Wisconsin/Michigan – Day 2

Warning: Lots of photos….

Sunday we woke up in Milwaukee, WI at the home of my sister Dottie and her husband Adam. The kids were excited to be staying with them and had a ball running through the apartment. (poor neighbors!)  After church we headed over to Alterra Coffee Roasters for some lunch. Alterra is an ultra-cool cafe that serves up soups, salads, sandwiches, breakfast items, and baked goods set a little outside downtown Milwaukee along beautiful  on Lake Michigan.  Um, it was one of my favorite places we ate at.  Henry ordered a omelet with chorizo and other stuff, the kids ordered kid stuff (hot dogs, etc) and I ordered a Reuben. Dottie had told us how delicious the grilled cheese was so we ordered one to split. I ended up eating that and sharing my Reuben with Henry!!  The Reuben was solid, it really was. It’s just that the grilled cheese was made with three different kind of cheeses (hello, we were in Wisconsin!), had a chipotle mayo and tomatoes on it. It was incredible.

After lunch, we walked across the street to the lake and let the kids play on the rocks for a little bit and took a family photo. Our time was short so we didn’t get in.

After playing for a little bit we headed over to a tour of Sprecher’s, a local brewery and soda factory. The kids probably didn’t care to learn about how beer and soda is made, but they sure did like the soda samples at the end. My favorite was the Cravin’ Raven, a mix of cherry and cranberry.

Adam drove us through some of the neighborhoods so we could get a feel for the houses up near the lake. Gorgeous!!  Then we went to a park where we saw a lighthouse and played a few holes of golf.

Ryan LOVED trying to hit the ball. At first he tried to use his club like a baseball bat (go Pirates!) but daddy and Uncle Adam showed him the right way to swing. He was way into it.

The girls tried their hand at putting too.

Dinner was at a great restaurant in the Third Ward – a fun warehouse district that’s been converted into lofts and hip eateries. And although we were packed, Adam took us to get homemade frozen custard at Kopp’s. There’s no way I’ll be able to enjoy ice cream again. Words cannot describe how rich and silky Milwaukee frozen custard is.

Waiting for our custard order.

If you look closely over the employee’s shoulder, you can see the custard coming out of the maker (that’s the technical term). That’s how fresh it is. I swear they must have a cow out back that they milk just before putting the cream in the machine.

It was the perfect ending to our day in Milwaukee. We tried to convince Adam and Dottie to call in with a case of the siblings the next day, but alas, they could not. So we loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly….. oh okay, it was a car and we headed to Green Bay and the U.P.  But more about that tomorrow.