In Girl Scouts we sang a song-
Make new friends but keep the old.
One is silver and the other gold.
Now that I am retired I have the privilege of visiting gold friends anytime.
Barb is a life long friend, since third grade. Her husband Wayne went to school with my former husband. We have lots to talk about and lots in common.They invited me to come to Milwaukee for a long weekend.
The journey started in my car, driving to Muskegon and then boarding the LAKE-EXPRESS FERRY. For two hours and thirty minutes I read and relaxed in absolute comfort. Barb and Wayne picked me up and we were off for a weekend of retired fun.
The first stop was Milwaukee’s only lake front restaurant. It is a shame that all this beauty is going to waste. The lunch was wonderful, the only thing that kept this from being as wonderful as a Pacific Ocean Restaurant is the lack of Dolphins dancing in our view.
Friday we went to the Milwaukee Art Museum, an exquisite building, (http://mam.org/info/details/quadracci.php) to see the display of the interior of the Winter Garden from China’s Forbidden City. Milwaukee is one of the few places in the world to host this marvelous display. (http://mam.org/china/emperors-private-paradise.php) When the interior of the Winter Garden has been restored the art work will return for permanent display in the Forbidden City. The focus of much of the Winter Garden artwork is the three friends of winter, the bamboo, the plum blossom and the pine.
The Museum is exquisite, it was designed by Santiago Calatrava who also designed the new transportation center at the site of the world towers in New York.
Saturday was a trip to Madison for a football game. Madison has the centrally locate campus of Michigan State with a few well planned business tossed in to make it feel like Michigan. Tailgates are run by the University on campus, not far from the stadium. The traffic has a very controlled feel. Saturday’ dinner, in a small town pub provided us with a new taste treat, deep fried cheese curds with a raspberry dip. Watch out Quebec, Wisconsin has a gourmet poutine.
Sunday was the highlight of the trip, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, the setting for LOVING FRANK. This lovely spot served as his workshop where he could practice ideas. It burned three times requiring extensive renovations. Today it is a museum and a unique school of architecture. We ended our tour at the cemetery to see the grave of of Mamah Cheney.
ANCORA IMPARO 