Play in the City

Jazz in the Park 2006

If it's a summer Thursday night in Milwaukee, there's really only one place to be: Jazz in the Park.

The word has gotten out in a big way, as I found out this past Thursday when I attended Jazz in the Park for the first time this season.

Dave and I got home from work Thursday around 5:30 and were out the door before 6:00. We hit up Metro Market for some food and wine and got down to Cathedral Square Park as quickly as we could. The lucky people who work right downtown can stake out a spot on the lunch hour but for the rest of us, we can only hope there'll still be room.

As we approached the park with our food and blanket in hand, we could hear the jazz booming off the surrounding buildings. I was excited - there's nothing like live, sexy music under the stars with your sweetie or some pals and a glass (or three) of wine.

We saw right away that we weren't going to have a spot to sit – the park was packed. People were even sitting in the street, across the street, and on the medians in the middle of the street. This was a definite change from last year – check out this picture from last year compared to this year's pics.

We were very hungry so we were prepared to sit wherever we had to. We ended up on a sloped patch of dirt in one of the corners of the park and we dug into our sushi and sandwiches and pistachios.

Then I realized that I hadn't brought a corkscrew with me for the wine I'd bought. Silly, silly girl. I was obviously in the right place – people had open bottles of wine everywhere. I watched as a man about 20 feet away struggled to open his bottle, and once he finally got it open, I trotted up to him and asked to use his corkscrew. I made fun of him for not being very good at opening wine and then, sure enough, I couldn't open mine, either. It was the shoddy corkscrew he had. Dave had to come over and use his muscles to get it open.

But they were very nice, gracious people!

After we ate, we decided to do a lap around the park to seek out a few people we knew. I ran into an old coworker, and then we chatted with my dad and a colleague of his for awhile, and then we met up with the lovely Lauren for a bit. We saw Charlie, too! It's funny once you know people how often you run into them.



Lauren made a very good point as we were talking about how fun Jazz in the Park is: this is a free event that is HUGELY popular in Milwaukee. The County Parks are having all kinds of financial troubles. She suggested that if everyone at Jazz in the Park contributed just $1 or $2 each time they came, the city could make a little money off of it! We're not sure how exactly this could be done, but we said we'd be willing to go around with a bucket.

Anyway, I had a great time at Jazz in the Park and I hope to get back a lot this summer – it's definitely the place to see and be seen each week!

Jean Pierre and Grant Park

There's a small bakery/café in Shorewood called Jean Pierre that I've wanted to try ever since we moved here in August. It's a quaint little restaurant with yellow awnings out front that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room and the outdoor seating area, and also serves specialty coffees and pastries from behind its counter.

Dave and I walked down to Jean Pierre on Sunday morning for breakfast to finally check the place out. It was pretty busy when we walked in and from the looks of it, there was only one guy waiting on the entire restaurant, but we were seated and served very promptly. Our table was in the back dining room against the wall, and when I looked around I saw that everything about the place is just cozy – the yellow walls, the rustic wooden tables and chairs, the French paintings and décor. People looked at ease and happy as they visited over their coffee and Sunday papers – I told Dave I think we should make this a regular thing. (I wanted to take pics of the dining room but I didn't want people to think I was crazy...)



The waiter was great, filling my cup full of coffee right away as we looked over the menus. Everything sounded delicious – Belgian waffle with apple nut syrup, sun dried tomato quiche, bagels, muffins, eggs, pancakes – it was hard to decide. Dave went for the waffle and I went for a cheese, ham, spinach and mushroom omelet with toast and fresh fruit. Our food came fast and wow, was it fantastic. I think it was the best omelet I've ever had. The fruit was so fresh, and the toast was served dry – with butter and jelly on the side - which I liked. No greasy diner food here!

I loved Jean Pierre – I wish it hadn't taken us so long to try it out! Next time, we'll be hitting it up for dinner to see if it compares to breakfast.

After breakfast, we drove out to South Milwaukee to Grant Park. With my sore legs and Dave's hangover, we really were in no mood for playing in the park, but I had to do a little research. I can't say what for yet – don't want to jinx it! – but I will soon. I'd heard a lot about Grant Park being one of Milwaukee's best parks so I was eager to see it.



It was huge! There were several entrances off the main road, and tons of open space and picnic areas. There's also a golf course, a beach, and several jungle gyms. I searched until I found the Seven Bridges Trail, which I'd heard was a great hiking trail. We found that it was closed due to some renovations, but – despite Dave's yelling at me – I ignored the Do Not Enter signs and scoped out the view from the bridge and took some pics. The trail looks beautiful – I can't wait to go back when it's open again.



