Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We arrived at Sally and Bob's beautiful home in suburban Waukesha, WI late afternoon. Photos of their home to the right. Shortly afterwards, Bob arrived home from work, and Sally from babysitting her three grandchildren. The grandchildren live in nearby Mukwonago with our host's daughter, Molly, and her husband, Nick. Sally and Bob wanted us to park the RV in the driveway, and we were more than happy to do so! This area has a sizable German and Polish population. In the evening we were treated to a fish fry at a German restaurant in Oconomowoc. Fish fries on Friday nights are very popular here. We had a window table overlookint Okauchee Lake. Saturday morning Sally and Molly took us to Waukesha to visit Sally's mother (and Steve's aunt) Hazel at a nursing home. Hazel, 94, is the sister of Steve's mother. We were told in advance that it was unlikely she would recognize us. Upon our arrival, Hazel was seated in a wheelchair. She seemed surprised to see us, and then said, "Oh, it's Steve and Richard!" We had a nice visit with her, and then went to Kopps for lunch and frozen custard. Frozen custard is a very, very rich soft ice cream and it is very, very good! Later, we picked up Zach, Sally and Bob's son. Zack is a junior at Marquette University. We then went on a driving tour of downtown Milwaukee. Milwaukee is famous for its breweries, various types of sausages and cheeses. In the evening, we went back downtown for dinner in the bar of the Iron Horse. Photo of us, Sally, Bob, Molly and Zack at the restaurant. We then met daughter, Tasha, at a local tavern where she and friends were celebrating her 30th birthday. There, we met Tasha's fiance, Matt. Photo to the right. Also at a nearby table were a group of women who were celebrating what appeared to be an upcoming wedding. Soon, a couple of young men dressed in Milwaukee fire department uniforms arrived to a large response from the women. Photo of firemen. Any guesses why the firemen showed up? We left the tavern and went to Potawatomi, a huge casino located in downtown Milwaukee. We didn't gamble but Richard did come out ahead as he found ten dollars on the floor! Steve wanted Richard to put the ten bucks into a slot, but Richard said he wanted to save it for later. In the Casino gift shop we took a couple of photos of Sally with Martguerita eye glasses and Steve with Corona sunglasses. Also, Richard and Molly with stars on their heads. (We know what you are thinking, but no, we were completely sober.) Speaking of which, there is a big debate going on in the state legislature here. Currently, you can bring your child to a bar, tavern, or restaurant and they can drink alcoholic beverages as long as a parent is present. A bill under consideration, would change that to a minimum of 18. On Sunday, we went with Bob to buy some dog food for Tinsel and his dog, Sam, a Bichon Frise. On the way back, Richard directed Bob to stop at Kopps. There, we found out that Richard wanted to spend his ten dollar "winnings" from the night before on more frozen custard. Steve now agreed with Richard's decision not to have played it into the slots! Bob, who was at first an unwilling participant, did have only one scoop. No photos of this. On Sunday, we had a barbecue at Bob and Sally's. Present also were Molly, Nick, their 3 children (Chase, Tess, and Calla), and Tasha. We swam in the pool, had a wonderful meal, and all around good time. We think we may have convinced Tasha to visit us at Lake Nacimiento next May. We are going to hold Tasha to her promised visit. Photo of Richard playing with the kids in the pool to the right. While at Sally and Bob's we were able to run Tinsel several times in their huge backyard. However, we did have a couple of near encounters with Wrinkles, a not friendly Sharpee. We must add that Richard had a fun time pronouncing the name of some of the towns in the area. In addition to those already mentioned in this post, there is Pewaukee, Menomonee Falls, Manitowoc, Muskego and many others.