S/V Denis Sullivan Homecoming Gala

(Photo courtesy of this morning's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.)

Back in April, Dave and I visited the construction site of Pier Wisconsin, and I began to highly anticipate the day I'd be able to set foot inside.

At the end of the post, I said "I can't say for sure if I'll ever be able to attend an event in the Pilot House (though I'd sure like to!) …" and now here it is a mere two months later and I've done just that.

Well, alright – maybe attended isn't exactly the right word. But hey, I was there.

Last night was the homecoming gala for the S/V Denis Sullivan at Pier Wisconsin. More than 1,000 people came to the new venue to get a sneak peek before the Discovery World museum opens there later this summer and of course to celebrate the schooner's first official arrival at its new summer home.

A few weeks ago, I received a letter in the mail from Bartolotta's asking if I'd be willing to help out at certain events this summer even though I no longer work for the company. (They have the exclusive catering contract at Pier Wisconsin.) I could definitely use the extra money and I thought it'd be fun to serve again once in awhile, so I eagerly accepted.

I showed up at 2:00 as I was asked to and since I thought there might not be sufficient parking down there, I had Dave drop me off. (Big mistake – more in a minute.) The guests weren't set to start arriving until 4:00, so for the next two hours I helped set up and got to see the place.

The building is sleek and white and full of windows, much like its next-door neighbor, the Milwaukee Art Museum. It has wood floors so as to simulate walking on a pier, and the glass above contains words indicating what space is what.  One side of the main part of the building is the schooner side, which sits beneath a large boat hanging from the ceiling, and the other side is the Promenade, which is a long, wide walkway that has a café, a theater, and the Compass Room, which is where all the food for the party was prepped, situated off of it.

The second floor was off-limits because it's not ready – I assume that's where the museum will be. On the top floor is the Pilot House which is the circular part of the building. I rode the glass elevator up just as soon as I was able to, and when the doors opened I could barely keep from gasping.

I'd heard it would be an elegant space with views of the city all the way around, but I couldn't have imagined a more stunning place if I'd tried. It was unbelievable. Floor to ceiling windows looked out over the tall buildings of the city, the green grass along the lakefront, the Summerfest grounds, and of course, the blue, blue water of Lake Michigan as far as the eye could see.

Tables and chairs covered in white linens were spread throughout the room, a bandstand rose above the floor in the front of the room and a wooden dance floor was set up in the center. The ceilings were white and had little circular lights nestled within them, and a grand piano sat near the wall in the back. Several sets of glass doors led out to a 10-foot wide (or so) terrace overlooking the water.

Words just can't describe what an enchanting place this would be to have a wedding or other special event. As I tied scarves on cocktail tables, I couldn't help gaping around the room, trying to take it in as much as I possibly could. I daydreamed about being a guest at an event there. Hopefully someday!

There were tons of people working the event, and I actually got assigned to the Promenade for the evening, so that half hour or so that I was tying scarves was my only time in the Pilot House.

At 4:00 the guests started to arrive, at 5:00 hors d'oeuvres were set out, and at 6:30, dinner was served. Serving that many people a sit-down dinner would have been impossible, and so there were stations set up in three different areas, each area having the same four stations: a carving station with turkey and ham, a pasta station with several cold pasta salads and several warm pastas, a Tex-Mex station with fajitas, rice and steak, and a salad station with two different salads and assorted cold meats and cheeses. Seating was available at tables set up in the Promenade and outside in a large white tent.

I was on the station that started out with hors d'oeuvres, then changed to salads, and then finally to desserts – cookies, brownies, lemon bars, pecan bars – so I was a busy, busy lady for a few hours, constantly going back and forth from the Compass Room to my station with more food.

There were several musical acts in the various areas of the building, and the one that was playing down at my end was called Trio de Janeiro – and they were great! They played Caribbean and Latin rhythms and I made a mental note to look them up when I got home. But I can't seem to find a website for them … there are other groups by the same name but they aren't the group I saw.

Anyway, the crowd at the event was incredibly friendly and gracious, and while I would have rather been a guest, I enjoyed working and getting to see the new venue. I had considered bringing my camera but then thought better of it since I didn't know where I'd put it. I regret not bringing it, though, since I would have had no problem taking a few here and there. Darn!

