How the ((Mid))West was won

With our speedy 24-hour adventure in Chicago behind us, we hopped on a train to the land of wheat fields, cheese curds, famous brews and.... Northwestern Mutual. We made it to Milwaukee around lunchtime, so first things first, lunch and a beverage of course!

Without knowing where to go, we stumbled in to Buck Bradley's, which, like most of Milwaukee, looked (and smelled) as if it hadn't been redecorated since the early 70's. To toast the beginning of our stay in "The Cream City," I ordered a Cream City Pale Ale, from Lakefront Brewery, right out of Milwaukee. Apparently, most of Milwaukee was originally constructed with cream-colored-bricks, hence the nickname.

 

 

We hit the sheets a little earlier than we would any other night, so we could rest up for the annual Roots and Wings race.

 

Suited up in our "Northwestern Mutual blue," we took to the streets of Milwaukee for a beautiful run along Lake Michigan. The weather (mid 70's and no humidity) made the run much easier than it would've been down South! Heck, I even survived my first race!

 

To reward ourselves that afternoon, we headed to Old German Beer Hall for $6 liters, yes, liters, of authentic German brews. One thing Milwaukee has that ATL doesn't--affordable drinks!

 

As the only patrons in the bar (which is understandable at 2 p.m. on a Sunday), we were able to easily take over. We were also able to take full advantage of "Hammerschlagen," which is an authentic German game where players compete to see who can hammer their nail into a stump first.

 

Sounds easy, but the nail is flat (picture a miniature railroad spike), and with liters of beer priced at $6, the task of hammering a nail got progressively more difficult. Loser was supposed to finish their beer. Guess who lost?....Guess who refused to finish her beer...? It was a liter, for goodness sakes!

Also enjoyed at the Beer Hall--shotskis!

 

When we were finally ready to leave the bar, we were greeted with a monsoon. It was nothing we haven't grown accustomed to in Atlanta, but it certainly put a "damper" on our plans to attend the garden party at the Milwaukee Zoo.

Against our will (well, mostly my will), we headed to the zoo anyway, where we enjoyed music from the Love Monkeys of Milwaukee, WI and even some entertainment from our very own Whitney Wilson. She was a hit, until she yelled, "Go Dawgs," which didn't receive the same reaction it might down here in Georgia.

 

On our third night in Milwaukee, we decided to make our way to the hotel bar to sample the infamous blueberry mojitos. Mmm Mmm!

 

 

Next we headed to Rock Bottom for a little "newbie" ritual. Every first-year attendee was forced to stand on a chair in the middle of the party and perform a "talent." It was a lot like fraternity rush, but with less screaming and scare tactics. Talents included, limbo, karaoke, stand-up comedy (aka me making fun of co-workers) and even peacock impressions. I'll keep the pics and videos to myself...wouldn't want to embarrass anyone, but let's just say, we work with an eclectic group of folks.

 

Our last night of the trip was one for major celebrations. First, we celebrated Tara on her 23rd birthday!

 

Then, we celebrated Tim McGraw's signature cowboy hat, tight jeans and bulging muscles. Even though Tim won't be winning "Don't Forget the Lyrics," any time soon, we sang our hearts out to all the classics--"Something Like That," "Just to See You Smile," and "I Like It, I Love It." We happily filled in the gaps when Tim couldn't seem to remember the words to his own songs...Oh, Tim....

 

And, on our way to celebrate Tara some more, I ran into some old faces from the Columbia office. Great to see these guys!

But we didn't forget about the birthday! Party bus rides and lap dances from strangers helped Tara start her 23rd year off just right! And it gave us a good laugh to end our very long, very tiring, but VERY entertaining work vacation.

Hitting the office that next day was quite difficult, but, as always, it was great to be back in the South!