Category: Wisconsin

A Stroll Through a Self-Taught Sculptor’s Concrete Wonderland During a drinking session one night in the 1960s, someone bet lumberjack-turned-artist Fred Smith that he could not build a sculpture of Paul Bunyan standing on a marble. “Hold my beer,” he said. OK, maybe not literally. But Smith wasted no time creating a 16-foot-tall mustachioed man… Continue reading Wisconsin Concrete Park

When we discovered we’d be passing within 30 minutes of the World’s Largest Six-Pack, we had no choice but to detour. Beer and the world’s largest something? We’re in! These six giant tanks in La Crosse, Wisconsin, hold 688,200 gallons of beer, according to Atlas Obscura, enough that one person could drink a six-pack a… Continue reading World’s Largest Six-Pack

If we’re learning anything, it’s that there’s a museum for everything. Even mustard.  The National Mustard Museum takes up two floors of a brick building in Middleton, Wisconsin’s charming downtown. The main floor houses the gift shop, which sells scores of mustards and related treats—but not ketchup, never ketchup—as well as kitchen tchotchkes and a… Continue reading Mustard Museum

In early 2018, we attended a sneak preview of the Season 2 premiere of “American Gods,” filmed at House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Midway through the screening, I leaned over to Fred and whispered, “I want to go to there.” I finally got the chance more than two years later, and I… Continue reading House on the Rock

Poor Milwaukee. When we told friends and family we’d decided to spend a couple of weeks in Milwaukee, they invariably asked, “Milwaukee? Why Milwaukee?” and then recommended some other spot. [1]This only made me want to visit Milwaukee more. Even the people we met IN Milwaukee kept asking us why we’d chosen their city. But… Continue reading Hello Milwaukee!

Frank Lloyd Wright, Santiago Calatrava & Ladybugs It’s probably a good idea to start this post with a few caveats: We are not experts on architecture. We had no intentions of starting a travel blog when we visited Milwaukee. We traveled at a time when many places were closed for tours. We wish we could… Continue reading Milwaukee’s Architecture

During our month on the road, we determined that the Midwest has its own four food groups: pork, cheese, beer, and fried anything. And we’re OK with that. You may be aware that we became big Milwaukee fans on our trip. We also liked the food and drink, even if we didn’t get to try… Continue reading Milwaukee Food & Drink

Murals, Sculptures & the Bronze Fonz On my daily walks around Milwaukee, I was struck by the amount of outdoor art on display. Whimsical sculptures and candy-colored murals dot the city. Every summer, the nonprofit organization Sculpture Milwaukee brightens the landscape by scattering a new outdoor exhibition throughout downtown and publishing a map to help… Continue reading Milwaukee’s Outdoor Art