My Fair Lady - Wausau, WI
Here's a mini-DITL for you.
I got up at 7am, got dressed and packed remaining toiletries and such.
Here is breakfast. I made overnight oats mixed with half a Koia protein shake, and brewed a cup of coffee in advance (it's in the Koia bottle which I washed for this purpose.) I prefer hot coffee in the morning but will sometimes brew it overnight to avoid cleanup (or to avoid drinking from nasty hotel coffee pots with months of used grounds, mineral deposits, and dust caking the parts, no thanks.)
I get dressed and pack everything but computer and toothbrush, so that I can enjoy the morning without worrying about leaving time for finishing up. I put all of the used towels into a pile for housekeeping, and all remaining trash into one bag too. I also wash the soap dish and wipe the sink area, and put anything that I've moved back to it's original spot. Hotel cleaning ladies have a limited time to clean each room, especially after a large group like ours leaves, so I try to leave things as clean as possible for them.
(I could not get that ironing board to fold back down for the life of me! Tried all week :/)
Onto the bus and off we went.
Jameson had his interview, and it went well. He has been invited to the second round, which was supposed to be scheduled this week but has now been pushed to next Friday. He was given a salary estimate and an approximate start date (mid-April which is perfect as it coincides with finishing his Master's program.) I'm very, very excited for him! I wanted to cheer, but it was quiet hours on our bus, lol.
A bathroom break at a Flying J, then onward to a Target for lunch.
As predicted I got hungry way before the 2pm lunch stop and ate a rosemary biscuit, peanut butter, and apple. At Target I found my preferred yogurt and a few pieces of fruit, and walked to Halal Guys for a chicken sandwich to bring along for dinner. Back on the bus, another bathroom break around 4:30 (which is when I ate my sandwich) and another hour and a half to reach the hotel fairly on time. I'd hoped to take a walk and stretch my legs but the weather was cold, wet, and windy, and then the sink in my room was clogged and it took maintenance a solid 30 minutes to unclog it...so forget it. I made a new batch of overnight oats and relaxed until bedtime.
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Early EARLY morning on Tuesday, with a call time of 7am. I got up at 5:30 to have the "me time" and coffee that I need to keep my soul in my body. This hotel has free breakfast but not until 6am, and (**TMI, WARNING, here comes a TMI**) I prefer to eat more than an hour ahead of travel because that usually triggers a bowel movement while we're still at the hotel, as opposed to on a moving bus full of people. The things you learn after YEARS of traveling.
The bus ride was largely uneventful, with a rest stop at a plaza with a Walmart and a County Market. There was a China Buffet next to the grocery with good reviews, so I decided to treat myself to that for lunch.
Popped into the County Market and it's awesome! Lots of locally-produced goodies.
And this leek as long as my arm!!!
I enjoyed looking at lots of things and only getting a few things...I still will need meal options for upcoming one-nighters, but don't want to end up with an overage of stuff in my luggage either. I got a "honey water" from a local apiary; a "lemonade apple" which I've learned is a new apple variant out of New Zealand; a sample pack of Bourbon Vanilla Cream coffee from a local coffee roaster; and this absolute UNIT of an English muffin from the bakery section.
We arrived annoyingly late because our bus driver is incompetent (I'm sorry but she is. She had to call the other driver to ask how to put the bus in drive yesterday. And then today did not refuel until the time when we should have been leaving.) The hotel did not have any stairwells leading from the lobby to the rooms, so we all had to wait for the ONE working elevator, meaning it took 20 minutes to get to our rooms on top of being late already. Still, because I'm in the band my call time is not until 5pm, so I had time to (quickly) unpack and get a shower, and even call maintenance when I realized my fridge was broken (this is the second time this has happened on this short tour...is god laughing at me?)
Sound check was easy. This theatre is VERY small, so we sound very loud in it. And SO many props and setpieces had to be cut to fit on stage! Pretty much all of the tree props, and a lot of wagons and barrels and such too. The evening show went well, the audience was frugal with their general applause throughout the show but did give us a standing O, and we heard several nice comments as people were leaving, so maybe that's just the vibe here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, we were all THRILLED to have a full day to enjoy in Wausau!!
We still had a show at night, but the day belonged to us :)
I woke fairly early and got some free hotel breakfast, then off to check out Downtown Grocery. It's a cute little mini-organic grocer downtown, and while it had a lot of nice things I exercised restraint and didn't buy anything (there was nothing that I "needed".)
