Tootsie Yr2: Milwaukee, WI part 1
Early day in California is a "normal day" on the east coast (i.e. I got up at 4:30am which is technically 7:30am)
The flight from Burbank to Chicago was our last flight on this tour. For the final three weeks, it'll be buses until we fly home.
I had motion sickness troubles because landing in Chicago is always a little wibbly due to the lake, then we had a two-hour bus ride in stop-and-go traffic, so as soon as we got to the hotel I walked to the grocery even though it was closing soon. Needed to be active and have my feet on the ground, otherwise I might dream that I was still on a plane or bus.
The nearest grocery is a Fresh Thyme, that Meijer-in-disguise that is spreading across the country.
This one had a layout really similar to a Sprouts Market: bulk section islands and prepared food islands, produce in the back, vitamins to the front near the registers.
Though I was trying to hurry, I found many nice things to try this week (and next since we're busing and I can take groceries with me.)
- Japanese BBQ flavored jerky
- Banana Bread Chips (they had savory cauliflower ones too, and avocado ones)
- Spicy Basil Pumpkin Seeds
- Vegan Deli Turkey
- Moo-less Animal Free Whey Protein (I've seen more and more non-milk whey products on the shelves and as a lactose intolerant person it's very exciting!)
- Two new-to-me brands of vegan protein bars (I'm not specifically looking for vegan here, but non-vegan bars generally have a load of lactose and I can't eat them.)
- A flavor of Larry & Lenny's cookie that I haven't see before!
I'll try all of these and give a review at some point :)
Back at the hotel I unpacked and was getting ready for bed when I discovered many more bug bites or rashes or whatever has been plaguing me since we went to California :( In a panic I took pictures and asked about them on a doctor subreddit, and was told they are very likely bug bite's but it's anyone's guess what kind until I actually catch the bug.
Sleep was a long time coming.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, I woke up way too early, still anxious from last night.
But after breakfast and some reflection time, I decided to wait an additional day to see if any more appeared.
If it was just a bug that was in my room, or in the botanical areas that I was visiting, perhaps it didn't make the journey to Milwaukee with me. If it was bed bugs or something viral/fungal/bacterial, I expect more to continue to appear this week.
Anyway, I often panic over health-related things due to some childhood traumas.
If I can be calm and wait, usually it turns out that the thing I'm facing was not worth the worry.
I walked to Walgreens for random stuff (earplugs, my preferred protein shakes which they didn't have) and then had my meeting to sign documents for my new job, and then filled out some paperwork for Disney to be a sub for Candlelight. Then I ate lunch and took a nap because, like I said, I got up too early!
I don't recall anything else special happening, except that a phone interview with Disney was scheduled for the next day.
Sound check was just fine, and the show was just fine.
Picture of the hall's chandelier as seen from my spot in the pit:
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Wednesday, after breakfast I walked 2 miles to a local co-op called Beans & Barley.
It was cute, but not as good as expected from the pictures.
i.e. in the pictures online there were a lot of grocery items and locally-made bread, but today there were a few sad vegetables and prepackaged loaves. Most of the store was devoted to hippie knick-knacks: incense burners, silly socks, coffee mugs, essential oils and soaps. Which, nothing wrong with that, it's just not my interest.
I ate in their cafe, which was also a disappointing experience as the staff seemed exasperated and service was VERY slow even though it wasn't crowded. I ordered a very simple grilled veggie sandwich, and it took nearly 30 minutes to come out.
That said, it WAS very good. The ciabatta bread was super soft and fresh, the veggies had a blanket of toasted mozzarella that was divine, and the veggies themselves had been roasted in a garlic olive oil. Flavorful and yum.
From there I walked to Whole Paycheck, where a homeless man outside asked for food, so for once in my life I actually got to give a homeless person something (the last time a homeless person asked me specifically for food, not money, was in Chicago in 2015.) We went inside and he loaded up a big plate at the hot bar, and picked out two drinks. After he'd gone on his way a security officer approached me to ask if the man had solicited me "inside the store." "Not 'inside the store,'" I replied, and he nodded and moved on.
I didn't get much, just the loaf of bread I'd hoped to find at the co-op and a bag of cherries because they've finally dropped below $5/pound.
Because the co-op had taken so long with making my sandwich, and because of the unexpected time with the homeless dude, I had to Uber back to be in my hotel room for the Disney interview. Ok I didn't HAVE to, but the email had specifically said they wanted me to be in a quiet area, and I also didn't know how long the interview would take.
I waited, and waited.
The interview time came and went. I decided to risk the noise of starting a load of laundry, taking the stairwell so I wouldn't miss a call in the elevator. Nothing. An hour after the scheduled time I emailed the interviewer to ask if there'd been a miscommunication. No response. An hour after that I texted the recruiter who'd been handling my scheduling thus far, to let her know the interview hadn't occurred. She said she'd look into it and get back to me.
