Milwaukee In March

Dear Cubby,

What a week in Wisconsin, a state none of the three of us had ever been to.  Of course you were close to perfect on the flight out there and very patient as we trekked through the airport, out to the rental car pick-up, and then to the store to buy the few things we'd need for the week.  I worried we'd be trudging through waist-deep snow, but it was nothing more than sweater-weather and the only snow we saw was the occasional mound on the side of the road.

Tuesday we ventured to your first real zoo (not counting Sea World) and, once again, although ideally-behaved, you thoroughly disappointed us. We wandered about by ourselves after obtaining directions to the red panda exhibit, and happened upon the big cat house so we stopped in.  The first animal we saw was a spotted hyena.  (Yeah, you read that right ... a dog in a cat house.)  He came at once to the glass to check you out.  Do you think maybe he thought you were a light-coated, deformed hyena?  He was surely impressed with you but the feeling wasn't mutual.  You looked up at him, would've shrugged your shoulders if you knew how, and turned away to go look at something else. 

Two of three Amur (Siberian) tigers caught sight of you and were falling all over themselves as they bounded over to the glass to say hello!! They never appeared aggressive or agitated; I really think they just wanted to play.  But you didn't.  You barely gave them a second look; in fact, you didn't turn up in many of the pictures because you weren't really interested in the animals we were taking pictures of.

Same thing with the leopard; he was watching you so closely, and you just seemed quite bored with the whole kitty cat thing.  You patiently stood still while we watched feeding time with the elephants, and while we tracked down the red pandas who were all indoors until afternoon.  The bears, with the exception of the polar bear, were all hibernating so we didn't see any of those.  Hey, how about that bull elk with a full rack!  Was he awesome or what?  He really didn't seem to care if you were there or not, but three of the four lady elks did!  They really liked you.  

One of them even left her group and came right to the fence to see you.  You were close enough to have been nose-to-nose if I let you, and you flat out ignored her.  What in the world is it going to take to impress you?  Maybe if she had a tennis ball in her mouth?

Though staying at Oak Creek, we spent most of our time in Milwaukee and exploring things in between, like Lake Michigan.  That was pretty cool.

Wednesday after breakfast, we made a trial run to the theater the Irish Rovers were playing at that night to make sure there were no snags with finding the place or parking.  We found a fantastic parking place so snarfed it up, even though the concert was still five hours away.  We probably would've explored downtown a little more if it hadn't been bone-chilling cold.  Now I understand a whole lot more about wind chill!  We took shelter in a Starbuck's for a few minutes and you were thrilled beyond barks with your puppuccino!  We got warmed up and headed back over to the theater and just hung out in the lobby of the attached hotel until concert time.

The Irish Rovers were awesome.  They always are!  We got in a little chat time with Anne before the show and she told us about a few changes to the band.  Wilcil is gone now; he'll still record with them but won't be touring anymore.  We had some time afterward to visit too, and you eagerly gave George lots of hugs and cuddles!  He surely does love you!

Thursday we were promised massive rain, a boatload of snow, freezing temps, and tons more rain.  Nope ... didn't get any of that.  It was great finding a Fazoli's since we can't get it at home anymore, and then driving around sightseeing and just enjoying spending time together.

It wasn't till Friday at the airport when we realized we didn't see one of the things we meant to ... the bronze Fonz down by the river.  Just totally spaced it out.  Maybe it was for the better because some of the Google images make him look kinda creepy, but I can't believe it was only 200 feet away from the theater, only a one-minute walk, and we flat out missed it.

On your 26th flight, you slept all the way home and we dragged ourselves in the door a little after 9pm.  And, yeah, we just knew it.  First thing you did was head straight for your ball to go outside and play.  You're so predictable.  But that's okay ... you earned it!  Great job, Cub!  I love you!

Photo Descriptions:  Cubby and the hyena, Cubby and the tigers, spotted leopard, elk family, Lake Michigan, Cubby enjoys his treat, the Irish Rovers with Wendy and Cubby.