Cooler by the Lake

Well, another visit to my doctor in Milwaukee has come and gone, uneventfully. The stern talking-to I was expecting never happened. Steady thyroid hormone readings and lower body weight seemed to win the day. Blood pressure up, testosterone too high? Damn the cholesterol, full speed ahead! Okay, doc, if you say so...

So with that, the trip was otherwise unremarkable in all respects except for a wonderful afternoon on the lakefront Monday. Inland it was in the 90s, but down by the lake, a full 20 degrees cooler. Ahhh, so nice. And what a beautiful place to soak up the crisp lake air...

The Milwaukee Art Museum sports this beautiful wing

designed by Calatrava, and it lends itself to pictures

that look like they come out of a brochure, even when taken by a photography schlub like me.

And rather than sit inside the whole time and admire the Chihuly glass, stunning though it is...

I found a little shade out on the deck and read my book.

All parts of this place are dramatic, from any angle.

Even the parking garage has cool lines, and the flowering crab garden is strategically placed to show off the building.

But even beauty like this must eventually yield to other pleasures, and so a run Northward up Memorial Drive to Alterra Coffee was in order. And I wasn't the only one with such ideas:

Mostly the patrons went outside, though, and gave me some space to read quietly. But since Alterra's Happy Hour is not quite the same as JoJo's on Mayfair, around 5PM I bolted, in favor of knocking back a couple of classic martinis (half gin, half vodka, up, a little dirty, 4 olives, please. No, rail is fine..), while chatting with Joe the bartender about Jesus' tendency to mix with sinners more than with the religious. He saw my bookmark and gave me his top five spots in Milwaukee that he figured Jesus would visit if He were in town.

We yakked about Jesus' vineyard parables a bit, while Joe introduced me to Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin (made with Wisconsin Ginseng as one of the infused botanicals). Then I quoted the Scripture about "all things are permissible but not all things are profitable", expressed my respect for moderation in all things, left him a nice tip, and walked back to the hotel while I still could.

After the doctor visit the next day, on my way out of town, I stopped and paid homage to the home of Milwaukee's Finest. Check out the vintage tour bus. :)

Nice trip, all around. Hated to leave; it always seems like I'm leaving important things unfinished, but... I'll be back. Depend on it.