Next I walked a mile to Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum a free museum "only a mile away."
Without topography, I didn't know that it was a mile away up this incredibly steep hill.
I had to stop probably 2/3 of the way up to make my heart stop popping out of my chest, but was pleased that overall I made it without feeling overheated or excessively out of breath. The museum was small and for some reason featured almost entirely bird-centric artworks in bronze, watercolor, sketch, sculpture, and more.
This artwork meant to depict bird "houses" as a sort of urban environment. Each canvas in the series had a number and letter on the side, like an apartment number: 24B and 3F and whatnot.
The highlight for me was a temporary student gallery showcasing artworks from kids in the area. I am always so blown away by what middle- and high school-aged kids are capable of expressing through art. There are always deep, thoughtful pieces, and goofy pop culture ones. I love them all! REMINDER: Clicking on each picture will open a larger version for you.
This one was SO detailed! But it was above eye level so I had a heck of a time standing on my tiptoes to get a photo.
This wood burning was SUPER impressive. I'm sad that part of me has to wonder whether the student programmed a photo into a burner, rather than burning it themselves...but looking at the level of detail and variation in depth of the burn patterns, I'll believe they did it by hand. And that's absolutely amazing.
I think my mom would have loved this set of painted rocks. Clearly done with a very fine paintbrush and a steady hand.
Detail of a rock.
The museum staff were friendly and--this being a somewhat small town--seemed surprised to see someone that they didn't recognize. They asked many questions--where I was visiting from, how I found them, what my role in the show was once they found out about that, etc. Very sweet and pleasant people who were very proud of their museum (as they should be!) Despite being a little one, this museum is one of only two art museums in the country to win a 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service! They also told me (later on facebook) about why the museum is centered around birds:
"The Museum's inaugural exhibition, "Birds of the Lakes, Fields, and Forests," was so successful that it continued on to be what we now know as "Birds in Art," which is our annual Fall exhibition. Many of our permanent collection works are selected through this yearly exhibition. It was the wishes of the founding families that the guiding spirit of the Museum would be the marriage of art and nature, and that the Museum would always be free for all to enjoy!"
How cool is that!
Walking back down the hill was significantly easier than walking up :P
I went to Lemongrass, a restaurant close to the hotel, and got some basic spring rolls and some hot sake.
The spring rolls where whatever, nothing special. The steaming, fragrant sake hit the spot after my chilly hill climb :)
With a nice buzz going I took a short nap, then got up to work on Foodie Finds for Kalamazoo before going back out to another County Market nearby. This one wasn't as nicely stocked as the one at our lunch stop, but I still found what I needed (more proteins as usual.)
The evening show was good...this audience was VERY responsive, laughing at a lot of unusual parts, and even after the show as we were packing up people were coming to the pit to ask where we were from, where we'd be going next, do we get to see the country, etc. I mean, this kind of thing happens in a lot of cities with one or two people, but this was like 20-30 people ringing the pit and watching us pack up. We can't often engage as much as we'd like while loading out of a city, but it was very cool to see how interested people were here, and see them smiling after the show :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Next we have a load-and-go in Green Bay, WI, then Saturday is a travel day with no show to Kalamazoo, MI, and a show the evening after that. And then...Chicago.
I have been waiting excitedly for Chicago this entire tour! We are there for an entire week, AND it's St. Patrick's Day, AND we have a Golden Day on Monday! (Golden Day = day of both no shows AND no travel, a real day off!)
And Chicago is a foodie HEAVEN. There are so many options, it'll be impossible to do everything I'd like! But here are my foodie hopes and dreams for the week:
- Eataly: One meal + at least one hour of shopping
- 88 Marketplace, Chinatown: At least one hour of shopping
- Visit the Amazon GO no-checkout grocery store
- MCCB restaurant, Chinatown: Whole grilled Szechuan tilapia
- Chiu Quon, Chinatown: Steamed buns or cookies
- Russian Tea Time: Whole roasted quail and a shot of house-infused vodka
- Jinsei Motto: Omakase lunch experience + cup of rare sake (thanks to a gift card from my sister Raven)
- [If time allows]: Kyuramen: Omurice!!
It seems like a lot, but considering we're here for 7.5 days and 22-ish meals, eating five of them out plus snacks and groceries is pretty reasonable. And with this tour ending in a month, this could be my last chance. I might never see Chicago again after this. YOLO!
