Earlier last month, I was in southern Wisconsin as part of a business trip. It was the first time I had been to Wisconsin since my cross-country ride in 2011 as as I rode across I-90 back to Ohio. This was quite different than the first time as I now had time to venture through a few parts of the state.
After landing at
General Mitchell International Airport, I was immediately greeted by the familiar green and yellow of the Green Bay Packers and cow-related swag that I could lay my eyes on. Cow tipping, anyone?
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| Hide the purple and yellow or you're bound to be beaten. Or at least looked at quite awkwardly. |
Speaking of cows, I enjoyed a hamburger with bleu cheese with a side of cheese curds for lunch from a local favorite called
NorthPoint Custard. At the time I was there, this was the only location open as it's a seasonally-opened restaurant. I always try to eat something that's native to the area that I visit and this regional food was very tasty.
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| Juicy cheese curds! |
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| That settles it, I'm requesting bleu cheese in my burgers from now on. |
Aside from the downtown hustle and bustle of Milwaukee, anywhere outside the city was pretty calm and laid-back. It was definitely a change of pace from what the metropolitan areas that I'm used to, but it gave me time to think about a few things.
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| Rush hour at 5PM on a Friday, somewhere south of Sheboygan. So many cars out there. |
One of the biggest differences that I saw between southern Wisconsin and my current dwelling in Cleveland was the appearance of the snow. When it snows in NE Ohio, it's disgusting. You want it gone as quickly as possible, and it all looks like brown slush as if Mother Nature had diarrhea. Out here, any photo looks like it could be in a Christmas card and the roads are cleared very quickly. When the white stuff falls, it's time to play here, whether it be the snowman in the front yard or the snowmobiles putting down the trails next to the roads or racing on the frozen ponds.
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| Aside from the occasional cat or other critter romping in the snow, it's one giant carpet of white out here. |
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| The "alternative" vehicles come out this time of year. |
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| I want to ride one of these someday. |
One of my destinations was
Green Bay, so naturally, I had to stop by and visit the famous Lambeau Field, home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. I'm not a huge football fan, but it was cool to see a sporting venue that had so much storied history.
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| I think these guys take football a bit seriously in these parts... |
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| According to one of the associates in the Packers Pro Shop, this all-football chandelier is only one of two original pieces in existence. Very fitting for a place where this sport is so respected. |
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| This places looks much bigger than on television. |
For the couple days I was in Wisconsin, I spent some time thinking about my definition of "home." There are people who have told me that it's simply wherever you put your things. I beg to differ. As beautiful as these places were, even in the freezing cold of winter, I still felt like I was missing something. Perhaps I'm so rooted in the West Coast that I can never accept any another place as my own. To this day I still yearn to return to California. Then again, snow has never been a part of my vocabulary until 3.5 years ago. It's a very slight adjustment. But it doesn't mean that I can appreciate what I see in little doses.
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| Not all places to "park it" are the same. Just find the one that works for you. |
