A most perfect Milwaukee day

Yesterday was a day of sun, food, friends and fun - it doesn't really get much better...

Dave and I drove into the city to look at apartments in the morning and we found quite a few that we'd like to look at, hopefully sometime next week. Upon recommendation from a friend, we went to Trocadero for lunch, which is located downtown on Water Street, just past the Holton Street Bridge next to the Milwaukee River. What a great choice! It's a cafe that serves unique and delicious European-style food, and it has a heated outdoor patio with cute little tables and a bubbling fountain in the middle.

When we were walking in, we spotted WTMJ 4's Mike Jacobs sitting at a corner table with a woman eating lunch. "High-five for local celebrities!" Dave said and we laughed. I love celebrities! Local, national, and everything in between. For a lot of our time there, Mike was a topic of our conversation. "Maybe we should send a drink over to Mike Jacobs." "I wonder what Mike Jacobs is talking about?" "Mike Jacobs is eating dessert now." He left before we got our food, and we tried to snap a picture of him as he got into his Mercedes outside the patio, but you can't see him too well.

Our lunch was scrumptious. I had a Brie/Tomato/Basil sandwich that was out of this WORLD, and Dave had the special - a surf and turf salad with shrimp and steak over mixed greens - which was also mighty tasty. The restaurant also features an extensive wine list and list of cheeses, and also some awesome appetizers. I bet it's really cool there at night, with the strings of lights illuminating the courtyard and the music playing a bit louder - I'll definitely be back.

After lunch, we drove down to the the lakefront so we could take a little walk. We strolled down toward the art museum and slid our hands across the warm railings as we peered down into the water that was clearer than usual yesterday. To our surprise, we spotted some HUGE fish swimming really close to the rocks on the shore. My guess is that they were carp, but I'm no expert. Seriously, though, these fish were at least two feet long - and there were tons of them! We stood mesmerized by them for ten minutes or so and snapped a few pictures of them. I'm planning on going fishing on the lake later in the summer - I guess there's potential to catch some monsters!

By this time it was around 2:30 and we weren't quite ready to head down to Summerfest, so we got some Frappacinos at Starbucks and drove around looking at more apartments. (Moving is such a pain, but I'm really excited to have a new apartment in a few weeks, too!)

We got down to the festival grounds around 4:00. We had no real plans except to secure some good seats for the Death Cab for Cutie show at the Harley-Davidson stage, which was scheduled to start at 10:30 p.m. We walked around the grounds, browsing the tents with Tshirts and jewelry for sale, surveying the food and beverage situation, and exploring all that this year's fest had to offer. We watched guys hitting golf balls out onto a small, makeshift island near the shore, we listened to a six-man Latin band and did a little dancin (ok, I did a little dancin), and we watched kids running around like crazy people on the Splash Pad. (I got in on that action, too. Ahhhhhhhhhh.)

We walked until we had done a complete tour of the grounds. We got the ever-so-yummy combo platter at Saz's to share and then made our way to the Harley stage. The hardcore Death Cab fans were already camped out in the first 10 or 15 rows, so we didn't get right in front, but it was close enough. We sat for four hours, watching people go by, drinking (beer for him, red wine spritzers for me!), and joking around. I was a bit of a glutton in the food department - after my Trocadero lunch and Saz's snack, I also had some Pizzeria Uno pizza and an ice cream sundae. I was ready to explode! But hey, I was only getting there once this year - I had to make the most of it!

During the time we were sitting there, we saw plenty of fashion faux pas like the ones mentioned in the OnMilwaukee.com article, but we couldn't snap any pictures without most of them seeing. We did manage this one:

 

My two girlfriends from work, Coraier and Lauren, showed up around 8:00, and Dave's brother, Carlo, and his friends showed up around 10:00. Finally Death Cab came on at 10:30.

A huge crowd had gathered by then and it was obvious that the band was in good spirits because of this fact. They were very gracious and funny and they sounded AWESOME live. Fans waved their lighters and cell phones to the ballads and, standing on the bleachers, we moved our bodies to the music as best we could. The air was cool and the sky was clear, and a couple times, I stopped and closed my eyes in order to appreciate the good feelings that come with being outside on a gorgeous summer night.

Death Cab has a new album coming out Aug. 30, so I expected to hear quite a few unfamiliar new songs, but to my surprise, they only played one new one (which was great, by the way.) They came back on for two encores and the crowd just loved it. It was an EXCELLENT concert.

I think that we - meaning the people who live in and near Milwaukee - take Summerfest for granted since it happens every year right in our backyard, but it really is a fantastic festival. Where else do so many great artists and bands come together in one place like that? And one of the best parts is that while you're at one stage, enthralled by a certain musician, you tend to forget that you are anywhere but at a small, intimate concert, when in reality, you're at a huge musical event, and once your musician of choice is done performing, you can head right on down to the next small and intimate performance. We're very lucky to have this in our city.

Here are a few pics from the concert!

Comments

[Derek]

Love Trocadero! It's right down the road from my place. Best patio around.

[DannyNoonan]

It's right down the street from my place (my place for the summer anyway) as well and I couldn't agree more. It's one of the best date restaurants in the city.

Coincidentally Erin, I just learned, after visiting your site numerous times, that you are engaged to my neighbor's brother. Small world.

[Erin]

I just learned about you today, too, Danny! It is a small world.

I also learned that you compete in Ironman competitions. That's impressive! Actually, one of the activities I have in the works is a one-on-one training session with Lauren Jensen of New Berlin who is a professional triathlete. She took third place in Ironman Brazil this year and second in Ironman Wisconsin last year. So be on the lookout for that!

I'm glad you enjoy the site!