Romantic Milwaukee

This weekend we travelled to Milwaukee (as featured in futurama...)

Not quite this futuristic. Also home of Romanticorp

... in order to attend one of Jen's cousins weddings. We stayed at the fabulous Hilton hotel in the city centre. This was my first view of the centre of a US city, and I must say it very much conforms to the images in most films or TV shows. There were skyscrapers and city blocks very close to one another. I could only imagine driving would be an absolute pain. We walked to dinner at an Irish pub. This was a warm up to the wedding, and this pub went all the way to attempting to create the Irish atmosphere. Even had some fine ales from the lake front brewery which was located across from the pub. The beer was much more similar to ales in UK than I thought, and they were very nice. They were also free (so I tried quite a few!)

Hilton Hotel Miuakeee city centre

On Saturday we headed to the wedding. I had taken my dinner suit to head to the wedding, which did mean that I was overdressed. This was based loosely on my parents wedding, where bow ties were the standard, however suits are used for US weddings. I felt a tad out of place although fortunately at the back. Later in the evening there was nowhere to hide at the reception. So I did what one does when one  feels  slightly out of place, and consumed quite a bit of free wine. Fortunately so did others, so I wasn't alone in my awful dancing. The food was good, and the venue fantastic for the event, and it was a lovely wedding.

A beautiful room, although non ideal photographic conditions!

The next day I managed to almost avoid a hangover, which was a merciful blessing. After a nice breakfast chatting to a very nice waiter in the gold lounge, (There was extensive discussion of game of thrones) and we went exploring in the glorious weather. The city wasn't very picturesque. But the lakeside parks were beautiful.

Jen with the view over the harbour...

With the architecturally interesting art gallery...

Sunny day in Milwaukee

...random pieces of art...

Insert Art commentary

...and kite festival!

The Park with Kites!

Apparently we stumbled across the Wisconsin kite festival. Complete with big kites, Charlie Chaplain kite flyer and of course pop corn. In the sun the kites looked very nice...

More Kites, it was the Wisconsin Kite Festival!

And so I took more piccies...

The art museum from the other side of the bay

We then went off on a boat trip. It went off down the river and into the bay. We learnt a bit of Milwaukee's history, where in the past it had been an industrial town, now more of a touristy area. It was originally famous for its Brewing, its Beer and its Cheese. 

Milwaukee's Bridge to nowhere - when originally constructed they ran out of money half way through building it.

The city skyline!

Tiny child on the bow of the boat. Very brave...

Impressive skyline of a small US city.

To the SHIP!

Bridges up the river. Included for the pleasure of the civil engineer...

Our final day we had two things to do. First we went on a brewery tour! These are always fun, and we went on the Lakeside brewery tour. For a bargain of only $7 each we got four beers and a tour. The tour was quite different to one in Britain. First of all, we were allowed to  drink on the tour. Bonus points. Second of all we were heavily encouraged to drink on the tour. More bonus points. Finally the whole thing was really quite jovial. The guy was cracking jokes left right and centre. And although it might not be fundamentally any different to that in the UK, it was quite fun. I may have been targeted for being English. But it was ok, cos he gave me an extra beer. I got six beers.... meaning I was rather tipsy when we left - we had a baseball game to go to. After a huge burger for dinner we headed to the Miller (the beer) Park Stadium, to watch the Brewers play the Atlanta Braves...

BALL GAMES!

This was my first experience of baseball, and it was good fun. We had some beers, got some popcorn and then sat down to watch the game. The majority of the game was a little bit boring - both teams were good defensively, leading to few exciting moments in the game. However when things got going they really got going, and in the 7th innings there was 30 mins of excitement where the brewers got 4 runs, including a double run. It was a good game .

That's one huge TV. I want one.

The mascot even came out of the den down the slide...

Stadium, complete with slide!

