American Idol '09...In Milwaukee?

For those of you who know me, I am not a huge television viewer. I would rather have movies or music on in the background so I can clean, read, work, or converse with my husband. I really don't like to just sit in front of and pay attention to the TV. EXCEPT for two instances:

1. The news--I have to know what's going on in the world, so I tune into the news every morning while I'm getting ready

2. AMERICAN IDOL--I am a 13-year-old girl come Tuesday and Wednesday nights from January to June. I am so pathetically fanatic that the past 2 years, Matt and I have actually attended the American Idol concert (so, of course, I can see the performances of those for whom I voted). Two years ago, it was at the Honda Center in Anaheim; last year, we went with our great friends Paul and Robin to Las Vegas and saw the show there. This year, however, we happened to be visiting my parents when the Idol concert toured through the Southern California area. I would NOT let that stop me, though. We looked for somewhere that we had never been that had cheap airline tickets AND that somewhat worked with our ridiculous schedules. We decided upon....MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN!!

So...at the end of August, we went to Milwaukee for 4 days. What a fun city! Here are some of our pictures and experiences from that trip...

Miller Park (Home of the Milwaukee Brewers):

We did not go to a Brewers game (we can see baseball at home), but we did go see the stadium. Pretty nice, from what I saw.

Wisconsin countryside (their cheese is stinkin' good!):

We took a drive one morning into the countryside. When we travel, we like to get out of the hustle and bustle and see what real locals experience. We also were desperately on the hunt for some good ol' Wisconsin cheese. We went to a cheese maker and actually saw the makings of the cheese. It's quite interesting. We also ate LOTS of cheese samples and are now addicted to cheese curds (which we can't seem to find at Trader Joe's or Food 4 Less). The country itself, though was just beautiful. I love how God uses his creativity differently in different parts of the country/world!

Lakefront Brewery:

Since Milwaukee is known for its beer making specialties, we felt that we should see what all the fuss is about, so we nerded ourselves and went on a brewery tour. I'm sooooo not a beer drinker, but it was interesting to see how the stuff is made. We actually went on the environmental tour, so we got to learn about all the great environmental efforts they are putting into their brewing efforts. It was quite interesting. We also got to watch a brief rendition of Laverne and Shirley's opening theme song and eat at the brewery's restaurant. Luckily, Friday is Milwaukee's city-wide fish fry, so we loaded up on some DELICIOUS fried fish--yummmmmmmmmmy!!

American Idol Concert at Bradley Center:

In case you were wondering, the top 10 finalists perform at these things. This year, we saw Michael (from TX), Megan (sleeve tatoos), Scott (visually impaired), Lil (African-American mom), Anoop (Indian guy from NC), Matt (piano bar guy), Allison (rocker chick), Danny (church music leader), Adam (rock opera guy), and Kris (THE AMERICAN IDOL!!)

Milwaukee Museum of Art:

This museum was really cool. Again, we got our nerd on and took a museum highlights tour and then walked around by ourselves for a while. The museum had some really interesting works from several eras. The main part of the museum is created to look like a ship out on Lake Michigan. It's a really cool experience.

Historic Third Ward :

One of the nerdy things we love to do is take walking historic tours of cities and neighborhoods. We took one of Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward and learned all about the various historical happenings and cultures therein.

The Milwaukee Public Market is in the Third Ward. Matt and I went there EVERY DAY when we were there. They had an amazing little coffee shop with yummy drinks, so we had several of those! They also had a great chocolate stand, a really good bakery stand, and a place with all different kinds of cheese curds. These among many other venders! It was just such a delicious, eclectic, low-key place, so we really enjoyed it!

Downtown Milwaukee Architecture:

We went on another walking tour of downtown Milwaukee. It was wonderfully interesting as well. Matt and I both love learning history and looking at architecture, so we were quite happy! Milwaukee has some lovely historic buildings. The public library (below) is gorgeous! The city also has dozens of churches. It is very influenced by German and Polish architecture with respect to the churches, so the steeples and spiers can be seen all over the skyline, which is very pretty! It's kind of how we as Christians should be. We should be significant enough to stick out, but not sequestered from the world so we can't influence it. These churches made part of the skyline, alongside bank and business buildings. We as Christians should be visible in the world, too, but comfortable enough to be alongside nonbelievers.

Pabst Mansion:

We took a tour of the Pabst Mansion (of the Pabst Beer fame). It's a lovely historic home and we learned a lot about life in the mid- to late-19th century. I love learning about history!

Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport:

While we were at the airport, we bumped into this sign just after the security checkpoint. Now, Matthew and I have been in many, many, many airports, and have never seen a sign like this, but I really think that we need them all over our cities, maybe even in our houses. Our lives get so hectic sometimes that we need a specific location for this. Maybe we should hang this over our churches, after all, isn't this what church is supposed to be?

It was a very relaxing and fun trip. We are super thankful that we got to go seek out new territory and we really loved the city. Even though we don't yet have children, our lives are still quite ridiculously busy. It's so nice to make intentional time to get away from life and reconnect and just have fun. Plus, you really can't beat a high of 67 degrees in August!!

Legally Blonde, Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, CA:

This weekend, we also saw Legally Blonde: The Musical. What a fantastic musical it is (I mean, really, how can you NOT like the song "There! Right There!"? )!!!

I feel so blessed to be married to an amazing man who allows me to have random whims, like going to Wisconsin or seeing a wacky musical. He not only goes along with it, but he then takes it upon himself to plan and organize it. What a wonderful man I've married. No wonder I'm not quite ready to share him!