And that was that. I got stood up!
Well, I just hope everyone who was involved is OK.
The show that night was normal.
Katie, our physical therapist, came to watch the show from the pit. It was fun to see her excited face as we played, lol.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday I didn't eat much for breakfast, partly because I've been super stressed lately (mystery bug bites from CA, long turbulent flights, interviews and background checks, people getting sick in the band, etc) and my stomach is out-of-sorts, but also because for lunch I was having sushi with Jameson's parents, and wanted to show up hungry!
It's a good thing I ate light because
So good! Real, fresh sushi is such a treat :)
After lunch we visited Milwaukee Public Market, which is more food hall than farmers market.
It was bustling with people buying fresh seafood, brauts, baked goods, and lunch.
Kathy and Jeff found some cookies to take home, I didn't find anything to buy but certainly enjoyed looking.
We also strolled down the nearby streets and found one of the restaurants on my Foodie Finds list, so I bookmarked it in my head for tomorrow's adventures.
For dessert we hit Purple Door Ice Cream.
I had a mixed scoop of beer & pretzel ice cream, and chocolate sorbet!
The sorbet was non-dairy and had the texture of a fudge popsicle, yum!
The beer ice cream was surprisingly awesome, a nice malted wheaty flavor with the salty pretzels (which were more chewy than crunchy but still really good.) It was sunny and lovely out. If this is Wisconsin's normal spring weather, I think I'd be willing to endure their winters!
They took me back to the hotel and gave me some treats to bring home to share with Jameson: a bag of mini Swedish Fish, and two bags of locally-made caramel and cheddar popcorn! If you've ever been to Chicago, you know that caramel + cheddar is one of the best flavor combinations on earth :)
Back in my room I chilled, fought with Venmo over a fraudulent transaction, and worked on Foodie Finds for Madison WI. Before I knew it it was dinner time, but I wasn't very hungry and just ate some fruit and a yogurt before heading to the show.
We had another cast member out but it wasn't due to Covid...I hope she's ok.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Normally I post Thursday as part of the weekend, but my Friday plans include an art museum which will be a lot of pictures so I'm dividing it up. In other words tomorrow is art museum and another local restaurant that was on my list, then we have four shows over the weekend and somewhere in there I'll visit a local bagel place that I want to try.
The flight from Burbank to Chicago was our last flight on this tour. For the final three weeks, it'll be buses until we fly home.
I had motion sickness troubles because landing in Chicago is always a little wibbly due to the lake, then we had a two-hour bus ride in stop-and-go traffic, so as soon as we got to the hotel I walked to the grocery even though it was closing soon. Needed to be active and have my feet on the ground, otherwise I might dream that I was still on a plane or bus.
The nearest grocery is a Fresh Thyme, that Meijer-in-disguise that is spreading across the country.
This one had a layout really similar to a Sprouts Market: bulk section islands and prepared food islands, produce in the back, vitamins to the front near the registers.
Though I was trying to hurry, I found many nice things to try this week (and next since we're busing and I can take groceries with me.)
- Japanese BBQ flavored jerky
- Banana Bread Chips (they had savory cauliflower ones too, and avocado ones)
- Spicy Basil Pumpkin Seeds
- Vegan Deli Turkey
- Moo-less Animal Free Whey Protein (I've seen more and more non-milk whey products on the shelves and as a lactose intolerant person it's very exciting!)
- Two new-to-me brands of vegan protein bars (I'm not specifically looking for vegan here, but non-vegan bars generally have a load of lactose and I can't eat them.)
- A flavor of Larry & Lenny's cookie that I haven't see before!
I'll try all of these and give a review at some point :)
Back at the hotel I unpacked and was getting ready for bed when I discovered many more bug bites or rashes or whatever has been plaguing me since we went to California :( In a panic I took pictures and asked about them on a doctor subreddit, and was told they are very likely bug bite's but it's anyone's guess what kind until I actually catch the bug.
Sleep was a long time coming.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, I woke up way too early, still anxious from last night.
But after breakfast and some reflection time, I decided to wait an additional day to see if any more appeared.
If it was just a bug that was in my room, or in the botanical areas that I was visiting, perhaps it didn't make the journey to Milwaukee with me. If it was bed bugs or something viral/fungal/bacterial, I expect more to continue to appear this week.
Anyway, I often panic over health-related things due to some childhood traumas.
If I can be calm and wait, usually it turns out that the thing I'm facing was not worth the worry.