... although the game probably wasn't the biggest thing about the game. Baseball is distinctly american. And with the organ going, or adverts, or community outreach messages you were permanently bombarded by noise and images on the big screen. The songs that were sung even had the lyrics appear up on the big screen. And people would genuinely scramble for the baseballs as they flew into the crowd, which happened in regular periods. The game finished, and Jen bought a baseball cap, although I have a head of such a gigantic proportions that hats didn't go up to my hat size of 8. Also

The next day we departed the states, heading back to cold and wet England. My trip to the states had been fun, and I'd had some new experiences, as well as visiting a new part of the world. I thank Jen for taking me here and being nice to me!

Shopping, Catapults and Fishing

This Monday (labour day) we decided that we would go shopping in Traverse City. Although I was initially sceptical that this would be significantly cheaper than in the UK. But after the long drive there I was amazed how wrong I was. Most of the items of clothing were already cheaper than the UK. But there was a 40% clearout across the store, meaning I had reason to do all my clothes shopping for the next year. Ideal given how much I hate shopping!

After which we went to a Walmart to buy a PS3 (cheap at $300 including PlayStation move) and some games from best buy. After which we had another fun place to eat - Buffalo Wild Wings, where I got to try a series of different flavoured wings sauces. If you haven't had them, Buffalo wings are deep fried chicken coated in some hot sauce. And I really like them, I'd love to know a place to get decent ones in Manchester, or a good recipe to create my own. After that we headed home. And chilled in the hot tub!

Omnomnomnomnom

Haircut, Burgers and Catapults

Today I needed a haircut, so I would look presentable for the big American wedding I'm going to on Saturday. So we embarked on the scary adventure that is getting your hair cut in a different  country. But first lunch. We headed to a local cafe (Diane's)  to get a burger. What's quite different about the US is that burgers are more like steak, in that you can get them cooked to order, and they tend to be nicer. Maybe its the cooking method. You can generally tell that there is a higher fat content though, they seem to sit that much heavier...

Downtown Gaylord. The sugarbowl seen in the middle is a lovely place to eat.

After the delicious lunch, we went in search of a hairdressers. Now I'm the kinda guy who goes into a hairdresser and says... shorter please. About 2 inches. And it is so. However I had to contend with both the awkward questioning from the barber, and a series of questions I'd never thought about. Like the position of my parting... I have a parting? and how I want my fringe combed? I just want it shorter? I manage to befuddle my way through... leaving with my hair shorter, but looking oddly flat. I get home and now it is time to build my catapult, complete with breeze blocks...

Completed Catapult. WOOP

However, after a few test fires this happened...

Sad Tom

The axle broke. It was too thin. However, like the resourceful scamp I am I fixed the axle with a new piece of wood. We lined it up, re attached counter weights and elastic, and fired once more! Unfortunately the range was quite limited... about 15ft. Never mind... at least it LOOKED spectacular. And broke in amazing fashion!

Relaxing, and We caught a monster

Most of the day we spent chillin out maxin' relaxin' all cool, as jen played Skyrim. I feel guilty in some ways for introducing her to Skyrim. Now we will no longer spend our evenings with romantic candle lit dinners, but instead slaying dragons in torch lit dungeons... but anyway in the late afternoon we decided to go fishing. This is the best time of day as this is when all the bugs come out and as a result so do the fish. We went to the nearby lake Elizabeth, a private lake (we went swimming here previously). Where Jen proceeded to show me the ropes...

Reflection s on the lake

Where we were fishing!

Although initially I found getting the flick of casting the line out tricky, soon enough we were both casting like pros. After a while of quietly fishing (and drinking beer. Always with the Beer) We even managed to see a beaver...

Can you spot the beaver amongst the foliage?

But then very shortly after I felt a tug on my rod... I had a bite! I quickly yelled to Jen, as I desperately tried to reel the fish in. The process might have broken the rod (oops) but I managed to lift it ashore...

