t's been hectic. I was very busy yesterday, packing things up for my trip, which means finding things and putting them in boxes, and then let's not forget the checklist. I don't do this often, and I don't want to leave behind anything I'd really need. So I plan and make lists, take too long on things probably and then fall behind on everything else I had to do.
Last night for example. I wanted to write a post (mostly photos) about highlights from the Milwaukee trip in mid June, but it was on the list between playing with my wife (done) and mowing the lawn (not done). And now it's Wednesday morning, and I'm planning to leave in about an hour and a half.
Bottom line is this going to be really short and terse. Yes, me writing something terse! Who would have thought? So, without further ado, photos from our trip to Milwaukee.
THE DOMES
The first main stop was the Mitchell Park Domes. We had lived there for a few years without ever visiting the city's big horticultural center--the domes were built in the 1950s, I think. Here's what they look like ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-Domes-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
There are three domes. One of them has changing exhibits. This one shows an Appalachian Spring ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-AppySpr-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The other two domes have permanent exhibits. This one shows plants from arid areas ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-DomesArid-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
... and the third dome shows plants from tropical areas ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-DomesTrop-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
We spent a lot of time there, strolling all the different plants, trees, cacti and so forth. The domes are climate-controlled, so the arid dome had low humidity, and the tropical dome was just the opposite.
One more thing to show from the Domes: The beautifully carvings on the entry doors to each dome. This photo shows them best ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-Domedoors-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
THE MUSEUM
We hadn't been to the Milwaukee Public Museum for years (of course, we have lived in the U.P. for the last 30 years or so, and trips back south have been few and far between). But despite some changes (an Imax theater/planetarium), some parts of the museum just don't change. Three examples. First, the diorama of Plains Indians hunting buffalo ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-MusBuffhunt-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Then, a diorama showing the Navy ship landing at the future site of Milwaukee, talking to some of the current residents ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-1stvisit-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
And finally, a fun one: some bears raiding a honey tree, getting some sweet treats despite the angry bees' counterattack ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-Musbeartree-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The museum has also added a butterfly room. Here are some butterflies getting some sweetness ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-MusButterfly-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
... and a little girl who had a butterfly land on her hand ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-MusGirlBfly-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
She's dressed for the occasion, don't you think?
And it was here that we got one final look at Samson, the gorilla who lived at the Milwaukee Zoo for many years. Make no mistake about it: Samson was the star of the show at the zoo. He had personality, a certain aloofness and dignity as he dealt with all the people peering at him from the other side of the glass. Samson reigned in Milwaukee for many years.
But he finally died, and this is poor Samson today: stuffed and on display and having to suffer the indignity of someone grinning and looking at his butt. Samson deserved a lot better than this ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-MusSamson-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Another museum feature we liked was intact: the "Streets of Old Milwaukee," where you can walk down an old-time street and look in the windows of shops and businesses. How about dropping by the general store first?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-OMStore-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Next stop is the local druggist. Anybody need any leeches while we're here?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-OMDrug-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Or how about some patent medicine?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-PatMeds-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
OK, I know you're thirsty from walking around with us all day. So let's stop at the local tavern for some brew ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-OMTavern-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
AN OLD BRIDGE AND A GOOFY TREE
The next day, we visited Cedarburg, which is where my wife was raised. We stopped by her old house (unoccupied today, alas) and visited downtown. I had one special stop in mind. North of town. Somewhere we often went when we were going out ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-CovbridgeA-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
It's the only covered bridge remaining in Wisconsin, and it's just north of Cedarburg. As you see, the road bypasses the bridge now (it was "retired" in 1962), but the bridge still stands. So we walked through it again, as we did many times in the past ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-CovbridgeB-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
... and as many couples have over the last 132 years, since it was built in 1876.
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-CovbridgeC-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
We also visited a small quilt museum just out of town. I've shown you a lot of quilts over the years, so I'll pass on the quilts themselves for the time being. I found something a lot more interesting in back. It's a tree that is growing on its side ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08B-Oddtree-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
For some reason, the trunk of the tree is parallel to the ground. It splits after about six feet, and only then do you see the branches and leaves. I don't know what kind of tree it is, and I certainly don't know how or why it grew this way. But ... here it is. Stranger than fiction.
We made one other stop: a museum in Cedarburg that looks like an old store--say from the 1930s and 1940s. Old packaging, old items. For those of you who are about my age, it will stir up the memories. I'll write something about it (with pictures, or course), but that will happen another day.
For now it's time to pack the final items and then hit the road. See you all in a few days.
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