The rest of the day was pretty uneventful – but after discovering two more Milwaukee gems, I figured I could call it a day! 

Earth Day at the Urban Ecology Center

Just last week I'd mentioned wanting to visit Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center in the near future.

This week, I was hoping to partake in an Earth Day observance of some sort.

Yesterday afternoon, the stars aligned with the Earth Day Celebration at the Urban Ecology Center, which is located in Riverside Park on Milwaukee's East Side, on the corner of Oakland and Newberry.



Rain threatened to ruin the outdoor festival, but thankfully, it never came. The expansive park was filled with families enjoying the jungle gyms, performance artists, hay sledding, carriage rides, softball games and art projects inside the Center.

Dave and I circled the perimeter of the park and took it all in. The whole park smelled of birch chips, which must have been freshly laid for spring. I couldn't get enough of that smell. Around us, young women were teaching a group of young girls to belly dance, small groups of people were sitting at picnic tables digging into pizza from the nearby Little Caesars, a band was setting up to play to a group of onlookers outside the Center, and two softball games were going on, the players yelling "heads up!" every time they smacked the ball past the outfield and into the path of festival-goers. (dangerous, yes, but it sure kept people on their toes!)



We went inside the Ecology Center to see what was going on but didn't spend too much time since we were mostly just in the way. Kids were running around, eating popcorn and hot dogs, showing off the kites they'd just made out of construction paper, sliding down the indoor slide, and checking out the aquariums in the animal room.



When we went back outside, we found ourselves under the platform that we'd been supposed to repel down during the Urban Tadpole race last summer. The view from up there is supposed to be pretty nice, but we didn't venture up this time. We made our way back to the park where we saw another group of artists getting ready to perform.

They were dressed all in white, and as they began to beat on their drum, they instructed the audience to clap along with them. Once they established a rhythm, they began a tribal singing/chanting. Two people at a time came forward and danced together, doing martial arts moves in a very precise, fluid manner. They kicked and turned and stood on their hands, never touching the other person. They looked very strong and graceful and it was just a really cool thing to watch.



I had never seen anything like it and I was unclear what exactly they were doing. Their shirts said "Capoeira." My full-of-knowledge fiancé told me that he thought it was a form of dance that slaves did to practice combat moves without getting in trouble for fighting. When I looked it up when we got home, sure enough, he was correct.

We watched for about 20 minutes, and I felt like I could watch them all day. I loved the way they looked, I loved the way they sounded, it was just awesome – the highlight of the festival for me.

Riverside Park is spacious and lush and the fact that it's smack in the middle of the bustling East Side makes it even more appealing. The Ecology Center sits on the far end of the park and offers programs, classes, trail runs, and numerous other events year-round.

The park borders the bike trail that leads all the way to downtown by the art museum, and hiking paths run throughout the woods and along the Milwaukee River just on the other side of the park, too. For a picnic, a pickup baseball game, a bike ride, a jog, or just for a nice walk or nap, the park is a definite perk for Milwaukee.

Mitchell Park Domes

Reading the list of the possible "Gems of Milwaukee" reminded me of the Mitchell Park Domes, a place I've heard about for years but have never been to. I know that many people consider the Domes to be one of the most fascinating places to visit when in Milwaukee.

We got six inches of snow here last night, and today dawned sunny and clear. It looked like the perfect day to go sledding or ice skating or skiing, but man was it freezing out! It probably barely reached 20 degrees today, and after shoveling snow for an hour this morning, I didn't really want to spend any more time outside. The sledding and the skiing will come - we have a long winter ahead of us.

On a side note: shoveling snow really loses its fun factor when you have to do it four times within a week and a half. I can't believe the snow we've gotten already this year.

We headed to the Domes early this afternoon. The three seven-story glass Domes can be seen from miles away, and upon pulling up in front of them, they are a grand sight to see. Once inside, we saw that the conservatory was quite crowded with people - a lot of older folks and a lot of families, and also a handful of children dressed in festive dance and cowboy costumes who were performing in the Show Dome.



Dave and I headed into the Tropical Dome first which, after seeing all three, was definitely my favorite. It was very weird to go from being freezing to being in a thick, humid, warm climate. I took off my coat and scarf and marveled at all the trees and plants and flowers as we walked around. The sun shined through the huge glass panes, and birds chirped and flew overhead. We spotted bananas, avocados, cocoa, grapefruits and chili peppers that were being grown.