Since I got there at 2:00 and many other staff didn't come until 4:00, I got to leave by about 8:30, which I hadn't expected. I walked outside and considered walking the five miles or so home but then thought better of that since it was getting really cold and it would be dark in a half hour.

Turns out, I could have crawled home and still gotten home faster than I did …

Dave had gone to the Brewers game and then was planning to go out afterward, so the plan was that I'd take a taxi home. I called for one at 8:30 p.m. and was told it'd be about 15 minutes. A nice old man sat down next to me while he waited for his wife to pull the car around, and we talked about the Denis Sullivan. Then once he left, a nice Mexican girl named Luz who had worked the event in the kitchen sat next to me. We chatted and she borrowed my phone to call her dad for a ride.

Nine o'clock rolled around and there was still no taxi. I was chilled to the bone by now from the strong wind and forty-something degree temps – I hadn't thought to bring a jacket when I left the house at 1:45. I called the taxi company back and the woman I talked to this time said she had no order for me. I told her where to find me and said to please hurry, but then she said she didn't know where Pier Wisconsin was – she needed an address.

I didn't know the address, so I told her to put in the art museum's address and I'd just walk over there. Luz's dad still hadn't arrived, either, so she told me to get a cab for her, too, and so I did. Together we walked over to the art museum and waited. Around 9:15 a cab pulled up and I asked who he was here for – of course it was for Luz.

The nice man – Marvin – didn't want to leave me after I told him how long I'd already been waiting, so he said why don't you jump in, we'll take her first and then I'll restart the meter when we get back downtown and I'll take you home. I was so cold and annoyed by now that I jumped in. Luz lived near 68th and Lincoln, and it took about 15 minutes to get over there. Marvin, however, thought she'd said 8th and Lincoln, so when I thought we'd reached our destination, we actually had 60 more blocks to go. Finally we dropped her off and were on our way to Shorewood.

We got slowed down a bit due to traffic coming from Miller Park, but I eventually made it home. Marvin and I talked the whole ride and it was pleasant enough, but I was just amazed at the entire situation when I opened my front door - $18 lighter – at 10:15 p.m. I live a five-minute drive from Pier Wisconsin and yet I was just arriving home almost two hours after I'd finished work. If only I'd just taken my car!!

The kicker was still to come – I unlocked the door and there was Dave, passed out on the couch. I flipped on the light and yelled his name, and he barely stirred. Oh no, I had to tell my story and find out why the heck he was home when he was supposed to be at the Brewers game. I shook him and he finally woke up – he'd come home early because he ate and drank too much and felt sick. So if I had just tried to call him first, I would have been home an hour and a half earlier.

In the whole scheme of life, I knew this was nothing, but it sure made me angry for a little while there! It felt so good to be home and get into a hot bath and relax.

Earlier that day, we walked to Atwater Park and did the stairs there for our workout: 128 steep stairs leading down to the beach – 8 times down and 8 times up. Then I walked almost constantly at the event for six hours. I could barely walk all day today – the pain in my legs is excruciating. It was a dumb idea to work out like that before working all evening – it's probably better I didn't walk home, even if it would have saved me time and money.

And speaking of money, I found out when I got there yesterday that I was going to be making about half of what I was expecting to make per hour at the event, so after all that and the taxi ride, I'm not sure I'd do it all over again!

Ah, life is an adventure.

I am thankful that I got to see the new Pier Wisconsin before a lot of other people. It's going to very quickly become one of the crown jewels of the city, and I look forward to checking out the Discovery World museum and sailing on the Denis Sullivan this summer.

And maybe – just maybe – I'll be a guest in the Pilot House one day, sipping my champagne and dancing the night away as the city glows in the distance. 

Comments

[shpprgrl]

Hey Erin! What a night! Sounds great, I love getting ready for events. I volunteer for a non profit and coordinate so much stuff, that when I get to attend an event, I feel lost...like I should be busy somewhere.

The car turmoil! I feel your pain. I've had many things happen like that, so many that I always take myself everywhere. Waiting arrrghh!

Interesting post...here from Michele's!

[Amanda]

Oh no! Sounds like a pretty nice night turned bad very quickly. I hate it when life does that to ya. Well, at least you have a positive outlook - you got to see a beautiful place!

Hope the legs aren't hurting too much this morning...