Big mouth Bass I caught

Measuring a mighty 14'' it was a perfectly edible size of fish! Now we just had to kill it. Jen told me one way was to hit it over the head with the pliers. This left a rather large mess. But didn't kill the fish. It was at this point I revealed I had my hunting knife, to which Jen looked exasperated at me and proceeded to just stab it in the head. I was amazed I caught something.... So we took it home, prepared and ate it!

NOMNOMNOM

Tasty fish supper after fishing! Satisfying!!!

Packing

Today we spent most of the day relaxing and packing, although we did go over to Jens Grandparents, so here are some photos from their beautiful lake they live on...

Alvin the Chipmunk!

Another beautiful lake in Northern Michigan (KP lake)

Hopefully I'll be writing next time with anything exciting from the wedding and the city of Miluakee!

Trees, Beaches, and a shop full of Weapons

Another beautiful day woke us on Friday so me and Jen decided another canoe trip was on order, a full day one. This meant we went right from near a spring all the way down to where the river became much wider. The initial areas were fast flowing, and fun, as we weaved our way through the fallen trees while the stream was narrow. After it settled down I was able to take several photographs....

Jen Kayaking downriver!

Mmm Labatt Blue

Note the inclusion of the mandatory kayaking beer, in handy beer hole on kayak (yes, they really do have a beer holder.) This river was much more peaceful (fewer drunken americans sitting in the river), and so we even saw some wildlife...

Heron Ahoy... this flew right in front of us.

 We managed to stop for lunch at a beautiful little spot... surrounded by forest without a person in sight nor sound of us... We ate subways. Always prepared to bring a bit of urban comfort to the wilderness...

Kayaks, his and hers

It is probably worth mentioning at this point that to bring you these photos I did nearly sacrefice my camera to the gods of the river. The number of times I rotated backwards or nearly capsized hitting logs was quite impressive, although I always managed to just about hang on! However, I wasn't the only one to make a fool of myself. Jen always managed to ground herself whenever she took the lead, always seeming to get the parts of the river with odd bits. As a result I was made to be the bait for the tricky rivers.

As we got lower down the river became more docile and populated, not quite as breathtakingly gorgeous. There were more people getting drunk, splashing around or just plain floating down. What's nice is that everyone is friendly on the river, always saying hi, and telling you what a lovely day it is! But despite the lovely Michigan sun, and the splashing and peace in the river the lovely day had to come to an end, and we headed home for a relaxed evening.

Relaxation and Jays Sports

Due to the increasing effects of my lack of sleep (my body clock is rather confused atm) most of the day was spent relaxing and building my catapult in the backyard...

Basic Design....

... hopefully this will be finished soon, and I'll be able to put some pictures up! However in order to finish off the catapult, we had to head into Gaylord, and headed into a hunting shop to grab some bits. The hunting shop was quite an experience. There was a whole arsenal available to purchase. Bows, crossbows and rifles (single shot, semi auto and automatic), combat knives. Although there was a sign saying it was now unfortunately illegal for anyone under 10 to use a crossbow. Sorry kids!

It was... impressive. And a bit scary. Although many people hunt in this area, the variety of ways in which to hunt surprised me. I wasn't expecting an arrow hunting season. Everyone was very friendly, and I brought a larger scale knife to assist in working with the wood for the catapult. I chose a sensible looking knife, not one of the foot long serrated blades. Hopefully I won't get stopped through customs. And naturally, I had no need of an ID to buy my meaty knife. Easier to buy weapons than to buy a beer. Yes... different to the UK indeed.

On the Beach at lake Michigan

Firstly I will say that not all insect life in the woods is nasty. Although I've been bitten and stung by a variety of insects there are also some beautiful ones, such as all the butterflies seen across Michigan.

Butterfly on a wildflower out in the garden

Today we went to the town of Petosky. Famous for its fossilised coral deposited millions of years ago, it is now a fairly upmarket town. Me and Jen however were having none of it. We played more minigolf. This time, with a cannon...

BOOM!

... followed by cool drinks at a burger king. Not exactly the classiest of afternoons. But a fun way to relax. And well, water cannons are always cool. Following that we went to the beach,...

