Milwaukee to Marquette

First business of the morning always is finding a coffee, preferably McDonalds; you can take care of the bathroom need and use 200MB Wi-Fi there. One was conveniently located on the way to Lake View Park about a mile south from the Tesla station in Oak Creek where I slept.  I took care of all morning businesses there, and then I was off to Lake View Park with a cup of coffee in my hand for the view of Lake Superior in the morning light.

I wasn't going to spend much time in Milwaukee. I never have in this trip in any of the cities. I'm sure it takes at least a few days to really get to know a city, and I probably would have if the city was a real destination. But I have a long way to go and these midwestern cities are more of novelty than a fancy. There are only two cities that I really care to spend time in: San Francisco and New York. A day suffices for other cities. I'll sweep from the south to north through downtown, and I'll be on my way to Marquette.

First on the way was the Historic Third Ward to Public Market under I-794. I parked the car near Catalano Square, walked Eerie Street to Water Street near the confluence of the rivers. A few row boats, complete with coxswains, passed by. Then the draw bridge went up to let a large boat pass. I took a few pics, came back to the car and drove to Broadway. I then walked through the Historic Third Ward to the Public Market. 

Seattle has Pikes Market, LA has Grand Central Market, NYC has Chelsea Market, and Philadelphia has Readings Market. Even Columbus has one. Every city has a public market and Milwaukee has one creatively named Public Market. At least they made a creative use of the lots under the interstate freeway. The market was closed. I walked the outside a bit and then drove to Pierhead Lighthouse on the lakeshore.

Memory has a strange way of mixing things up. It doesn't take much. It keys off something small like a water channel. This Pierhead was at the mouth of the Milwaukee River where it empties into Lake Michigan. The lighthouse at Charlevoix in Michigan was the same: it was at the end of the waterway between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. So, now I recall Charlevoix whenever I think of Milwaukee's Pierhead. 

From the Pierhead, I went to the downtown, walked a few blocks and visited Milwaukee Art Museum that looked like the new World Trade Center subway station in NYC. I was then on my way to Green Bay, stopping briefly at Schlitz Park and having a burrito lunch from a truck there. No, I didn't grab a beer there. Schlitz, or any American beer, never agreed with my palate.

I don't know what I was expecting in Green Bay. I no longer remember the image of Green Bay that I held. Probably the lake and the snow, much like Buffalo. Whatever it was, it is now replaced by my memory of it. It held my fascination for being a small city on the coast of the lake and being the host city of the Packers. So, the Packer Stadium was the first destination, naturally. 

The downtown of Milwaukee flanks the river. On one side is Broadway, the main shopping street. Across the river is Washington Street lined with low rise condos and mixed-use buildings. Meyer Theater was located on Washington Street. I followed more picturesque Broadway up north on my way out to Marinette. 

Menominee MI, which I thought was Marinette WI, was yet another town that reminded me Sausalito. The promenade along Lake Michigan, or Green Bay -- the actual bay, not the city -- to be more precise, was just like Sausalito's promenade, complete with a marina nestled behind row of restaurants and shops. How I got there, I'm not sure. I think I followed my way to Red Arrow Park jutting into the bay and then landed on 1st Street on my way to Escanaba. I remember walking in Red Arrow Park to the shoreline, and then turning back after attempting to get to Seagull Bar State Natural Area. The picturesque town of Menominee was an unexpected finding in the process.

I followed route 35 along the shore, looking for holes that I could poke to get to the waterline all along. I finally got off the highway and went into Baily County Park with its secluded beach with nobody around. I walked around for a while and then continued with the journey to Escanaba. It was 6PM already and the sun was getting mellow. Baily Park was the last stop that I made till I got to Escanaba at around 7PM. I still had the sunlight, so I went to check out Ludington Park on the shore. (It now got fused with Red Arrow Park in my memory). Then drove west on Ludington Street and came across Hong Kong Buffet. After dinner I drove all the way to Marquette and slept at the Tesla station there.