I touched a lot of the leaves since they were so unlike anything I'd seen before. I also couldn't stop taking deep breaths in, just to smell the fresh, earthy smells and feel the warm air in my nose and lungs. It really wasn't too hard to imagine I was somewhere far, far away from Wisconsin.



We headed to the Arid Dome next. It was obviously dry, but also much cooler than I expected it to be. There were all kinds of trees, cacti and flowers, and also some skeletons and rocks thrown in to set the desert scene.



The third Dome was the Floral Show Dome, which currently houses tons of poinsettias and a huge Christmas tree, along with other Christmas decorations including a house, a fireplace with Santa's legs hanging down, and his eight reindeer and his sleigh. The Show Dome features five different floral displays yearly.



Besides the three domes, there is also a gift shop and a educational center for children who visit the conservatory. Construction on the Domes was begun in 1959 and the last of the three domes opened in 1967. They're open 365 days a year, and more than 200,000 people visit each year.

Dave and I spent a little over an hour walking through the three Domes today, though I can see how you could stay much longer, if you really wanted to learn about the different trees and plants by reading the numerous signs, or if you simply wanted to sit and enjoy the different climates. I very much enjoyed our visit, and I think it's marvelous that Milwaukee boasts such a unique and interesting venue.

Lake Park

Yesterday I had the whole day off. Gas prices rose too high for me to drive anywhere too far away, and I was feeling sad about the state of the country and the world, so I thought it'd be a good day to escape for a bit.

I've been wanting to post about Lake Park for some time now so I headed down there on my bike, armed with my camera.

Lake Park holds a special place in my heart. It's such a lovely part of the city I live in, I've worked in the restaurant within the park for two years now, and when I started training for the marathon a year and a half ago, I ran through the park nearly every day. Its beauty and flat pathways guided me when I was just starting out.

It is a truly gorgeous park with a great sense of history and life.

The park was designed by the same man who designed New York City's Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted. His vision "reflected the Romantic style of the great parks of Europe."

He "resisted all attempts at privatization" and wanted the park to be open to the public. He "distinguished between two forms of recreation: 'active' (sports and playgrounds) and 'passive' (walking, attending concerts, enjoying nature) and provided for both, cautioning that 'active' areas not be so large or so many as to disturb persons coming to the park for 'passive' reflection and enjoyment." (Read his entire bio here)

He was commissioned to design the park in 1889 and most of the park was completed within the next decade. The entire fascinating history of Lake Park can be read here.

Today the park is a true reflection of Olmsted's vision: there are plenty of spaces for recreation: tennis courts, the lawn bowling area, the golf course, the playground, and the open spaces for baseball, frisbee, etc; but there is also much room for strolling, sitting, and daydreaming.

Paved and dirt paths lead all throughout the park, and the bright blue of Lake Michigan can be seen through the trees along the pathways. The view from the grand staircase (right under the Pavillion - and the Lake Park Bistro) is breathtaking. Many couples get married on that staircase, and many more have their wedding day pictures taken in the park.

Random, steep paths lead down through the woods to the lakefront and the old, sturdy bridges tower above the ravine.

When I'm at work, customers always ask about the building they're in. I tell them that the Pavillion was built at the beginning of the century and was used for musical performances and picnics and meetings until the restaurant was opened in 1995. Joe Bartolotta only rents the space from the county - and the lower level is still public property used for county meetings and other events.

The restrooms down there are public park restrooms. There are bulletin boards down there that show old black and white photographs from when the Pavillion was first built and I am fascinated every time I look at them. I was going to take pictures of those boards yesterday, but a meeting was being held down there so I didn't go in. There are some black and white photos on the Lake Park Friends site, though, that I'm going to use below. They're really cool.

My bike ride wasn't as long as I would have liked - I was gone about an hour and covered around seven miles. Allergy season is here and the outdoors have become a bit of an enemy. My red eyes and itchy nose and throat are looking forward to the first frost of the season!

Anyway, here are some of the pictures I took yesterday, along with some of the historical black and white photos, courtesy of the Lake Park Friends site.

The park

The bridges

 

View from the stairs

The light house

The golf course

         

Lawn bowling

         

And in the beginning…

I love these pictures! For the whole gallery, you can go here.

For more on the golf course, go here and for more on lawn bowling, go here.