Empanadas for Lunch

 The kids wanted burgers or chicken. Mom overruled them because she wanted empanadas. I really didn't care what we had. Empanadas is what we got.

Stacy always knows where to find the best food. La Masa on Brady Street is an Empanada Bar. It is located on the corner of E. Brady St. and N. Arlington Pl. There is a small parking lot nearby otherwise find street parking. We had ended up in the lot after circling the block a couple of times. It didn't help it was lunch time and the Packers were playing. They are open every day of the week until at least 9.

The best way of ordering the empanadas is as a platter of 12 especially if you are with a group. They serve 16 different varieties of empanadas and not all of them Mexican. They are some Asian inspired flavors and a few more American style ones. If you are just looking for plain chicken or beef you are out of luck.

I had to expand my horizons and reach outside of my comfort zone when it came to picking empanada flavors. On the initial pass through there was really only two that I would even consider -- Cheese Curd n' bacon and Jamon y queso (ham and cheese). However Stacy wanted a few more suggestions and I said I was willing to try Thai Chicken Peanut, Carnitas Verde, Queso Poblano, and the Cuban.

Each one is stamped with 1 or 2 letters that correspond back to the menu so you know which one you are eating. 

Hands down my favorite was the Cheese Curd one. It tasted just like cheese curds. The ham and cheese was very good too. I was not a huge fan of the peanut chicken -- a bit too spicy. The Queso Poblano was a bit spicy but you could pull out the pepper pieces.

I would definitely go back and recommend it to anyone that is looking for something different. It is worth the parking headaches. 

5407. See the birthplace of the American League plaque in Milwaukee

 I don't remember where I saw that the Birthplace of the American League was in Milwaukee. I just remember saying I needed to see that. 

Back in 1899, Connie Mack was manager the Milwaukee Brewers of the Western League of the American Association. Yup, never knew they existed Over the course of the next year, Connie Mack and his friends Henry Killilea and Ban Johnson worked tirelessly and with many fights to start what is now the American League along with Charlie Comiskey. They met at the Republican House, a downtown hotel on the corner of Old World 3rd Street and Kilbourn Ave. On March 5, 1990 the White Stockings were incorporated and the team's 8 team alignment was complete. To read the complete story of the birth of the American League click here.

The 8 original teams were Boston Americans, Chicago White Stockings, Cleveland Bluebirds, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and Washington Senators. The Brewers moved to St. Louis only after a year. The Athletics were owned by Connie Mack, the White Stockings by Charlie Comiskey, and the Brewers by Henry Killilea.

The plaque can be found on the fence that encloses the Journal-Sentinel parking lot on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. I was told to count the fence post as it's between the third and fourth post. It is about halfway down the block. I was able to locate it from across the street. If you stand at the entrance to the Milwaukee Historical Society, it is almost directly across from you. I just happened to look up and saw it. If I had more time I would have walked across the street to actually read the plaque. 

Who know such a cool piece of baseball history is hidden in plain sight in Milwaukee. Who knew the Brewers were in Milwaukee before they came in the 1970s. 

Next time you find yourself wandering the streets of Old Milwaukee, go find this random piece of baseball history. 

5391. Find Gertie the Duck on Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee

 When planning our Doors Open Weekend, I gave Stacy a few other things I wanted to see in Milwaukee. Easy stuff that would not require any time at all, mainly photo ops. 

One of them was the Gertie the Duck sculpture. This statue honored Gertie the Duck who laid her nest on a piling in the Milwaukee River in 1945. A local newspaper man wrote a daily column about Gertie and her clutch of eggs. The column went viral and visitors from all over came to Milwaukee the spring and summer of 1945 to see Gertie and her ducklings. 

The city erected the sculpture of Gertie and her ducklings in 1997. The sculptures were created by Gwendolyn Gillen. The sculptures are located on the Wisconsin Ave Bridge. 

There are 5 other duck sculptures through out the Milwaukee Riverwalk as well. I did not find them all but I did find Millie. If I knew there were other ducks, I would definitely would have tried to find them all. There's always the next adventure.

I encourage you to go stroll the Riverwalk, find Gertie, and learn her history. Maybe you will find all the other duck too. You must just have to wait a bit if the bridge is up.

Hanging with Sloths at the Milwaukee Public Museum

 When the  hubby saw that Milwaukee Public Museum is moving to a new location and not all the exhibits were moving as they are now, he said we should go to the museum. I didn't both telling him we had 3 years to do this since when the hubby wants to do something I'm going to do it as soon as possible to avoid him changing his mind. I also decided we need to go before May 19th so I could see the sloths. 

