When I began the pursuit for a marathon race, I decided I wanted to go somewhere outside of Iowa. After a little searching and research, I landed on Milwaukee. Ryan and I had visited Milwaukee before, for a company outing to a Brewers game. During that visit, we stayed in the suburbs and didn’t really get to take in the city, at all. This time, I wanted to experience more. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t really cooperate. It was cold and rainy the whole weekend. Instead of getting to enjoy the outdoors and Lake Michigan, we stayed indoors and ate and drank. I guess there are worst things...! Our first stop in town on Friday included a visit to Lakefront Brewery. We can't get Lakefront beers in Iowa and hadn't even heard of the brand until a recent trip to Minnesota. The brewery was small and had a very down-home feel to it. The tasting room was a giant hall that reminded me of an aged high school gymnasium. The tour was very laid back, allowing everyone to drink throughout it! The tour itself wasn't fancy ... you could tell it was a working brewery ... but it was, nevertheless, entertaining, thanks to our funny tour guide. Afterward, we checked into our hotel and took its charter to the restaurant, Harbor House for dinner. The place appeared pretty neat, but we only were able to eat near the entrance (we didn’t have a reservation so the bar area was the only area available ... bummer!). We both had the scallops and steak. Everything was pretty good – but not knock-our-socks-off good (especially considering the price).

This was the hot spot for brewery visitors to take a photo. I think I took three group photos!

On Saturday, we slept in and then traveled to Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward neighborhood to Milwaukee Public Market. This is an indoor market containing various vendors ... cheese, wine, bakery/coffee, spices, kitchen goods, seafood, and more. We picked up some cheese and beer while there. My only complaint would be that the walkways are not very wide, so you are typically forced to walk the speed of the people in front of you. All you fast-walkers, like myself, may grow annoyed! We then ate some lunch at Water Buffalo and ventured to the hotel where we met our friends, Amber and Bill. We picked up our race packets then stopped at a bar near our hotel. The bar was casual and had a historical vibe. We then traveled to eat again – at Louise’s, an Italian restaurant. Amber and I needed to carb load for the race, of course! The place was hip and elegant at the same time and my lasagna was yummy! In the end, the best part was catching up with our friends. I don't get to see Amber often, so a trip like this was good for my soul. Last but not least, the reason for our visit ... the race .. was on Sunday. To see more details on this, see the marathon post. But, to wrap this post up, I'll just say it was the perfect way to end the weekend in Milwaukee!

Amber said our faces in this picture clearly displayed our pre-race jitters. I think she might be right! We really were happy to see each other, even if it doesn't look like it!

I thought this building art was appropriate for the weekend ... positivity is needed when running 26.2 miles!

Runners and supports leaving the park after the marathon.