Beautiful sunny day!

... a freshwater beach on lake Michigan. You could drink the water (in theory, depending on the presence of toddlers) The water was glorious. Clear. Still. Perfect for swimming. This was a bit of a comparison to swimming in the sea around England, where you'll both be picked up by waves and thrown about all over the place whilst you try and swim through the murky depths.

Plus this beach was 'crowded' given its labour day weekend. Much quieter than the UK. But then again, in the UK we don't have the privilege of a whole summer of sun to pick when to go! Still, when we have it, we do like to enjoy it to its fullest in the UK.

Hopefully I'll be completing the catapult today.  I'll try not to break the house....

Golfing, Biking and Felling

On this Tuesday we decided to slip out to visit a bigger city, so we could see more cheap wonders of the american stores. After a lengthy hour long drive we arrived in Traverse city. Best-Buy was an experience, being asked at least 8 times whether I could be helped by assistants, bit of a contrast to any store in the UK. Despite being severely tempted by the prospect of a cheap tablet to replace my kindle, I resisted. Barely... Instead I satisfied myself with a Bagel... 

Mmm... big apple

...although a far cry from a gadget, the quality was excellent. Bagels are a tasty treat that I thoroughly approve of from American cuisine. After that point it was time to get serious. We were going to go play some golf. We were to play two rounds of 18 holes, the courses having low pars of 36 and 41, there being some rather extreme water hazards present and some extreme hill climbs and slopes. Of course... I am speaking of pirate adventure golf. The course was impressive, with a fantastic set and background.

And the Golf Pro lines up the shot...

Despite doing well initially, sinking the first few par twos with ease, things rapidly went worse for me, Jen taking a lead. But due to a series of bad luck I managed to pull back the first game. In the second, despite getting two hole in ones, I didn't do so well. Still... a rather fun way to spend an evening. Especially before the big trip the next day...

Visit to Mackinac Island

An early start to the day, marking our hour long journey to the ferry to 'Historic Mackinac Island', a local tourist attraction Jen promised was a treat. As we boarded the ferry with our bikes there were completely blue skies. Before long, it was full steam ahead with some amazing views of the 2600m long Mackinaw bridge crossing the two great lakes 

Mackinaw Bridge

After we departed the ferry we started to cycle round the island. 10 miles in circumference the island was very picturesque, with flat roads. No cars are permitted on the island, making the ride pleasant and safe. There were pretty beaches, clear waters, and old buildings, dating from the 19th century. It was great to be able to cycle in such clean and fresh air. A real change from the cough inducing atmosphere in Manchester... (and my bike worked for a change too!)

Amazing clear waters seen in the great lakes

We then stopped off at the main town and wandered up to the fort on the island. Due to the islands position between two of the great lakes it had some strategic value. It featured mainly in the 1812 war, a war almost no one remembers in Britain. This is largely due to the fact it happened alongside the Napoleonic wars, and ended in 1815 with the same territory both sides started with. It was interesting to see the re-enactments there, including the cannon firing! It was also good because the British both took and held the fort from the Americans.

OPEN FIRE!

We watched some local girl scouts change the flags, and then cycled further up into the hills. The view from the highest point was very nice, and after taking someones photo we got into the chat about the UK with some Americans. We've had this several times by this point... and people vary from being curious about where you're from to asking details about the olympics!

The town as viewed from the fort

Finally we had some time to spare before getting the ferry. And we spent it buying fudge. Of course we had to try all of the flavours first too.... we only got three after all... My favourite was the blueberry fudge. The sweetness of the fudge went very well with the bitterness of the berries. We left the island and went home.

Chilling and Felling Trees

After such active days it was decided that we would have a day off. So what did I do? I cut down some trees!

TIMBBEEEEERRR!!!!

Hopefully I'll get some fun things made from the trunks, and I'll upload the pictures. Whether they are epic win or epic fail! 

I got wood

Although I've been having increasing jet lag problems, hopefully I'll keep up to date on any of my exploits!