I got up at 7am, got dressed and packed remaining toiletries and such.
Here is breakfast. I made overnight oats mixed with half a Koia protein shake, and brewed a cup of coffee in advance (it's in the Koia bottle which I washed for this purpose.) I prefer hot coffee in the morning but will sometimes brew it overnight to avoid cleanup (or to avoid drinking from nasty hotel coffee pots with months of used grounds, mineral deposits, and dust caking the parts, no thanks.)
I get dressed and pack everything but computer and toothbrush, so that I can enjoy the morning without worrying about leaving time for finishing up. I put all of the used towels into a pile for housekeeping, and all remaining trash into one bag too. I also wash the soap dish and wipe the sink area, and put anything that I've moved back to it's original spot. Hotel cleaning ladies have a limited time to clean each room, especially after a large group like ours leaves, so I try to leave things as clean as possible for them.
(I could not get that ironing board to fold back down for the life of me! Tried all week :/)
Onto the bus and off we went.
Jameson had his interview, and it went well. He has been invited to the second round, which was supposed to be scheduled this week but has now been pushed to next Friday. He was given a salary estimate and an approximate start date (mid-April which is perfect as it coincides with finishing his Master's program.) I'm very, very excited for him! I wanted to cheer, but it was quiet hours on our bus, lol.
A bathroom break at a Flying J, then onward to a Target for lunch.
As predicted I got hungry way before the 2pm lunch stop and ate a rosemary biscuit, peanut butter, and apple. At Target I found my preferred yogurt and a few pieces of fruit, and walked to Halal Guys for a chicken sandwich to bring along for dinner. Back on the bus, another bathroom break around 4:30 (which is when I ate my sandwich) and another hour and a half to reach the hotel fairly on time. I'd hoped to take a walk and stretch my legs but the weather was cold, wet, and windy, and then the sink in my room was clogged and it took maintenance a solid 30 minutes to unclog it...so forget it. I made a new batch of overnight oats and relaxed until bedtime.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Early EARLY morning on Tuesday, with a call time of 7am. I got up at 5:30 to have the "me time" and coffee that I need to keep my soul in my body. This hotel has free breakfast but not until 6am, and (**TMI, WARNING, here comes a TMI**) I prefer to eat more than an hour ahead of travel because that usually triggers a bowel movement while we're still at the hotel, as opposed to on a moving bus full of people. The things you learn after YEARS of traveling.
The bus ride was largely uneventful, with a rest stop at a plaza with a Walmart and a County Market. There was a China Buffet next to the grocery with good reviews, so I decided to treat myself to that for lunch.
Popped into the County Market and it's awesome! Lots of locally-produced goodies.
And this leek as long as my arm!!!
I enjoyed looking at lots of things and only getting a few things...I still will need meal options for upcoming one-nighters, but don't want to end up with an overage of stuff in my luggage either. I got a "honey water" from a local apiary; a "lemonade apple" which I've learned is a new apple variant out of New Zealand; a sample pack of Bourbon Vanilla Cream coffee from a local coffee roaster; and this absolute UNIT of an English muffin from the bakery section.
We arrived annoyingly late because our bus driver is incompetent (I'm sorry but she is. She had to call the other driver to ask how to put the bus in drive yesterday. And then today did not refuel until the time when we should have been leaving.) The hotel did not have any stairwells leading from the lobby to the rooms, so we all had to wait for the ONE working elevator, meaning it took 20 minutes to get to our rooms on top of being late already. Still, because I'm in the band my call time is not until 5pm, so I had time to (quickly) unpack and get a shower, and even call maintenance when I realized my fridge was broken (this is the second time this has happened on this short tour...is god laughing at me?)
Sound check was easy. This theatre is VERY small, so we sound very loud in it. And SO many props and setpieces had to be cut to fit on stage! Pretty much all of the tree props, and a lot of wagons and barrels and such too. The evening show went well, the audience was frugal with their general applause throughout the show but did give us a standing O, and we heard several nice comments as people were leaving, so maybe that's just the vibe here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, we were all THRILLED to have a full day to enjoy in Wausau!!
We still had a show at night, but the day belonged to us :)
I woke fairly early and got some free hotel breakfast, then off to check out Downtown Grocery. It's a cute little mini-organic grocer downtown, and while it had a lot of nice things I exercised restraint and didn't buy anything (there was nothing that I "needed".)
