...again, YUM...a few goodies came with me back to my hotel...
early the next morning (well, not that early, it was 0745) i was picked up for my tour to the perfume pagoda...a bit over an hour later, the minibus was finally on it's way out of hanoi...i was the first to be picked up, which meant i got a good seat, but it also meant i had to be patient while the minibus went around and around, picking up the other tourtakers...an hour later, we stopped for a potty break, or so it was called...the stop just happened to be at a place full of souvenirs and snacks, and there were three other minivans stopping there as well...as everyone piled out of the minivan (we were scrunched in pretty tight) ladies selling fruit came up and tried to get people to buy...rather aggressively, i might add...another hour later, we got to a river...a 10 minute break to do i don't know what, then we got into rowboats...

not rowboats like we have in the states, but vietnamese rowboats...shallow, thin, and long...six of us in each boat, as well as a lady rower...the ladies rowed us an hour up the river, rowing forwards, not backwards as we would've expected...it was interesting to watch...the boat ride along the river was pretty, and we saw people doing a lot of manual labor along the way...

after the boats pulled up at a dock, we got off, and walked about 100m to a lunch place...clearly, this place is primarily there to serve tourists coming to the pagoda...tofu, fish, cabbage, rice, chicken...it was a lot of food...from there we started walking up to the pagoda...there were a lot of steps...not surprisingly, it wasn't just one pagoda...on the way up i stopped at a couple pagodas/shrines on the way to the top...

fun times with photos, at least i tried to get a few  good ones...at the top i saw our guide, who had ridden the cable car up...he made it seem as though i was running really late, though it didn't seem late to me...at the top, the biggest pagoda is inside a big cave...there were several shrines inside, and as far as i could see, that was the only place photos weren't supposed to be taken...

then i  started going back down, which only took half the time...partly because i was concerned about time, partly because i was moving a lot faster, and partly because i wasn't stopping for any photos...the steps were regularly spaced, which was nice both on the way up, and on the way down...as i got back down to the bottom, i found the rest of the group, minus a few people who were still coming down...eventually everyone was together, so we returned to the boats...

according to our guide, by this point we were already over an hour later than normal...oops...we figured it was his fault as much as anyone else's...the stops the bus made weren't stops any of us would've chosen, and they added up to more than an hour...plus, the pickup in the morning took foreva and was terribly inefficient...anywho, we got in the boats, and headed back down the river...

the water didn't seem to be moving much, so i don't know whether we got back any faster...after we got off the boats the guide told us we should tip the ladies who rowed us, saying that they had worked hard...knowing that the vietnamese don't normally tip, and tipping is generally only prevalent among foreign tourists, this annoyed me...i hate required tips...i gave her some money, but she demanded more!!! (10x the amount!!)...um, no thank you...i was amazed that she was so up front about how much she wanted from each of us...she tried to hand back the money i gave her, insisting that i give her more...so i took the money, and started to put it back in my wallet, and close my wallet...she didn't like that either, and then accepted what i had originally given her...how rude...

the bus ride back into the city was definitely faster, yay!! i got off the bus before it got to my hotel, but that was just because i was motion sick, and needed "fresh" air...
i stopped at the same bakery as the night before, picking up some treats...yum...another night back in my hotel room, watching movies, etc...i love day trips:)