I walked to Walgreens for random stuff (earplugs, my preferred protein shakes which they didn't have) and then had my meeting to sign documents for my new job, and then filled out some paperwork for Disney to be a sub for Candlelight. Then I ate lunch and took a nap because, like I said, I got up too early!
I don't recall anything else special happening, except that a phone interview with Disney was scheduled for the next day.
Sound check was just fine, and the show was just fine.
Picture of the hall's chandelier as seen from my spot in the pit:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, after breakfast I walked 2 miles to a local co-op called Beans & Barley.
It was cute, but not as good as expected from the pictures.
i.e. in the pictures online there were a lot of grocery items and locally-made bread, but today there were a few sad vegetables and prepackaged loaves. Most of the store was devoted to hippie knick-knacks: incense burners, silly socks, coffee mugs, essential oils and soaps. Which, nothing wrong with that, it's just not my interest.
I ate in their cafe, which was also a disappointing experience as the staff seemed exasperated and service was VERY slow even though it wasn't crowded. I ordered a very simple grilled veggie sandwich, and it took nearly 30 minutes to come out.
That said, it WAS very good. The ciabatta bread was super soft and fresh, the veggies had a blanket of toasted mozzarella that was divine, and the veggies themselves had been roasted in a garlic olive oil. Flavorful and yum.
From there I walked to Whole Paycheck, where a homeless man outside asked for food, so for once in my life I actually got to give a homeless person something (the last time a homeless person asked me specifically for food, not money, was in Chicago in 2015.) We went inside and he loaded up a big plate at the hot bar, and picked out two drinks. After he'd gone on his way a security officer approached me to ask if the man had solicited me "inside the store." "Not 'inside the store,'" I replied, and he nodded and moved on.
I didn't get much, just the loaf of bread I'd hoped to find at the co-op and a bag of cherries because they've finally dropped below $5/pound.
Because the co-op had taken so long with making my sandwich, and because of the unexpected time with the homeless dude, I had to Uber back to be in my hotel room for the Disney interview. Ok I didn't HAVE to, but the email had specifically said they wanted me to be in a quiet area, and I also didn't know how long the interview would take.
I waited, and waited.
The interview time came and went. I decided to risk the noise of starting a load of laundry, taking the stairwell so I wouldn't miss a call in the elevator. Nothing. An hour after the scheduled time I emailed the interviewer to ask if there'd been a miscommunication. No response. An hour after that I texted the recruiter who'd been handling my scheduling thus far, to let her know the interview hadn't occurred. She said she'd look into it and get back to me.
And that was that. I got stood up!
Well, I just hope everyone who was involved is OK.
The show that night was normal.
Katie, our physical therapist, came to watch the show from the pit. It was fun to see her excited face as we played, lol.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday I didn't eat much for breakfast, partly because I've been super stressed lately (mystery bug bites from CA, long turbulent flights, interviews and background checks, people getting sick in the band, etc) and my stomach is out-of-sorts, but also because for lunch I was having sushi with Jameson's parents, and wanted to show up hungry!
It's a good thing I ate light because
So good! Real, fresh sushi is such a treat :)
After lunch we visited Milwaukee Public Market, which is more food hall than farmers market.
It was bustling with people buying fresh seafood, brauts, baked goods, and lunch.
Kathy and Jeff found some cookies to take home, I didn't find anything to buy but certainly enjoyed looking.
We also strolled down the nearby streets and found one of the restaurants on my Foodie Finds list, so I bookmarked it in my head for tomorrow's adventures.
For dessert we hit Purple Door Ice Cream.
I had a mixed scoop of beer & pretzel ice cream, and chocolate sorbet!
The sorbet was non-dairy and had the texture of a fudge popsicle, yum!
The beer ice cream was surprisingly awesome, a nice malted wheaty flavor with the salty pretzels (which were more chewy than crunchy but still really good.) It was sunny and lovely out. If this is Wisconsin's normal spring weather, I think I'd be willing to endure their winters!
They took me back to the hotel and gave me some treats to bring home to share with Jameson: a bag of mini Swedish Fish, and two bags of locally-made caramel and cheddar popcorn! If you've ever been to Chicago, you know that caramel + cheddar is one of the best flavor combinations on earth :)
Back in my room I chilled, fought with Venmo over a fraudulent transaction, and worked on Foodie Finds for Madison WI. Before I knew it it was dinner time, but I wasn't very hungry and just ate some fruit and a yogurt before heading to the show.
We had another cast member out but it wasn't due to Covid...I hope she's ok.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Normally I post Thursday as part of the weekend, but my Friday plans include an art museum which will be a lot of pictures so I'm dividing it up. In other words tomorrow is art museum and another local restaurant that was on my list, then we have four shows over the weekend and somewhere in there I'll visit a local bagel place that I want to try.