$ Matters with Mary

Milwaukee – So Many M’s! Museum, more fun, more food, & more baseball!

Going from Chicago to Milwaukee was a quick 90 minute drive. We were eager to catch the morning tour of Miller Park - the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. But it was not meant to be. An earlier rainstorm caused an unprecedented flood at the stadium. The grounds crew were madly working on getting the place ready for the game that night and wanted no part of fans milling about.

Our next thought was food. (Is anyone surprised?) We had picked out a German restaurant near our hotel and headed there. Again – it was not meant to be. They were closed for lunch that day! Undaunted our search began for a local place to eat when we saw a letter carrier walking his route. Who would know the area better? One of his suggestions was Zim’s. Fabulous choice. It is a real Milwaukee sports bar. Fun wait and bar staff and the owner made us feel like locals. The best news was they had FREE shuttle rides to and from the game that night.

Travel Tip – Don’t be shy! Talk to trusted locals – the mailman, restaurant owner, and hotel staff to learn about the city you are visiting. By chatting with the people around us, we found a fantastic lunch place, a free ride for the 4 of us to our destination, and learned about a fun local brewery tour that we did the next day. (Details on that next week.)

From Zim’s we walked to the Milwaukee Art Museum. You cannot say you have been to Milwaukee without a trip to this museum. Whether you like art or not is totally irrelevant. You HAVE to see the buildings designed by world famous architects Eero Saarinen, David Kahler, and Santiago Calatrava. Highlights of the Quadracci Pavilion are the vaulted a 90-foot-high glass ceiling; the Reiman Bridge, a pedestrian suspension bridge that connects the Museum to the city; and the Coolest part – the Burke Brise Soleil - a moveable sunscreen with a 217-foot wingspan that unfolds and folds twice daily. The building literally has wings that open and close. Plus the museum is located right on the shore of Lake Michigan. What a gorgeous way to spend your day – for little or no money.

Next week – More Milwaukee
Until then – I’m looking for fun and food in your city………………………….