Next I walked a mile to Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum a free museum "only a mile away."
Without topography, I didn't know that it was a mile away up this incredibly steep hill.
I had to stop probably 2/3 of the way up to make my heart stop popping out of my chest, but was pleased that overall I made it without feeling overheated or excessively out of breath. The museum was small and for some reason featured almost entirely bird-centric artworks in bronze, watercolor, sketch, sculpture, and more.
This artwork meant to depict bird "houses" as a sort of urban environment. Each canvas in the series had a number and letter on the side, like an apartment number: 24B and 3F and whatnot.
The highlight for me was a temporary student gallery showcasing artworks from kids in the area. I am always so blown away by what middle- and high school-aged kids are capable of expressing through art. There are always deep, thoughtful pieces, and goofy pop culture ones. I love them all! REMINDER: Clicking on each picture will open a larger version for you.
This one was SO detailed! But it was above eye level so I had a heck of a time standing on my tiptoes to get a photo.
This wood burning was SUPER impressive. I'm sad that part of me has to wonder whether the student programmed a photo into a burner, rather than burning it themselves...but looking at the level of detail and variation in depth of the burn patterns, I'll believe they did it by hand. And that's absolutely amazing.
I think my mom would have loved this set of painted rocks. Clearly done with a very fine paintbrush and a steady hand.
Detail of a rock.
The museum staff were friendly and--this being a somewhat small town--seemed surprised to see someone that they didn't recognize. They asked many questions--where I was visiting from, how I found them, what my role in the show was once they found out about that, etc. Very sweet and pleasant people who were very proud of their museum (as they should be!) Despite being a little one, this museum is one of only two art museums in the country to win a 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service! They also told me (later on facebook) about why the museum is centered around birds:
"The Museum's inaugural exhibition, "Birds of the Lakes, Fields, and Forests," was so successful that it continued on to be what we now know as "Birds in Art," which is our annual Fall exhibition. Many of our permanent collection works are selected through this yearly exhibition. It was the wishes of the founding families that the guiding spirit of the Museum would be the marriage of art and nature, and that the Museum would always be free for all to enjoy!"
How cool is that!
Walking back down the hill was significantly easier than walking up :P
I went to Lemongrass, a restaurant close to the hotel, and got some basic spring rolls and some hot sake.
The spring rolls where whatever, nothing special. The steaming, fragrant sake hit the spot after my chilly hill climb :)
With a nice buzz going I took a short nap, then got up to work on Foodie Finds for Kalamazoo before going back out to another County Market nearby. This one wasn't as nicely stocked as the one at our lunch stop, but I still found what I needed (more proteins as usual.)
The evening show was good...this audience was VERY responsive, laughing at a lot of unusual parts, and even after the show as we were packing up people were coming to the pit to ask where we were from, where we'd be going next, do we get to see the country, etc. I mean, this kind of thing happens in a lot of cities with one or two people, but this was like 20-30 people ringing the pit and watching us pack up. We can't often engage as much as we'd like while loading out of a city, but it was very cool to see how interested people were here, and see them smiling after the show :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Next we have a load-and-go in Green Bay, WI, then Saturday is a travel day with no show to Kalamazoo, MI, and a show the evening after that. And then...Chicago.
I have been waiting excitedly for Chicago this entire tour! We are there for an entire week, AND it's St. Patrick's Day, AND we have a Golden Day on Monday! (Golden Day = day of both no shows AND no travel, a real day off!)
And Chicago is a foodie HEAVEN. There are so many options, it'll be impossible to do everything I'd like! But here are my foodie hopes and dreams for the week:
- Eataly: One meal + at least one hour of shopping
- 88 Marketplace, Chinatown: At least one hour of shopping
- Visit the Amazon GO no-checkout grocery store
- MCCB restaurant, Chinatown: Whole grilled Szechuan tilapia
- Chiu Quon, Chinatown: Steamed buns or cookies
- Russian Tea Time: Whole roasted quail and a shot of house-infused vodka
- Jinsei Motto: Omakase lunch experience + cup of rare sake (thanks to a gift card from my sister Raven)
- [If time allows]: Kyuramen: Omurice!!
It seems like a lot, but considering we're here for 7.5 days and 22-ish meals, eating five of them out plus snacks and groceries is pretty reasonable. And with this tour ending in a month, this could be my last chance. I might never see Chicago again after this. YOLO!