March 14,2005 Madison to Milwaukee WI

Monday, 3.14.05

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

It’s now Monday morning around 8am. Nick has just left for work, coffee is brewing in the kitchen, Jessica and Bob are still asleep and I have a few moments to myself so I thought I would get up and write a few lines, to catch us up. Friday was another cold but beautiful day and we spent it exploring the city with Jessica and visiting the Milwaukee Art Museum. This has always been a favorite place of ours especially since they completed the spectacular new entrance designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The museum sits on the shore of Lake Michigan and juts out like the bow of a ship with a sunshade that when open resembles the tail fins of a giant white whale. It is simply breathtaking from the inside, it’s cavernous roof, abstract shapes and view of the lake are breathtaking to say the least. Currently there is an exhibit of all of Degas’ bronzes, many of them discovered after his death, which are lovely and include the Little Dancer in all her glory, tutu and all.

Downtown Milwaukee, as I have said is undergoing a resurgence with many of the old warehouses being converted into lofts and trendy little restaurants and shops popping up all over. An area called “The Third Ward” is filled with old brick buildings and a charming streetscape and it’s just fun to walk around and window shop. Milwaukee is a town that has always appreciated and supported the arts and there many small, fine quality theatre groups here which have provided almost continual work for our daughter as she pursues her career as a stage manager. She arranged for us to see a new play “Boswell’s Dreams” written by a local playwright and performed by the Renaissance Theatre, one of theatres Jessica works with. It’s so gratifying to meet the directors and actors and hear nothing but glowing remarks about your daughter! She’s quite an incredible young woman and we are as proud of her as we can be. This particular play tells the story of a young Scotsman who goes to London and meets and befriends the very famous Samuel Johnson, the author who, in the 1700s wrote the famous Dictionary of the English Language. It’s a fascinating story of the way in which these two men’s lives became intertwined and is beautifully performed by this very talented group of actors. The performances we have seen in Milwaukee rival anything New York has to offer and the City has an excellent reputation for its high quality work.

Earlier in the day we went to the St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Milwaukee! Quite a contrast to the intellectually stimulating, literate world of the theatre, the parade was a street affair filled with clowns, Irish step-dancers and bagpipes. We were delighted to be able to view it from the comfort of our street corner in the sun, wearing so many layers of clothing (the temperature was a balmy 28 degrees) that the only thing visible were our faces – and those were partially covered with our hats! A hot cup of coffee warmed our hands and kept us happy while the parade passed us by and then we rushed off to the warmth of our car and home to a bowl of soup and a sandwich!

Yesterday was a quiet Sunday. Nick prepared a delicious breakfast and papers were read, coffee consumed and a leisurely day followed. We took a short drive around the city and a walk to the lake (their apartment is in the Bay View area of Milwaukee literally blocks away from Lake Michigan) and cooked and ate together in this sweet little apartment on the second floor with windows all around overlooking tree-lined streets in all directions.

Today is wide open. It looks calm and cold outside, with overcast skies. We have no plans except to be together. Perhaps do the Miller Brewing Company tour or the Milwaukee Historical museum. There is laundry to do and bags to re-pack for our departure in the morning. Jessica is buying our Jetta and a larger rental car will take us on our journey east. We have altered our trip plans and decided not to go through St. Louis with its arch after all. On further study, it would take us several hundred miles out of our way and add many more hours to the trip. Richmond is our next stop-over destination and we want to limit our driving hours per day to around 5 so that we can see a little bit of these Midwestern cities and not merely pass through them. So it will be Indianapolis, Indiana, Charleston, West Virginia and then Richmond by Thursday night we hope.

Everyone is rising now so my quiet time is over. I said I would make blueberry pancakes so I guess I’ll close for now. Thanks for reading and caring about us.

Ciao!
Rosemary & Bob