Just my point of view: USA, Part 2: Milwaukee and Oconomowoc

After 2 very good days in Chicago it was time to move on to the main part of my reason for being in the US - ie, to see my cousins in Oconomowoc. They were planning on being at Chicago O'Hare Airport on 10th May, for a meeting, so we arranged to meet up at the Malaysian restaurant not far from the airport, for lunch. As with all man made plans, it did not go quite as smoothly as hoped as Anne and I, on our way from town to the restaurant, got stuck in a massive jam on the highway! Luckily we had an iPad with us, with which we were able to navigate our way, OFF the highway and to the restaurant, arriving there ONLY 1 hour later than planned! Luckily Cousins R & L had the good sense to eat without waiting for us! Didn't want them fainting away from hunger :-D. And after lunch, said our goodbyes to Anne, and I hopped (bags, baggage, and I) into R & L's car, and off we went to Oconomowoc.

So, what can I say about Milwaukee and Oconomowoc? Hmmm, well, let's say that I did not go there to be a tourist (almost every American I met said "Milwaukee? Why Milwaukee? What's there?). I WENT THERE TO SPEND TIME WITH Cousin L and her husband R, and Cousin A (younger sibling of Cousin L) and her husband J. THAT's why I was there! Not for 'touristing'!

I LOVED the time I spent there. They have a lovely house, an incredibly friendly and gracious old dog, and Oconomoc (AND Milwaukee) are both incredibly pretty - at least in spring. I don't think I would like to be there in winter! But it was great to catch up with all of them. It was great to just relax in their lovely homes. It was great just vegging out! And, of course, we ate a LOT. I mean, this is the US - and food portions, when you eat out, are HUGE!! Every time we went out, we ended up doggy-bagging at least half the food. Even when we ate in (Cousin L is a wonderful cook!!) we ended up eating too much! I was very good the first week and a half, as I used to jog 5km every other day on the treadmill they have at home... then I ended up with a stinking bad cold, and just did not have the energy to jog any more.

I got taken on lovely drives to see the simple green beauty of the country side. Even the town is pretty! And, it being spring, the greenery was BEAUTIFUL! Such lovely and vivid shades of emerald green every where you turn.

Check out these photos:

1. Brookfield market. Very small and civilised and CLEAN compared to our wet market, pasar malam and pasar tani!

2. The Calatrava. An absolutely lovely building, housing the Museum of Modern Art. The building is meant to look like a sailing boat, with "sails" that can actually be opened and closed. In this picture the sails are open.

3. The next three pictures are various views along the lake shore, overlooking Lake Michigan. How do you like the last of these three pictures - of the tree with the SHOES hanging in the branches

4. The next two pictures were taken while driving around Milwaukee. Just pretty streets, and pretty parks, with loads and loads of trees everwhere!

5. The WATER TOWER, near the lake shore, in Milwaukee. Pretty!

6. OK, having learnt how to make 'real' Opera Cake, I almost fainted when this cake was presented to me as an OPERA CAKE! It is so badly done, and way, way, way too BIG, with each layer being way too THICK, to be an opera cake! The cake had a very very strong Almond flavour, and hardly ANY coffee flavour. If it had been just presented as an Almond/Choc cake, I could have handled it - but an OPERA CAKE? No WAY, Jose!!

7. And these last 3 pictures were taken when we went for the Milwaukee Brewers game. Cousin L insisted that I could not go to the US and NOT watch a baseball game. Mind you, I think we picked a bad day to go - cos the Brewers were definitely having an OFF-DAY! The last picture shows the start of the SAUSAGE RACE! Imagine, 5 grown men, dressed up as various types of SAUSAGES (I am not kidding), running a race. Height of entertainment... NOT!