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!

 

Southern Belle NOT in ATL

A work trip to Milwaukee was the final destination for the “fabulous foursome” from Atlanta, but if you know us girls, then you know we don’t do anything half way. So, first we made a quick 24-hour pitt stop in the Windy City!

We hopped off the plane around 9:30 CST and headed straight to our hotel, spotting some great scenes along the way.

 

 

And on our way to lunch, more beautiful sights!

 

I wonder if Vince Vaughn is on that boat…”Taking Chicago tourism by land, air, and sea.” (for all fans of “The Break Up”)

We fueled up for a long day of sight-seeing at Hub 51, enjoying Chicago’s own Goose Island Matilda and for lunch, I sampled the open-face BLT.

 

 

With Whitney leading the way, we made our way to Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower). A short elevator ride to the 103^rd floor put us high above the beauty of Chicago. We even ventured out on the “ledge,” although it was extremely scary to take that first step onto the glass platform.

 

Next stop was Millennium Park and “the bean,” which is actually a sculpture named Cloud Gate. Looks more like a bean to me! J

With late dinner reservations, we decided we needed an afternoon snack. When you’re in Chicago, I think it would be illegal not to try out some deep-dish pizza, so we headed to Giordano’s and waited an hour for our thick, cheesy, delicious pizzas to arrive. They were well worth the wait!

 

Perhaps the event I was most excited about was dinner at RPM Italian. For those of you who watch E! News (like me), and for those obsessed with Guiliana Rancic (like me), you’ll understand my excitement. G & Bill opened the restaurant recently, and I knew that if I made it to Chicago, this would be on my list. We made reservations months in advance and were only able to get a 10 p.m. table!

 

Eating dinner fashionably late is “in” these days I’ve heard… ;)

Besides a great atmosphere, the food at RPM was to die for, or “amazeballs” as Guiliana would say! We started off with zucchini fritti and then we all enjoyed some authentic Italian pastas. Three of us ordered the Maine Lobster Ravioli, and Whitney went with Mama Depandi's Bucatini Pomodoro.

Of course one of us had to order dessert…and it was me! Well worth it, y’all! Bill's Chocolate Budino--an Italian pudding with salted caramel and cocoa nibs. Mmmmm!

After a LONG day in Chicago, we all headed back to our "swanky" hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Up next—4 days in Milwaukee...and if you think that sounds boring, think again!