The Milwaukee Public Museum is open Wednesday through Monday 10-5. The Survival of the Slowest exhibit is there until May 19th and is included in admission. Admission is $24/adult which includes the Survival of the Slowest exhibit. There is no ticket without the Survival of the Slowest. We got our tickets online to avoid the lines.

I forgot that we are going on a Friday afternoon and school groups could be a problem. The things you don't think of when you don't have kids. Luckily for us by the time we got there most of the schools groups were ready to leave. Just remember if you are going during the week, you may encounter school groups. 

When we got to the museum, we decided to work our way up from bottom to top with our first stop being the Streets of Old Milwaukee and European Village. As a kid you don't pay attention to the details. As an adult I wanted to soak up as many of the little details that wouldn't be coming to the new museum. I never noticed the amount of balconies there were.

We meandered our to through the rainforest. I forgot it makes noise as you walk through it. 

We also went back in time to the dinosaurs. I remember the dinosaur exhibit being scarier and bloodier. I remember being able to see it bite from a better angle. This seems not as violent and the guts seem to be missing. 

I took the hubby in the butterfly exhibit. Unlike the butterflies of Costa Rica, these weren't all that friendly. They did not land on us as easily. Maybe it was just me they didn't like. 

Then we headed up to the second floor to the Survival of the Slowest. I was expecting more sloths but there was only one. He was asleep initially but they do sleep 15 hours a day. He was awake when we were leaving.

Besides the sloth, there were also turtles, snakes, a bearded dragon, and various lizards. The sloth was my favorite.

The rest of floor two was devoted to animals of Wisconsin and North America along with Native Americans. I didn't think they would let me pet the fluffy cows.

The third floor was devoted to people, animals and cultures around the world and throughout history. We explored every nook and cranny we could find. We climbed all the stairs to find the less visited exhibits. I forgot about the oceanic exhibit and how it makes you feel like you exploring the great depths of the ocean just by walking down the ramp.

I forgot how large the museum really was. I am used to the smaller museums in the Fox Valley and the ones we visit while traveling. It is not as some of the Chicago or New York Museums but for Wisconsin it is huge and is full of wonderful artifacts. I will miss the old museum but am looking forward to seeing what the new museum holds.

902. Go to the Milwaukee Auto Show

 Growing up I remember seeing ads on TV for the Milwaukee Auto Show and what celebrities would be there. My brother went one year and brought me home a Gabrielle Carteris autograph. I still have that somewhere. So when I wrote the original bucket list back in 2002, the Milwaukee Auto Show went on the list.

When the hubby told me he had a softball tournament in Rhinelander, I was like I need an adventure. I checked to see if the Auto Show or Sports Show as both were on the bucket list. The Auto Show was going on and I was like Stacy I may need to borrow your son. I figured I had a chance to go to the auto show I better take it.

The Milwaukee Auto Show is at the Wisconsin Center (former Midwest Express Center) in downtown. It runs February 25- March 5, 2023. Ticket prices are $15 at the door or $14 online. Kids 12 and under are free. Stacy got our tickets ahead of time so they were only $12. I'd call that pretty cheap entertainment.

The first floor feature the higher end cars -- BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, Cadillac, Porsche, and Lexus. There were no real high cars like Maserati or Alfa Romero. 

There was collector cars as well. 

Some race cars and Electric Vehicles too.

There was not much up on the second floor except for a few cars including a DeLorean . 

I was beginning to get worried that there were no traditional brands at the auto show until we got to the 3rd floor. The 3rd floor was were all the real cars were -- Ford, Chevy, Jeep, Subaru, Toyota. Brands I could actually afford if we were looking at a new vehicle

There were a lot of cars. Each brand had it's own section of the floor. There were sales people walking around. Toyota actually had a stage with games and Q and A sessions -- Very interactive. Most of the cars you could sit in and get a feel for them. 

Toyota showcased the Brewers Rav4.

There was even a small scooter/motorcycle section.

Subaru had an adopt a pet area where you could play with some puppies.

Feeding America was there with a mini golf courses. For a $2 donation you could play $18 holes of mini golf. I initially thought it was $12. Stacy, Hanna, and I played. We didn't keep score but it was fun. I got 2 holes in one. 

I figured the hubby wanted me to check out some Fords, especially a Bronco. I'm not a huge fan of the Bronco but once I sat in it, I could definitely see myself driving it. The extra "oh Shit' bar on the by the passenger's leg is an interesting feature.

As we were leaving Stacy asked if it was all I hoped for. I was like it's an auto show. We just got new cars so we are not looking right now but I can see if you were looking for a new car, how the auto show would be very beneficial. It is also fun to look at cars without the pressure of buying. Overall it was a fun adventure -- something different. 

Maybe one year I will get to the Chicago auto show or the hubby will want to go to the Milwaukee Auto Show with me.